The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cards have been under an absolute bombardment of late with eleven o’clock injuries and other issues, and UFC 288, which takes place inside the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, this weekend (Saturday, May 6, 2023), No exception.
In this edition of “New Blood,” the series in which fight week cancellations crush my soul with heartbreaking regularity, we take a look at three Rivals Series Veterans, a new Chute Boxe product, and a heavyweight still waiting for round two.
Diego lopez
Weight class: featherweight
Age: 28
Scoring: 21-5 (8 ko, 11 sub)
Notable wins: Maceo FollinAnd Marco BeltranAnd Ronnie Jason
Lopez entered Rivals Series In the midst of a 16-1 run, only to fall to Joanderson Brito and then drop a split decision to Nate Richardson in his Fury FC debut. He has since bounced back with two straight wins, one in Fury and the other in his familiar territory in the Lux Fight League.
He intervenes for the injured Bryce Mitchell in just four days.
Lopez is well rounded as his finish ratio might suggest. On his feet, his heavy boxing attack revolves around an oddly powerful jab. Visually, it wasn’t any surprise – he appeared to be leaning forward and pushing his arm out without any sort of weight transfer. Somehow, though, Richardson has rocked on three separate occasions. With the number of times he’s thrown, it can quickly become a problem, especially when used in conjunction with his powerful left hook and solid counterpunching.
If things aren’t going well in the putt, he’s got a strong double leg and an arsenal of clinching takedowns. He can machete through a guard with incredible speed, and drop heavy shots until he is in a position to threaten submissions from the mount or from behind. If he gets swept, he quickly threatens with triangles and an armbar that secures five of his submissions for the win.
As far as vulnerabilities go, it falls short of any major, obvious flaw and a host of annoying issues. Although he has great punching power and can really splatter the cut when he smells blood, his head movement is limited, he can load on the left hook at times, and he’s prone to low kicks. The heart has questionable too. He appeared to hibernate for long periods of his fight with Richardson, only to relapse again for a few minutes of vicious success before once again allowing Richardson to eat him with punches and leg kicks.
Grappling wise, he struggled with the relentless attack and tight control of Joanderson Brito, even though it threatened his neck and leg at times.
Even with the shaky recent record, I’m glad to see Lopez in the Octagon. He is skilled all around and is an incredibly consistent finisher. That said, I’m not sure his strengths are overwhelming enough to carry him into competition, and certainly not enough to bring down a wrestling superstar like Movsar Ivlov with no time to prepare.
Rolando Bedoya “The Machine”
Weight class: flabby weight
Age: 26
Record: 14-1 (4 KO, 3 SUB)
Notable wins: Pablo Durta
Bedoya – the latest product Chute Boxe’s Diego Lima trained to join the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion – hasn’t tasted defeat since his fourth professional fight in 2015. His current plan has seen him emerge as the face of Fusion FC in his native Peru and claim with the interim bantamweight title in March 2022.
As far as Charles Oliveira’s training partners go, Bedoya’s approach feels more similar to that of Daniel “Wilikat” Santos, namely high-octane slowdown and a steady diet of heavy low kicks. He is particularly fond of two-and-two combinations, and throws with his right hand with such force that he often ends up with his head on the outside of his left leg. Although he doesn’t have a whole lot of power, as you probably guessed from his track record, he does have a great engine and can cause seemingly endless jerkies against a fence.
Although much like Willycat, he doesn’t do enough to protect himself. He raises his hands backwards when punching, and when pressed, he either plants his feet interchangeably or goes straight back. He does not move his head when exchanging and does so only occasionally when backing away, but in the latter instance, he will swerve to his right and almost look away from his opponent as he eats punches. Mauricio Otalora nearly knocked him out with an overhand right to the back, Pablo Durta held him down continuously with combinations while Bedoya backed off with his hands out of position.
Again, I know I can be pretty hard on guys for daring not to dodge every punch coming their way, but Bedoya really does have terrible defensive instincts. He needs to move his head, sprint more, keep his hands up, and incorporate some kind of lateral movement, because he lacks the firepower to win a fierce match against a UFC-caliber power puncher.
