UFC 283 – New Blood: Fiercer by the half-dozen

A world Final Preventing Championship (UFC) occasion means worldwide newcomers, and Saturday’s present (Jan. 21, 2023) inside Jeunesse Area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is not any totally different. On this version of New Blood, the collection the place I take a look at UFC Vegas 68’s 10 newcomers with all-consuming drear, we try a half-dozen newbies from Legacy Preventing Alliance (LFA) and Contender Sequence.

As all the time, all episodes of the latest Contender Sequence season are on ESPN+. Most of LFA’s latest occasions will be discovered on Battle Go, too.

Brunno “The Hulk” Ferreira

Weight Class: MiddleweightAge: 30Record: 9-0 (6 KO, 3 SUB)Notable Victories: Leon Aliu

Ferreira battered his manner onto Contender Sequence by ending every of his first eight skilled bouts in lower than seven minutes apiece. His effectivity as soon as once more confirmed itself on the massive stage, the place he crushed Leon Aliu in simply 95 seconds.

He steps in for the injured Brad Tavares on lower than two weeks’ discover.

A comparatively quick 5’10” Middleweight, Ferreira makes up for his lack of dimension with mild ft and nonstop stance switches, sometimes frivolous, however usually blended into his strikes. Although equally efficient from both stance, he appears to desire kicking from southpaw. He’s not a lot of a jabber, however he makes up for it with eye-catching velocity and energy.

As a lot as he likes to blow up into vary and tee off, I really assume he’s higher on the counter. He does an ideal job of subtly switching stances as he retreats to disguise which aspect is his energy aspect, and he has nice timing, as seen when he obliterated Sebastiao Ferreira with a one-hitter quitter and clipped Leon Aliu with a test hook to arrange the end.

He actually may use a jab, although. Harmful as he’s, he can’t skate by on his athleticism endlessly. As we’ve seen from bodily monsters like Rafael Alves, energy isn’t all that helpful in case your opponent sees all the things coming.

He has a Plan B, although, and that’s his highly effective double-leg takedown. He performs a heavy high sport, however every now and then he’ll seemingly simply resolve to face up and begin blasting away with punches and hammer fists to surprisingly good impact. He does appear to be missing in management, although, as journeyman Properly Oliveira managed to dislodge him a pair instances earlier than Ferreira bombed him out.

Ferreira is a ton of enjoyable, however with out a bit extra polish to his get up, odds are he’ll be caught within the “Motion Fighter” class for some time. He ought to no less than make for an ideal combat with Gregory Rodrigues, even when “Robocop” figures to overpower him.

Tape:

Gabriel “Marretinha” Bonfim

Weight Class: WelterweightAge: 25Record: 13-0 (3 KO, 10 SUB)Notable Victories: Trey Waters, Eduardo Garvon, Brenner Alberth

The youthful of the Bonfim brothers claimed LFA’s Welterweight title with a 79-second d’arce choke end of Eduardo Garvon. He obtained his Contender Sequence shot six months later towards Trey Waters, whom he completed through Von Flue choke late within the first spherical.

Don’t let that end ratio idiot you, although, as a result of Bonfim’s obtained arms. He’s reportedly a Brazilian nationwide boxing champion with one of many nastiest jabs I’ve seen in a while. His arms are quick, they’re heavy, and he places them collectively fantastically. When he will get the prospect to plant his ft and lets the mixtures go, it’s poetry in movement. He doesn’t neglect the physique or his counters, both.

Seeing him in motion, it shouldn’t shock you that he’s Vicente Luque’s sparring companion. The bloodlust is a lifeless giveaway.

That mentioned, there are nonetheless some points, chief amongst them an absence of head motion. He does a little bit of side-to-side wiggling whereas stalking, however as soon as he begins throwing, that chin is there for the taking. Grappling specialist Brenner Alberth almost knocked him out when Bonfim lingered within the pocket, and the taller, rangier Waters constantly broken him by firing counters any time Bonfim led with the jab.

Plus, he could be a bit over-reliant on the test hook and on leaning again out of attain when below hearth.

Fortunately, he does possess a stout floor sport. He’s obtained excellent steadiness on the ft, some surprisingly technical chain-wrestling, and Luque’s evil d’arce choke. Although most of his submissions came visiting restricted competitors, he clearly is aware of what he’s doing.

Bonfim’s obtained a ton of potential and figures to safe quite a few “of the Night time” bonuses throughout his UFC keep. A High 15 berth undoubtedly isn’t out of the query. Like Luque, although, there’s solely so lengthy you’ll be able to depend on your chin earlier than issues go south.

He’s favored in his UFC debut towards Mounir Lazzez, however for me it’s near a good combat. Lazzez is a particularly adept kickboxer in his personal proper, and if he can get his low kicks going and hold Bonfim at a distance, he’s obtained an actual shot at handing “Marretinha” his first defeat.

