Every pro-MMA fighter dreams of fighting in the UFC, and every amateur fighter dreams of fighting as a pro fighter. The bulk of today’s MMA stars were once beginners wishing to make it big in the pro ranks. But why? It’s quite simple in the MMA field and that’s money.
An amateur plays for the love of the sport but a pro player fights for money; he/she gets paid. In every fighter’s career, there comes a point where they must choose between taking another amateur fight or making their highly anticipated pro debut in order to get monetized.
Nevertheless, fighting as an amateur surely helped them polish their talents and grow comfortable in the cage, whether for a long time or a shorter period. So, who are the mighty amateurs worth watching, all set for their debut in 2022?
Here in this article, we are shedding some light upon those ten exciting fighters on the rise who might get a dignitary amateur title soon, or step forward to playing as a pro-fighter in future matches.
1. Sabrina Laurentina De Sousa | Bantamweight
The 4th great among the 100 Middle East women, Sabrina Laurentina is a 21-year-old high-level bantamweight amateur.
The player holds three IMMAF gold medals, compromising two global titles and one European. With a current strike of 12 wins, her amateur fight record shows 0 losses and 0 draws (12-0-0).
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Sousa holds a significantly better amateur career than other amateur women as she has more submission victories than anyone else.
Sabrina, born in Bahrain, showcases an excellent takedown defense and appears to be a formidable opponent who will definitely make an immediate impact after stepping into professional range.
2. Fergus Jenkins | Middleweight
Another IMMAF standout, Fergus Jenkins had this year as his breakout year. Jenkins played his last match on January 29, 2022, for New Zealand.
In 2021, the amateur fighter won five fights and was declared the IMMAF Senior Middleweight World Champion.
The 21-year-old young boxer has some surreal takedown skills which are thought to be pretty uncommon in young boxers. To illustrate, he excels at catching kicks, slipping under punches, and using momentum to propel himself forward.
His takedowns result from perfectly timed entrances, helping him maintain the current streak of 8 wins. Jenkins currently trains under coach Karl Webber.
3. Ramazan Gitinov | Welterweight
Next, we have Ramazan Gitinov, the amateur fighter born in Russia and competing out of Muharraq, Bahrain. Gitinov is considered one of the finest amateur MMA prospects in the world.
Already racked up a bevy of medals, the fine man has garnered five gold medals under his belt. Ranked at the first position in welterweight, Ramazan is also the first ranker in active Middle East amateur middleweights.
Talking about his strengths, he is a high-level wrestler who can adapt to any situation and tackle his opponent. Moreover, the 5’11” tall player is also a skilled combatant and can chain wrestle at a rapid rate.
Ramazan has bagged 22 wins with 2 losses, while having his last fight on March 12, 2022. Ramazan has a great potential to turn into a pro wrestler at any time and the ring shall always welcome him gracefully.
4. Aieza Bertolso | Flyweight
Bertolso, the most recent gold medalist of the IMMAF Senior tournament is known for her grappling, however, that’s not only her strength, the lionhearted female fighter is capable of fighting anyplace.
At a pound for pound, Aieza is ranked 6th out of 100 active Middle East women while she is ranked 16th of 136 active Russian women.
The 20-year-old fighter had her last fight on March 10, 2022, and currently has a streak of 9 wins. To add further, she won her nine fights after losing once in 2019 and her MMA amateur record stands at 11-1-0 (Win-Loss-Draw).
Winner of the IMMAF European and World Championships 2021, she has a perfect physique for the flyweight category and represents Brazil.
5. Fernando Reyes | Welterweight
The 25-year-old magnificent welterweight, Fernando Reyes stands at 6’2″ and fights out of Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
The man is known for his good countering abilities with great captures and appears to be quite aggressive on the ground. Similarly, another strength of his is timing for entries as he rushes across the cage and intimidates his opponent.
The two TKOs (Technical Knockouts) on his resume represent ground and pound. His amateur MMA record shouts 5 wins and 0 losses, while the last match he played was on December 19, 2020.
