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MOORE: Breaking down the state of European fighters in the UFC (Part Four - Welterweight)
Jul 9, 2015 - 5:15:09 PM MOORE: Breaking down the state of European fighters in the UFC (Part Four - Welterweight)

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By: Dan Moore, MMATorch UK Columnist

A couple of years ago I wrote a series of articles for MMATorch covering every single European fighter on the UFC roster. As we know only too well, a lot can change in the MMA landscape, and it certainly has as far as who's still on the roster, and who isn't. Over the next few weeks I will take a look at who's on the roster in 2015 (division by division), and report on how they're all doing. I will also attempt to predict what outside talent may join them in the next year or two. This week I take a look at the UFC welterweight division (Check out part one with the heavyweight division here, part two with the light heavyweight division here, and part three with the middleweight division here).


CONTENDERS

After four successive wins, the ceiling of Gunnar Nelson (13-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was only getting higher, but then a loss to Rick Story (UFC Fight Night 53) last year provided us with confirmation that maybe Nelson isn't going all the way to the very top. It wasn't, and isn't, a complete disaster, but for me the writing was on the wall in Dublin. Nelson is a brilliant grappler but his stand-up game is distinctly average; his win over Zak Cummings (UFC Fight Night 46) highlighted that fact. His next opponent is Brandon Thatch at UFC 189 this weekend, and if he's not able to take it to the mat, Nelson can expect a very tough night.

There aren't many UFC fighters more injury prone than Tarec Saffiedine (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC). The Belgian striker has only managed to turn up for two UFC fights thus far, winning one against Hyun Gyu Lim (UFC Fight Night 34), while losing the other to Rory MacDonald (UFC Fight Night 54) in October last year. He has previously been scheduled to fight Jake Ellenberger, and later Matt Brown, but Saffiedine withdrew injured on both occasions. It's a shame he can't catch a break, because as the final Strikeforce welterweight champion he came over to the UFC with a fair amount of intrigue behind him.


VETERANS

Both Martin Kampmann (20-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and Dan Hardy (25-10 1 NC MMA, 6-4 UFC) remain on the active roster, but it is unlikely either of them will ever fight again. Kampmann started his planned hiatus almost two years ago. Not only is he a full time coach at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento CA, but he's also been dabbling on the professional poker circuit as a way to make (or lose) money. I know what I would rather do to make ends meet, but the Dane may still dust off his gloves one day soon.

Hardy, meanwhile, was diagnosed with the incredibly rare Wolff-Parkinson syndrome a couple of years ago and hasn't competitively fought since he beat Amir Sadollah in his hometown of Nottingham, at UFC on Fuel TV 5. Hardy retains an aspiration to fight again in the future, but it's looking very unlikely he ever will. For now he's found an alternative as a permanent fixture on UFC Fight Pass, working the Joe Rogan role as a colour-commentator and post-fight interviewer alongside Jon Gooden.

Another incredibly injury prone fighter is John Hathaway (17-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC). The Englishman was diagnosed with Crohn's disease several years ago, and unfortunately it has seriously hampered his fight career. In my opinion he's the most well rounded British MMA fighter in the UFC, and best suited to combating the dominating wrestling game that British fighters so often succumb to. It's been very frustrating to see him sidelined so it was great to see him lined up to fight Gunnar Nelson at UFC 189 until he withdrew again due to another injury.


ESTABLISHED

Omari Akhmedov (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has made a positive start to his UFC run, losing only one of his four fights. His sole loss came against Gunnar Nelson (UFC Fight Night 37), but recent wins over Mats Nilsson (UFC 182) and Brian Ebersole (UFC Fight Night 68) put him in the mix just outside the top 15. Pascal Krauss (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has had a tough time of it since he made his UFC debut in 2010. Non-stop injuries have led to many fight withdrawals and he hasn't fought since his loss to Hyun Gyu Lim (UFC 164) nearly two-years ago.

You've got to be a pretty talented fighter to beat Nicholas Musoke (13-4 1 NC MMA, 3-2 UFC) in this division. Only Kelvin Gastelum (UFC Fight Night 44) and Albert Tumenov (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC on Fox 14 have managed that feat so far. Musoke is a very tough and durable opponent, and although not quite good enough is a tough test for anyone. Tumenov is another Russian successfully proving his worth in the UFC. In addition to the Musoke win, he's also beaten Anthony Lapsley (UFC Fight Night 40) and Matt Dwyer (UFC Fight Night 54) since losing his UFC debut to Ildemar Alcantara (UFC Fight Night 36).

