Athletes
Fighters On The Rise | UFC 295: Procházka vs Pereira
Three Can't-Miss Combatants To Watch For On Saturday's Return To New York City
Six UFC events have taken place at Madison Square Garden thus far, and over the course of those shows, athletes featured in the Fighters on the Rise series have posted a combined 12-5 record.
Included amongst the collection of athletes spotlighted as they readied to make the walk to the Octagon at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” are former middleweight champ and UFC 295 headliner Alex Pereira, former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian in her second UFC appearance, current contenders Belal Muhammad, Johnny Walker, and Paulo Costa, as well as rising stars Ian Machado Garry, Erin Blanchfield, and Montel Jackson.
Thus far in 2023, the competitors highlighted in this space have amassed a 75-27 record inside the Octagon.
Preview The Entire UFC 295 Card, Fight By Fight
The point is that while nothing is ever guaranteed in life besides death and taxes, Fighters on the Rise has a pretty strong hit rate over the years, so paying close attention to the athletes competing this weekend in New York mentioned below is highly recommended.
Benoît Saint-Denis
Saint Denis made his promotional debut two years ago at UFC 267, fighting at welterweight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in a bout where the Brazilian veteran made it clear to his French counterpart that he needed to move down a division.
Since dropping to lightweight, the former French Army Special Forces paratrooper has gone 4-0, registering stoppage victories over Niklas Stolze, Gabriel Miranda, Ismael Bonfim, and Thiago Moises to climb to the fringes of the Top 15 in the talent-rich 155-pound weight class. This weekend, Saint Denis steps in opposite Long Island native Matt Frevola in a matchup that is guaranteed to be an electric start to the pay-per-view.
Benoît Saint-Denis Gets Epic TKO In Front Of His Home Crowd | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Tuivasa
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Benoît Saint-Denis Gets Epic TKO In Front Of His Home Crowd | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Tuivasa
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The streaking 27-year-old has only lost once, and that bout with dos Santos also represents the only time he’s been to the scorecards. He is, without question, an all-action fighter who is more than willing to wade into the fire and deal with whatever is coming back his way in order to land shots of his own and impose his will on his opponent and the fight. While not overly big for the division, there is a physicality to Saint Denis that seems to catch people off guard, as he was able to out-muscle Bonfim and overwhelm Moises in his two previous outings this year, and it seemed like neither was prepared for the ruggedness headed their way.
Saturday’s matchup with Frevola is the lightweight equivalent of tossing a lit match into a barrel full of fireworks and running away — there is no way it isn’t explosive and there could be some very cool moments that leave the audience at MSG and watching at home oohing and ahhing at what they’re witnessing.
In addition to being a combustible pairing, UFC 295 represents another slight step up in competition and more challenging test for the surging Frenchman, who has passed each of his four previous lightweight exams with flying colors and will look to continue that trend here.
Frevola is a fellow hitter, one that will be bolstered by the partisan crowd in New York and the even more raucous “Steamrolla” section that is sure to be in full throat.
But Saint Denis has been faced with challenging tasks away from home plenty of times in the past, and doesn’t seem to be someone that is bothered by where he’s fighting. Thus far, who he’s fighting doesn’t seem to be much of an issue either.
If that pattern continues this weekend, France’s “God of War” will find himself in the Top 15 in the lightweight division, riding a five-fight winning streak into 2024.
Steve Erceg
The Australian flyweight was originally scheduled to make his first walk to the Octagon in mid-May against Clayton Carpenter, but visa issues prevented him from making the trip to Las Vegas, resulting in the fight being scrapped.
Not long after, David Dvorak’s original dance partner for UFC 289, Matt Schnell, was forced to withdraw. Erceg was selected to replace him and took full advantage of the upgraded opportunity, venturing to Vancouver and collecting a unanimous decision win over the ranked fighter from the Czech Republic, earning a Performance of the Night bonus and a ninth straight victory along the way.
Now, “Astroboy” returns for his sophomore appearance, facing off with Brazilian Alessandro Costa on the UFC 295 prelims.
Order UFC 295: Procházka vs Pereira
While his resume is highlighted by submission finishes, and grappling is his greatest strength, Erceg showed in the summer that he’s a well-rounded fighter and already at the level where he can compete with Top 15 talent in the 125-pound class. He was crisp on the feet against Dvorak and won that fight more handily than the two 29-28 scores may lead one to believe, which is saying something because most people don’t walk into their UFC debuts and take out a ranked fighter, but he did it with aplomb.
Costa tags in here for Schnell — ironic, I know — and is another member of the young, ascending set working forward in the flyweight division at the moment. He hung tough in his short notice debut against Amir Albazzi before getting stopped in the third, but rebounded with a blistering finish of Jimmy Flick in June, bringing his record to 13-3 heading into this one.
Erceg doesn’t have the element of surprise working to his advantage any more, not that he needs it. The 28-year-old is fundamentally sound, sharp in every facet, and has the gas to work at a good clip for 15 minutes without issue, all of which should continue to serve him well this weekend and beyond.
He’s flown a little under the radar thus far, despite being ranked, but a second straight strong showing on Saturday should elevate his profile even further and position him for a matchup with someone stationed ahead of him in the rankings next time out.
Loopy Godinez
Godinez makes her second appearance of the year and fourth appearance overall in this space as she heads into a pivotal showdown with Tabatha Ricci on Saturday at MSG.
Generally speaking, it takes big efforts or big upside for an athlete to merit this many mentions in this space, and the 30-year-old Mexican-Canadian strawweight hits both marks, as she comes in off the most impressive outing of her career and has shown appreciable growth since transitioning full-time to training alongside Alexa Grasso in Guadalajara.
Godinez started her year by getting back into the win column with a split decision victory over Cynthia Calvillo in a close bout where the two basically exchanged on the feet the entire time. She earned a unanimous decision win over Emily Ducote six weeks later, tightening up her striking defense and mixing things up a little more, and then turned in a blistering performance at Noche UFC against Elise Reed, finishing the former CFFC champ in the second round.
On a night that featured a number of impressive showings, Godinez’ performance against Reed might have been the best of the evening, as she complete outclassed her in every phase, showing great integration of her boxing and wrestling, as well as the physicality and strength that has long made her an intriguing addition to the 115-pound weight class.
MMA Coaches Discuss UFC 295 Main Event
Saturday’s clash with Ricci is an excellent test at this moment for Godinez, as “Baby Shark” is unbeaten in four starts since returning to the division following her short-notice debut at flyweight, and brings a suffocating grappling game with developing hands into the contest. This is one of those instances where the key for Godinez may be to rein in her aggressiveness and activity in order to ensure Ricci isn’t able to work into the clinch, securing trips and takedowns from there, which can always be a challenge for fighters that work best moving forward and attacking.
Another couple months to work with the team at Lobo Gym will certainly have continued to level up Godinez’ striking and the overall fluidity of her game; now it’s just a matter of finding out whether she’s able to keep putting it together effectively as she works up the divisional ladder in the strawweight ranks.
UFC 295: Procházka vs Pereira took place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 11, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
