Future UFC Stars Who Aren't In UFC Yet

Lets hear about some good prospects...

I'll start with 2 I think could be contenders and maybe Champions in the UFC at 145 lbs and 155 lbs.  One has had 4 pro fights and one has had 8 pro fights...but they both unbeaten and have big time talent.  Another interesting thing is they are training partners.

1) Gregor Gillespie 155 lbs. (4-0....4 1st rd stoppages)  Was a 4 Time All American and D1 National Champion wrestler.  Interesting story and has a similar buzz of dominance like Chris Weidman had a few years ago when he was 4-0 as a Ring Of Combat fighter from Long Island before getting his UFC call.  Gregor trains with Keith Trimble at Bellmore Kickoxing/MMA around guys like Costas Philippou, Ryan LaFlare, Dennis Burmudez, World Champion Boxer Chris Algieri and many others.  Great talent, great coaching...I believe he could make a big noise sooner than later despite only having 4 fights.

2)  One of the others Gillespie trains with is his training partner undefeated 145 lber Andre Harrison Former Ring Of Combat Champion now in Titan FC.  Andre was 6-0 as an amateur and is currently 8-0 as a professional. He was a 2X All American D2 wrestler and is a physical specimen who is athletic, big and strong for that weight class.  Andre is fighting 17-3 Cody Bollinger March 20th in Titan 33. Keep an eye on him and Gillespie.   (Recent videos below)    

Hailing from Managua, Nicaragua, 23 year old Jose Rivera is a bantamweight prospect that the UFC should take a look at.  In terms of his stand up and striking, Rivera is good.  He has solid power in his strikes, good boxing combinations, decent head movement, decent counter-striking, has a solid chin, and decent footwork.  One problem with Rivera's game, however, is that he keeps his hands too low which leaves his chin exposed; and while he can take a punch, he needs to tune up this area of his game so that his chin doesn't deteriorating.  Another problem with Rivera is his lack of variation in his strikes, as he primarily uses his hands to strike and doesn't mix in much in the way of kicks or knees.  In terms of grappling and the ground game, Rivera is decent.  He has decent takedown defense, can sink in submissions, can defend against submissions decently, has good ground and pound, can scramble, and controls position well.  One hole in Rivera's grappling game is his ability to get takedowns.  Another hole in Rivera's game is his ability to be stationary on the ground and not actively pass guard.  Overall, while rough around the edges, I think Rivera could be a solid prospect to come from Central America.

Here is a video of Rivera's victory over Andres Valverde:

Put him in the next TUF Latin America if there is one.

At 22 years of age and hailing from Budapest, Hungary; Ádám Borics is a solid prospect at Featherweight that the UFC should look at bringing in.  In terms of striking, Borics is very good.  He has solid striking combinations, utilizes the jab well, good knockout power in his strikes, great variation in his strikes, gauges and uses distance well, utilizes the clinch well, has decent footwork, and good movement.  In terms of grappling and the ground game, Borics is good as well.  He has good TDD, good takedowns, can get submissions off his back, can pass guard decently, and solid ground and pound.  Overall, Borics is a real solid prospect and the UFC should sign him up right away.

Here is a video of Borics' victory over Benjamin Molnar: 

Keep an eye on Koyomi Matsushima. Still too early to tell with him and his competition hasn't been anything notable but he is 23 years old and mowing guys down. He trains out of AACC and is 5-0 with 5 KOs and 3 of those came under 20 seconds.

His 2015 Shooto Rookie Tournament championship fight


His debut from just over a year ago


His slam KO from PXC 49 can be found here

At age 25 and hailing from Lethbridge, Canada; Brandt Dewsbery is a Welterweight prospect that the UFC should definitely look at bringing in.  In terms of his striking and stand up, Dewsbery is decent.  He gauges distance well, has good variation in his strikes, utilizes the jab well, uses the clinch well, can lock up submissions from the clinch, and has decent footwork.  However, Dewsbery doesn't have a lot in terms of power in his strikes, nor does he have a lot in the way of head and body movement.  In terms of grappling, Dewsbery is very good.  He actively hunts for submissions, he scrambles well, transitions in guard well, has decent ground and pound, has decent takedowns, and decent takedown defense.  Overall, I think that, based on what I've seen, Dewsbery is a solid Welterweight prospect.

