Muhammad Lawal is probably my favorite up and coming MMA fighter. His athleticism is freakish, his style is fun, and he basically isn't scared of anyone or anything. The guy will do moves in an MMA fight that I've never saw before. He reminds me of the MMA version of Roy Jones Jr., as far as doing showboaty type moves such as putting hands behind his back and then knocking a guy down after doing it. I personally think if this guy's chin proves to be above average that he could come up and eventually give Anderson Silva a very hard fight and possibly win. The first fight I got to see of Lawal's was against Travis Wuiff, and I was very impressed. He's fairly close to my friend's house and we have talked before, when he was still wrestling. I just didn't know he had such a well rounded game, I knew he could wrestler. But I haven't saw his chin get tested by a true knockout artist so time will tell.

If you got any prospects you may know, especially really young ones with less than 10 fights or so, post their names so maybe we can go find some video footage. Peace.

Jon "Bones" jones
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson

Gegard Mousasi

Is Hazelett considered a prospect? If so, him

I'd say he's a contender. He's already mixed it up with guys like Koscheck, McCrory, and Burkman. He's got a chance to become a great fighter, his submissions are sick. I like him too.

Mariuz Zaromskis

This guy has KTFO'd three opponents in a row with a head kick, including the great Mach Sakarai

I remember when Mo Lawal was wrestling for USA wrestling. He was one those guys the Russian team did not like to go against in duals. He always caved under pressure though. I thought for sure he would be in the Olympics and it didn't happen. He lost in the trials.

As an amateur wrestler I always thought he go into the entertainment business of pro rasslin due to his outrageous entrances that would make even Terrell Owens blush. I have seen a couple odd fights of his here and there from Japan and he looks very good. He has always had the athletic talent. I think he can become a force in the MMA.

tyron woodley

Ronaldo Jacare

phil davis

Mousasi. But he's already proven isn't he? Dream GP champ, Strikeforce champ. His numbers already veteran.

yeah i dont understand why he is listed. 29 pro fights and 2 championships.

he is a vet.

imo a prospect has less than 10 fights and hasnt faced a legitimate contender yet.

Then Brock Lesnar fits the bill.

Just kidding. :-)

Sweet, you've seen more of him than I have then, or earlier than I have. I do think I caught one of his wrestling matches. I just wonder if he'll have the focus to actually make it to the top level of MMA. So far he's looked good and when I see him just toy with veterans like Travis Wuif in his first pro fight, then he destroys Mark Kerr in his last fight (although Kerr is a fat slob these days). Lawal's opponents combined record is 103 wins and 40 losses. That's pretty good since Lawal's only had 5 fights himself.

Mousasi's a contender for the pound for pound list!

He's beaten some good guys, but I don't think we have seen the full extent of his potential. I've love to see him in the UFC with the top 205lb guys.

Not gonna happen while he is with M-1!!

my top prospect pick phil davis and rolles gracie will be making their UFC debuts at 109.

real excited about davis. think he is gonna be a star.

gracie..not so much. i think the best thing about him is his name.

How do you think Gomi is going to do in the UFC? I'd like to see him and Maynard slug it out......

I'd give a prime Gomi a good chance of making waves in the division, but he's just not that guy anymore. Besides, I hear he's already signed to fight Florian for his UFC debut.

I'm picking Florian in that one.

Me too. But what's up with Dana throwing the old Pride guys to the Wolves right away? I wouldn't be surprised if Gomi packs his bags after getting whooped on by Flo.

Maybe he's trying to drive home the point that UFC was always superior to Pride. I'm sure it helps his cause that he brings these guys over when they're already past their best.

Wand, Crocop, Nog, Gomi. But hey, I guess you can make the argument that these guys don't need to be coddled with the amount of experience they already have.

Gomi style isn't suited for long term success in the UFC. Gomi's weakness is the ground and all of the top guys in the division; BJ, Floridan, Edgar, Maynard, Sherk etc. all have better wrestling/bjj than Gomi.

They aren't rookies. They are already top fighters and UFC is paying them big money. Why would White want to give them can after can to get used to the promotion? Its not like anyone who went from UFC to Pride was spoonfed, other than Baroni for some reason.

Besides, I don't think its always the case of a fighter getting a tough fight immediately. Cro Cop got a gimme in both of his UFC debut fights and Nogueira got Heath Herring someone he handidly defeated twice already.

I do admit I was surprised at CroCop how badly he turned out to be in the cage. I guess I said old Pride guys in reference to the older guys in the Pride division.

The worst thing about Rolles is that he hands out black belts like candy.

That is the problem with the majority of Gyms. There is A lot of Black Belts out there.

yeah thats a bit of a problem in BJJ

Tyron Woodley.

best prospect out there.

thats because its for profit.

a dojo will hand out belts in order to keep a steady flow of students.

its easy to take up martial arts if you think you will be a black belt in less than a year. easy to pay your fees if you think you will advance quick.

plus so many gyms charge for testing, thats become a profit area in itself.

I don't mind the matchup at all. I don't think Gomi is the fighter he used to be. So why not throw him in their with a contender so we can find out right away. That way if he loses or doesn't look good it can be because he fought another top guy. Better that than to sign him to a big money deal and have him look mediocre against a can.

good call, he'll be in the ufc in no time

Posted this awhile back, been a fan of Lawal's for awhile. The thing the other night, in an overall fairly unimpressive fight, that actually impressed me, was Lawal's heart. Lawal was the more hurt of the two fighters, swollen, took a pretty good battering with hurting, although not knockout punches when he was on top. He was unimpressive with not passing the guard and going for ground and pound from side mount and full mount positions, he just didn't work enough, and he didn't punch enough while he was on top in guard. His muscle structure makes him almost too heavy for the weight, and those muscles fatigue easier. He was gassed out by the 2nd round. Here is the impressive part, despite being hurt, and totally gassed, he pushed through a barrier a lot of musclular fighters can't push through, he fought the fatigue and went harder in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, actually wearing Mousaucey down. It wasn't his best performance to watch, but probably his best performance considering the competition. Still not sure he could beat a guy like Jones, another prospect. Lawal is still more of a prospect than Jones, Jones is a contender, although Lawal is now a champ I guess. He's not the champ of the world, or as close to the shot for the recognized belt as Bones Jones is. That's a fight I'd love to see though.