Top 10 Amateur MMA Prospects in Australia & New Zealand

#6 Aidyn Gould (5-1)

Featherweight

19 Years Old – Team Compton Training Centre

 

Aidyn Gould is an exciting 19-year-old with a deep and methodical submission game that carries power in his hands. Having only started his MMA career in August of 2024, Gould has made very quick strides to establish himself as one of the premier prospects coming out of Australia.

 

He recently fought Dom Aston in what turned out to be his lone loss to date in a come-from-behind submission defeat. The truth is, had he won that fight, which he was very close to doing, having Aston rocked bad early in the first round, he’d probably be sitting at #1 on my rankings given everything we’ve seen.

 

Gould is really well-rounded with a strong submission base and overall ground game, where he often backpacks opponents to eventually find an RNC. He isn’t a one-trick pony on the mat by any means, but that is a particular strength of his that he’s exploited for all of his submission wins. Gould implements a variety of trips and body locks to secure takedowns before methodically transitioning his way into mount to either deliver nasty ground-and-pound, or try secure the back to find a submission. Even though we’ve seen Gould get reversed on the ground, we’ve also seen him be able to work out from bottom and resecure dominant position, which was heartening.

 

Gould’s striking has been slowly but surely developing, having not really showcased all too much of it until his last fight. In that fight, however, you could see clear improvements with a variety of kicks and body shots that ultimately had Aston in bad shape. In particular, after rocking Aston, it was nice to see Gould’s ability to combine strikes in full effect as he landed a ton of strikes in quick succession before capping that off with a big knee.

 

We’ve seen Gould finish fights in the first, second, and third rounds while also going the distance. This is all in under a year against recognisable competition that, for his age, were reasonably tough tests that he passed with flying colors. Gould is someone who will likely perennially be a fixture on this list, and a likely future #1 for my money until he eventually turns pro and begins his climb towards the top echelons of the sport.

 

Remember the name Aidyn Gould because this is someone I have a feeling we’re going to be talking about for many years to come.