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Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Taira
Casting A Spotlight On Three Emerging Talents Set To Compete This Weekend In Las Vegas
In the wake of another electric night of action inside the Octagon in Salt Lake City, Utah, business shifts back to the UFC APEX on Saturday for an event headlined by elite flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira.
Like most post-pay-per-view fight cards, this weekend’s offering is an opportunity to gain additional exposure to a host of competitors in the early stages of their careers and fighters looking to build (or re-build) some momentum heading towards the end of the year, and there are three athletes in particular that stand out as names to watch on Saturday night.
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Here’s a closer look at those competitors in the latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Clayton Carpenter
Carpenter was one of the more intriguing additions to the roster coming off the sixth season of Dana White’s Contender Series, and he finally makes his sophomore appearance in the Octagon this weekend in a clash with fellow DWCS alum Lucas Rocha.
The now 28-year-old MMA Lab representative faced off with Edgar Chairez on the third week of the season, getting touched up by the aggressive Mexican fighter early before showing his mettle by rallying to win the final two rounds to claim the victory. It’s a triumph that has aged well in the little more than two years since they met, as Chairez won his next two fights on the regional circuit, gave Taira his toughest fight to date on short notice in his UFC debut, and has proven himself to be an all-action addition to the division over his first four fights.
Six months after claiming a spot on the roster, Carpenter claimed his first UFC victory, collecting a first-round submission win over Juancamilo Ronderos. Though he was taken down almost immediately, the flyweight prospect showed his effectiveness off his back, immediately looking for triangles and armbars, which eventually created the opening he needed to work into top position. From there, he climbed into mount, took the back when Ronderos gave it to him, and deftly locked up the choke while his opponent was paying too much attention to his off hand.
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The victory moved Carpenter to 7-0 as a professional and put him on the radar as a person of interest in the 125-pound ranks, but he’s been M.I.A. since, resulting in a pack of talent pushing ahead of him in the division and his having ground to make up as he makes his return.
Having said that, the MMA Lab has a long history of sending battle-ready talents to the UFC and Carpenter appears to be another in that lineage. The grit and sticktoitiveness he showed in the fight with Chairez are the kinds of things you either have or you don’t, and his work on the ground in his debut illustrates that he’s been putting in the necessary time on the mats, as well as that he understands that being in that position means you either have to be working back to your feet or working to create effective offense.
Saturday’s pairing is a chance for Carpenter to reinsert himself into the prospect conversation in the talent-rich 125-pound weight class, and the fight with Rocha should afford him the opportunity to shake off the rust and showcase the skills he’s been developing during his time away. The Brazilian scored a second-round knockout win over Davi Bittencourt last season to earn his place on the roster, but was taken down repeatedly in that contest, which is something Carpenter will surely look to exploit this weekend.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Taira
Undefeated prospects from established teams are always worth keeping tabs on, and Carpenter is definitely one to watch.
Ramazan Temirov
A new addition to the flyweight division set to make his debut this weekend against DWCS alum CJ Vergara, Temirov arrives in the UFC on a nine-fight winning streak and sporting a 17-2 record.
A native of Uzbekistan, the 27-year-old has bounced around through a host of promotions throughout Asia, including WLF W.A.R.S. and Rizin, with his first professional loss coming against DWCS and Road to UFC competitor Qiulun and his second coming against Talgat Zhumagaliev, which he avenged two years later as part of his current extended winning streak. As with many athletes touching down in the UFC after competing internationally in smaller federations, it’s difficult to ascertain the level of competition that Temirov has been facing, but as always, the fact that he’s been able to string together nine consecutive victories — the last four by stoppage — illustrates that he knows how to handle his business and is, at the very least, someone to pay close attention to this weekend.
The pairing with Vergara is an absolutely perfect debut assignment, as the Pete Spratt protege has logged six previous UFC appearances, splitting them evenly, while sharing the Octagon with a good mix of flyweight competitors. Since dropping his debut to veteran Ode’ Osbourne, Vergara has beaten Kleidison Rodrigues, Daniel Lacerda, and Vinicius Salvador, while dropping fights to Taira and Kazakh prospect Asu Almabayev, which paints a pretty accurate portrait of where he fits in the division at the moment.
Flyweight has been continually growing deeper every couple of months ,and the overall level of talent in the 125-pound ranks is outstanding, with the middle class, in particular, being fortified by these recent additions. On paper, Temirov looks like someone that should be able to slot into the mid-pack straight away while presenting some genuine upside, but it won’t be until we see him in the Octagon, under the bright lights, in there with a known commodity like Vergara, that any real conclusions about his future prospects can truly be made.
Cody Haddon
The first member of the DWCS Class of ’24 to make the walk to the Octagon, Haddon returns to Las Vegas just seven-and-a-half weeks after punching his ticket to the promotion with designs on picking up his first UFC win, as he squares off with Dan Argueta on Saturday.
Haddon opened the second week of this season on the Contender Series by registering a first-round submission win over Billy Brand that gave a brief glimpse at the wealth of skills the newcomer from Perth, Australia possesses. For the first half of the round, the two mixed in up in all phases, trading punches and takedown attempts, working through scrambles and slinging hands some more before Haddon landed a beautiful three-punch series of hooks — left, right, left; body, body, head — that put Brand on the deck.
From there, he pounced, chasing the American to the canvas and continuing to land blows before climbing onto Brand’s back, punching him some more, and sinking in the choke to collect the finish.
The 26-year-old has earned five straight victories to move to 7-1 overall, and his lone setback came three years back by unanimous decision in a wildly entertaining scrap with Steve Erceg. He’s earned finishes in each of his victories, has been chasing this dream since his teenage years, and has the kind of well-rounded skillset to potentially hit the ground running as he embarks on his UFC adventure.
Facing Argueta should be a good litmus test for the Australian, as the former TUF contestant has already logged five appearances inside the Octagon, and had an unbeaten run on the regional circuit before that, beating recent TUF winner Mairon Santos and winning the LFA title. He trains with quality crews in Orange County and Albuquerque, is a strong wrestler, and has the experience and physicality to challenge Haddon when he steps into the Octagon for the first time.
Perth is having a bit of a moment in the UFC with Erceg and Jack Della Maddalena both on the come up, and Haddon has the talent to one day join those two as a contender.
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Taira took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 12, 2024. 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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