International fight week has lived up to expectations once again, we had two great UFC events as two more fighters won The Ultimate Fighter, and the coaches went head to head to decide who would become the baddest man on the planet and obtain the UFC heavyweight title. In this article, I’m going to take you through some of the key highlights of the week and I plan on making this a weekly article to keep everyone updated on whats going on in the world of MMA.
Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter is going to be hitting our screens very soon, now that filming has finished and the editors are doing their bit before the season premiers, Coaches Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, were no doubt super excited about making this season, with all the contestants being undefeated professionals. I wanted to take the opportunity before the show starts to dig deep into the fighters careers, and help you get to know the fighters a little before we see them go toe to toe in TV’s greatest challenge on their quest to become The Ultimate Fighter!
I was fortunate enough to catch some of the fighters for an interview which will also feature in this article. It’s going to be a long article, but I promise you by the end of it you will be more excited about a TUF season than you ever have before.
All interviews were conducted by myself Ryan Cambridge of MMAMotion
Featherweights
England’s own Jay Cucciniello is one of the most exciting prospects coming out of the UK. With a perfect 6-0 record, the Englishmen has never needed the judges to decide his fate as he has finished every single fight since turning pro. in 2010. Lightning fast fists and a slick submission game means that Cucciniello is definitely one to watch on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, as he looks to leave behind his days at AFL and EFC and lay down the law in mixed martial arts greatest proving ground. The Englishmen was also ranked in the top 10 of AFL’s K.Os of the year in 2016 with a crisp knockout victory over Kiko Marinho.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
JC: My dad was a massive reason for getting me into MMA always been fighting. My best MMA memory was watching Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler bad ass fight.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
JC: My work rate and heart is my strongest ability.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
I will bring breathtaking fights, lots of heart, and determination.
Team Alpha Male’s Tyler Diamond has an impressive 9-0 professional record, fighting in different organisations since making his pro. debut three years ago. Diamond’s main home has been in GKO where he is the current featherweight champion. Diamond is a proven K.O artist, with five of his nine wins coming by way of knockout. The Californian will be hoping his time training with the likes of Uriah Faber, Cody Garbrandt, Joseph Benavidez and Andre Fili, will give him the advantage over guys who haven’t been as fortunate with the calibre of training partners as he has.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
TD: What got me first into MMA was when a couple of local fighters came into my high school wrestling room & wrestled with me. They noticed I was a tough kid & invited me to train with them once the season was over & I took them up on it. My first MMA memory was training in a garage with no electricity & doing a lot of sparring. I really enjoyed throwing hands & fighting dudes that were a lot older than I was at the time.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
TD: What sets me apart from most of the fighters in TUF is that they haven’t been through the division 1 wrestling grind like me. I train very hard & at a pace a lot of people have a hard time keeping up with & it sets me apart from a lot of fighters.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
TD: If things go according to plan I’ll bring an incredible fight every single time. I love to throw heavy hands, have a ton of heart & will never quit. It’s impossible for me to be in a boring fight. I can compete with anyone in the world & I’m ready to show that.
Thank you for answering my questions, do you have anything you’d like to add?
TD: Outside of fighting I really enjoy spending time with my family & being in the outdoors. Specifically, I love to hunt & have a deep appreciation for wildlife.
Canada’s own Brad Katona is moving up a weight class from his usual bantamweight bouts. He has fought at featherweight before, so he must be comfortable with the extra weight and must enjoy the benefits of a lesser weight cut. Katona has fought in various different organisations while accumulating his 6-0 pro. record, where he has shown his impressive submission skills. Also known to take the fight the whole 15 minutes, the 26-year old feels confident he can always do enough to sway the judges to make the correct call when they are required.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
BK: My journey into MMA was very natural looking back on it. I was a big fan of Power Rangers when I was young so when my parents gave my brother and me our choice of taking hockey or karate classes; we chose karate. After getting my black belt when I was 14 years old it was then time to move onto another Martial Art as my interest in karate was starting to waver. I was fortunate enough to find the best Jiu-jitsu gym in my hometown, the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts and with the help of Curtis Brigham, my coach, the sport of MMA quickly became my passion. My earliest MMA memory was when I was very young. I remember watching when Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz at UFC 40 with my dad. I had no idea who they were or what the sport of MMA was but I couldn’t stop watching.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
BK: I believe the intangible characteristics of a fighter are what set me apart from the rest of the cast. My mindset, focus and ability to draw energy from the stresses of fighting and the house are what will allow me to excel in the competition.
When you step inside the cage with Bryce Mitchell be sure of one thing, he wants to get you down to the canvass, make you wish you hadn’t been born, then submit your ass! The current V3 featherweight champion has a staggering eight submission victories in his nine undefeated pro. fights. He even won five of six amateur fights by submission. With submission skills that even Royce Gracie would appreciate, I’m sure “Thug Nasty” will go far in the tournament.
