MMA After Bisping: End Of Year UK MMA Report Card – Pt. 4

Today we publish the final UK MMA report cards for four fighters that were chosen by the fans to do big things in 2017.

Rather embarrassingly, they’ve done a lot better than the 14 others I suggested, but if you want to check out those from the past few days you can right here:

Day 1 – Dean Garnett, Alan Philpott, Paddy Pimblett, Ryan Scope and Saul Rogers

Day 2 –Brendan Loughnane, Shoaib Yousaf, Ashley Reece, Chris Fishgold, Lewis Long

Day 3 – Nathaniel Wood, Kane Mousah, Cameron Else, Nad Narimani

—

(Photo: UFC.com)

Danny Henry

•Record: 11-2-0
•Current Streak: 4 Wins
•Last Fight: March 04, 2017 in EFCA
•Weight Class: Featherweight | Lightweight
•Affiliation: Higher Level Martial Arts
•Height: 6’0″ (183cm) | Reach: 70.9″ (180cm)

2017 couldn’t have gone much better for Danny Henry. The Scot started the year in March by winning the EFC featherweight title at EFC 57. He then followed that up by getting a call up to the UFC in July for a short notice bout at lightweight against Daniel Teymur. Henry went on to win his debut in front of his home fans in Glasgow, Scotland via unanimous decision in a dominant display.

Summary: You can’t argue with a title win and a victory on your UFC debut. Henry fought three times in 2015 and 2016, but that aside, I’m sure he’s very happy with his work in 2017. I’m looking to seeing where he will fit in the UFC roster next year and seeing what impact he can make at either featherweight or lightweight.

SIGNED FOR THE UFC

—

Pietro Menga

•Record: 13-0-0
•Nickname: Pitbull
•Current Streak: 13 Wins
•Age: 29 | Date of Birth: 1988.02.15
•Weight Class: Flyweight
•Height: 5’7″ (170cm)

If you want to know about the highs and the lows of MMA, go ask Pietro Menga. Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that Menga had been given a shot in the UFC and would be filling in for Justin Scoggins at UFC on Fox 26 in Winnipeg. Having not fought in 17 months it came as somewhat as a surprise, but nonetheless deserved given his record and pedigree. Unfortunately for Menga, things didn’t go to plan during his weight cut and despite his attempts to hit 126-pounds, it just wasn’t meant to be. Menga was pulled from the fight by the UFC doctors on medical grounds and now he must wait and see if he gets his shot again in the promotion.

Summary: Menga should not be criticised for missing weight in Canada given 99.9% of professional fighters would’ve taken the opportunity if in his shoes. I fancy him getting another shot in the UFC and fingers crossed he gets the nod for UFC London in March.

SIGNED FOR THE UFC

—

James Mulheron

•Record: 11-2-0
•Nickname: The Juggernaut
•Current Streak: 1 Loss
•Weight Class: Heavyweight | Last Weigh-In: 240 lbs

Speaking of someone who has been through the highs and lows, James Mulheron has unfortunately had a rollercoaster year. “The Juggernaut” began the year by avenging a previous loss to Austrian Ruben Wolf at Made4TheCage 23: Carnage. He then got the opportunity of a lifetime to fight in the UFC at UFC Fight Night Glasgow where he faced Justin Willis and was defeated via a unanimous decision. Regardless, Mulheron was living the dream fighting under the UFC banner and he was then scheduled to face Cyril Asker at UFC Fight Night Shanghai at the UFC’s first ever fight card in mainland China. Unfortunately, Mulheron was pulled from the bout after he was cited for a violation of the USADA anti-doping program. He has maintained his innocence and stated he is intending to fight all allegations of wrong doing.

Summary: Eugh, what can you say about all this. I don’t know James that well, but from my dealings with him and from what others have told me, I find it incredibly hard to think that he would ever knowingly take a banned substance. I hope he is able to prove his innocence and that people wont judge him until he’d made his response.

SIGNED FOR THE UFC

—

(Photo: Cage Warriors)

Joe McColgan

•Record: 4-1-0
•Nickname: The SBG Hunter
•Current Streak: 1 Loss
•Weight Class: Lightweight | Last Weigh-In: 155.6 lbs
•Affiliation: Fight Academy Ireland
•Height: 6’0″ (183cm)

Three fights, two wins and one loss. The year ended on a high for Joe McColgan and he’s now arguably one fight away from a Cage Warriors title shot after back-to-back wins against Richard Williams and Sean Carter. McColgan feels like he’s a star waiting to happen and next year could be the year that Cage Warriors put the rocket on him as one of their main men.

Summary: Beating Peter Queally in 2016 was impressive, but I was more impressed with Joe’s win over Carter in London. The fight was a war from start to finish and McColgan hit him with everything but the kitchen sink and Carter still managed to walk through it all. Regardless, McGolgan showed maturity by keeping his head and not chasing the finish. 2018 could be a big year for him if he can continue to knock off decent opponents and build his record.

Will he get signed for UFC London? No, needs more fights.

—

So there we have it. In the coming weeks I’m going to be picking 15 guys to track in 2018. Who do you want to see? Let us know @MMANyttcom