After a tumultuous few weeks, the Octagon returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend (Sat., April 6, 2024) with six newbies in tow. On this edition of “New Blood” — the series that finally features someone who wasn’t on Contender Series — we checkout Johnny Walker’s gigantic half-brother, an undefeated Brazilian wunderkind, two top Bantamweight grapplers, a fast-rising wrestler and a decorated kickboxer.
Valter “The Clean Monster” Walker
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Age: 26
Record: 11-0 (6 KO, 1 SUB)
Notable Victories: Alex Nicholson, Ruslan Madzhidov
Walker — brother of UFC Light Heavyweight Johnny Walker — built his resume with a solid run on the Russian circuit. His efforts ultimately led to a Titan FC title bout in 2023, which saw him wear down Octagon veteran, Alex Nicholson, en route to a fourth round finish.
I’m not sure about the “clean” bit, but “Monster” is absolutely a fitting nom de guerre for Walker. The dude is absolutely gigantic, a 6’6” hulk who cuts to make the Heavyweight limit. He combined that size with a surprisingly well-executed, double-leg takedown to steadily grind Nicholson into oblivion, chipping away with punches and elbows until Nicholson worked his way back to his feet and the cycle began again.
Of particular note is his cardio. Walker seemed like he was running on fumes early in the second round, but his gas tank never bottomed out, allowing him to keep hitting double-legs and land punching flurries for three full rounds. His technique and timing didn’t seem to suffer, either, which is more than you can say for a lot of giants.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have his brother’s dynamism on the feet, though he does have a bit of the goofiness. There are admittedly things he does well, such as his accurate knees on the inside and the no-telegraph chopping right he throws at point-blank range, but they’re overshadowed by his shortcomings. He stands bolt-upright when punching, his combinations aren’t particularly fluid despite decent hand speed, and he gives ground surprisingly easily for someone so huge.
While an iron chin and good timing on his reactive double-legs have bailed him out so far, he’s going to want to tighten up sooner rather than later, especially since he seems to struggle to hold down opponents even with a significant size advantage.
He won’t set the division on fire, but his size, strength and takedowns should keep him afloat in UFC. I could see a number next to his name in the next few years if he continues to develop. As for the here and now, he should have little trouble with debut foe, Lukasz Brzeski, who got manhandled by Karl Williams and subsequently bludgeoned by Waldo Cortes-Acosta in his last two bouts.
Victor “Striker” Hugo
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 30
Record: 24-4 (8 KO, 9 SUB)
Notable Victories: Eduardo Torres Caut, Douglas Felipe
Hugo — the latest Astra Fight Team representative to join UFC — enters the Octagon in the midst of a 13-fight win streak. His 2023 campaign has seen him land a 23-second heel hook in May before finishing Eduardo Torres Caut with a kneebar on Contender Series.
For the sake of disclosure, I’ve only found footage of two of Hugo’s fights from the last four years, which combine for less than two rounds of action. In other words, take this analysis with a grain of salt.
Despite the nickname, Hugo’s ground game is his strongest asset. He’s highly adept with leg locks, not just at snatching them out of nowhere but also transitioning between them and more traditional grappling attacks. The former was on display in May, when he felled Cristiano Cruz with a low single to Imanari roll. We saw the latter against Caut — when the Chilean looked for a heel hook, Hugo fell back to 50:50 to attack the leg himself before transitioning to a calf slicer and ultimately landing back on top when that failed to find the finish.
Then, when Caut went for an awkward takedown in the second, we saw Hugo’s opportunism shine again when he dove on a kneebar.
As for the rest of his grappling, he’s an eager ground-and-pounder, willing to posture and stand to get more leverage behind his shots without concern for his opponent’s submission attack. His wrestling looks decent overall; he hit a high crotch and a double-leg on Caut and broke Caut’s grip without issue after inadvertently giving up the rear body lock.
His standup looks like the weak link at the moment. Hugo relies on big, dramatic moves instead of stout fundamentals. He’ll load up on and loop many of his punches, fire constant spinning attacks even when they open him up to the clinch, and telegraph his kicks with obvious windups. He also retreats easily under fire, though he’s quick to respond with a takedown attempt or counter shot.
He’s just not fast or powerful enough to get away with that sort of limited technique, especially not in one of the deepest divisions in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Hugo strikes me as someone who’ll peak at the lower-middle portion of UFC’s Bantamweight pack. His leg locks and overall jiu-jitsu prowess are decent, though not enough to make up for his deficiencies elsewhere. Though his greater prep time gives him an edge over debut opponent, Pedro Falcao, whose jiu-jitsu and boxing fundamentals make him too sharp for Hugo to catch out of nowhere.