Tape: The one issues obtainable on YouTube have been outdated, so try Battle Go for the LFA bouts.

Ismael “Marreta” Bonfim

Weight Class: LightweightAge: 27Record: 18-3 (8 KO, 4 SUB)Notable Victories: Nariman Abbasov, Andrey Augusto, Rangel de Sa

The elder Bonfim has not tasted defeat since a 2014 loss to Renato Moicano, which left his skilled report at 6-3. His present 12-fight win streak features a pair of spectacular wins below the LFA banner and a dominant determination over Nariman Abbasov on Contender Sequence.

Like brother Gabriel, Bonfim is a talented boxer whose sport is constructed round a stinging, educated jab. Although not fairly as quick or devastating as “Marretinha,” Bonfim makes up for it with superior defensive consciousness and a deeper, simpler countering sport. Of word are his nasty uppercut and the vicious left hook to the physique he throws with equal ease as a lead or a counter, the latter of which he used to steadily dismantle Abbasov. I’d wish to name discover to the way in which he retains his proper hand glued to his face whereas throwing the left, as properly — it’s uncommon to see somebody who protects himself as he throws that manner.

He additionally boasts some sturdy kicks, typically thrown from Southpaw, and correct, well-timed knees within the inside.

As for his shortcomings, I’d say the largest is a bent to let his again hit the fence earlier than circling. Abbasov discovered early success with strain, as did earlier opponent Andrey Augusto, who at one level exploited Bonfim’s excessive guard to shoot beneath it behind a flurry. These counters did handle to scare Abbasov away from pressuring for the remainder of the combat, although, so there’s some synergy there.

Past that, he loops his proper hand a bit an excessive amount of and he appears to wrestle with leg kicks. It obtained to the purpose that somewhat than test them towards Augusto, he was reaching all the way down to catch them, which may finish very poorly.

Additionally like Gabriel, he’s a really strong defensive wrestler and stands up shortly when taken down. Augusto did handle to maintain him caught towards the fence for an extended whereas, however couldn’t get any actual offense going, and Bonfim was hammering him with elbows and punches whereas defending.

Bonfim is one other very promising addition to UFC’s ranks, and whereas he would possibly lack an “X-factor” with which to interrupt into the Light-weight division’s ultra-stacked high tier, he’ll take pleasure in loads of success within the Octagon. He’s undoubtedly in for a helluva debut towards Terrance McKinney, although. I’ve obtained McKinney round 60/40, so we’ll see if “Marreta” is as much as the duty.

Tape:

Luan Lacerda

Weight Class: BantamweightAge: 30Record: 12-1 (10 SUB)Notable Victories: Nariman Abbasov, Wellington Lopes, Raulian Paiva

Nova Uniao’s Lacerda — undefeated since a 2014 loss to grappling ace Ary Farias — enters the Octagon within the midst of a 10-fight win streak. Stated streak consists of 9 finishes, together with a rear-naked choke submission of Marciley Alves in Could 2022.

Full disclosure: I didn’t have a lot latest footage of Lacerda to work with. I discovered his most up-to-date LFA bout, however the one earlier than was on the “Prelims,” which Battle Go for some motive declined to archive. Every thing else obtainable was half a decade old-fashioned, so I’ll simply be working with the Alves combat.

Lacerda is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace initially. Although he confirmed off a brilliant slick single-leg, he’s more than pleased to drag guard as soon as he’s obtained a grip in your leg. From there, he can threaten with both a leglock or a sweep to get into dominant place. He’s so assured in his floor sport that he went for and efficiently hit a heel hook from high half guard towards Tayron Pedro, his second-most-recent foe.

He’s clearly as a lot a wizard on the mat as his report would counsel, although there’s nonetheless plenty of work to be finished on the ft. To his credit score, his placing is loads useful, particularly his counters and his highly effective physique kick. He’s typically one-and-done exterior the one-two mixture and may load up on the correct, however the true situation is his footwork and cage consciousness. It’s far, far too straightforward to get him to again himself into the fence, and he’ll attempt to retreat alongside it as a substitute of discovering an angle when pressured. Alves discovered a ton of success simply staying in Lacerda’s face and firing flurries, plus some low kicks that took benefit of Lacerda’s upright stance.

Other than that, Lacerda doesn’t appear significantly explosive, which is a matter when his stage adjustments aren’t all the time the very best. He has some nice strikes, don’t get me flawed; I beloved his delicate stance change into single-leg. Simply as usually, although, his pictures would get snuffed out and power him to drag guard.

Lacerda is an immensely expert jiu-jitsu participant, and I count on him to carry his personal in that space even towards sturdy UFC Bantamweights. That poor footwork and lack of athleticism are going to chunk him earlier than he will get too far up the ranks, although, beginning with debut foe Cody Stamann. Stamann is a particularly sturdy wrestler and a deceptively good striker, so whereas “Spartan’s” submission protection has failed him earlier than, he’s ok to sprawl-and-brawl to victory right here.