Here is a video of Dewsbery's victory over Ben Smith: 

At 23 years of age and hailing from Wisbech, England; Jamie Powell is a great flyweight prospect from the UK that the UFC should absolutely look at.  In terms of his stand up and striking, Powell is very good.  He has good hand speed, good variation in his striking, gauges distance well, great footwork, and good head and body movement.  In terms of grappling and the ground game, Powell is very good as well.  He has great takedown skills, passes guard well, controls position well, hunts for submissions, and has good ground and pound.  Overall, Powell is a solid prospect that could be ready to take on UFC level talent.

Here is a video of Powell's victory over Arnaud Dos Santos:

At 22 years of age and hailing from Grozny, Russia; Abubakar Vagaev is a Welterweight prospect the UFC should think about bringing in.  In terms of his striking and stand up, Vagaev is superb.  He has power in his strikes, he has great variation in the strikes he throws, he utilizes the clinch well, he gauges distance well, he has good footwork, and he has good head and body movement.  In terms of grappling and the ground game, Vagaev is good in this area as well.  He is good at getting takedowns, has good takedown defense, passes guard well, controls position well, and has solid ground and pound.  Overall, I think Vagaev is an amazing prospect that is ready for UFC level competition.

Here is a video of Vagaev's most recent victory over Tiago Varejao: 

CES 33, Friday.

-BW, Kody Nordby(6-3): Cant really remember his fights fully but he is on a 3 fight win streak with 3 submissions I do remember he is a excellent wrestler with great control and really strong he likes to get the back and get the RNC which he did against my former prospect Dinis Paiva back in October so he is a solid fighter. He fights Andre Soukhamthath who is a solid fighter and only loses to top competition but he has some holed like he is flat footed, he fights at a slow pace, and his TDD wont be good enough against a very good wrestler.

Invicta FC 16, Friday.

-WAW, Amber Brown(6-1): Really good wrestler very psychical on her takedows as she literally drags her opponent to the mat where she gets the body lock to get the takedown and while on top she is so heavy on top have with alot of control, I haven't seen much of her standup tho. She fights Ayaka Hamasaki who is a top notch grappler so this will be a very good matchup.

-WBW, Aspen Ladd(2-0): Striking wish she pushes forward alot with punches she dont have much power but she is relentless but even better on the mat she has really good jiu-jitsu on top and bottom and is a big sumbission threat. She fights Kelly McGill who I cant find much footage on but hear good things on her.

Akhmat Fight Show 15, Saturday.

-LW, Alexandr Shabliy(13-2): Mainly a counter fighter everywhere most of his takedowns is when his opponents try a take down but he over powers and throws his opponents to the mat and on the mat he is very dangerous he has won by a armbar, choke, triangle and leg lock so he is very dangerous and on the feet he is calm but he brings the heat when needed if he catches his opponent then he will try his best to end the fight if that is with his strikes or knees mainly he is a intelligent fighter with very little mistakes. He fights Ryan Quinn who is a decent fighter he trains out of ATT which is a top camp I don't see him winning but im not confident.

-BW, Janne Elonen-Kulmala(13-4): I like this guy he can do it all he shines more on the mat he has really good jiu-jitsu and on the feet he throws wild punches and with a excellent chin he connects alot and it sets up his takedowns vert well, im not to sold on him but im hoping to watch him live. He fights Lemmy Krusic who has bad TDD which should be a big weakness in this fight.

-Fly, Magomed Bibulatov(10-0): Great fighter all around his wrestling is superb and his striking is very good along with his movement which is very fast and solid submission winning 4 of his 10 wins by submission, he brings everything to the plate being a complete MMA fighter. He fights Irmeson Oliveira who I see no chance of him winning.

-Fly, Chris Miah(7-0): My prospect he is a good fighter he is very accurate at what he does from his punched to his takedowns and has some good hands and don't over commit which I like but he likes to use his wrestling even more where he is really good with 4 of his 7 wins by submission. He fights Jarred Brooks who is a good wrestler but slows as the fight goes on and fighting at a 5 inch height disadvantage.

