Blind Reacting to Five MMA Prospects Vol. 12 (Patreon)

Lightweight, Tedrick Macklin (4-0)

Pros

• Fast starter
• Solid kickboxing
• Good TDD
• Submission threat
• Solid grappling
• Deceptive power

Cons

• Head sits on the center-line

Macklin is a world champion in karate and a state champion in taekwondo. He went 6-1 as an amateur. His only loss was to a good amateur in Zevan Hunt who is now 2-0 as a pro. Macklin has had a lot of time missed from the cage. After his pro debut in 2019, he took a three-year layoff before he returned. He's had more fights than actual fights.

Although Macklin has these conditionals that would supply to his stand-up he has more submissions than anything. He's been good at going into the takedown and circling to the back getting it down from there. He has two victories by a rear-naked choke so he's well-equipped on the mat. Every time he's hit the mat he finishes so quickly so it's untelling how his grappling holds up when the fight prolongs. So far, his control and sense of attacking the neck have been perfect.

My only issue with his overall is his head getting stuck on the centerline. Straight punches are something to struggle with but that's more so when he's sitting on the outside. The good thing is Macklin is always pressing forward. He blends together his punches and kicks mixing everything in. Macklin is good in the clinch and as it hasn't shown a ton he has some real pop in his hands.

I do need to see more of Macklin because there isn't enough fight time. I do really like what I've seen so far. He's an accomplished striker that knows what he's doing on the mat. Of everything I watched, I like his mentality. I'll be adding him to my watch list.

Featherweight, Guilherme Antunes (5-0)

Pros

• Dangerous knees
• Good ground and pound
• Excellent muay thai plum/Good clinch work
• Nice use of feints/traps
• Good timing
• Nasty elbows

Cons

• Hands low
• Questionable TDD

Antunes comes from a kickboxing/muay thai background. He most notably fought for WGP and did really well. He's 22-4-1 in Muay Thai. He was a Brazilian Muay Thai champion and a state champion in Kickboxing. He's a black belt in Muay Thai and a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

He's moved to MMA without any amateur experience and has excelled with a 5-0 undefeated record.

I'm on the fence with Antunes even though he's looked good. It's just his opponents have looked bad as opposed to him looking good a little bit more. His muay thai background has been on full display. In the clinch, he's good at controlling while throwing and landing nasty elbows and knees. On the outside, he throws good straight shots including the front kick up the middle.

Antunes has a lot of questions. His takedown defense, cardio, chin, and grappling are up in the air. He's been taken down a few times but has done well off his back. For a kickboxer/muay thai fighter, his grappling has looked alright. The submission defense has checked out and made the right moves in his transitions. I'm not sold on his full ability to do as good against a good grappler.

I'm not gonna add Antunes to my watch list just yet. I need to see one more fight and with a win, I'll add him to the list. I'm not confident in his full ability just yet.

Welterweight, Scottie Stockman (6-2)

Pros

• Good output/Punches in bunches
• Athletic
• Dynamic
• Good ground and pound
• Explosive
• Good shot-selection
• Heavy hands
• Good judo
• Good kicks

Cons

• Slows as the fight goes

I didn't expect a lot from Stockman going into the tape. I'll say photos can be misleading as he is not what I expected. The Oregon native has a lot going for him. He's fought for some big promotions like PFL, Combate, and Anthony Pettis FC. Speaking of Anthony Pettis, Stockman trains with him and Sergio at Roufusport MMA.

Stockman is a two-time Greco-Roman state wrestling champ, two-time Freestyle Wrestling State Champion, a Golden Gloves Champion, a US National Grappling Champion, and a 2-0 Professional boxing record. In MMA, he's won four amateur titles.

Stockman can do a little bit of everything but is a better striker. I wouldn't rate his wrestling high but it's a good tool he has to mix it up. It's not classic wrestling either as it's takedowns from the clinch with textbox judo trips/throws. His grappling is very suspect but his ground and pound has been quality.

