Sherdog Prospect Watch: 10 Upside Picks

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9. Hakeem Dawodu
Division: Featherweight
Record: 4-0
Age: 23
Years Pro: 1
Camp: Champion’s Creed Martial Arts/Mike Miles Muay Thai

Calgary’s Dawodu might be flying under the radar right now, but that will not be the case for long. He is 4-0 as a professional, with all four victories coming by way of knockout against legitimate competition under the World Series of Fighting banner. The former professional kickboxer’s most recent win came over the experienced Tristan Johnson in February. With another notch or two under his belt, it would not be surprising to see Dawodu fighting the upper crust of WSOF’s featherweight division.

Dawodu is a specimen with great power, strength and athleticism packed into his 5-foot-8 frame, and given his youth, at 23, he will likely become even faster and more explosive as he reaches his physical prime. From a skills perspective, Dawodu is even more promising. He has extensive experience as both an amateur and a professional kickboxer, and that forms the basis for his game in mixed martial arts.

Slick, technical punch-kick combinations delivered with vicious force are Dawodu’s bread and butter. His command of angles, distance and timing, the intangibles that usually take many years for high-level strikers to acquire, is already outstanding. He is even better in the clinch, where he unleashes sharp knees and slashing elbows while seamlessly transitioning from position to position. This finishing sequence gives a good sense for Dawodu’s killer instinct and diverse skills.

We know much less about Dawodu’s wrestling and grappling games, but what we have seen is promising. He has a quick sprawl, takes tight pivots and moves well in space, which makes it difficult to get a clean shot at his hips. He shoots a decent double and has some nice trips in the clinch, and from top position, he has good posture and is quite strong.

With his excellent striking base and physical tools, the sky is the limit for Dawodu. The only real question is whether his camp, a small organization in Calgary, can continue to build on his game at the same rate as a larger camp like Tristar Gym could. Still, early returns have been promising, and Dawodu looks like a safe bet to turn into a high-level competitor at 145 pounds.

Continue Reading » Khalil Rountree