ARES FC 43 this Friday is genuinely a can’t-miss event for prospect nerds and major league talent scouts alike. Almost every fight has a fighter with an obscenely high ceiling; thus, the card has been dubbed ARES 43 – “La Nouvelle Génération”. A new generation it is, of fighters looking to make their mark in front of a raucous Paris crowd.
Josh O’Connor (10-0) Featherweight
My personal #43 prospect in the world, and a top 5 UK prospect, the unbeaten O’Connor gets his first Ares FC main event here. The Welsh featherweight has 17 wins across his amateur and professional career. The big featherweight out of Swansea was a favorite to end up on the Contenders Series this year, but will once again be defending his crown in ARES against interim champion Fabacary Diatta. While O’Connor has had a solid strength of schedule in his career, the Bellator veteran Diatta will be his toughest test to date. If he can find a way to rack up another win, and perhaps his 9th finish as a pro, one would think a major promotion comes knocking.
On the Feet, O’Conner is almost constantly moving. He keeps at a good range and uses his footwork well. He keeps his hands high and blocks hooks and high kicks well, although he has been dropped before by straight shots. The Welshman has good, not great, power on the feet, although in his last fight he dropped Ylies Djiroun badly before finishing him with shots on the ground. Given the caliber of opponent, it was his best finish to date. He has decent explosiveness, typically springing forward with his strikes instead of counter-striking. His 1-2 punches are good, but it would serve him well to add more to his combinations. His leg kicks can be especially stiff. He has improved greatly on the feet and given his opponents lots to think about, which helps set up his grappling.
For O’Connor, the ground game is his go-to. His chain wrestling is relentless, and he is willing to shoot repeatedly to drag opponents to the ground. The mat is his domain, exhausting his opponents before locking in a rear naked choke. He is no Jiu-Jitsu wizard, but it’s still unwise to let him get you down where he can rain down blows and apply great control from multiple positions.
The 27-year-old O’Connor is a well-rounded fighter. He isn’t a plus athlete, but he lives and breathes MMA. I don’t think his ceiling is anywhere near the world title, but he will win many fights in a big promotion if given the opportunity. He reminds me a lot of Nathaniel Wood, and can occupy that same role one day if he racks up a win this Friday in Paris. He is up against a tall task, though. Fabacary is a real talent, and would be getting his own full write-up as a prospect if he wasn’t already an established Bellator talent. He could use a win over O’Connor to launch himself back into the big leagues.
Alexis Nicolas (1-0) Welterweight
Alexis Nicolas is a French fighter with one singular career MMA fight, pro or amateur. So why is he on this list? Well, if you’re asking, you need to brush up on your kickboxing, my friend. Alexis Nicolas is a former ONE Kickboxing world champion, holding a record of 24-2. Both losses came in title fights against the great Regian Eersel. In recent years, we have seen many decorated former kickboxers become big deals in MMA. Adesanya, Pereira, and fellow countryman Cedric Doumbe have all taken MMA by storm and paved the way for fighters like Nicolas to try their hand.
As one would expect given his background, Nicolas is a menace on the feet. His power isn’t overwhelming, but he is outstanding at attacking you at all three levels. The leg kicks are punishing, and the high kicks will undoubtedly lead to a flash KO in his MMA career. As they said about Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam, Nicolas has “educated feet”. He maintains a good high guard and unleashes hooks with ferocity. He is unlikely to fight an opponent with better hand speed in his MMA career. While capable of one-hitter quitters, he does a great job taking what is given and beating up any body part available. His first MMA opponent took a brutal beating over 8 minutes, and he is likely to dish out something similar on Friday.
The obvious question is, how does his grappling hold up? In the first fight, okay enough. It’s still a real unknown. What you can say is that he fights with a good team in Atch Academy. Having teammates like Salahdinne Parnasse and Friday’s main eventer Fabacary Diatta can only be a good thing for the blossoming MMA fighter. At only 28, there is no ceiling on what Nicolas can achieve in MMA with the right training.
Wael Kambouche (2-0) Featherweight
Another Atch Academy fighter, Kambouche finally takes a step up in competition this Friday. Long on the radar of prospect watchers for his finishing prowess, Kambouche has finished all but one of his combined twelve pro and amateur fights. I am a big fan of Kambouche and his killer instinct, but he hasn’t beaten anyone in his pro career, and he mostly beat first-time fighters as an amateur. Crushing inexperienced fighters can only help one grow so much, but “The Lion” will learn more about himself at ARES 43 as he takes on 3-1 veteran Ulysse Ndong.