On the feet, Stockman does a lot of work. He fights in an unorthodox stance and moves well at least early on. Stockman throws a lot of kicks and uses them to set the tone and dictate the fight at his range. He throws a variety of different kicks being hard to read. His shot selection is good with his hands picking his shots and going to the head and body. Mixing it up blending up everything he does a lot of touch-touch-bang. He's a hot and cold striker. Stockman will throw a lot of volume mixing in power shots.

Stockman is the type of striker I like watching. He's got the volume, kickboxing, explosiveness, and pays attention to the bodywork. He also has a lot of combat experience and it's shown. Stockman has came up short against guys he should've beaten. He's been very flaky and is someone I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with a 9-8 record in the next few years. If he's actually as good as he has been recently I think he can work on a few things and be really good. He has a lot going for him so the ceiling is high.

I will be adding Stockman to my watch list because there is potential. He's 29 so I think one loss will be too much of a setback to come back from. If I'm sure about anything he's an exciting fighter and worth checking out for entertainment alone.

Featherweight, Mariano Pupi (7-0)

Pros

• Dangerous knees
• Good ground and pound
• Dangerous in exchanges
• Competent ground game
• Deceptive power
• Good kicks
• Good use of range

Cons

• Vulnerable in exchanges
• Throws blind kicks
• Little striking defense

Pupi is another fighter from Argentina that's been killing it. I say another cause recently a lot of fighters from Argentina has been getting more notice in the bigger promotions. Pupi may be far off with an opportunity like that but not too far off with a few more highlight-reel finishes.

Pupi had a knockout from a counter knee and a punch but has grappled more than anything. I don't know how to rate his wrestling because he hasn't done a lot of it. His ground game looks okay but against poor competition, Pupi has looked good in the grappling sequences. The one time he went to his back he quickly swept his opponent. He usually always finds dominant position and ground and pound is probably his best weapon.

On the feet, he's either gonna do the knocking out or getting knocked out. He hasn't been knocked out but with how he's fighting there is a likely chance of that happening. He lacks any kind of defense and is too willing to trade in the pocket being reckless.

I like that Pupi is capable of a lot of finishes but I can't get over his striking defense enough to be on his train. It's a train I feel could get derailed at any point in any fight. He won't be on my watch list but maybe in the future.

Bantamweight, Abdul Kamara (5-1)

Pros

• Athletic
• Explosive
• Heavy leg kicks
• Good elbows
• Good one-two
• Submission threat
• Mixes it up well
• Dangerous guillotine
• Goes to the body often

Cons

• TDD needs work
• Can be submission over position

Kamara has had an up-and-down pro and amateur career. It's safe to say that today he's a far better fighter than he was three years ago. Kamara is from Sierra Leone which is a country in Africa which don't have many MMA fighters. He is based out of the US and lived in Portland, Oregon. Now he's in Arizona training with the MMA Lab rounding out his craft.

Takedown defense is his biggest issue. Even at times when his takedown defense is holding up he will pull guard too many times. As it's worked for him in the past pulling guard is always extremely risky. Outside of that, it's his only weakness but it's a weakness that could hinder him as he fights better competition.

Kamara is a dangerous striker. He's really explosive and athletic that jas played a big part in his success. Something to really appreciate about Kamara is his activity in attacking with leg kicks. Damaging leg kicks will open up other windows on the feet. It opens up the one-two and the body shots. Kamara mixes it up very well going after every part of his opponent. In the clinch, he's good as well with knees and elbows off the separation.

Kamara is someone I like to watch and is now a new fighter on my watch list. he does a lot of things missing from fighters in the major promotions. He's not fully pulled me in as takedown defense is worrying. I think at the gym he's training at he's gonna do nothing but improve.

As a result, I'll be adding Tedrick Macklin, Scottie Stockman, and Abdul Kamara to my watch list.