Every fighter starts somewhere. Before the hype, before the Contender Series, before the UFC call — there’s the early grind. Before They Blow Up is my way of spotlighting prospects still in that stage. In this first volume, I’m looking at a few rising talents with five fights or fewer that are on my […]
Before They Blow Up Vol. 1 – Rising MMA Prospects Read More »
.James Lledo Welterweight Age: 24 Fighting out of: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Record: 8-1-0 As the leaves turned and temperatures dipped, one of amateur MMA’s hottest prospects only got warmer. James Lledo, a 24-year-old welterweight fighting out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, racked up two big wins in back-to-back months. First defending his 170 title at CFFC: NextGen
Amateur Fighter of the Month: November Read More »
UAE Warriors is one of the best promotions in the world. In fact, it should be more of a feeder league to the UFC, considering the talent they have. Also, the promotion being on UFC Fight Pass should be more of a pipeline to the UFC for their athletes. They constantly put on great cards.
UAE Warriors 65 – Who to watch Read More »
Weightclass: Lightweight Record: 5-0 Age: 28 Height: 5’11” Born in: Russia Training out of: KHK MMA Team Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 12-4 Key wins: Omar Tugarev, Axel Sola (amateur fights) Lightweight prospect Ramazan Gitinov will look to continue an undefeated start to his pro career this weekend when he takes
Fighter In-Depth: Ramazan Gitinov Read More »
Pat Danna 👇 Women’s Flyweight Championship: Shannon Clark (6-1) vs. Beatriz Consuli (6-0) To put it simply, Consuli is a top 5 WMMA prospect right now. A 17-fight win streak dating back to her second amateur fight would prove that alone, but wins over Eduarda Moura and Carol Foro solidify it. The 2022
LFA 221 Full Card Breakdown Read More »
Weightclass: Middleweight Record: 4-0, 1 NC Age: 26 Height: 5’11” Born in: Hungary Training out of: London Shootfighters Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 60-30 Key wins: Will Fleury Anyone who’s a regular watcher of the UFC Embedded series you’d likely recognize Norbert Novenyi Jr as the guy often seen hanging around
Fighter In-depth: Norbert Novenyi Jr. Read More »
Weightclass: Welterweight Record: 4-0, 1 NC Age: 22 Height: 5’11” Born in: Russia Training out of: ? Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 14-5 Key wins: N/A When you hear the name “David Samuel,” you might not immediately picture a rising Russian MMA prospect. In a sport where surnames like Magomedov, Volkov, and
Fighter In-depth: David Samuel Read More »
Weightclass: LightweightRecord: 8-1Age: 27Height: 6’2″Born in: Czech RepublicTraining out of: Fighting Club OstravaCombined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 42-38Key wins: Sebastian Szalay (amateur) With the current streak of violence, Mudroch has been on. I wanted to take a deeper look at him to assess his level properly. First, his resume: 8-1, six straight
Fighter In-depth: Tomas Mudroch Read More »
Welcome to a new monthly column I’ll be writing here on Creative Minds, where I’ll focus on a part of the sport that captures the mind of every MMA fan: undefeated fighters. Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most dominant UFC champions in recent years, and his aura is amplified by the fact that no
Undefeated Update: The Introduction Read More »
Author – Cangrejo Ruiz Hello everyone, in this section I will be highlighting the best pro debuts of the month, emphasizing background, strengths, and expectations of the new professional MMA fighters. Heavyweight, Gable Stevenson The highlight of the month was, of course, Gable Steveson’s MMA pro debut and MMA debut altogether. Chances are if you
Relevant Pro debuts of September Read More »
