10 Regional MMA Prospects You Might Not Know About
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There is a huge portfolio of prospects around the world. Some of the top prospects most see fighting are in LFA, Cage Warriors, Titan FC, UAE Warriors, CFFC, and other various promotions. Some are well-know like Anton Turkalj, Phumi Nkuta, Mo Miller, and Frans Mlambo. Others are prospects only the hardcore fans know such as Mateusz Rebecki, Achilles Estremadura, Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels, and Andrey Goncharov.
In this feature, I will list 10 unknown prospects that even most of the hardcore fans might not recognize.
Maurice Abévi
Fighting at 170 lbs (Welterweight)
Fighting out of Volketswil, Switzerland
21-years-old
Standing at 6’0″
Training out of 360 Martial Arts
A pro record of 6-0 (3-1 amateur record)
3 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions
Abevi jumped out to me when he beat a guy in Kennedy Rayomba who I was scouting at the time. In his next two fights after that, he beat guys with a previous 5-0 record. Abevi is an opportunist being able to perform well in any position. I’d say he’s a better grappler for sure, but he is also dangerous on the feet. He can throw a lot of looping punches, but is accurate in what he throws. His striking is pretty similar to UFC’s Davey Grant. It looks sloppy, but it’s technical with deceptive power.
His wrestling looks good but could be better, as well as his top control. Abevi is a strong grappler that is a submission hunter. In his last fight he hit a really rare calf slicer. All three of his subs are by different submissions. Click here to see Abevi hit that impressive calf slicer finish.
Sebastian Kotwica
Fighting at 145 lbs (Featherweight)
Fighting out of Kraków, Poland
29-years-old
Standing at 5’7″
Training out of Kotwica Fight Team
A pro record of 12-2
7 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission
More people would know of Kotwica if he didn’t take that hiatus from 2018 to 2020; about a four-year layoff. In that time off, Kotwica opened up a job and did compete in boxing. He came back last October and looked as good as ever. Now, Kotwica is on an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2016 being the last time he lost.
Kotwica is very dangerous everywhere, as on the feet. He has won by a head kick and is a heavy-handed striker. He also has solid wrestling, but the ground and pound he throws is great. He has a relentless pace, especially with elbows. If he continues to stay active like he was in the past, he’s going to be a problem. Check out his win against another good prospect in Bursurmankul Abdibait Uulu here.
Tania Torres
Fighting at 115 lbs (Strawweight)
Fighting out of Mexico City, Mexico
27-years-old
Standing at 5’5″
Training out of ?
A pro record of 5-0
1 KO/TKO
Women’s strawweight is pretty stacked outside the UFC and Torres flys under the radar a bit. There was an eight-women tournament by LUX held last year to crown a strawweight champ and that was Torres. She’s only been fighting for a little over three years, and although still raw, she’s accomplished a lot already.
Torres is a counter striker who does well going backwards, cutting angles and showing good footwork. Letting her opponents come forward and tagging them on the way in, as well as moving out of the way, is what she does best. Torres mixes it up with tight combinations and has the power in her hands to score knockouts. She’s really good in the clinch as well, and she throws some really good knees. Here is the first fight of hers that I first noticed her.
Malik Lewis
Fighting at 155 lbs (Lightweight)
Fighting out of Abilene, Texas
?-years-old
Standing at 6’0″
Training out of Genesis Jiu-Jitsu
A pro record of 4-0
4 KO/TKOs
Lewis is currently 4-0 as a pro and went 7-0 as an amateur, so he hasn’t tasted defeat yet in his career. He’s fought three times for LFA, but it was twice as an amateur and all three times being on the prelims. He hasn’t had that right exposure but is talented enough to have more eyes on him and bigger fights.
Lewis will use a lot of hard feints frequently. He’ll feint on one side and attack from the other and does it from both sides. He throws snipping straight punches splitting the guard and moves in and out very well. Lewis is a big lightweight standing at 6’0″ who has fought at welterweight a few times. Someone with his size who knows how to use it is going to be a big problem. He’s still a young guy too, so he hasn’t even come close to his full potential.
With strong stand-up, being able to control the fight anywhere, and being able to wrestle and grapple when needed… his skill set is going to take him far. Here is his latest earlier this year.
Gabriel Alves Braga
Fighting at 145 lbs (Featherweight)
Fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23-years-old
Standing at 5’10”
Training out of Tropa Thai
A pro record of 7-0
4 KO/TKOs
Brazil is loaded with talent among every weight class. With that said, there are tons of guys on the Brazilian circuit that have all the potential. But they are unknown… Braga is one of those guys that is very underrated. He even fought for LFA in his last fight. However, it was on the prelims and can’t be watched. All he’s missing is the strength of schedule only fighting once a year the last few years.
