Category UFC

McKinney earned four wins in 2021 in a combined 112 seconds, finishing each of his four opponents by stoppage due to strikes. The scary thing to think about is that everyone you ask about the promising lightweight swears that his wrestling is even more developed and dangerous than his striking.

Consider yourselves warned, UFC lightweights.

Muhammad Mokaev

If debuting fighters can make the weekly editions of this series with regularity, then I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t include Mokaev on this 2022 preview.

The 21-year-old flyweight, who signed with the promotion in mid-November, went 23-0 as an amateur, winning back-to-back IMMAF titles before racing out to a 5-0 start as a professional, most recently choking out Irishman Blaine O’Driscoll in September.

View More On Muhammad Mokaev

Born in Dagestan, he’s lived in England since leaving Russia with his father at age 12, settling in Wigan before shifting his training to Manchester. He’s won British wrestling championships, European Brazilian jiu jitsu accolades, and has designs on breaking Jon Jones’ record for being the youngest fighter to claim UFC gold.

It’s a lofty goal for Mokaev to set for himself, and the competition in the flyweight division continues to deepen and improve with each passing month, meaning it certainly won’t be easy, but with roughly two years to meet the challenge and his debut penciled in soon, I suggest circling your calendars and remembering his name, because chances are you’re going to hear a great deal about the promising prospect in the first quarter of 2022.

Lerone Murphy

Speaking of talented fighters from Britain…

A case could be made for Murphy being “The Mayor of Fight Island,” as the featherweight has made all four of his UFC appearances in Abu Dhabi, following up his split draw result against Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 242 in the fall of 2019 with a first-round stoppage win over Ricardo Ramos in his lone appearance of 2020.

For multiple years in a row, Rolla High School in Rolla, Missouri, has had over 100 high schoolers go out for wrestling.

“23-26 kids is what we finished with that first year and then we made a push, obviously, and that led to an increase,” said Head Coach Marty Hauck. “By the third year here, we’ve had over 100 every year. Even with COVID last year, when it was kind of a down year, there was still over 90 that came in. We didn’t finish with that but that’s how many went out. This year, right now, our current roster is at 87, but we had over 100 come in.”

The women’s program also stands out, with over 50 athletes trying out.

How Wrestling Prepares Athletes For High-Level Success

Rolla is also home to Missouri S&T University, which houses around 6,000 students, possibly cutting your “family population” down by a quarter.

Askren didn’t make comparisons between MMA and wrestling or say one is harder than the other, but he definitely said that expectations were far different when coaching youth wrestling than youth martial arts classes.

“With our wrestling academy, it’s really clear,” Askren laughed. “Parents bring their kids to the academy, they want to get tougher, learn some work ethic, maybe if they do well, they’ll win a state title or go to college. The expectation is perfect for where it should be, whereas with MMA you get every parent thinking their kid is going to be on TV one day and be Conor McGregor.”

The gyms are relatively new in the grand scheme of the sport of wrestling, but AWA is starting to see some names climbing up the rankings. Keegan O’Toole, Parker Keckeisen, Peyton Mocco, Jared Kreider and more have gone from AWA to become collegiate threats and it’s unlikely that the number of names will be shrinking any time soon.

When the two separated, Ferreira was in clear pain as he grabbed at his rib cage. Whatever the problem, it was caused by a nasty, legal knee by Gamrot, and gave the emerging contender a third straight victory.

A few days later, he debuted in the rankings, checking in at No. 12.

# # # # #

As fans, we can be infatuated with and leery of unbeaten fighters, often at the same time; the fact that they’ve never tasted defeat serving as both a reason to project them to great heights, but also question the level of competition they’ve faced.

And once they do lose — because everybody loses at some point (except for Khabib Nurmagomedov) — we often put a great deal of stock in that individual result, overlooking or undervaluing everything that came before it.

For fighters, I would imagine there is something freeing about getting that zero out of the loss column — an unnecessary weight and pressure cleared from your shoulders that both fills you with motivation to get back into the win column, but also allows you to fight without being concerned about protecting your pristine record.

RELATED: Where Do Things Stand In The Lightweight Division?

It’s likely doubly challenging when you arrive on the biggest stage in the sport without a loss and carrying a great deal of international acclaim, and while I can’t say for certain, I would wager that Gamrot felt both those things after getting edged out in his debut.

The result was a three-win campaign, with three finishes, and a move into the lightweight rankings, positioning the Polish fighter to enter 2022 as a dark horse contender in the ultra-competitive division.

The challenges are only going to get more difficult from here on out for him, but with the way he dominated over his last three outings, don’t be surprised if he’s in the championship conversation by this time next year, if not sooner.

She’d fought just once the previous year, losing a close split decision to former champion-turned-surging contender Carla Esparza. Before that, the Brazilian battled Cynthia Calvillo to a draw in a bout where Calvillo missed weight by a considerable margin. It was the second draw in four UFC fights for Rodriguez, and after arriving in the promotion with a 10-0 mark, going 2-1-2 over her first five appearances inside the Octagon made her a major question mark in the 115-pound weight class.

But what a difference a year can make.

In January, Rodriguez began her 2021 campaign by getting back into the win column in spectacular fashion, pausing the ascension of her compatriot Amanda Ribas with a second-round stoppage finish.

View Rodriguez’s Athlete Profile

The two-part finishing sequence illustrates what makes the 34-year-old Muay Thai stylist a live wire in the division, as she drove home a right hand early in the frame that caught Ribas flush and took her off her feet. Rodriguez swarmed, unloading a barrage of punches and hammerfists that brought the referee in for a closer look, which caused Rodriguez to walk away in celebratory fashion, only the fight had not been stopped.

Rather than be thrown off by the confusion, Rodriguez just got right back after Ribas, breaking free of a clinch attempt by landing a heavy elbow before clocking the heavily favored emerging talent with a pair of clean right hands that finally brought the fight to a close.

The scream Rodriguez let out told you how much this one meant to her, not only as a means of getting things moving in the right direction but having finally secured her first stoppage victory inside the Octagon.

Following her win over Ribas on Fight Island, Rodriguez wasn’t expecting to compete again until the summer, but when a rash of injuries and cancellations prompted the UFC to reach out with a main event offer against Michelle Waterson, up a division at flyweight, it was too good to pass up.

Car trouble is one of the most inconvenient issues a person can have, but former high school wrestler Canaan Bower recalls how it led him to save two lives almost two years ago.

“I was driving up the street to work on my truck,” Bower explains. “I stopped at the gas station. My town is a small town, and there’s only two gas stations across the street from each other. There’s a Chucky’s gas station and a Circle K. I was at the Circle K, and I went inside, got my drink and my gas, and when I came outside, I hear screaming across the street. As I was walking to my truck, I looked over to see what was going on and I saw that there was a lady with a baby in her arms running away from this guy behind her.”

Springing into action, Bower got in his truck and drove across the street. Without taking a second to think about his next move Bower, sprinted into the gas station where the commotion had moved to.

“I wasn’t thinking about it much,” Bower said. “My body was getting in the truck and going over there whether my mind said to or not to. If I was thinking, I probably would have said maybe I should just call the cops, it’s none of my business, but my body just took my over there, and when I got there I knew someone needed help and that’s all I had on my mind.”