-Fly, Samir Faiddine(9-2): Really good possible future UFC figher here he is well rounded he throws alot of variety of strikes on the feet, he has good foot work an his wrestling is very powerful for his size and his defense all around is good too, solid TDD and good movement from the feet to his transitions on the mat and is now on a 7 fight win streak so he has alot of momentum. He fights Yunus Evloev who isn't really that good.

Prestige FC 2, Saturday.

-Aiemann Zahabi(5-0): My prospect he is a finisher finishing all 5 of his fights in the 1st round. He also trains out of tristar  so he does have good wrestling but his stanup is very good as well he has alot of power in his hands and kicks but he is really patient he isn't wild he really picks his shots and that is what makes a great fighter. He fight Kyle Olivera who has alot of power in his hands but he is very inactive not fighting in over a year.

WSOF 29, Saturday.

-LW, Justin Gaethje(15-0): Everyone should know who Gaethje is by now he has been running through top competition for the last 3 years he is maybe the most well knows suceescful non UFC fighter. He fights Brian Foster who is a heavy handed fighter but has bad submission defense losing 7 of his 8 losses to submission.

Gaethje is one of the most obvious ones to pick up.

Eh, I think he's the type to suffer mostly from the depth of the division and the raise in competition level. He'd quickly drown in the UFC's 155 division, he's too wild, a tad chinny and not an amazing gas tank.

He's better off fighting mid-level guys in WSOF.

At 26 years of age and hailing from Nagoya, Japan by way of Campo Grande, Brazil; HEAT FC Middleweight Champion Henrique Shiguemoto is a solid Middleweight prospect.  In terms of his stand up and striking game, Shiguemoto is very good.  He has a lot of power in his strikes, he has good variation in his strikes, pressures his opponents well, throws feints well, has a good amount of volume of strikes in his combos, can counter strike well, and has a solid chin.  However, two major flaws in Shiguemoto's game is his head movement and his footwork.  In the fights that I have watched, Shiguemoto is very stationary in terms of his movement, and as a result it leaves him open to get tagged like it did in his fight against Hisaki Kato.  In terms of his grappling and his ground game, Shiguemoto is decent.  He scores takedowns well, he has decent takedown defense, he can control position well, he hunts for submissions, he passes guard decently, and has good ground and pound.  Overall, I think that Shiguemoto is a middleweight fighter that the UFC (or RIZIN) should definitely look at signing.

Here is a video of Shiguemoto's victory over Bellator Middleweight Hisaki Kato:

Maybe when the UFC has an event in Russia that it can stack it's card with all the talent here that is mentioned plus what they already have.

At 26 years of age and hailing from Norway, Kenneth Bergh is a Heavyweight prospect that I think the UFC should really keep an eye on.  In terms of his striking, Bergh looks very good.  He has great head movement, good footwork, gauges distance well, has some decent variation in his strikes, utilizes the jab well, and utilizes the clinch well.  In terms of his grappling and his ground game, Bergh looks solid in this area as well.  He has decent takedown defense, transitions well, and can lock on a submission both on the ground and when pulling guard.  While Bergh has looked good, I need to see him fight more often so I can make a clearer evaluation.  Despite this, based on the footage from his two pro fights, Bergh looks like a solid heavyweight prospect in the making.

Here is the videos of Bergh's two pro fights:

I guess the UFC was one step ahead of me, because Kenneth Bergh is on the 32 fighter cast for season 23 of the Ultimate Fighter.

* Edited at 03.30.2016, 1:29 AM ET *

They are having Heavyweights again?

@Rappinpap  No.  Light Heavyweights.

I just noticed Vagab Vagabov. He is 24-0.  Anyone know if Bellator or UFC has been looking into him?

Vagabov has only fought no-names. His most experienced opponent was Brian Grinnell and he is 8-7. To get noticed by the UFC he will have to start fighting experienced opponents or perhaps tryout for TUF if they end up having a MW season soon. 

Edit: But for Bellator he is perfect, I don't know if he is still under WSOF contract though

* Edited at 04.06.2016, 2:49 PM ET *

No names so far but I'm sure that will change. Jones and Weidman fought no names too before the UFC.

Weidman and Jones didn't fight anywhere near as many fights in regionals though...Vagabov is in the Akhmat tournament however and that should be a good test for him.