Ares FC 23: What to watch for (FdrNphw Exclusive) (Patreon)

Decent Ares FC card tomorrow that was a bit better in its original form, but still there are some fights worth watching. I won't bore you with the technical details of these bouts, rather focusing on storylines coming into this event.

Bout #1 at 155lbs

Radik Valiev (0-0) is making his pro debut here. People who follow freestyle wrestling probably already know him as a world bronze medalist from 2021, where he lost to Jordan Burroughs in the quarterfinals. Ossetian transitioned to MMA recently & has fought in the Russian amateur circuit last year. He didn't look that impressive in those fights, having a tough time with everything else in MMA besides wrestling. Like many freestyle wrestlers that transition he had trouble with chaining his striking to his wrestling and with controlling his opponent on the ground without being chest to chest. In my opinion, this is too much too soon, even tho Radik is 27 years old and doesn't have much time to waste. He should fight some debutant or fighter with a losing record for the first three fights, at least, of his career to get more used to MMA, not another good prospect.

Faridun Shokhnazarov (2-0) is the better prospect out of the two in my opinion. Even tho his amateur record shows a losing record, with two losses coming from IMMAF tournaments, he had to be a good amateur in Tajikistan to qualify for those tournaments. Limited tape on him shows that he likes to be the one coming forward and prefers the striking phase of MMA. He's very fluid on his feet and seems like a natural striker tho he's not only that, he'll mix in takedown attempts in there as well. Also visible in that limited tape on him is that he has decent takedown defense, it should be enough with distance management to keep Radik standing & beat him there. 

Picking: Faridun Shokhnazarov

Bout #2 at 163lbs

Soslan Gagloev (4-0) based on him being from Ossetia and finishing all 4 of his fights on the ground you'd guess he's a wrestler, but you'd guess wrong. He's primarily a southpaw striker but will use both stances for long periods of time. Kicking is his main weapon & punching off of the kicks is how he builds off of them. If the opportunity presents itself he'll take down his opponent, of course, this is MMA at the end of the day. He has shined thus far in Ares.

Bobby Pallet (7-2) is definitely being used here as a test for an up-and-comer, similarly, how he was used vs Chamsoudinov a few fights ago. He's also a kicker but not nearly as fluid as Soslan is. He's an okay regional fighter, can't say much more about him. Two losses he has suffered in Ares came via ground control time, so that could be the avenue Soslan takes against him.

Picking: Soslan Gagloev

Bout #3 205lbs

Thomas Cleret (0-0) has basically no fight footage and the only interesting info I found about him is that he's and ex-wushu sanda fighter. That makes him at least a little interesting. As opposed to his opponent...

Jordan Nandor (0-0) is another debutant with little fight footage. One amateur fight of his that's on YouTube didn't manage to spark any excitement within me. Not an impressive performance at all. Quite a sloppy fight in which he ended up being mounted and opponents was raining down strikes but ref stopped the action and stood them up like there was some kind of limited ground time rule. Very odd scene. He ended up pounding out his opponent from the mount...

Bout #4 265lbs

Benjamin Šehić (6-4) is a grappler who only started MMA cause he invested in a gym right before Covid started and he needed the money to not go bankrupt. He was working as a realtor prior to that but wanted to pursue his passion and opened his own gym. The fact that he's a grappler is very obvious to anyone who watched him fight. He lacks basically any other MMA skill. Will pull guard and that will work, at heavyweight, vs. not-so-good opposition, but his record shows that it won't work against 'better' regional heavyweights. 

Genadi Zhorzholiani (8-4) is a late replacement for one of the more exciting fighters that was on this card when it was first announced. Nothing special regional heavyweight that should have competent enough takedown defense to keep the fight standing and punish Šehić's bad striking.

Bout #5 145lbs

Konmon Deh (15-11) is an old regional journeyman, but not to be confused with a 'can'. Usually was brought into fights as a 'B' side to test his opponents. Good overall MMA fighter with no major weaknesses (that I noticed from my limited research) & no major strengths. Usually will throw more than just one punch and likes to throw front kicks (that sometimes land below the belt...). If he was younger I'd pick him here, but later this year he's turning 40.

Alessandro Capone (5-5) power puncher that seems at bit stiff when he's fighting. Looks more like he earned every skill he has through hard training, as opposed to god given natural gifts. I don't expect anything major from his career, so this is a real hardcore fight. I applaud you watch it with real interest.

Picking: Genadi Zhorzholiani

Bout #6 205lbs 

Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev (4-0) is kinda what you expect out of a generic young Chechen fighter. Looks to take the fight to the ground and beat up his opponent there. Can't say I saw anything special in him, but then I realised he fights at light-heavyweight and is 23 so he might be able to go somewhere in this sport. Tho I'm unsure if 205 is his permanent home. He'll lead with his head a bit after throwing a rear straight and go into his takedowns that way. He knows what he's doing on the ground, and won't just ride out his opponent and win via control time. A decent amateur win he possesses is vs Nikolay Kovalenko, ex-judoka, who was 7-0 at the time. He isn't a good MMA fighter but good wins for someone who was 3-0 at the time + it was a 5x5min title fight. 

Paulin Begai (5-2) is a tall, lanky fighter & he fights like one. An okay regional fighter, more of a test for other up-and-comers than him being a real prospect. He's been beaten by two wrestlers before in Glazkov and Sy, so prospects of him winning this one ain't great. Especially when you take into account that he'll lean back with his arm straight to frame sometimes when an opponent attacks him, which leaves him susceptible to takedowns. General tall posture doesn't help with that either. Frenchman also has awkward striking technique that'll leave his chin open for counters. When everything is added up, the pick is clear...

Picking: Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev