The Fresh Faces of UFC Vegas 47
A look at the newcomers making their promotional debut on UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hermansson
Another weekend, another fight card, another batch of fresh UFC recruits to study. This week’s card was a fair shake easier to put together than the last one, UFC 270, that had a total of eight fighters making their debut. In this instalment we have a mere (in comparison) four fighters to dive in to, with only two coming via the Dana White Contender Series program.
DENYS BONDAR - 16-3
5 KO/11 SUB
Ukraine
Age: 29
Height: 5’6”
Reach: N/A
Flyweight
Denys Bondar, fighting out of Ukraine, will finally make his UFC debut after a string of four fizzled bouts against various opponents over the course of the last year. Welcoming Bondar to the promotion in the prelim opener is Malcolm Gordon, who recently broke a two fight skid with a win over Francisco Figueiredo.
The current owner of a ten fight win streak, Bondar made his professional debut in 2015 on the Ukraine regional scene with decent success, amassing a 6-1 record in under a year. Since then, Bondar has continued to compete mainly on the Ukrainian circuit, aside from a short stint in 2019 competing in Singapore in what looks like an amateur one day tournament. Interestingly enough Bondar beat current Australian prospect Stephen Erceg to take out the tournament.
Inside the cage Bondar is quite well rounded, as you would expect from a nineteen fight veteran. He uses feints and footwork to manage distance, while looking for an opening to blast heavy counter shots, and set up the opportunity for a takedown. On the ground is where Bondar has proven most dangerous though, with eleven of his sixteen wins coming via submission; and if he can’t dispose of you that way, he’ll likely start raining down ground and pound from an awkward position like quarter-mount until the referee steps in.
Though he’s currently ranked #1 and #2 on the Caucasus regional ladder (at flyweight and bantamweight respectively), the calibre of opposition he’s faced to date has been… less than exceptional… with a majority of his opponents having under five professional bouts to their name, let alone five wins. In the last year however, Bondar seems to be bucking that trend with some slightly more experienced names under his belt, none more skilled than Malcolm Gordon though.
Denys Bondar takes on Malcolm Gordon on the preliminary card.
JAILTON ALMEIDA - 14-2
5 KO/ 9 SUB
Brazil
Age: 30
Height: 6’3”
Reach: 79”
Light Heavyweight
Making his UFC debut, fresh off of a Dana White Contender Series submission win in late 2021 is an absolute specimen of a light heavyweight in Jailton Almeida; seriously, this guy is jacked like Johnny Walker.
An expert grappler, Almeida has racked up nine submission wins in his sixteen fight MMA career so far, earning himself the #1 ranking on the Brazilian regional scene at light heavyweight, along with a couple victories at heavyweight just for good measure. In his most recent outing on DWCS, Almeida demonstrated his grappling ability against a combat sambo specialist, controlling the fight and eventually locking up a rear-naked choke in the third round.
On the feet there are still questions to be answered in regards to his striking capabilities, he obviously has power, however the skill level of some of his opponents is nowhere near what he’ll face in the UFC. Though being the son of a professional boxing trainer, and having trained in the sport since the age of eight does help alleviate those worries to some degree
Almeida enters the promotion on a nine fight winning streak, with all nine of those bouts ending via finish before the third round.
Jailton Almeida takes on Danilo Marques on the preliminary card.
CHIDI NJOKUANI - 20-7
12 KO/1 SUB/7 DEC
USA
Age: 33
Height: 6’3”
Reach: 80”
Middleweight
Chidi Njokuani is the most experienced fighter making their UFC debut on this weekend’s card. You may have seen his name if you’ve paid attention to Bellator over the last few years, as he had an eight fight stint in the promotion, eventually losing two in a row and moving over to LFA in 2020.
In his DWCS bout (in which he earned his UFC contract) Chidi found early success on the feet striking from range. The fight ultimately hit the floor, with Chidi in control for the majority of the exchanges, eventually landing some vicious elbows from the top position and forcing the referee to call off the fight.
Chidi likes to sit at range and use his feints to draw out attacks from his opposition, patiently looking for an opening to counter. If finds the fight close to the fence he’s likely to initiate a clinch, utilising his muay thai skillset and flexibility to land some absolutely disgusting knees to the body and head that have ended fights in the past.
On the ground Chidi is no slouch either. Despite him having a general preference to pick opponents apart on the feet, he’s also a blackbelt in BJJ and knows his way around if the fight hits the floor, as he demonstrated in his DWCS bout.
In regards to his overall experience level, fighting in Bellator should have, in some way, prepared him for the bright lights of the UFC and the nerves that come along with them. Chidi’s opponents records have been quite respectable over the last few years, with notable wins over names like Max Griffin in the past, so now seems to be the perfect time for him to stake his claim in the UFC’s middleweight division.
One final note… I am wetting myself at the thought of Bruce Buffer announcing Chidi ‘Chidi Bang Bang’ Njokuani on live television.
Chidi Njokuani takes on Marc-Andre Barriault on the preliminary card.
TRESEAN GORE - 3-0
1 KO/1 SUB/1 DEC
USA
Age: 27
Height: 6’0”
Reach: N/A
Middleweight
If you’re one of the few avid fans that tuned in to season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter, you’ll be well aware of who this young man is. Treasean Gore was originally slated to take on Bryan Battle in the TUF29 season finale, before suffering an injury and having to withdraw from the bout.
Tresean entered the TUF house as the fourth pick on Team Ortega, and displayed a high proficiency in his boxing skills as well as explosive power and decent takedown defence.
Throughout both (exhibition) fights on the show, Tresean used his jab to batter his opponents and establish constant forward momentum for himself, scoring knockdowns with it in the process. Once he has someone against the fence he’ll unload with heavy, sometimes winging combinations looking to finish the fight .
On the feet, his footwork is solid and you’ll often see him switching stance to assess his options, however his boxing-esq stance leaves him wide open for lead calf kicks, as was shown during the TUF bouts.
Tresean is currently under the tutelage of Douglas and Dhiego Lima out of American Top Team, as well as training under the son of Evander Hollyfield in boxing (for whatever that is worth)
As an aside, most betting outlets have Tresean Gore as the favourite in this fight, despite Bryan Battle having won the TUF season finale and another fight in the UFC already to boot, showing just how promising this young man looked.