Micaias Ureña, Dominican Republic, 11-3
Pros:
-Good footwork
-Nasty body kicks
-Clubbing right hand
-Athletic
-Fast
-Chopping leg kicks
-Hard to keep down
-Uses feints well
-Good bodywork
Cons:
-TDD needs some work
-Vulnerable in the pocket
Urena is a dark horse in this tournament if he’s back to his usual form. In his last two fights, he leaned more heavily on his wrestling. While he managed to finish both opponents by submission, that’s not really where he’s at his best. What concerned me more was how much he was getting hit in his last fight against Vinicius Salvador.
At his best, Urena is a difficult fighter to deal with. He’s excellent at managing range with straight punches and punishing body kicks. His footwork allows him to commit to his offense and then quickly exit before taking much return fire. Urena controls the pace with his movement, straight shots, body kicks, and leg kicks. He also does a good job of mixing in a powerful overhand right behind the jab.
The biggest question mark throughout his career has been his takedown defense. I will say it has improved considerably, and he’s become much harder to hold down. His fight against Kasey Tanner showed those improvements. Tanner was still able to secure takedowns, but he had to dig deep into his wrestling arsenal to do so.
Defensively, Urena generally does the right things at range, though he can occasionally overcommit and overthrow on his punches. Still, when he’s fighting behind his movement and kicking game, he’s a difficult puzzle to solve.
Urena is a sleeper in this tournament, especially if these end up being two-round fights where his style can shine. That said, he’s going to run into some quality grapplers in the house, and I ultimately think that’s where his run comes to an end.
