UFC Vegas 89, which takes place this weekend (Sat., March 23, 2024) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, has taken an absolute beating over the last couple of months, resulting in seven canceled bouts and five newcomers where once were seven. On this edition of “New Blood,” the series where I realize there’s still some magic to be found on the regional and international scenes, we check out four Contender Series graduates and a standout Bantamweight prospect from Russia.
As always, episodes from the most recent Contender Series season are on ESPN+.
Luis “Corazon de Leon” Pajuelo
Weight Class: Featherweight
Age: 29
Record: 8-1 (7 KO)
Notable Victories: Robbie Ring, Heber Pereyra
Four consecutive victories carried Pajuelo to Contender Series, where he met undefeated Robbie Ring in Aug. 2023. Despite a spirited effort from Ring, Pajuelo’s power proved too much and allowed him to secure a UFC contract with a first round finish.
There are fighters who out-class their opponents. There are fighters who spark their opponents in one hit. Pajuelo beats the snot out of people. He marches directly into his opponent’s face and unloads scorching combinations to the head and body, mixing in heavy knees and a variety of elbows to steadily pummel them into submission. His right cross is an absolute missile, his left hook to the body is equally vicious, and his knees are powerful enough that he stopped Ring from half-guard with one to the body.
I really cannot overstate how violent this man is. His win over Heber Pereyra last year is among the bloodiest, most brutal fights you will ever see. His fights regularly see him force an opponent to the fence, plant his feet, and just trade haymakers to the face until someone goes down. Between his chin and his motor, it’s almost always the other guy.
As you might imagine, this gets him hit a lot. Pajuelo is generally happy to absorb incoming fire for the sake of keeping his own offense going, and when he’s trying to walk down his opponents, he’s wide open to shots down the pipe thanks to a wide guard. He’s generally indestructible enough to get away with it, though Pereyra did buckle him with a left hook as Pajuelo jumped in and landed numerous calf kicks to good effect.
On the grappling side, he’s got a strong sprawl and does a good job of working to his feet, though that madcap aggression and determination to stay in his opponent’s face leaves his hips open to takedowns. Pereyra got in fairly deep and a damaged Ring managed to take him down when Pajuelo attempted to attack his body after sprawling, so I don’t like his chances against top-tier takedown threats.
That said, while his poor defensive habits will keep him from becoming a contender. I hope UFC indulges Pajuelo and just throws strikers at him. That’s what they’re doing in his debut, which pits him against fellow finisher, Fernando Padilla. Pajuelo will give up a lot of size and have to weather some heavy artillery, but I like him to hunt down Padilla and break him with attrition.
Daria Zheleznyakova
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 28
Record: 8-1 (5 KO)
Notable Victories: Liana Jojua
After cutting her teeth in her native Russia, Zheleznya took her talents to Ares FC, where she dismantled UFC veteran, Liana Jojua, in her debut. Though she subsequently fell to future Octagon signee, Melissa Mullins, she bounced back in April 2023 with an 87-second knockout of Marie Loiseau.
Crisp boxing is Zheleznyakova’s claim to fame, built around one of the division’s best jabs. She steadily dissects opponents with short combinations, plugging the head and body with jabs before following with a sharp right hand or left hook. Her footwork is solid, her speed and power are noteworthy, and she’s got the engine to fire those combinations all night.
Having debuted less than five years ago, Zheleznyakova’s making strides in fixing her issues. She constantly left her chin in the air when she let her hands go against Jojua, which would have been a real problem if “She Wolf” had any sort of striking. More recent efforts have shown better head movement and more thoughtful footwork to get in, land her shots, and get out before her opponents have a chance to respond.
She also began adding more kicks and knees to her combinations, making them that much more difficult to deal with.
She does still have a few lingering flaws, though, most notably her tendencies to bring her jab back low and lean too far forward when throwing the right hand. Still, she’s among the better strikers in the division.
As for her grappling, she did a good job of either stiff-arming Jojua away or sprawling when Jojua shot under Zheleznyakova’s punches, though she did give up a body lock takedown to Mullins after tearing her up on the feet for several minutes. She’s a ferocious ground-and-pounder, preferring to stand over her opponents to deliver accurate punches, and got in deep on an armbar from guard against Mullins.
I really like what I’ve seen out of Zheleznyakova, a welcome addition to a talent-starved division. So long as she shores up the clinch issues that let Mullins take her down and complete the comeback, she’s contender material for sure. She’s also leagues better than debut foe Montserrat Rendon, who’s among the worst UFC has to offer.
Her Ares FC bouts are on Fight Pass.
Steven “The Ninja” Nguyen
Weight Class: Featherweight
Age: 30
Record: 9-1 (4 KO, 3 SUB)
Notable Victories: AJ Cunningham, Theo Rlayang
A flying knee from Aalon Cruz halted Nguyen’s first Contender Series bid in its tracks, while his decision over Theo Rlayang the second time around failed to produce a contract. After two years on the sidelines, he returned to the program to face A.J. Cunningham, battering him into submission to finally punch his UFC ticket.
Nguyen is as textbook a boxer as you’re likely to find, working behind a stiff jab to break down opponents with crisp combinations. Despite racking up more than 300 combined significant strikes on Contender Series, he remains composed and technical, managing range and never letting his punches get wild. That composure was key against Cunningham, allowing him to land fight-changing power shots despite Cunningham’s nonstop aggression.