Suman Mokhtarian was born in Iran and now lives in Australia and is the younger brother of Ashkan Mokhtarian who recently signed with the UFC. A submission specialist much like Bryce Mitchel,l the Iranian has won six of eight pro. fights by submission and is the first to ever win a fight via a “tee-pee” choke. Mokhtarian also has a knockout victory on his resume and the 25-year old is not afraid to stand the centre of the cage and exchange leather.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
SM: What got me into MMA was actually from my early memories I remember I watched TUF1 and thought it was some insane one-off show and one day I was sitting with my older brother Ashkan watching tv and on tv popped up local MMA and Robert Whittaker was making his pro. debut, my brother said he could do that but at the time had a drug problem so I put him down and pretty much told him there was no way he could and he wanted to prove to me he could do it cause I didn’t believe in him, I found a gym not too far away and I took him there to watch him get his ass kicked ….. the rest is history
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
Dulani “FightGod” Perry is coming into this season with a perfect 4-0 record. The Paradigm prospect has wow’d many since debuting in 2016, With a submission victory and 3 decisions to his name “FightGod” will behoping to extend his perfect record throughout the show and into the UFC. Dont sleep on Perry’s hands either, he can drop any man on his night! 100% one to watch on this show, and will thrive under the pressure of The Ultimate Fighter.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
DP: What got me into MMA was getting tired of being a practitioner of karate where Self-Defense was more the goal and wanted to learn more how to simply “whip somebody’s ass” if I had to.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
DP: What sets me apart from the rest of the fighters on TUF is 1) that I am already successful previous to going on the show which shows that I already have a business mindset and that I can carry myself further in the business of the sport rather then just fight like millions of other fighters in the world can do. 2) im representing a whole culture of people (Urban Hip-Hop culture) that has not been tapped into the sport of mixed martial arts yet so I’m a huge eye opener to the unaware and drawing a whole new crowd of people to pay attention to the sport other then those whole already have been paying attention to it. 3) I’m just an all around more marketable human being then the rest of them being that other then just fighting I have so many other talents as well.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
DP: Just as I said earlier I feel I will put a whole new spotlight on this sport coming from people who don’t really no much of this sport now. (The youth of the urban hip-hop culture, specifically blacks and Hispanics from the inner low income cities of the United States and across the world). Which wat I believe will help lower the violence and poverty rates across the United States and also the world. And Finally I will just be bringing a whole lot of swag, a whole lot of flava and a whole lot of entertainment.
Kyler “Matrix” Phillips is one of the most exciting prospects heading into this season. At the age of just 22, the American has won all five of his fights, three knockouts, one submission, and one decision. Phillips has got some of the fastest hands in MMA and has razor sharp elbows too. “Matrix” ground game is something to be admired as well, he is not happy to just sit in one position, constantly trying to better his position and throw tremendous ground and pound in the process. Phillips has all the tools to go the distance this season, let’s hope he lives up to the expectations.
Ricky “The Karate Kid” Steele is a fun fighter to watch, he is 5-0 and won all five fights by unanimous decision. Although Steele has yet to finish a fight, he always does enough for the judges to score the fight in his favour, and has proved to be a very tricky opponent as he’s more than comfortable regardless of where the fight ends up.
Lightweights
Thai “Landshark” Clark is going to be a hard fight for anyone this season. He became an amateur fighter in 2011 and spent some time on the regional circuit before turning pro. in 2014. As a pro, Clark has a 7-0 record and has shown his dominance in abundance. The majority of “Landshark’s” wins have been via decision, but the 28-year old has knockouts and submissions in him, and I’m sure we will see just that in The Ultimate Fighter!
Joe “Skeletor” Giannetti is a submission specialist of the highest calibre. He has one thing on his mind while fighting and that’show he’s going to get the fight to the floor. Then some perfectly executed Brazilian jiu-jitsu before finally putting you in a submission that you just can’t escape from. A pro. record of 6-0 and five of them victories have come by tapout. Giannetti has the tools to defeat any human in his way at 155lbs.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
JG: I’ve always gotten into fights growing up, because kids would pick on me for being fat, so my junior year of high school when people start talking about college and what they wanted to do with their lives I decided I was going to be a fighter, because it was the only thing I was good at. My senior year my wrestling team Couldn’t use the cafeteria for practice, so my coach brought us to his MMA gym south shore Sportfighting. I stuck around afterwards for jiu-jitsu class and I was hooked! the rest is history.
My first MMA memory is when I accepted my very first amateur fight and nobody could believe I was actually going to fight
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
John “The Machine” Gunther is one of the more versatile fighters on this season of The Ultimate Fighter. He can punch a hole through his opponents face leaving them on the floor wondering which day it is, catches them in a nasty submission and tries to pull off whichever limb he has hold of and he can grind out 15 minutes of hard graft to sway the judges in his favour. With a 6-0 pro. record, it’s going to take quite a fighter to take that clean record away from “The Machine”!