Cathal Pendred (17-2-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has a chance to extend his UFC record to 5-0 this weekend if he can beat John Howard at UFC 189. Fresh from another less-than-scintillating performance against Augusto Montano at UFC 188 last month, Pendred accepted the fight with Howard after original opponent Brandon Thatch was promoted o fight Gunnar Nelson. Another man yet to suffer defeat in the UFC is the Frenchman, Nordine Taleb (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) who's reeled off three-successive wins against admittedly sub-standard opposition. He faces a tougher test against Warlley Alves at UFC 190 next month.

Peter Sobotta (15-4-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is proof to everyone that a UFC release doesn't have to mean the end of your career in the big leagues. After losing three-successive fights a few years ago, Sobotta earned a recall following a five-fight win streak, and he's since followed that up with two very impressive UFC wins against Pawel Pawlak (UFC Fight Night 41) and Steven Kennedy (UFC Fight Night 69) only last month after initially being scheduled to face Sergio Moraes.


NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Not much to say about Sultan Aliev (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). He came into his UFC debut with a good reputation, and Kenny Robertson (UFC on FOX 14) demolished it in less than three-minutes. The same thing may happen to Adam Khaliev (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) if and when he finally makes his UFC debut. A fight with Pascal Krauss didn't happen and there's nothing on the radar as at the time of writing this article.

Two former Cage Warrior stars, Tom Breese (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Nicolas Dalby (14-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), both made their UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 67 in Brazil, and both came away victorious. Englishman Breese stopped Luiz Dutra, while Dalby, who's from Denmark, won a decision over fellow debutant, Elizeu Zaleski. Both are undefeated and both are young enough to go onto bigger and better things in the division.

It's not everyday an Englishman has a great night in the Octagon, but like Tom Breese, both Leon Edwards (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Darren Till (13-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) put in excellent performances in their last fight. Edwards blasted Seth Baczynski in only eight-seconds at UFC Fight Night 64, and Till submitted Wendell Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 67 on his debut to remain undefeated at 13-0. Pawel Pawlak (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) bounced back from his debut loss to Peter Sobotta (mentioned above) to record a disputable decision victory over Sheldon Westcott (UFC Fight Night 64) in front of his home country fans in Krakow, Poland.


HEADING FOR THE EXIT

Not every Russian has entered the UFC and destroyed everything in their path, because Gasan Umalatov (15-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) certainly hasn't. Granted he's had some tough fights, but a sole win over the ageing Paulo Thiago at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale isn't up to the expected standard. If Cathal Pendred can make him look distinctly ordinary, Umalatov must know his time is almost up unless he starts winning. Andreas Stahl (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is currently 0-1 and can't seem to catch a break. After losing to Gilbert Burns (UFC on FOX 12), the Swede was paired with Kyle Noke (UFC Fight Night 65), and then Viscardi Andrade (UFC Fight Night 70), but both never happened for varying reasons and he'll have to wait even longer to get back to winning ways.


NOT IN A MILLION YEARS

As much as I would love to see it, there's no way on earth Paul Daley (36-13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) ever fights again in the UFC. He was released for sucker punching Josh Koscheck after their fight at UFC 113 and Dana White also banned him for eternity. Many thought he may eventually relent, but that hasn't happened and never will. Daley now fights for Bellator where a potential title fight with Douglas Lima awaits him if he beats Dennis Olsen at Bellator 140. It also won't be too long before we see a Daley vs. Koscheck rematch.


ON THE RADAR

Every division has a couple of Russians who are worth signing, and welterweight is no different with both Andrey Koreshkov (17-1 MMA) and Sergey Khandozhko (19-1-1 MMA) in the mix. Koreshkov is unfortunately a no go right now because he's contracted to Bellator and due to fight Douglas Lima for the Bellator welterweight title later this month. 23 year old Khandozhko is more accessible if the UFC want to sign him, having last fought for Absolute Championship Berkut back in April.

I would love to see Michael Page (7-0 MMA) fight in the UFC, but again he's contracted to Bellator and they won't let him go anytime soon. He would almost certainly get beat by anyone in the UFC top 15, but his style is great to watch and he guarantees entertainment. Another very good English talent is Danny Roberts (11-1 MMA) who currently plies his trade in the soon to return, Cage Warriors. His chance to leave may've passed him by, but anyone who finishes Jim Wallhead inside a round is worth keeping an eye on.

Two more worthwhile future signings are David Khachatryan (19-2 MMA) and Aslambek Saidov (16-4 MMA). Khachatryan is Armenian and just reaching his prime, while Saidov currently fights for KSW in his native Poland. The latter lost a rematch to Borys Mankowski (17-5 MMA), but all three of them would enhance the UFC product ready for a continued assault on the European market next year.


I'm away in Vegas for UFC 189 this weekend so the lightweight division report will be posted in two-weeks time.

Follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchDan and share your opinion on anything I've written.

[Dan Hardy art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]