Braga has a solid ground game with his ground-and-pound, but prefers to stay standing. He’s very technical as he loves to throw from all different kinds of angles. He throws a bit of everything including knees and elbows and puts all his strikes together perfectly. Braga rips the body frequently and he mixes that into combinations very well. He’s always throwing output, mixing in all his weapons. Check out this entertaining fight he was apart of in 2019 here.
Bogdan Gnidko
Fighting at 205 lbs (Light-Heavyweight)
Fighting out of Kyiv, Ukraine
21-years-old
Standing at 6’1″
Training out of Kratos Team
A pro record of 7-0 (2-0 amateur record)
4 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions
From Ukraine, Gnidko could be a weapon in a thin division. When you see an undefeated 7-0 record at 205, you have to pay attention. The bad things are he’s only been fighting for three years and his level of competition has been awful. With that said, you’re not gonna see stiff competition in Ukraine, especially from the heavier weightclasses.
All seven of his wins have come by finish and all seven in the first round. His longest fight has only gone three minutes. Most of the time those quick finishes from the heavier guys are coming by knockout, but for Gnidkov it’s coming from the ground. He does have knockout power, but so far his wrestling has persevered and on top, his ground and pound is fight-ending. The ceiling is up in the air for this guy, but he’s worth a watch.
Arseniy Smirnov
Fighting at 185 lbs (Middleweight)
Fighting out of Yekaterinburg, Russia
31-years-old
Standing at 6’0″
Training out of BK Arkhangel Mikhail
A pro record of 11-1
6 KO/TKOs
For nearly five years, Smirnov has fought for RCC. Not the biggest promotion out of Russia, but a respected one. If you never watched RCC, you would have no idea who he is. He’s won his last seven fights besting guys with a winning record.
Smirnov is a dangerous guy who is well-rounded. On the feet, he’s technical with his hands always throwing in twos with big power. He will throw combinations up to four strikes. Smirnov is always throwing a lot of output and has multiple weapons including front kicks, body kicks, knees, and elbows. Everything he throws is with fight-ending intention. Smirnov has strong wrestling and smashing ground and pound on top. To get to know the fighting style of Smirnov, click here to watch this beatdown.
Alan Martinez
Fighting at 125 lbs (Flyweight)
Fighting out of Riverside, California
25-years-old
Standing at 5’8″
Training out of CQuence Ji–Jitsu Norco
A pro record of 4-0
2 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions
Alan “Super Glue” Martinez is undefeated as a pro and amateur. He was 3-0 as an amateur and won the KOTC flyweight championship Now, he’s 4-0 as a pro for UWC out of Mexico. He has fought between flyweight and bantamweight so he can compete in both divisions really well. Martinez has a 100% finish-rate splitting wins between TKO and submission.
Martinez is a super glue-like grappler. But there hasn’t been much shown on his stand-up. That’s because he’s so aggressive early to get the takedowns and is relentless on his attack. All his fights as an amateur he’s finished, and same as a pro. All ending in the first round… Still green but he’s been impressive thus far.
Tural Azayev
Fighting at 265 lbs (Heavyweight)
Fighting out of Azerbaijan
29-years-old
Standing at 6’0″
Training out of ?
A pro record of 4-0
2 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions
Azayev is another guy I’m up in the air about. In the smaller weight classes, you look for more compared to the bigger guys. All of his four opponents were making their debut when they fought. He’s finished all four opponents and three of them have come in under a minute. There is a lot unknown about him based on who he’s fighting, but maybe he could be something.
In his last fight he scored a highlight-reel knockout win. Although that happened, he is more of a wrestler and grappler. To some extent, he has some sore of background in jiu-jitsu. Azayev has been able to power guys down and just smash on top with ground and pound. It’s a good thing he doesn’t get paid by the minute. Here is his highlight-reel knockout back in 2020.
Reza Arianto
Fighting at 155 lbs (Lightweight)
Fighting out of Malang, Indonesia
21-years-old
Standing at 5’8″
Training out of ?
A pro record of 4-0
3 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission
One Pride MMA Fight Night out of Indonesia has a lot of talented fighters. But to me, Arianto stands out. He’s only 21 so with a lot of time for growth. Where he’s at now is impressive… He’s finished all four of his fights and has dominated for the most part.
Arianto is primarily a grappler. Mainly a face smasher, cause Arianto has excellent ground and pound. Apart from his submission win, he’s pounded out his three other opponents. He’s been good at getting into dominant positions and postering up to unload. On the feet, he throws good kicks, a right-cross, and has good movement. Watch here for his only fight so far to go outside the first round.
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