The unbeaten featherweight has the fast hands that are characteristic of his gym, and he is fairly polished with his boxing. He has solid size for the division at 5’10. His reach is unlisted, but he is lanky and seems to have long arms. When he throws, he does so with fight-ending intentions, and while he does always seem to find the button, he could work on his footwork and his jab.
He sets up his shots well, rarely shooting blindly and instead timing his entries well after a quick combination on the feet. He has also shown good trips, plus strength and balance in the grappling area. His ground-and-pound is my favorite part of his game. He is relentless and utilizes elbows to great effect. When he gets his opponents down, he never wants to give them a second to breathe or a moment to think. He could gas himself one day, but so far he’s been able to finish everyone off brutally. Beyond the ground and pound, he takes what is given to him in the Jiu Jitsu world, with one of his pro wins coming by RNC. While it will be harder as the level of competition improves, he also locked in three guillotines in his amateur career.
While the level of competition has sucked, there’s a lot to like about Kambouche. He is one of the young Western European prospects that I have the most trust in going forward in his career. The poise, power, and tools are all there, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on a PFL or UFC Paris card in a few years’ time.
William Loussala (2-0) Light Heavyweight
With light heavyweight being such a shallow division, it’s always exciting when someone starts their career off as hot as Loussala has. The chiseled Frenchman out of Villepinte, Loussala has finished off fights to start off his pro career after going 5-1 as an amateur. I will start by saying his nickname, “Le Regicide,” is one of the best I have heard in a long time. Especially for a French fighter, given their storied history of toppling monarchs. I also think Loussala is a bit undersized for the division. While he has no fat on him, he is only 6’0 with decent reach, and I could see him moving up to middleweight one day. Yet, there is still a lot to like about him as a light heavyweight.
While his size makes straight down-the-pipe shots less effective, his looping hooks always land and leave opponents stumbling. He keeps it interesting on the feet, throwing leg kicks, backfists, anything to keep his opponents guessing. I would like to see more head movement, as well as more explosive entries into the pocket. If you’re going to be undersized, you have to make up for that with speed.
His game centers on his grappling. Again, the size makes that tricky sometimes, but he is relentless and has shown good top control. The ground and pound is good, displaying heavy hands and elbows. The Jiu-Jitsu is surprisingly good for the weight class and experience level. It’s led to only a few finishes so far, but it can be something he leans on, given how poor most larger fighters are in that realm. He has great fight IQ, adapts his gameplan well, and has displayed a great cardio base for the division.
I don’t know if Loussala has a ceiling quite as high as some others on this card, yet again due to the size and the apparent lack of one-punch power. But he is a well-rounded fighter and a gifted athlete. His floor is high, but he gets a legitimately tough test this Friday. He faces off with Kevin Tchoupa, who has gone 2-1 as a pro after a decent amateur career. I do expect Loussala to have the deeper bag and come out on top, but I am happy with the level of competition he is facing this far in his career.
Akhmed Amaev (5-0) Bantamweight
Akhmed Amaev is a 23-year-old fighter from France, already nicknamed “The Legend”. Whether that’s a self-given moniker or something given to him by a coach, someone clearly has massive expectations for the kid. It’s hard not to share in those expectations, as he is unbeaten as an amateur and pro, with none of his pro fights even reaching the three-minute mark. He was born in Chechnya, the apparent breeding ground for MMA greatness, and has been training at District Training Zone in France. The O’Malley-sized bantamweight will look to add another explosive highlight to his resume this Friday. He is matched up against the 10-6 Luke Shanks, a one-time legitimate prospect who hasn’t had a win since 2022. Still, this will be a step up for Amaev, who has been nothing but the hammer against rusty nails thus far as a pro.
Akhmed is fast and surgical with his striking. He is extremely calm in the stand-up but still explosive. Nearly everything he throws- leg kicks, wheel kicks, or just a plain overhand right- stuns his opponents. He does leave his chin high, but his guard is good. His footwork is tremendous, and he uses his range better than most young fighters. Flying knees and layered striking are sure to make him a fan favorite when he inevitably does make it big time.
