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Fighters on the Rise | UFC Atlanta
Spotlighting Three Ascending Talents Set To Compete This Weekend In Atlanta
As the UFC returns to Atlanta this weekend with a strong fight card headlined by a critical welterweight pairing between former champ Kamaru Usman and surging contender Joaquin Buckley, the city’s NBA team feels like a fitting comparison for this week’s edition of Fighters on the Rise.
While the Hawks missed the playoffs this past season, there is reason for optimism, as the young trio of Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Zaccharie Risacher have all shown heaps of promise and look to be cornerstone pieces the organization can look to build around going forward. Johnson has played four seasons, Daniels has completed three seasons, and Risacher just wrapped his rookie year, with each bringing different pieces to the table, with talent evaluators in agreement that the best is still to come from each of the three.
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The same can be said of the three ascending mixed martial artists below. Though it’s still early days for each in terms of their UFC journeys, the initial returns have been spectacular and they should be on everyone’s radar as we head towards the weekend and another opportunity to evaluate these three blue-chip talents.
Mansur Abdul-Malik
Mansur Abdul-Malik Knocks Out Nick Klein In Round 2 | UFC Seattle
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Mansur Abdul-Malik Knocks Out Nick Klein In Round 2 | UFC Seattle
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The undefeated middleweight fighting out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas has been making waves through his first two UFC starts.
After earning his place on the roster with a second-round stoppage win over Wes Schultz last summer on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), Abdul-Malik made a relatively quick turnaround, winning his promotional debut by first-round stoppage in a bout with Dusko Todorovic in November. Earlier this year in Seattle, the 8-0 prospect showed poise and maturity by waiting for his opportunity to attack and dispatching Nick Klein with swiftness once it materialized.
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The 27-year-old looks like a five-tool talent, combining good size and athleticism for the division with a strong work ethic, eagerness to learn and grow, and the kind of natural instincts and abilities that serve as a strong foundation for learning. Even over just his last three fights, you can see the maturation and development in not only his skills, but his understanding of how to deploy them as well.
Those are the intangible things that can differentiate a good prospect from a great prospect, and someone that can be a Top 15 staple from an individual capable of challenging for championship gold. While Abdul-Malik still has a long way to go before he’s ready to be included in either conversation, the early returns have been positive and put him on a trajectory to where he could one day emerge as a title contender.
Saturday’s matchup with Cody Brundage serves as a great opportunity to see how much further Abdul-Malik has grown in the last couple of months and how he contends with a much more seasoned opponent than those he’s faced to date. While the results haven’t always been there for Brundage, the Factory X Muay Thai representative is coming off a quality first-round stoppage win over Julian Marquez and will be making his 12th trek into the UFC cage.
A standout effort over Brundage isn’t going to fast track him up the rankings, but it can certainly reset the baseline expectations for Abdul-Malik heading into the back half of the year. A 3-0 start in the UFC is always impressive and a good way to get things rolling, and if Abdul-Malik is able to make that happen this weekend, expect there to be even more optimism and excitement about his future heading into his fourth appearance inside the Octagon.
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Oumar Sy
If we’re assigning one member of the Hawks’ young core to each member of this week’s Fighters on the Rise collective, Sy would be Jalen Johnson, the Duke University product who put up career highs across the board last season, only to have an injury limit him to 36 games. Even though both he and Risacher are French, Johnson is still the more appropriate comp; Abdul-Malik is more akin to last year’s No. 1 overall pick.
Honestly, the Frenchman is simply a larger version of Abdul-Malik: an undefeated, developing light heavyweight riding an 11-fight winning streak that is still a little green, but has shown reason to be optimistic about his future.
He blew through Tuco Tokkos in his promotional debut after mauling a pair of UFC veterans in his final two regional appearances, but then had to work a little harder and a little longer in his homecoming win over Da Woon Jung in Paris last September. While it didn’t measure up to the lofty expectations folks held for his performance, the reality is that putting in 15 minutes against an experienced foe like the South Korean is far more valuable to Sy than landing a clubbing blow in the opening round and getting out of there in a hurry.
This weekend, the 29-year-old steps in with Fortis MMA representative Alonzo Menifield, who returned to the Dallas outpost ahead of his last fight before returning to the win column with a split decision win over Julius Walker in Seattle. A member of the DWCS Class of ’18, Menifield has made the walk to the Octagon on 15 occasions, amassing a 9-5-1 record under the UFC banner, while currently holding down the final place in the Top 15.
Without question, this is Sy’s toughest test to date and a solid step up in competition after successfully navigating his Paris assignment opposite Jung. The light heavyweight veteran possesses an uncanny combination of power and speed, which can be overwhelming, especially right out of the chute, but if Sy can continue handling his business the way he has thus far, he could find himself sporting a number next to his name after this event.
The road to contention in the 205-pound ranks is always less congested than it is in other divisions, and a dominant win on Saturday at State Farm Arena would put Sy in the fast lane towards a Top 10 matchup.
Malcolm Wellmaker
The third member of this weekend’s trio of promising talents set to step into the Octagon is Wellmaker, who had a breakout performance in his promotional debut six weeks ago in Las Vegas.
Like Abdul-Malik, Wellmaker is a member of last year’s DWCS graduating class, having scored a first-round knockout win over Adam Bramhald at the end of August that punched his ticket to the UFC and extended his record to 8-0. In April, the Augusta, Georgia native made the walk for the first time, stepping in with South African Cameron Saaiman, halting the Team CIT representative with a counter right hook two minutes less a tick into the contest, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts.
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The elder statesman of this group at age 31, Wellmaker only turned pro three years ago following a 10-fight amateur run that saw him go 9-1, with six straight wins and multiple championship victories to close things out. He’s wasted no time ascending to this level, logging three wins in his rookie season, three more as a sophomore, and two last year before matriculating to the big leagues, where his win over Saaiman currently stands as one of the top debuts of the year.
Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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After lobbying for the opportunity to compete on this card following that debut win, Wellmaker got his wish, as he’ll welcome Kris Moutinho back to the Octagon on Saturday in a matchup that should serve as a quality measuring stick opportunity for those keen to learn more about the promising bantamweight.
Moutinho is a battle-tested veteran who went 0-2 in his first stint on the UFC roster, losing a short-notice bout to future champion Sean O’Malley in his debut before falling to Guido Cannetti in his second appearance and being released. Since returning to the regional scene, the New Englander has gone 5-0 with five finishes to earn a second short-notice opportunity on the big stage.
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Similar to his hoops comp in this exercise Dyson Daniels, Wellmaker has quick hands and looks like someone that just needed a greater opportunity in order to show that he’s capable of competing with the best in the world. His has explosive hands and heaps of confidence, and while beating Moutinho isn’t going to earn him an express pass to the Top 15, another blistering effort would further validate the hype and potentially position him for a significant step up in competition later in the year.
UFC Fight Night: Usman vs Buckley took place live from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on June 14, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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