Tag: Max Rohskopf

Video: Unbeaten prospect Max Rohskopf stays perfect at Titan FC 59

Undefeated lightweight Max Rohskopf kept his record unblemished with a first-round submission win at Friday’s Titan FC 59.

Undefeated lightweight [autotag]Max Rohskopf[/autotag] (5-0) kept his record unblemished with a first-round submission win at Friday’s Titan FC 59.

After a brief feeling out process on the feet, Rohskopf was able to secure the neck of opponent Paulo Silva (6-6) and roll to mount, squeezing a mounted arm-in guillotine choke until the Brazilian tapped out just as he went to sleep, as well. The end came at the 1:53 mark of the opening round, and you can check out the bout in it’s entirety, courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, in the video above.

Additionally, the full Titan FC 59 event is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Titan FC 59 took place Friday at Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

MMA Junkie previously featured Rohskopf in its list of “20 fighters who could become stars in the 2020s,” as well as this month’s “On the Doorstep: 5 fighters who could make MMA big leagues with February wins.”

Complete Titan FC 59 results include:

  • Michael Graves def. Yuri Villefort via TKO (punches) – Round 4, 4:40 – to retain welterweight title
  • Roman Faraldo def. Gerrick Bontekoe via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:49
  • Max Rohskopf def. Paulo Silva via submission (mounted guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:53
  • Said Sowma def. Jermayne Barnes via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
  • Cleveland McLean def. Desmond Moore via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 0:59
  • Charlie Decca def. John Marquez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 20-27)

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

The MMA Road Show with John Morgan, No. 257 – Las Vegas – Joseph Benavidez, Max Rohskopf

Episode No. 257 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan” podcast is now available for streaming and download.

Episode No. 257 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan” podcast is now available for streaming and download.

MMA Junkie lead staff reporter John Morgan hosts the show while traveling the world to cover the sport.

John Morgan and Cold Coffee discuss a very interesting interview they conducted with [autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] and his trainer, Joshua Fabia, earlier in the week and share a few key highlights before looking ahead to UFC Norfolk. Hear from headliner [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] ahead of his title fight, and also listen to Morgan’s interview with Titan FC’s [autotag]Max Rohskopf[/autotag].

Check it out on iTunes or at themmaroadshow.com. You can also subscribe via RSS.

Titan FC 59’s Max Rohskopf welcomes added attention on run to UFC

“I’ve wrestled in front of 20,000, 30,000 people before.”

[autotag]Max Rohskopf[/autotag] is ready for the big leagues.

The 25-year-old lightweight is regarded by many as a promising prospect who could very well end up in the UFC roster in the future. Rohskopf (4-0) is unbeaten in his MMA career with all four wins coming by submission. He’s also a former NCAA Division-I wrestler from North Carolina State.

Rohskopf recently switched organizations from Final Fight Championship to Titan FC. He’s scheduled to debut with the promotion Friday against Paulo Silva at Titan FC 59 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

With many eyes on him and now in an organization that’s launched numerous fighters to the UFC, Rohskopf welcomes the newly added attention to his young MMA career.

“I don’t know what the numbers are, but I’ve wrestled in front of 20,000, 30,000 people before,” Rohskopf told MMA Junkie. “In Iowa, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, it’s a bunch of hillbillies telling me I’m too pretty to wrestle and (expletive), and all the eyeballs are on me because it’s a dual meet or whatever. So it’s something I’m used to and always, at least in wrestling and jiu-jitsu, I always performed better under pressure.”

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Rohskopf is only two years into his professional MMA career, but says it’s about time heads start turning his way.

“It’s bout (expletive) time – I’ve been working too hard for too long,” Rohskopf said. “(I’ve had) a lot of setbacks and stuff like that, so to me it’s just about time. The expectations are there and I want to shatter those, so I’m always shooting for the stars and if I don’t reach it, it’s fine. It puts a little more pressure (on me), but the good pressure that gets me excited.”

Rohskopf doesn’t plan on losing any time soon and thinks it’s not a matter of if he’s going to make it to the UFC, but when.

“I haven’t had conversations with anyone in the UFC, but I know a lot of media members, a lot of people, a lot of friends over at Xtreme Couture, and all of my coaches here, and my management have talked to them – so I know they know about me.

“It’s just going to be a matter of when they want me. But I’m ready now, this second.”

On the Doorstep: 5 fighters who could make MMA big leagues with February wins

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey starts long before they strap on UFC or Bellator gloves.

Every champion in MMA history started out somewhere.

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey starts long before they strap on UFC or Bellator gloves. Modern-era fighters progress through the regional ranks with hopes of accomplishing the highest accolades. Many will try, but few will succeed.

This November, five fighters on the verge of achieving major-promotion notoriety return to the cage for what could be their stepping stone fights. There are dozens of fighters inches away from making the jump in the coming weeks, but these five are particularly exemplary.

This month:

  • A Russian fighter looks to continue terrorizing the Northeast MMA scene and punch his ticket to the big show by defending his CFFC belt.
  • A quietly rising bantamweight prospect continues his undefeated streak. Perhaps, No. 11 will be his lucky number.
  • Focused on improvement, a 24-year-old light heavyweight is taking Dana White’s advice in stride as he continues moving closer toward a major promotional contract.
  • A 205-pound Wisconsite has picked up five victories in five fights. If he picks up No. 6 in his first LFA headliner, he could be looking at the big leagues.
  • A North Carolina State University wrestling standout with slick submission skills thinks he’s ready right now. A win in his Titan FC debut will only bolster that belief.