That Cunningham fight also showed an extra gear, which was sorely missing against Rlayang. Despite completely out-classing the latter, Nguyen never seemed compelled to pursue the finish, but he met Cunningham head-on and treated his head like a speed bag.
His issues largely revolve around his guard.
Nguyen generally relies on his feet to carry him out of danger, but when opponents do get inside, he puts on the earmuffs. His forearms are wide enough apart to allow knees and uppercuts through and high enough to leave his body exposed, which both Rlayang and Cunningham capitalized on. He also showed a vulnerability to low kicks against Rlayang, though Cunningham declining to use that weapon means I can’t say whether he’s fixed that at some point in the last 2.5 years.
His takedown defense appears generally solid, particularly against single-legs, but Rlayang did find success shooting under Nguyen’s favored right cross. To his credit, Nguyen was quick to scramble up both times. Submission-wise, he’s choked out a few weak opponents but quickly bailed on a potential guillotine against Rlayang without committing much effort.
With rock-solid striking technique and a strong camp in Fortis MMA behind him, I can see Nguyen sticking around for some time, though he may not have that extra something to carry him into contention. He should be way too much for debut foe, Jarno Errens, who was largely out-struck by a much lesser kickboxer in Seung Woo Choi last time out.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Igor Severino
Weight Class: Flyweight
Age: 20
Record: 8-0 (4 KO, 4 SUB)
Notable Victories: Jhonata Silva, Manoel Rodrigues
Fighting out of Chute Boxe Joao Emilio alongside the likes of UFC veterans Joanderson Brito and Melquizael Costa, Severino capped off his run on the Brazilian circuit by knocking out Manoel Rodrigues for the Jungle Fight Flyweight title. He then took his talents to Contender Series, where he finished Jhonata Silva to claim a UFC contract.
Despite his background and 100 percent finish rate, Severino is actually a fairly measured fighter, working behind a piston jab and heavy low kicks. That’s not to say he can’t bring the hurt when he wants to; for example, he puts a lot of venom into his right hand and left hook, and when he’s got a man hurt, he’ll do everything in his power to seal the deal.
When not selling out for a finish, he works the body well and has good timing on his counters, which combines with his penchant for catching incoming kicks to make forcing him backward a risky endeavor.
There aren’t any huge holes in his standup, just a few areas that need fine-tuning. As nasty as that jab is, he has a habit of bringing it back low, which allowed the faster Silva to land several solid right hands. He also throws the right uppercut from too far out, which always makes me wince because of all the fighters I’ve seen eat huge counters.
As for his grappling, he tends to pick his battles. After catching an early knee for a takedown, he elected to bail whenever Rodrigues tried to force a ground exchange. When he does decide to engage, he’s scary accurate with his standing-to-ground punches, as seen when he crumpled Silva with a left hook and put on a beating that would have sent most refs into action. His takedown defense held up nicely all through the Rodrigues fight as well.
Severino is incredibly polished for someone below the American drinking age. He’s already a good addition to the roster and could very well blossom into a contender if he continues to develop. As for right now, I think he’s got what it takes to out-work Andre Lima, though he’ll have to be wary of “Mascote’s” cross counters and low kicks.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Andre “Mascote” Lima
Weight Class: Flyweight
Age: 25
Record: 7-0 (5 KO)
Notable Victories: Rickson Zenidim, Igor Taylon
After a years-old tenure in the kickboxing ring, Lima made his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in late 2022, racking up six wins in 10 months. Then came Contender Series, where he out-classed Rickson Zenidim to claim a UFC contract.
True to his background, Lima is primarily a sharp, methodical striker. He’s most comfortable on the front foot, patiently pursuing opponents and picking his spots for single strikes. He throws everything crisply, but he’s got a particular fondness for the lead right cross, which he’ll land to both the head and body. Also of note are his low kicks, which lack setup but come out quickly enough to land anyway.
As far as weaknesses, Lima rarely throws combinations outside of the occasional one-two, preferring to land one at a time. He can also load up when leading to the body and has a habit of telegraphing his head kicks with dramatic step-ins.
In general, though, it’s a solid striking attack despite lacking flash and urgency.
If that’s not cutting it, Lima has a surprisingly stout grappling game at his disposal. He’s got a variety of clinch takedowns in his arsenal, takes the back well, has quick transitions, and can dish out some heavy ground-and-pound when the need arises. He did give up a takedown to recent foe Igor Taylon and was briefly in danger of an arm triangle, but quickly scrambled to his feet. He also appears quite confident in his guillotine, though he’s yet to secure one.
There’s nothing that Lima does particularly badly and the stuff he does well, he does quite well. He just needs to prove he can handle a striking battle that goes past his preferred sedate pace. He’ll need to do so quickly, as debut foe Igor Severino is similarly patient, but can turn on the heat in a big way.
His Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) bout is on Fight Pass.
LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 89 On ESPN+
FLYWEIGHT FISTICUFFS! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., March 23, 2024, with an action-packed bout featuring No. 10-ranked Flyweight contender, Amanda Ribas, locking horns with former Strawweight queenpin, Rose Namajunas, in the five-round main event. In UFC Vegas 89’s ESPN+-streamed co-main event, Karl Williams will tussle with Justin Tafa in a hard-hitting Heavyweight showdown.
Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!
