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Fighters on the Rise | UFC Louisville
Shining A Spotlight On Three Ascending Talents Slated To Step Into The Fray on Saturday Night in Louisville
The UFC makes its second trip to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend, returning for the first time in well over a decade with a deep card headlined by middleweight contenders Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov.
Before the 185-pounders get acquainted with one another, a collection of compelling matchups featuring a handful of intriguing talents looking to take another step forward in their respective divisions will hit the Octagon, and we’re here to shine a spotlight on three of those athletes that you should be paying close attention to this weekend.
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Here’s a closer look at those promising talents in the latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Ludovit Klein
Klein is a shining example of how the incredible depth of talent in the lightweight division makes it difficult for ascending fighters to stand out at times.
Since returning to the 155-pound ranks to begin his 2022 campaign, the 29-year-old Slovakian fighter has posted a 4-0-1 record inside the Octagon, earning a pair of victories on either side of a majority draw result in a bout with Jai Herbert in London. Two fights back, Klein out-hustled promising Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduate Ignacio Bahamondes, and in his most recent outing, he blew through late replacement AJ Cunningham.
Some will point to his dominant effort over Cunningham as one of those results you should just throw out, as the fight came together on short notice and it was a considerable step up in competition for the former DWCS hopeful, but it’s the manner in which Klein handled his business that makes the performance truly stand out.
There wasn’t a moment where he didn’t fight with almost unabashed confidence. He wasn’t careless or out of control, but he was aggressive and forceful, taking the fight to the UFC newcomer from the jump, dipping into the various areas of his offensive arsenal before putting him away late in the opening stanza.
The “who” wasn’t as important as the “how,” and that element showed Klein was ready for a step up in competition himself.
Saturday in Louisville, the surging finisher squares off with Thiago Moisés in a compelling preliminary card pairing that should tell us a great deal about where Klein fits in the division at the moment.
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Consecutive wins over Michael Johnson, Bobby Green, and Alexander Hernandez carried the Brazilian into the rankings back in 2021 before he ran into current champ Islam Makhachev, then was overwhelmed in a clash with Joel Álvarez soon after. He’s gone 3-1 since then and remains a formidable presence in the “Second 15” in the talent-rich division.
A victory over Moises is a big deal — he’s only lost to quality competition in the UFC — and could put Klein in a position to face another competitor living on the fringes of the rankings or perhaps even someone in the lower third of the Top 15, depending on how things shake out on Saturday. He’s looked like a dark horse to track over his last few fights, and if he gets through Moises this weekend, more people will be starting to look his way.
Carlos Prates
There were a number of Brazilian competitors that showed out last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, and Prates was certainly one of them. He carried that over into his promotional debut earlier this year, and now, on Saturday night in Louisville, the surging talent makes his sophomore appearance in a clash with fellow finisher Charles Radtke.
Prates meticulously picked apart Mitch Ramirez to claim his place on the UFC roster last summer, patiently making his reads and getting the Las Vegas native’s timing down before driving home a straight left hand that closed out the fight. Back in February, he did the same thing against Trevin Gilles in his first trip into the Octagon.
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While he took a few shots and waded into the fire a little too happily at times, the variety of Prates’ offensive attack left Giles guessing at what was coming next. After connecting with knees to the body at different points throughout the contest, Prates pawed out a jab that got the UFC veteran to think another knee was coming, only this time, a left-hand laser beam found his chin and sent Giles crashing to the canvas.
The 30-year-old Brazilian has now won eight straight and 11 of his last 12 after a pedestrian 7-5 start to his career. He’s aggressive, has clear one-shot power, and profiles, at worst, as an all-action addition to the 170-pound weight class moving forward.
Radtke made it 2-0 in the Octagon with a first-round knockout win over Gilbert Urbina earlier this year. It was the sixth straight victory for the former CFFC standout, who should pair nicely with Prates in a preliminary card punch-up this weekend.
This is what I like to call a “fact-finding” matchup for Prates — a chance for fans and observers to get a second look at him at this level, against a quality opponent on a nice run of success that should, in theory, present him with some challenges. How he navigates his sophomore effort on Saturday will tell us a great deal about what to expect from “The Nightmare” in the future.
Eduarda Moura
Moura is another of the impressive Brazilian graduates from last season’s crop of DWCS hopefuls — an undefeated strawweight who has posted nine finishes in her first 10 starts heading into her second UFC appearance this weekend.
Eduarda Moura Stops Canejo In Round 2 | UFC São Paulo
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Eduarda Moura Stops Canejo In Round 2 | UFC São Paulo
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After tearing through Janaina Silva last fall in Las Vegas to punch her ticket to the UFC, Moura showcased her strength, grappling abilities, and focus on finishing in her debut appearance opposite Montserrat Conejo Ruiz back in November in Sao Paulo. The 30-year-old was in complete control from the outset, battering her Mexican counterpart on the canvas, alternating between landing damage and floating through dominant positions before finally securing the finish early in the second round.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though, as Moura missed weight for the contest by three-and-a-half pounds, which obviously has to be addressed and cannot become a repeated problem. She’s tall for the division at five-foot-six and has the potential to be imposing physically, so getting her weight dialed in will be key to allowing her to utilize those advantages without any further asterisks being affixed to her efforts.
This weekend, Moura faces off with Denise Gomes, a fellow Brazilian hopeful who got hustled in a little too deep last time out.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’22, Gomes lost her promotional debut, but rebounded with consecutive emphatic finishes over Bruna Brasil and Yazmin Jauregui to garner a considerable step up in competition on that same November fight card in Sao Paulo, where she dropped a unanimous decision to Angela Hill. Just 24 years old, Gomes remains a solid prospect in the strawweight ranks, and should be a quality test for Moura this weekend in Kentucky.
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On paper, all the elements are there for Moura to become a factor in the strawweight division in the not-too-distant future — she’s in her athletic prime, she’s dominated on her way to this point, and physically and in terms of her skill set, she looks the part. Now it’s just about translating those things into positive results in the Octagon, and if she can get through Gomes on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Moura get an expedited push in the 115-pound ranks in the second half of the year.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov took place live from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on June 8, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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