In respect of the 2023 NFL draft recently taking place, let’s pretend the MMA world started a league, and the 5 major fight promotions all had to draft “rookies” to build their promotion around.
Much like how NFL teams invest a lot of money and time into a potential franchise player, what fighters would these promotions invest in to become the star of their “team?”
We are going to do just the first round with the four major MMA promotions: UFC, PFL, ONE, and Bellator–with a new expansion team… BKFC. The bare-knuckle world deserves this new spot with the coming-out party they had last week at that event in Denver.
Draft-eligible fighters need to be considered prospects of their current promotion, no title implication fights, and with less than 20 professional MMA fights under their belt.
Let’s see how the first round of the “2023 MMA Draft” would shake out:
Pick No.1 – BKFC:
With the first overall pick of the 2023 MMA Draft, the expansion team of BKFC are selecting… Gregory “RoboCop” Rodrigues, fighting out of Brazil with a 13-5 professional MMA record.
This was a big-time sleeper pick at No.1. The 33-year-old might not look like a rookie, but he seems to be just entering his prime and fits the style of the BKFC perfectly.
Hopefully, the scar tissue won’t come back to haunt BKFC, especially after the gnarly cut RoboCop suffered in his fight against Chidi Njokuani. The power, durability, and physicality of this Brazilian is a perfect fighter with great MMA odds to build around for BKFC.
This pick is very outside-the-box from BKFC, but so are they as a whole. The president of the promotion took out second mortgages and loans to pay for their last event. They take chances and will again with this pick.
Pick No.2 – Bellator MMA:
Bellator has been around for a while, but they have had a tough last few years competing with the likes of the UFC and other promotions. They need a big draft pick to build their team around this season.
With the No.2 pick of the 2023 MMA Draft, Bellator MMA is selecting… Ian “The Future” Garry, Irish-born martial artist, fighting out of South Florida with an 11-0 MMA record.
Garry was on our draft board to go in the top 3 for sure. This is a seemingly perfect fit for Bellator MMA. They already have a great relationship with the Irish fans and hold multiple events there every year.
A kid like Ian Garry is going to be able to use both his skill and marketable personality to help grow this promotion. He is surely going to be one of the best welterweights in the world one day, and that seems like it is closer than anyone could imagine.
The love for the sport and everything to do with it is so clear when you look at Garry. He would be a great fit for any of these promotions, and you know that he is prepared to become the face of the sport.
Pick No.3 – PFL:
With a lot of new changes to start 2023, including the addition of influencer/boxer Jake Paul, along with an announcement of a new “Super-Fight” division, it seems like the PFL is ready to make some major moves to become a big-time promotion in the near future.
With the third pick of the 2023 MMA Draft, PFL selects… Bo Nickal, a 27-year-old wrestler out of State College, PA.
Going into this draft, Nickal seemed to be the consensus No.1 pick. In his UFC debut, he showed a little more struggle scoring a takedown than most people thought while going against a lower-level talent. He also kneed his opponent in the groin, which resulted in a submission only seconds later.
While there are question marks in his game, Nickal is one of the best collegiate wrestlers to ever live, and has shown how dominant he can be inside an MMA fight. With only a 4-0 record, he has plenty of time to develop into a superstar.
The PFL has a blank canvas in Bo Nickal that they can do whatever they want with. Grappling events, super-fights, anything is in the future for Bo Nickal and the PFL.
Pick No.4 – ONE Championship:
ONE gets the second to last pick because they are arguably the No.2 promotion in the world, only behind the UFC. They dominate the Asian market and have a huge following around the world. With a great pick here, they could give the UFC a run for their money in the next few years.
With the fourth pick of the 2023 MMA Draft, ONE Championship selects… Muhammed Mokaev, a flyweight fighter out of Manchester, England.
This is a great pick from ONE and is probably the safest pick anyone could have made in this draft. The kid is only 22 years old and has a 10-0 professional MMA record. He is supremely confident in himself and already wants to fight every champion possible.
ONE will be able to use his stardom to grow their fanbase into the UK, and even Eastern European countries. Mokaev can speak well on social media and will not shy away from any publicity.
In terms of his fighting style, we can see how talented he is. He has mauled everybody that has stepped in the cage with him. Also, at 5’9”, he shows plenty of potential to become a double or even triple champion in his career.
ONE has a potential 15+ year career out of this kid, with plenty of big fights along the way. Mokaev also has a Combat Sambo style of fighting that has proven to be dominant in MMA.
Pick No.5 – UFC:
The UFC is the gold standard for MMA promotions. The talent they have on their roster, along with their matchmaking and story-telling ability, makes it a special place for fighters.
With the final pick of the first round of the 2023 MMA Draft, the UFC selects… Islam Omarov, Russian martial artist.
This is an unknown prospect that the UFC decided to take with their first-round pick. He holds a 13-0 record with 8 finishes at the age of 25, all in a tough promotion called ACA. He is going up against grown Russian men that have been fighting all their lives.
The few clips available from Omarov’s career show how slick he is in all facets of MMA. He has great boxing, mixes in devastating kicks, and has world-class wrestling skills. The scrambles he gets in with his opponents are so fun to watch and showcase the skill he has.
Omarov has an enormously high ceiling and is a project that the UFC should be excited about. His UFC comparison is Islam Makhachev.
Come visit Insiders Betting Digest for MMA predictions every week and to potentially see more information on these top prospects as they continue their real MMA careers for their own promotions.
They will be starting to show up on your radar and on the MMA fight schedule in big events as 2023 goes by.
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