His takedown defense is something he can definitely improve upon. He needs better reaction timing on his sprawl. That being said, once he is on his back, he is still a nightmare to deal with. His long legs and incredible positional awareness make triangles a real threat. As a pro, he doesn’t really have any tape in top position, but he scrambles with speed and urgency, and can be a submission threat at all times. Whether on the feet or on the ground, there is no being comfortable when in the cage with the young Amaev.
Akhmed Amaev is someone I come away even higher on after going through the tape. If he looks equally as dominant as he has so far against Shanks, then I am prepared to launch him up my prospect rankings. Coming out of this card, he could be the name everyone is talking about.
Brad Jean-Elie (1-0) Heavyweight
In the same week that Frenchman (rather unceremoniously) became UFC Heavyweight champion, another French big man looks to take a big step forward. There’s no beating around it, Brad Jean-Elie looks good coming off the bus. The 6’5 monster wouldn’t look out of place playing tight end in the NFL or prop on the rugby pitch. Arguably the best French Heavyweight prospect after a decorated amateur career that saw him go 6-1, he looks to remain unbeaten as a pro against Danylo Kartavyi. Far from a layup for the native favorite, Jean-Elie will cement himself as the French big man to watch if he comes away with a win.
Dubbed the next Ciryl Gane by some, Jean-Elie is a heavyweight with power that actually suits the division. Like Gane, Jean-Elie played basketball before getting captivated by combat sports in 2022. The natural athlete carries natural power that hurts opponents big time when he lands flush. He throws erratically at times and isn’t good at counter-striking when backing up. His jab is fast for a heavyweight though, and his right hand detonates when it lands clean. His leg kicks are precise, and he does good work with knees in the clinch. He’s dangerous as well when separating from the clinch, using that opportunity to throw a flurry of hooks.
In terms of grappling, his sprawl is very good for such an inexperienced heavyweight. He gets his hands down fast and knows what to do with his hips. He has shown he can pivot off and get side or back control. From there, he can rain down fight-ending elbows and hammerfists. I look forward to seeing more of what he has to offer in the grappling department.
The 26-year-old big man has one of the highest ceilings of any young heavyweight out there. I’d love to see him work on his counter-striking as well as train with Ciryl Gane if the opportunity ever arises. While it’s very hard to keep a clean record at heavyweight, Jean-Elie has the right build and athleticism to go far in MMA.
Vincent Yerly (1-0) Middleweight
The young Yerly is only beginning his pro career, after being a two-time IMMAF champion as an amateur. Normally a middleweight, Yerly will be fighting at light heavyweight this Friday because of a late opponent change. Ready to take the professional fighting world by storm, I think that Yerly should be tested early, as he really is ready for high-caliber opponents straight off the bat. His opponent this Friday, Joelson Ferreira, is a 3-1 grappler, but usually fights at welterweight. Yerly should have him outgunned wherever this fight goes. If all goes well over the next year or two, Yerly could be knocking on the door of the major leagues, maybe even joining fellow Swiss big men Robert Valentin and Volkan Oezdemir in the UFC.
An incredibly well-rounded fighter, Yerly can test his opponents on the feet even if the ground is more his element. Cool under fire, he has a good straight left either going forward as the jab or going backward counter-striking. He doesn’t have one-punch power, but he explodes into his strikes, using fantastic footwork to get in and out of the pocket fast. He is strong and capable in the clinch with knees before generally using trips or hip tosses to ground his opponents.
Once Yerly gets in a grappling exchange, he has a tremendous knack for ending up in the advantageous position. Whether it’s by strength or just great technique rolling through on a takedown, he ends up on top. A fan of a good north-south choke, Yearly is a threat to sub his opponents on the ground. He will have a much more advanced ground game than almost any middleweight he faces. His ground and pound isn’t far behind, as he shows great urgency in melting his opponents with ground strikes. While he’s gone the distance multiple times, Yerly fights like there’s only 5 minutes in the fight.
I really like Vincent Yerly. There really aren’t any big holes in his game thanks to his long amateur career. I don’t see why he can’t take three more fights in the next 8 or 9 months and end up on the DWCS; he’s as polished as a middleweight can get for only having one pro fight. I’d love to see him add more kicks to his striking, but other than that, no notes for Swiss phenom.
