There are always young, up-and-coming fighters to watch around the world. Unfortunately, most mixed martial arts fans don’t get to know these diamonds in the rough unless they are in the UFC.
That is where MMASucka.com decided to get involved to bring you this “Five fighters to watch from…” feature.
In this edition, we bring you the top five prospects from one of Asia’s most prominent MMA gyms, Phuket Top Team (PTT). Founded by Boyd Clarke, PTT is currently home to some of the world’s top fighters, including the Leone brothers (Anthony & Andrew), Rob Lisita, Adam Kayoom, James McSweeney and Will Chope among many, many others. The gym is situated in the Chalong district of Phuket, Thailand.
Phuket Top Team‘s fighters have gone on to represent a myriad of regional and global MMA promotions since its inception and in 2013 alone, its fighters amassed 40+ pro MMA fights with a 92 percent win ratio – the highest of any MMA gym in the region.
Coach Boyd Clarke personally gave me the following names. Check them out below in no particular order:
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- Name: Don Carlo-Clauss (10-7)
Affectionately known as ‘Donny’, you might have heard of the New York native through his past stints with Bellator MMA and Strikeforce. Although he has been inactive in pro MMA action for nearly two years, Clauss now heads the MMA program at PTT, where he serves as head coach. He has been a veteran of the sport since 2007.
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- Name: Moise Rimbon (20-9-3)
The Frenchman has traveled around the world and plied his trade in multiple promotions, garnering well over 30 pro fights to date. The often intense, 36-year-old fighter most recently featured in Thailand under the DARE banner, where he augmented his current win streak to six straight fights. Nicknamed ‘Swamp’, Rimbon holds notable bouts with the likes of ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Anthony Perosh.
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- Name: Daniel Tabera (17-5-3)
‘The Gladiator’ Daniel Tabera is a veteran of the European circuit with high profile match-ups against names such as Glover Teixeira, Mikhail Zayats, Gilbert Yvel and Bae Myung Ho. After losing only twice in the first seven years of his pro MMA career, the M-1 Global staple suffered a rough patch in 2010, before scoring a much needed, resounding victory in 2012. Even at a flimsy age of 36, Tabera is still considered as one of the best MMA fighters Spain has ever produced.
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- Name: Ian Entwistle (8-1)
“I wake up thinking about heel hooks, I eat thinking about heel hooks, I train and think about heel hooks, I watch fights and say there’s a heel hook from there every 10 seconds and then I go to sleep thinking about heel hooks.”
Suffice to say, heel hooks are Ian Entwistle’s go-to move, and in his most recent appearance at a Cage Warriors event late last year, the 27-year-old Brit scored a submission of the year worthy heel hook triumph which garnered worldwide attention. It’s well worth noting that the submission ace is yet to see a second round in all his pro and Amateur MMA outings thus far too. ‘Enty’ is undoubtedly one of England’s hottest commodities in Mixed Martial Arts today.
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- Name: Fred Harrington (6-0)
England’s Fred Harrington continues to hold an unscathed resume, and with a 100 percent finish rate in all his bouts, the Brit has all the tools to be a strong force at 155-lbs irregardless of whichever promotion he decides to put pen-to-paper with. Harrington has been in the pro MMA circles since 2011, with an equal number of TKO and submission victories under his belt. He started his career as a Middleweight, before making the transition to 170-lbs. Now with Phuket Top Team, the Bournemouth, England native hopes to make a drop to Lightweight for his future fights.
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