Prospect Roundup 3-18-17: Marc Diakiese, Hakeem Dawodu, and Tyler Diamond All Win

On a weekend where a lot took place in MMA, three of MMASucka’s top 40 prospects picked up victories.

Originally it was set to be a much bigger weekend with two other fighters #35 prospect Phil Hawes and #9 prospect Joseph Morales, but both of their fights were cancelled last minute.

Phil Hawes’s opponent Elyjah Wynter pulled out of their fight with an injury while Joseph Morales had his fight cancelled and moved to next weekend.

According to sources if Joseph Morales wins next weekends fight he will be awarded a UFC contract. UFC President Dana White will be in attendance for the fight.

Marc Diakiese Destroys Teemu Packalen

UFC Fight Night 107 was an action-packed event with a lot of fighters winning impressively, but most fans left talking about #37 prospect Marc Diakiese and his performance against Teemu Packalen.

Diakiese blasted out of the gate with a flurry of attacks eventually connecting with a big right hand that put Packalen to sleep. It was an absolute vicious knockout.

In the leadup to the fight, Diakiese switched camps coming overseas to train at American Top Team. If ATT help Diakiese mature his game he is going to be something to watch out for.

He has great athleticism and very decent wrestling. As he showcased in this fight, he has knockout power.

The UFC has been looking for an English star opposite of Michael Bisping for quite some time now, Diakiese could be the guy.

Hakeem Dawodu beats TUF veteran Steven Siler

In a very fun fight, #18 prospect Hakeem Dawodu earned a decision victory against Steven Siler.

As fans have grown accostomed too, Siler puts on really tough fights, and he had Dwadou in serious trouble in the first round threatning with a rear-naked choke.

He had the body triangle seemingly wrapped tight but Dawodu powered through and reversed it laying down some ground and pound. He actually won the ground exchanges throughout the fight which is quite impressive to see if you’ve followed Dawodu’s career.

Now at 7-0-1, Dwadou is still a bit too green to be taking any serious steps up in competition, but at this point WSOF may not have a choice as they need fights for their champ Lance Palmer and Hakeem is their best Featherweight on the roster.

Perhaps next he’ll fight Costa Rica’s Steven Rodriguez for a title shot. But it’d be the preferred step if Dawodu fought a couple of more guys at Siler’s level before he makes a jump in competition like Palmer.

Tyler Diamond Improves to 7-0

Former NCAA Division-2 wrestling standout and #27 prospect Tyler Diamond remains undefeated after beating Ran Weathers on the Global Knockouts 9 event.

Diamond is one of many prospects fighting out of Team Alpha Male. He is right on the cusp of being picked up by the UFC or at least a major promotion but possibly 1-2 fights away.

He picked up the win on his 26th birthday.

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