To his credit, he can take her to Earth if need be. It’s not a particularly eye-catching wrestler, but so far it has worked for him. Furthermore, he is a decent guard passer and has a very good pounder floor. As you might guess from someone who works with the “Do Bronx,” he’s fond of working from the front address, and darce accounts for his one-and-done submission over the past six years.
His defensive wrestling looks decent, though I have to stress his schedule has been somewhat limited.
I’d say Bedoya has more talent than training partner Elvis Brenner, but he’s got a lot of work to do if he wants to be more than just an action fighter. His debut looks like borderline sadistic juggling, as the UFC brass chose to pit him against Khaos Williams. Weak defense is the last thing you want against an “Oxfighter,” so expect what can charitably be described as a learning experience for Bedoya.
Honorable Aliskirov
Weight class: average weight
Age: 30
Record: 13-1 (4 KO, 5 SUB)
Notable wins: Mario SouzaNah Sean Burrell Denis Tullulin
Aliskirov clawed his way to a perfect professional start (8-0) before going up against Khamzat Chimaev in April 2019. He has since returned to form having won five straight wins, including Kimura’s finish of Mario Sousa in Rivals Series.
A decorated sambo player, Aliskirov is expected to have excellent wrestling and superior control. He is particularly fond of throwing people to the mat from a body lock, but is also happy to launch double legs when opponents are craving punches. He is very adept at riding from above, casually darting from position to position as his opponent tries to claw his way to the feet. His ground-and-pound weight is consistent, heavy, and effective, but his favorite attack is the kimura from side control who has picked up three of his last four wins.
It is not as striking and brutal as, for example, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s “smesh”, but his grappling is technically excellent and very effective.
That coincidence you mentioned extends to his standing. He’ll press steadily from a long, relaxed stance, and inject a steady diet of switchback kicks and forehand kicks into the body. His boxing is decent, not quite technically perfect but not as great as you might expect from a floor specialist. He’s also prone to breaking his flying knees surprisingly quickly, one of which landed perfectly on Nah-Shon Burrell which he does a good job of using for his favorite bodylock setup. Nothing particularly stands out as a weakness except for his inability to withstand the flushed Khamzat, though he did come straight back when pressured by Sousa.
Again, while he may not have the wow factor of Khabib, he is a fine fighter who could easily make his way to the Top 15 in the UFC. The odds makers are certainly believers, having installed him as the -210 favorite over Philip Hawes at the time of writing. Honestly, while Hawes finds ways to lose in horrific fashion, I see this as closer to 50/50 thanks to “Megatron’s” superior knock.
Braxton “Beautiful Beast” Smith
Weight category: heavyweight
Age: 33
Record: 5-1 (5 KOs)
Notable wins: none
Smith made his debut in 2014 against Chase Sherman, who stopped the “beautiful beast” two minutes into the first round. An eight-year lay-off followed, as he has since made up for lost time with five knockouts in less than half a round each.
Smith is about what you would expect from 5’11, >250lbs, built like a refrigerator on heavyweight legs with a bunch of quick knockouts. It’s about throwing right-handed as hard as possible, often with the kind of bench hopping you’d expect from a left-hander trying to catch a guy who’s close to third. Will occasionally followed it up with a left hook, which got his first knockdown of two sub-mins on Jakory Savage, but tended to fall when trying to put multiple punches together. Ugly and cabled as they are, admittedly, his shots totally pack a punch.
As far as other creases go, he’s a surprisingly skilled player, especially with his left leg. He would also take out a Superman punch on occasion, which set up a finishing wave against Cameron Chism-Brongard.
No one has yet tested his grappling outside of Cody Beck trying to knock him against the fence, so no word on that front.
While it’s fun to watch, the guy isn’t a UFC-worthy fighter, even in a division that has just seen Sergei Pavlovich (as Jack Slack put it) unga-bunga his way into competition. It’s good for some brawls, but not much. He’ll at least get the backup fight he wants against Parker Porter, though the latter’s strength, experience, and willingness to wrestle give him a distinct advantage.
Remember that MMAmania.com It will provide comprehensive and explosive live coverage of the entire UFC 288 fight card herestarting early ESPN+ Online “Prelims” matches, which are set to start at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 PM ET, prior to the PPV main card’s 10 PM ET start time ESPN+ PPV.
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