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
JG: I grew up doing judo. I never saw any MMA until about 6 years ago. There was a class at this community college I was going to in Mansfield oh. It seemed difficult/interesting so I tried it. My first fight was probably my first real memory. I just did it to challenge myself but then I was hooked. I started watching UFC, training all the time and became a full-blown addict.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
JG: I think the thing that distinguishes me from the other TUF fighters is my realization that if you don’t quit you can’t fail; and my willingness to work harder than everyone else.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
JG: I’m just gonna bring my mouthpiece and my cup! I’ll bring some friends in there if they let me! But hopefully, it’s a very one-sided relationship. Ideally, they’ll bring the things and I’ll do the taking! They bring opponents, I take them down. They bring the belts I get something to hold my pants up!
Thank you for answering my questions, do you have anything you’d like to add?
JG: I don’t want to dazzle you with my incredible math skills so I’ll just add something simple, 1+1= 1
Jose Martinez Jr has a 4-0 pro. record and has won two of the four fights by TKO. Martinez’ ability to close the distance, land shots and return back to a safe distance away from counters, makes him a real threat this season. With some serious ground and pound behind him, Ohio’s up and comer is not afraid to get taken down either, no opponent is safe anywhere inside the cage against Martinez.
24-year-old Luis Pena has answered all questions asked of him since turning pro. in 2016. Pena has a perfect 4-0 record and became the World Collide lightweight champion in his last pro. fight. Pena is another well-rounded fighter and is expected to go far in the tournament. Pena has never needed the judges to score the fight, with three submissions and a knockout victory, the 24-year-old much prefers to keep fate in his own hands. Favouring his Brazilian jiu-jitsu, some may take Pena’s stand up game for granted, but if you do that you’ll be spitting teeth in no time.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
LP: I was always a fan of MMA especially after I started wrestling. After dropping out of college I volunteered to help coach at my high school and worked in the back of a restaurant, eventually one of my old rivals from my high school days on the mat hit me up and asked if I’d help him come in and help one of his training partners get ready to fight a wrestler. I went in and the rest is history. I’ve been training and competing ever since.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
LP: I’m the complete total package. I’ve got the look, I can articulate myself well, have natural talent and physical gifts, as well as a champions mindset and incomparable work ethic.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
LP: I’m bringing them their next great star no matter what.
Richie Smullen is one of the new exciting breeds coming through from Ireland. The 26-year-old has three wins and a draw on his record and has fought on two occasions for Europe’s top organisation BAMMA. Smullen is very bouncy like a boxer, always drifting in and out of the pocket delivering shots to put his opponent’s lights out. The Irishman also has two heel hook submission wins, so that’s definitely something to keep an eye out for on this season. Smullen will no doubt love the pressure of having SBG on his shoulders and will live up to the expectations of Coach Kavanagh and everyone at the gym.
Mike Trizano, 6-0, two K.O’s, two submissions and two decisions, is there anything this kid cannot do? The 26-year-old takes in a wealth of experience too, being the ROC featherweight champion and even fighting for Bellator in his last fight. New Jersey’s up and comer seems patient in his fights, he’s more than happy to sit back and calculate, but the second you throw a sloppy punch, a Mike Tyson style left hook will come back at you. Folding opponents up like a deck chair seems to be a hobby of Trizano’s.
What got you into MMA and what is your first MMA Memory?
MT: I always wanted to fight and one of my friends told me about tiger Schulmann’s so I went and took a class and I was hooked ever since. My first MMA memory is when I won my amateur MMA debut, one of the best feelings finishing the fight by submission in the first round.
What sets you apart from the rest of the fighters in TUF?
MT: What sets me apart from the rest of the fighters is without a doubt my work ethic. Everyone is very talented especially at this level so outworking everyone is key to success.
What do you feel you’ll bring to the UFC if things go as planned?
MT: If all goes as planned I plan on bringing a lot of violence and blood in the UFC. The Lone Wolf always looks to feast on his opponent’s flesh.
Thank you for answering my questions, do you have anything you’d like to add?
MT: Always a pleasure. No one is more hungry than The Lone Wolf.
Allan “Tigre” Zuniga has a 13-0 record. Yes, you read that right, 13-0! How he hasn’t found himself in the UFC already is a mystery. However, I am sure he is more hungry than ever to win the golden ticket to the UFC. Four submission victories and three knockout victories have placed “Tigre” as one of the favourites to run away with this season. When you watch Zuniga you can expect explosive punches and kicks from all angles and a slick submission game to back it all up. One of the front-runners for sure!
To summarise, this is going to be the best season to date without a shadow of a doubt. I’m so excited to see how this unfolds and I hope with my article that you’re just that little bit more excited too. Now you know a little bit more about the men stepping into the octagon to fight for the chance of a lifetime, and chase every mixed martial artist’s biggest dream, a contract with The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Ryan Cambridge
MMAMotion