Pedro “Pedrinho” Falcao
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 31
Record: 16-3 (6 KO, 5 SUB)
Notable Victories: Leonardo Morales, James Barnes, Iliarde Santos
Falcao entered Contender Series in the midst of an 8-1 run and turned in an impressive stoppage of James Barnes, only to walk away without a contract. He spent the next two years on the sidelines, ultimately returning in Nov.2023 to choke out The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): Latin America runner-up, Leonardo Morales.
He steps in for Alatengheili on three days’ notice.
Coming from the hallowed halls of Nova Uniao, “Pedrinho” is as impressive a grappler as you’d expect. He boasts a varied and effective arsenal of takedowns, from powerful single- and double-legs at range to a number of finishes from the body lock. His guard-passing and ground-and-pound are both eye-catching, as is his ability to take the back when his opponent tries to scramble free.
Those skills extend to his defense, too.
He’s extremely difficult to take down thanks to a strong whizzer alongside good framing and pummeling for underhooks. Even if he does get taken down, he’s got strong hips with which to stand and is quick to attack off of his back. Barnes came into the bout with a solid wrestling pedigree and 11 submission wins under his belt, but found himself thoroughly outclassed for all three rounds.
He didn’t show much striking against Morales, instead committing fully to takedowns and attacking the back, but his standup looked decent on Contender Series. Falcao’s got a stiff, busy jab that he lands well to both the head and body, using the latter alongside a solid front kick to set up clean rights to the head. I didn’t see any huge standout issues besides underwhelming power, and the fact that he ate a perfectly timed knee to the face from Morales without even flinching suggests that his chin is rock-solid.
With a strong technical base and support from both Nova Uniao and Xtreme Couture, Falcao is an excellent addition to the roster. I can definitely see him reaching the edge of contention — and if he’s in shape and makes weight without issue — I like his superior fundamentals to beat out Victor Hugo’s opportunistic assault.
His bout with Morales is on Fight Pass.
Jean Matsumoto
Weight Class: Bantamweight
Age: 24
Record: 13-0 (3 KO, 5 SUB)
Notable Victories: Kasey Tanner, Marlon Basilio, Inaildo Santos
Matsumoto turned professional at age of 18 and quickly got to work, tearing up the Brazilian circuit before going undefeated (2-0) in Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA). His efforts set up a 2023 Contender Series bid opposite undefeated Kasey Tanner, whom Matsumoto overpowered to claim a unanimous decision, UFC contract and standing ovation from Dana White.
Matsumoto reportedly boasts a Muay Thai background, which seems weighted much more toward the Dutch approach than the Thai one. He regularly throws combinations of four or more punches, all of them thrown crisply and without ever compromising his balance. He’s an eager switch-hitter as well, utilizing a particularly nasty left body kick when he switches southpaw.
His speed and technique are a sight to behold, but it was his low kicks that stole the show against Tanner. Anyone looking for examples of how to properly set up your low kicks should take that bout as gospel. Matsumoto landed them over and over by either tacking them onto the ends of his punching combinations or firing them as Tanner backed out of the pocket, which gave Tanner zero opportunities to either counter with punches or try and shoot.
While Matsumoto improved considerably during the 19 months between his last two fights — particularly in his lateral movement and head movement — a handful of issues remain. His preferred high guard leaves him very open to body shots, which both Tanner and Basilio took advantage of, and he can still be a bit too upright when exchanging in the pocket.
That said, the improved movement goes a long way towards mitigating those issues. The problems arise when he holds still, which he can be overly eager to do in pursuit of keeping his combinations flowing.
Grappling-wise, he’s very quick to sprawl and/or get an underhook when opponents shoot despite that high guard and has become increasingly adept at making space to stand. He also boasts a solid guillotine, so spamming takedowns against him isn’t advised. He can still leave his hips open when blitzing forward or shelling up, however.
I really like what I see here. His hands are razor-sharp, his kicks are solid and he’s making strides toward addressing his biggest issues. He’s got a very real chance of getting a number next to his name in the coming years, though he’ll have to deal with the relentless takedowns of Dan Argueta to get there. So long as Matsumoto stays patient and doesn’t overextend, he’s got what it takes to start his Octagon tenure with a win.
His LFA bouts are on Fight Pass.
Dylan “The Mindless Hulk” Budka
Weight Class: Middleweight
Age: 24
Record: 7-2 (1 KO, 2 SUB)
Notable Victories: Chad Hanekom, Wes Schultz
Though he lost his professional debut to David Gladfelter, Budka worked his way to an LFA title shot with five straight wins, only to drop a split decision to American Top Team’s Azamat Bekoev. Less than two weeks after a get-well win over Dan Stevenson, he stepped up to battle Chad Hanekom on Contender Series and walked away with a unanimous decision victory.
