The Fab Five Worldwide, Part One
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When scouting up-and-coming talent; the U.S., Russia, Brazil, and the UK is who typically develops the most MMA talent. In this feature, top prospects from each (U.S., Russia, Brazil, England, and a bonus prospect from anywhere else in the world) will be highlighted.
United States
Weighing in at 145-pound and standing at five-foot-six it’s DeAndre “The Protege” Anderson. “The Protege” currently fighting at the age of twenty-four trains out of Cobra BJJ. Anderson was a successful Alabama high school wrestler and football player. He won a state championship in wrestling and a 154-15 record throughout high school. It wasn’t until 2016 when he transitioned from those sports to MMA.
Along with an undefeated pro record, Anderson went 5-1 and one no-contest as an amateur. His only loss came to UFC fighter Drako Rodriguez. Wanting to round off his overall skill-set, he has been competing in kickboxing and boxing while doing MMA. He has a 1-2 boxing record and a 1-1 kickboxing record. While competing in different disciplines it’s really improved his stand-up which is a huge compliment to a strong wrestling base. In his last fight his improvements showed with an eleven-second one-punch knockout.
There isn’t a lot of footage on this young man due to his career mostly being fought for KOTC. Of the footage available it’s evident the potential is there.
Russia
Fighting at 135-pounds and standing at five-foot-nine is Russia’s Gamzat Magomedov. The 25-year old has a record of 6-1 and on a current four-fight win streak. In his latest fight, Magomed knocked off red-hot prospect Mochamed Machaev in the first round. Magomedov trains out of KHK MMA Team under Brave CF super lightweight champ Eldar Eldarov.
Before turning pro, Magomedov closed out 2017 winning the IMMAF gold medal at bantamweight. That being the biggest accomplishment as an amateur in this sport. He was 2-0 as a pro before he lost his first time to UFC fighter JP Buys. Since that, he’s won his next four and has looked great. Magomedov is a solid wrestler being his bread and butter dating back to his amateur run. His frantic knockout against Machaev gives some insurance he can hold his own on the feet.
With how JP Buys is doing in the UFC it makes Magomedov’s loss to him look a bit worse. With any doubt, he’s had the hype go right back up finishing Machaev in under a minute.
Brazil
Currently on a 13-fight win streak and fighting at 155 is Milson Castro. Fighting out of Coari, Amazonas, Brazil Castro has a lot of experience with a 14-3 record. He started off 1-3 in his career and then has hit his stride. For a long time, Castro tore it up in Brazil and Mexico and in the last three years, it’s been Brazil where he’s been winning.
Since signing with RCC in 2019, the Russians he’s beat are Vladimir Palchenkov, Timur Nagibin, and Pavel Gordeev. All three have a combined record of 49-11-2. Having fought for years, Castro has won three different regional titles. Castro is a stand-up fighter with a solid Muay Thai base. He is a scrapper that will stand toe-to-toe with anyone he stands across from.
Castro does take a lot of shots on the chin, but he can take one to give one. Even though he’s got one of the better resumes out of Brazil, he’s still incredibly slept on.
England
One of the hottest prospects not only in the UK, but in the world, is the undefeated Muhammad Mokaev. Mokaev had an outstanding amateur career going 23-0 and was a four-time IMMAF gold medalist and a six-time British wrestling champion. The young 21-year-old has fought between 125 and 135, but 125 is his home for now.
Mokaev has looked stellar and frankly dominant. He has excellent wrestling and is very skilled on the mat. His positional grappling and ground and pound are very good. On the feet, he has a nice flow with his kicks and mixes in strikes and kicks together very well. Mokaev is extremely well-rounded and I see no flaws in him as of yet.
“The Punisher” has beaten Abdul Hussein and Blaine O’Driscoll proving his worth in the division.
Bonus
Outside of the countries listed above, here is a bonus prospect Luis Rodriguez from Mexico. Rodriguez is mostly known for his fight on the Contender Series last year. He fought Jerome Rivera where many thought he won that fight. Since that setback, he got back on the board with a win last November. Rodriguez is back at featherweight too where he’s looked much better. He’s a polished compact striker that slings heavy leather.
He’s definitely got knockout power in his hands and is very explosive. Due to injury, he hasn’t fought in almost a year. When he returns, if he continues to fight for LUX and iKON, he will be someone to watch for out of Mexico.
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