I am writing this article to provide some of the prospects I feel have relatively high potential in the UFC based off what I’ve seen thus far. I am not stating all of these fighters in this full article have the potential to be the champion of their respective division (though I think some can be). However, I am including them because I believe they have the capability of moving up the rankings and obtaining a very good reputation inside the octagon.
I realize ‘prospect’ can be perceived as a subjective term so I will specify that the fighters in this article I am referring to have no more than 4 fights in the UFC thus far (as of April 10th, 2020) and have made their promotional debut. By no means have these fighters looked perfect in the UFC thus far. In fact, some of these fighters have lost at least once so far in the promotion, but I believe in their long-term growth and future success which is why I am mentioning them in this piece. I hope you enjoy!
Welterweight Division
Sean Brady
Sean Brady is a STUD. An undefeated prospect that has only fought twice in the UFC, but has looked very impressive thus far. Brady is a very talented striker as he is fast, powerful, technical, and capable of throwing a very high output of significant strikes over the course of 3 rounds (119 significant strikes landed in his UFC debut per ufcstats.com). Also, Brady is good wrestler & very grappler (BJJ Black Belt) training with Renzo Gracie Philly and the hard work he’s put in there showing in his bout appearances (Brady landed 4 takedowns and 6 advances on the ground in his most recent fight per ufcstats.com). Furthermore, Brady has shown very good cardio and awareness inside the octagon. At just 27 years of age and only had 2 bouts in the UFC so far, Brady will very likely get even better than he’s shown. I think Brady has a lot of potential at Welterweight even for as good as this division is.
Miguel Baeza
Miguel Baeza is a big Welterweight at 6 feet 2 inches tall and he utilizes his length intelligently to avoid taking damage in striking exchanges by keeping distance and having adequate striking defense (high defensive guard with movement). Furthermore, Baeza likes to slow his opponents down to mitigate their offensive threat with calf kicks which helped him earn a TKO finish in his UFC debut. Baeza also has shown adequate wrestling (has strong, explosive takedown capability) and a proficient grappling game (is a BJJ Black Belt). Additionally, I like Baeza’s mindset as he appears to be humble. By no means is Baeza a finished product yet has his cardio was a liability in his contender series appearance and his striking was a bit predictable in some sequences, but I can tell he is putting things together as he is still learning and evolving as an MMA fighter. At 27 years of age and relatively inexperienced in MMA (8-0), I think Baeza will improve as he gains more experience and becomes more educated as a fighter.
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