He steps in for Josh Fremd on less than one month’s notice.
Budka’s speed and mobility are his most eye-catching assets. He’s remarkably quick for a well-built Middleweight, both in terms of his light-footed movement and hand speed. The left hook is his weapon of choice, mixed nicely with a sharp jab and a variety of kicks from his lead leg. Though not an eye-catching puncher, he did manage to drop Bekoev with a counter right midway through their bout, so there’s at least some pop there.
What his athleticism can’t compensate for are his vulnerability to jabs, tendency to telegraph those left-leg kicks with excessive movement, and issues with getting backed to the fence. He’s also extremely ineffective and, to be frank, boring when he elects to get on his bike instead of forcing the action himself. None of these are fundamental flaws or anything that can’t be corrected with more training and experience, but they’re issues nonetheless.
While he boasts a wrestling background from Notre Dame, Budka’s grappling remains a mixed bag. Bekoev controlled him for much of the last three rounds with consistent takedowns and twice got in deep on arm triangles before Budka managed to scramble up. While Budka did prove adept at finding underhooks to get to his feet, he struggled to break away from Bekov, spending much of the fifth round unable to escape as Bekoev grinded against the fence.
He was admittedly more successful three months later against Hanekom. In addition to hitting his own double-legs, albeit without parlaying them into much top control, he consistently shut down Hanekom’s takedowns and twice forced him to the mat by threatening front chokes. I’d imagine that not having to pace himself for five rounds like he did against Bekoev played a part, but credit where it’s due.
Budka has the background and physical tools to be a threat in the Octagon, though I personally would have given him another year or so of seasoning. As-is, he’s in for what looks like a rough debut against kickboxing veteran, Cesar Almeida, who holds a clear edge in striking technique and showed off solid defensive wrestling on Contender Series.
His LFA bouts are on Fight Pass.
Cesar “Cesinha” Almeida
Weight Class: Middleweight
Age: 36
Record: 4-0 (3 KO)
Notable Victories: Lucas Fernando
Despite nearly 50 kickboxing wins under his belt, Almeida entered Contender Series clash with LFA champion, Lucas Fernando, as a sizeable underdog. Undaunted, “Cesinha” showed off surprisingly stout grappling to claim a unanimous decision and UFC contract.
Fighting under kickboxing rules, Almeida is at his most fearsome when he’s slinging two- or three-punch combinations in the pocket. He packs real power in his hands, particularly his right, and puts his punches together extremely well. His body punching deserves praise, as does the way he’ll instantly snatch up a clinch and drive home a knee the second you get too focused on his hands.
He doesn’t neglect his kicks, either, and I want to specifically highlight his low kicks. In Feb. 2023, he battered GLORY champion Donovan Wisse’s lead calf to the point where he spent the second half of the fight as a southpaw. In response, Almeida did an excellent job of kicking his trailing leg at point blank to continue racking up damage.
His big issues seem to be flat-footedness and a tendency to admire his work. More than once, Almeida fired a big right hand and just seemed to freeze for a second, allowing Wisse to plug him with counters.
Against Fernando — his first competent MMA opponent — Almeida seemed much more willing to use his jab, especially to the body. We’ve seen several fighters with big right hands set up their finishers with that technique, namely Junior dos Santos, so it’s a good tactic. The body/head combinations were still there, as were the low kicks, but Fernando’s insistence on forcing ground engagements makes it hard to definitely say what other adjustments he made to adapt his striking game from the ring to the cage.
Speaking of ground engagements, Almeida’s time with Xtreme Couture has clearly borne fruit. Though Fernando did get him down a couple times by shooting in under Almeida’s overhand right, he struggled to stay on top for any length of time thanks to Almeida’s ability to scoot to the fence and stand. When Almeida landed on top, either by sweeping out of back mount or countering a takedown so thoroughly that Fernando pulled guard, he showed that his ability to do damage at close range translates to heavy ground-and-pound. His preferred way to pass guard seems to be standing over his opponents and tossing their legs aside, a tactic that worked well enough to earn him a couple stints in mount.
I’m not saying he’s ADCC-worthy, but he’s a pretty darn good grappler for a kickboxing transplant.
My big concern with Almeida is that he’s already in his mid-30s. While the power and speed are still there and he’s making strides with his grappling, I don’t think he has enough time to develop the truly elite counter-wrestling he’d need to be a contender. He’s still a good addition to the roster and a dangerous outing for anyone below the Middleweight division’s upper crust.
He had what appeared to be very favorable matchups in his first two planned UFC debuts, but neither Christian Leroy Duncan nor Josh Fremd made it to the cage. He’ll instead face Contender Series veteran, Dylan Budka, and though Almeida will have a significant edge on the feet, Budka’s speed and wrestling make it a trickier assignment.
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