Scroll through the following pages to see the five fighters who this month find themselves on the doorstep:

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Titan FC 59 announced, includes welterweight title unification bout, Max Rohskopf return, more

Titan FC has officially booked their first show of 2020.

Top Southeast regional promotion Titan FC has officially booked their first show of 2020.

Titan FC 59 takes place Feb. 28 at Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The main card streams on UFC Fight Pass. The promotion recently announced the event and a handful of bookings. The rest of the lineup is expected to be announced in the coming days.

The main event features a 170-pound title unification bout between the promotion’s welterweight champion [autotag]Michael Graves[/autotag] and interim champion [autotag]Kamal Magomedov[/autotag].

A former UFC fighter, Graves (8-1-2) has won back-to-back fights under the Titan banner. Conversely, Magomedov (8-0) won his promotional debut by submission at Titan FC 57 in October.

Additionally, highly-touted undefeated welterweight prospect [autotag]Max Rohskopf[/autotag] is booked for his fifth professional MMA bout. The former North Carolina State University wrestling standout has translated his success to MMA, but has struggled to find opponents as of late. Named one of MMA Junkie’s 20 fighters who could become stars in the 20’s, Rohskopf (4-0) will face Brazil’s [autotag]Paulo Silva[/autotag] (6-5).

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The current Titan FC 59 lineup includes:

  • Champ Michael Graves vs. interim champ Kamal Magomedov for undisputed Titan FC welterweight title
  • Max Rohskopf vs. Paulo Silva
  • [autotag]Miranda Barber[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lauren Bensinger[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Desmond Moore[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Daniel[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Dylan Salvador[/autotag] vs. TBD
  • [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jermayne Barnes[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Josh DaSilveria[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jarrod Thomas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Miles Amos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Garrick James[/autotag]

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20 fighters who could become stars in the 2020s

A new decade is upon us, and these 20 fighters could take a step to greatness within it.

Well, another decade of mixed martial arts action is in the books.

The 2010s featured the emergence of superstars such as Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey. For the first time in UFC history, a simultaneous double champion was crowned in McGregor. And then it happened again (Daniel Cormier, and again (Amanda Nunes, and again (Henry Cejudo).

The next decade is almost guaranteed to provide us with the next generation of UFC, Bellator, and PFL champions. But who are the likely candidates to become future stars?

From hot UFC and Bellator prospects, to fighters on the regional scene, to athletes yet to compete in MMA, the up-and-comer harvest is plentiful. Who could be the next McGregor? The next Israel Adesanya? The next Zhang Weili?

Let’s take a look into MMA Junkie’s crystal ball and see who could cross the threshold into stardom over the span of the next decade.

Two parameters were set for this list:

  1. Fighters must be younger than age 30.
  2. Fighters have yet to hold a major organization’s title.

Fighters who fit the criteria but have seemingly already achieved stardom were not considered.

Without further ado …

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Maycee Barber

Record: 8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC
Age: 21
Weight class: Flyweight
Height: 5’5″
Birthplace: Greeley, Colo.
Next Fight: Jan. 18 vs. Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in Las Vegas

Nicknamed “The Future,” [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] is just that. The strawweight has proven her worth in a short period of time, competing for LFA and on Dana White’s Contender Series prior to her UFC debut. Three fights into her promotional tenure, Barber sports a 100 percent finishing rate. In her most recent outing in October, Barber blitzed and TKO’d fellow top prospect Gillian Robertson. The win moved Barber one step closer to her publicly set goal of becoming the youngest UFC champion ever. She’ll look to continue her climb when she takes on her highest-ranked opponent to date, Roxanne Modafferi, at UFC 246 on Jan. 18.

Paulo Costa

Record: 13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC
Age: 28
Weight class: Middleweight
Height: 6’1″
Birthplace: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Next Fight: TBA

It almost seems like a misprint that [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] can qualify for this list – but he does. It’s easy to forget his age and relatively brief UFC tenure when looking at his accomplishments. A physical specimen, the Brazilian middleweight Costa has quickly risen through the ranks en route to title contention. Costa went the distance for the first time in his career in August. In doing so, he defeated his most notable opponent to date, two-time title challenger Yoel Romero. The victory presumably has set Costa up for a title shot against champion Israel Adesanya. However, a shoulder injury has delayed “Borrachinha’s” return – but the rivalry with Adesanya is continuing to build in the meantime.

Mike Davis

Record: 8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC
Age: 27
Weight class: Lightweight
Height: 6’0″
Birthplace: South Cairo, N.Y.
Next Fight: TBA

With an 80 percent winning percentage, [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] doesn’t have a bad record by any means. But still, it isn’t representative of the skills he possesses. The Florida-based lightweight has only lost two top-tier talents in Sodiq Yusuff and Gilbert Burns. With crisp boxing and a strong ground game, Davis is a scary matchup for any member of the UFC’s 155-pound division. Just imagine how good he could become. The man hasn’t even hit the dozen-fight mark of his pro MMA career. In his most recent bout, Davis administered one of the year’s biggest beatdowns, pummeling Thomas Gifford at UFC on ESPN+ 19 in October.

Ciryl Gane

Record: 6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC
Age: 29
Weight class: Heavyweight
Height: 6’5″
Birthplace: France
Next Fight: TBA

It’s been a long time since MMA has seen a heavyweight prospect with the upside of [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]. Working under esteemed MMA coach Fernand Lopez, France’s Gane has served as a main training partner for Francis Ngannou. Now, it’s his time. Possessing many of the same skills as Ngannou, Gane also brings some differences to the table. His athleticism and quickness is unusual for a heavyweight. Possessing a strong kickboxing background, Gane has shown he’s evolved past being a one-dimensional competitor. In two out of his three UFC outings, Gane has won by submission.

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