Click on the link to read full descriptions of each fighter!
Enjoy!
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/mma-prospects/
After some time away, FiveOuncesOfPain.com (
www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) is back the version 2.0 of its MMA Prospects section.
The goal of this section is to highlight and chronicle new talent in mixed martial arts so that casual and hardcore fans can have an idea of what to expect from the future of the sport. Additionally, we want to increase the recognition of the prospects we’ve chosen for the relaunch of this section so that you will be more familiar with these fighters when you hear their names announced on upcoming fight cards.
Our definition of a prospect is simple: a fighter who is currently flying under that we strongly feel will develop into a superstar in the near future.
There’s plenty of good young talent that we monitor on a constant basis and we intend to update this area frequently. If you don’t see a fighter’s name on this list that you feel belongs, instead of crucifying us, please educate us by sending us a kindly-worded message about why you feel a certain fighter belongs. It would help if you included video links so that we could take a look for ourselves at the fighter.
Without further ado, here is the Five Ounces of Pain MMA Prospects Section 2.0.
(note: fighters are listed randomly within each weight class)
Heavyweight:
– Shane Carwin/UFC (8-0)
– Jon Murphy/EliteXC (4-2)
– Brett Rogers/EliteXC (8-0)
– Dave Herman/EliteXC (10-0)
– Cain Velasquez/UFC (3-0)
– Marcus Jones/Unsigned (2-1)
– Bobby Jones/EliteXC (2-0)
- Roger Gracie/WVR (1-0) ***My Addition***
Light Heavyweight:
– Rafael Feijao/EliteXC (5-1) - Feijao’s introduction to MMA was one of a kind. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira happened to be in Feijao’s hometown in Brazil on business. He was looking to squeeze in some training and asked a few locals if they could recommend someone that would be good to train with. Without pause, they recommended Feijao. Trained by his father in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since a young age, Feijao had a basement that doubled as a training area. Nogueira and Feijao trained together and the current interim UFC heavyweight champion was so impressed with Feijao’s skills that he invited him to start training MMA with him. The rest shall we say is history… or should we say, the future? In addition to outstanding grappling credentials, Feijao’s striking is starting to make major strides under the tutelage of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. With Nogueira as your grappling coach and Silva as your striking coach, how can you go wrong? After having moved from heavyweight to light heavyweight, Feijao looked like a future top ten fighter while making a successful EliteXC debut this past February.
– Andre Gusmao/Unsigned (5-0)
– Muhammad Lawal/Unsigned (0-0)
Middleweights:
– Jake Rosholt/Unsigned (4-0)
– Mike Massenzio/IFL (10-1)
– Aaron Miesner/UFC (3-0)
– Mark Munoz/WEC (3-0)
– C.B. Dollaway/UFC (6-0)
– Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza/DREAM (7-1)
– Paul Bradley/EliteXC (6-0) - The UFC’s loss is almost certain to be EliteXC’s game. Despite being one of the top middleweight prospects in the world, UFC president Dana White was highly critical of Bradley’s performance in his qualifying bout during the premiere for the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” White believed that Bradley relied too much on his wrestling, but what do you expect from a fighter who only had five pro fights going into the competition? The former two-time All-American is hardly a finished product, but to write him off at such an early stage of his career would be foolish. Many other top amateur wrestlers weren’t the most exciting fighters upon their arrival into MMA, as they needed to develop other aspects of their game for the first time. It seems that the expectations for a wrestler new to MMA are much higher than competitors coming from other disciplines because they are able to look so dominant right out of the gate. And dominant is exactly what Bradley has been since transitioning to MMA. Once he expands his game, he’s going to be tough to beat. Then again, he’s already tough to beat.
Welterweights:
– LeVon Maynard/Unsigned (2-0)
– Matt Makowski/EliteXC (2-0)
– Eric Bradley/EliteXC (2-1)
– Johny Hendricks/Unsigned (3-0)
Lightweight:
– Jim Bova/Unsigned (3-0)
– Jim Miller/IFL (11-1)
– Andre “Dida” Amade/DREAM (6-3-1)
Featherweight:
– Wilson Reis/EliteXC (3-0) - Only 23, Reis has been a black belt (which he received from Roberto Godoi) for several years. A world class grappler who won the brown belt division at the Mundials in Brazil in 2004, Reis has been flawless since making his professional MMA debut last year. He won his first pro bout last July, recording a unanimous decision over Baba Shegeyasu at Extreme Challenge 81. He then fought Diego Jimenez at a Combat in the Cage show last October, where he was able to submit Jimenez with a rear naked choke at 2:00 of round 1. Reis then fought former Division I wrestler Zach Makovsky at a ShoXC event on Jan. 25 in Atlantic City. The fight was expected to be close but Reis recorded a dominant victory by finishing Makovsky with a rear naked choke in round 2. Reis’ back game is strong but he’s also tough from top position as well. While he has no formal wrestling background, Reis’ takedown defense and takedown ability are exceptional and had he grown up in the States, he probably would have received a wrestling scholarship to a Division I school. Possessing all the right tools, ir won’t be long before Reis is universally regarded as a top ten featherweight.
– Raphael Assuncao/Unsigned (12-1)
