Prior to each UFC card, Jay Primetown takes a close look at debuting fighters. In the latest installment, we look at heavyweight Rashad Coulter as he makes his UFC debut against fellow American Chase Sherman at UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas.
Rashad “Daywalker” Coulter
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot
Reach: 77 inches
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Camp: Octagon MMA
Career Record: 14-1
Key Wins: None
Key Losses: None
Background
Introduced to MMA by King Mo, Rashad Coulter has fought in both Bellator and LFA. He’s riding a five-fight winning streak, with all of those victories coming by knockout.
Strengths
- Good hand speed
- Does his best work when able to punch in combination
- Times punches well has shown capable of one punch knockouts
Weaknesses
- Taking this bout on two weeks notice
- Limited experience despite being 35 years of age
- Never beaten anybody with a winning record
- Limited kicking game
- Poor submission game
Fighter Grade
Offensive Striking: C-
Striking Defense: D+
Knockout Power: D+
Athleticism / Speed: D+
Footwork: D
Chin: D+
Offensive Wrestling: D-
Takedown Defense: D-
Submissions: F
Conditioning: D-
Intangibles: D-
Overall Grade: F
Matchup with Chase Sherman
A matchup of heavyweights is featured on the Fight Pass portion of UFC 211 as Coulter takes on Sherman in his UFC debut. Coulter is coming into this fight on really short notice as a late replacement on the fight card. At 35 years of age, he is still rather inexperienced, having only fought a couple of fighters with a winning record and none that have any sort of high-level experience. Sherman has struggled in the UFC thus far, losing his first two fights, but this is a bout that should get him a win. Sherman is the much more well-rounded fighter. He’s taller, bigger and has shown some durability during his career. Coulter has never been out of the first round, so I expect Sherman to be able to weather the early storm and wear out Coulter over the course of this fight. The newcomer does have big power in his right hand, but I see this as being Sherman’s fight to lose. He simply has more tools and likewise more ways to win. While I do see some advantages for Sherman in this bout, this is another lower-level UFC heavyweight fight, which have shown in the past to be one of the most unpredictable bout categories in the promotion. There are better fights to wager on.
UFC Ceiling
Despite limited experience, Coulter is already 35 years old. There have certainly been fighters that have entered MMA late in an athlete’s career. Daniel Cormier and Yoel Romero do come to mind, but Coulter is not a wrestler and doesn’t have the ability to control fights on the ground like those two fighters do. Coulter’s potential success will come down to his ability to box and if he can take a punch. His experience thus far makes it hard to say what level of success he can have since his opponents have been rather limited. With that said, I see him struggling against fighters with any sense of a ground game. He may earn a knockout or two in the UFC, but that’s his ceiling at this point unless he shows improvements to other aspects besides boxing.
Fight Film
Check out Coulter in some of his most recent fights…
Coulter vs. Derek Perkins
Coulter vs. Jeremy Hardy
Coulter vs. Larry Hopkins