6. Craig Willingham | Welterweight
“The Can Man,” Craig Willingham is a brilliant striker and has a promising future ahead of him. The folk is known for possessing outstanding takedown defenses.
As Craig defends and lands his own shots, he does a terrific job of making his opponent pay when they shoot. Furthermore, the 6’1″ tall fighter knows how to take advantage of his height.
Having played his last game on December 21, 2019, Willingham has a winning streak of six and 0 losses. The fighter weighing 170.6 lbs excels at battling with long speedy punches, particularly as a distance fighter.
Because of his inactivity in fights, he is currently declared ineligible for regional rankings as a fighter must have at least one MMA bout in a span of two years.
His hands, kicks, knees, and shot selection proves him to be an extremely dangerous player on the ground. If Craig makes a comeback this year, he would make an excellent choice for a near-future debut as a professional MMA player.
7. Jimmy Quinn | Bantamweight
The amateur player from England, Jimmy Quinn, is another fierce fighter to watch during coming pro-MMA fights.
Currently, Quinn is the South East bantamweight champion of the Cage Warriors Academy in South East (CSWE) where he had his last fight on March 12, 2022.
With present-day four winning streaks, Quinn trains under coach Tony Anderson and is affiliated with The MMA Clinic, Essex, England. Jimmy actively threatens his opponents to finish with hands, kicks, ground and pound, and submissions.
The all-rounder fighter is known to leap into action as soon as the bell rings and presents himself enthusiastically. In detail, he has no trouble letting go of his hands and kicks and keeps going with the flow which has worked to his benefit.
8. Magdalena Czaban | Atomweight
Magdalena Czaban, also known as Atomowka is a two-time European IMMAF champion as well as the 2019 IMMAF Junior World Champion.
Czaban, regarded as a trademark of the IMMAF has her amateur MMA record of 12 wins and 12 losses. Also, she is the ADCC Polish champion for 2021 and a two-time European IMMAF champion.
The IMMAF Junior World Champion of 2019 stands at a height of 5’1″ which is a bit short, nevertheless, that has not stopped her yet. The 22-year-old Czaben aces in all fighting forms, but even more so on the mat.
9. Jon Vetle Furuheim | Featherweight
The South East featherweight champion of the Cage Warriors Academy, Jon Vetle Furuheim prefers to attack the body and unleash a lot of kicks.
Also known by the nickname Wonderboy, he is quite young at just 19 years old and has an amateur MMA record of 10 wins and 2 losses.
His training foundation is based on MuayThai and has Chris Nilsen as his head coach. The Norwegian fighter can wrap the game both on his feet or on the mat, while prefers to attack the opponent’s body, unleashing a lot of kicks.
Likewise, he will even snatch the neck if a situation demands, bringing himself several victory titles even at such an early age.
He is the top-ranked Western Amateur Featherweight champion in Europe while ranking with other 392 active Featherweights. Similarly, Jon is the top-ranked Amateur Featherweight in Italy, with 69 current fighters.
And in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Furuheim is ranked 6th among the 420 active Amateur Featherweights.
10. Alejandro Gomez | Bantamweight
The 5’8″ tall Alejandro Gomez, fighting out of Missouri is our next contender on the list of rising amateurs to watch on 2022’s pro debut.
Gomez has established himself as a standout fighter at Glory MMA training under his coach, UFC lightweight Trey Ogden.
The American fighter is a famed versatile amateur player who is quick, far-ranging, explosive, and aggressive. To add further, he is the type of person who will throw some complex fighting forms at you, while you’ll find it difficult to decipher before even defending yourself.
Alejandro’s current amateur MMA record shines at 6-0-0 (Win-Loss-Draw) while he played his last fight on February 6, 2022, in the Fighting Alliance Championship (FAC).
At the time being, Gomez is ranked #2 out of 396 active Midwest Amateur Bantamweights in the United States while he is the top-ranked amateur bantamweight in Kansas/Missouri.