Tape: Nothing obtainable on YouTube.

Daniel “Soncora” Marcos

Weight Class: BantamweightAge: 29Record: 13-0 (7 KO)Notable Victories: Brandon Lewis

In lower than one yr, Marcos amassed six newbie victories to arrange a Sept. 2015 skilled debut. After an ideal (12-0) run noticed him win and defend a regional title, he spent almost three years on the sidelines, returning in 2022 with a dominant win over Brandon Lewis on Contender Sequence.

Again in 2019, shortly earlier than that large layoff, Marcos was a deeply underwhelming grinder with extraordinarily restricted get up. He definitely spent his free time correctly, creating into a really efficient kickboxer with wonderful defensive grappling. He’s obtained two major modes relying on whether or not he needs to steer or combat off the again foot. Within the former case, he’s a stalking mixture puncher who’s more than pleased to combine it up, usually willingly planting his ft and dripping his head when opponents step in in order that he can commerce arms inside. Within the latter, he’ll use good lateral motion to land crippling low kicks and stroll opponents into shock proper arms, usually sneakily switching stance to arrange out-of-nowhere counter pictures.

A weapon price mentioning is his entrance kick, which he landed no less than 3 times on Lewis. It’s remarkably quick and may land at wholly surprising distances (the primary one was virtually level clean and nonetheless had sufficient juice to knock Lewis crazy).

Points come up between distances. When advancing, Marcos makes use of a “marching” type of method in that he’ll repeatedly change stances as he lets the mixtures go. At instances, nevertheless, he’ll telegraph his entry with large, dramatic steps. That is most seen within the flying knee he likes to unleash, although he’ll additionally do large windups on punches and different methods at instances.

Additionally of word is the truth that he visibly gassed out towards Lewis. He fully compromised Lewis’ lead leg late within the second, however seemingly lacked the juice to truly attempt to do away with him within the third. Whereas I’m keen to chalk that as much as cage rust, it’s one thing to remember.

Grappling-wise, he confirmed off very nice takedown protection towards Lewis, by no means even letting him get a lot management time on the fence regardless of giving up a few physique locks. The one time Lewis managed to pull him down, Marcos slipped out of the tried again take and let him up.

General, he’s a high quality operator. Not contender materials since UFC’s Bantamweight division is so egregiously loaded, however a great fighter and a worthy signing. Put him in with different strikers and have a ball, like we’ll take pleasure in in his debut towards Saimon Oliveira. It’s a little bit of a mirror match, one during which I barely favor Oliveira’s stronger physique of labor and ostensibly superior cardio.

Tape: Right here’s his second-most latest combat from 2019.

Melquizael “Melk” Costa

Weight Class: LightweightAge: 26Record: 19-5 (7 KO, 6 SUB)Notable Victories: Junior Melo, Leandro Santos

Costa bounced again from a 1-3 skid, profitable seven of his subsequent eight, the lone loss a slim one to Italo Gomes. He final noticed motion in Nov. 2022, when he evened up his LFA report by stopping Junior Melo within the third spherical.

He replaces Guram Kutateladze on round two weeks’ discover.

I watch tape in chronological order, and name me a softy, however it all the time warms my coronary heart when a fighter addresses all of the considerations I had between fights. When he confronted Gomes, Costa employed an easy gameplan: pound away with southpaw roundhouse kicks and reply with punching mixtures at any time when Gomes tried to step in and smother his offense. Although he confirmed off some very good wrinkles, corresponding to spinning methods and a pleasant behavior of knocking Gomes away with a aspect kick at any time when he missed with a spherical, the predictability allowed Gomes to tie up and hit sufficient takedowns to eke out the win.

He was worlds higher when he met Melo. Along with being rather more keen to steer along with his arms, he did an ideal job of following his lead kicks with punches. I’m all the time a sucker for following a kick with a punch from the identical aspect, so he instantly obtained into my good graces. He additionally confirmed a great understanding of setups, as seen when he adopted a lead left to the physique with an overhand left that put Melo down for the depend.

Whereas I’d wish to see him load up a bit much less on his punches and do a greater job of holding his rear hand up when he jabs, the prognosis for his improvement is loads promising.

In each fights, he proved considerably straightforward to take down however extremely troublesome to carry down. He scrambles properly and sweeps properly, and although he doesn’t appear to be as a lot of a submission risk as his report would counsel, he can do some good work with elbows from the highest.

Costa is expert and well-rounded sufficient to achieve success across the center of the Light-weight pack, although he’ll seemingly wrestle with higher-level wrestlers and strikers. That features debut foe Thiago Moises, who ought to overpower “Melk” on the mat.

Tape: Nothing latest on YouTube.

Keep in mind that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of the whole UFC 283 combat card proper right here, beginning with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches on-line, that are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ABC/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, earlier than the PPV principal card begin time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

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