{"id":557940,"date":"2026-03-22T23:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T23:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/557940\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T23:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T23:39:19","slug":"ufc-london-rookie-report-card-grading-all-five-debuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/557940\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC London rookie report card: Grading all five debuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

You only get one<\/a> Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!<\/p>\n

Five rookies made their first walks to the Octagon yesterday (Sat., March 21, 2026) at UFC London<\/a> inside the O2 Arena in London, England. The newcomers went 2-3 overall, with one highlight knockout but mainly underwhelming performances.<\/p>\n

Now that the dust has settled, let\u2019s grade their respective debuts.<\/p>\n

\"LONDON,<\/a><\/p>\n

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: (R-L) Danny Silva punches Kurtis Campbell of England in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The O2 on March 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Kurtis Campbell earned his UFC contract on Season 9 of Contender Series with a quick knockout (watch highlights<\/a>) \u2014 and because of that, the promotion went all in, slotting him on the main card against the ultra-durable Danny Silva and even giving him Sean O\u2019Malley\u2019s pink shorts.<\/p>\n

And yeah \u2026 it was too much, too soon.<\/p>\n

Campbell had early success with his trademark kicks and even mixed in a couple of takedowns, but once Silva adjusted, the tide turned quickly. Silva began walking him down, and in round two, Campbell left his guard open and got cracked with a right hand that dropped him.<\/p>\n

Silva poured it on from there, scoring multiple knockdowns before the referee stepped in (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I was high on Campbell heading into this one \u2014 even labeled him this weekend\u2019s must-watch fighter<\/a> \u2014 but this was a reminder of just how steep the jump to the UFC can be.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be back, and he\u2019ll be fun. But this is a big learning moment.<\/p>\n

I would like to see him fight fellow Contender Series vet Javier Reyes for his second UFC fight.<\/p>\n

\"LONDON,<\/a><\/p>\n

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: Shanelle Dyer celebrates her victory of the strawweight bout between Shanelle Dyer and Ravena Oliveira at The O2 Arena on March 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Jasper Wax\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Despite losing on Season 9 of Contender Series<\/a>, Strawweight prospect Shanelle Dyer still received a contract from UFC brass because the fight was a banger \u2014 and there\u2019s no doubt they saw the talent. She was tasked with opening the card as the curtain-jerker, and \u201cThe Nightmare\u201d absolutely kicked off the prelims in style.<\/p>\n

Dyer spent the first round finding her range against Ravena Oliveira. Oliveira opened with aggressive blitzes and heavy swings, but Dyer largely evaded the pressure with a disciplined jab and frequent calf kicks. After a brief clinch exchange along the fence, Dyer closed the round on the offensive with a series of elbows and leaping feints to seal the frame.<\/p>\n

The second round lasted less than two minutes. Dyer hurt the Brazilian with a heavy right hand and a head kick, then locked Oliveira in a clinch and brutalized her with knees before tossing her to the canvas and unleashing ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in (watch it<\/a>).<\/p>\n

At just 24 years old, Dyer looks like a legitimate female prospect, and she\u2019s especially exciting because she scores knockouts with crisp Muay Thai striking. I\u2019m calling it now: she\u2019ll be ranked within a year and become a staple of the division.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to see her fight Loma Lookboonmee next, purely for the striking.<\/p>\n

\"LONDON,<\/a><\/p>\n

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: Losene Keita of Belgium prepares to face Nathaniel Wood of England in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The O2 on March 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

At long last, Losene Keita made his highly anticipated UFC debut after his original debut was canceled last year because of a botched weight cut<\/a>. Keita drew the supremely underrated Nathaniel Wood for his first fight, and it turned into an extremely close contest.<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t a lot of action in the opening round. Keita spent most of it counterstriking while Wood stayed busy with combinations. The action picked up a bit in the second round, with Keita throwing more often, including teep kicks and step-in knees. Both men had their moments in the third.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Wood spoiled Keita\u2019s debut via split decision.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I\u2019m a massive Keita believer<\/a> and think he\u2019s going to become a title contender<\/a>. Losing to Wood is not a nail in the coffin whatsoever because Wood is extremely good and should be ranked next week, but the hesitation from Keita was the real head-scratcher.<\/p>\n

Was it Octagon jitters? Too much respect for Wood? Falling into Wood\u2019s game plan?<\/p>\n

He should fight Morgan Charriere in his sophomore outing.<\/p>\n

\"LONDON,<\/a><\/p>\n

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: (R-L) Mantas Kondratavicius of Lithuania punches Antonio Trocoli of Brazil in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The O2 on March 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Mantas Kondratavicius came into his debut with buzz after a quick Contender Series finish (watch it<\/a>) \u2014 but this one didn\u2019t live up to it.<\/p>\n

The fight started with some promise, as Kondratavicius threw with power early, but it quickly turned into a clinch-heavy affair against Antonio Trocoli. Both fighters spent long stretches pressed against the fence, trading short shots without much impact.<\/p>\n

There were flashes \u2014 including an elbow that dropped Trocoli \u2014 but Kondratavicius couldn\u2019t capitalize, instead opting to clinch again. A low blow halted momentum at one point, and from there, the fight never really found a rhythm.<\/p>\n

By the third round, both fighters were visibly exhausted, and the final minutes were a grind, with fence clinching and minimal offense drawing warnings from the referee.<\/p>\n

Kondratavicius got the unanimous decision, but as a massive favorite (-800) against a guy who is now 0-4 in the promotion, this was extremely underwhelming.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, a win is a win \u2014 but this didn\u2019t help his stock.<\/p>\n

A fight with Eric Nolan would be fun for his second UFC outing.<\/p>\n

\"Felipe<\/a><\/p>\n

Felipe Franco during his Heavyweight Bout against Mario Pinto during UFC Fight Night at The O2, London. Picture date: Saturday March 21, 2026. (Photo by Bradley Collyer\/PA Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

After losing on Season 9 of Contender Series<\/a>, Felipe Franco returned to the regional scene and scored two knockouts \u2014 one of them just 42 days ago \u2014 before getting the call on short notice, up a weight class, for his UFC debut. Unfortunately for him, he ran into one of the better Heavyweight prospects on the roster in Mario Pinto, though he did stand his ground for the most part.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to keep this one short because the fight sucked. It was your standard Heavyweight slop.<\/p>\n

Franco came out extremely aggressive, cracked Pinto in the opening round, and defended several takedown attempts, but that was about it. He was simply outsized and lost a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m assuming he\u2019ll drop back down to Light Heavyweight for his sophomore outing, where he should shine a bit more. I have no idea how successful he\u2019ll ultimately be inside the Octagon, but I have a sneaking suspicion he\u2019ll go 0-4 and get cut.<\/p>\n

He can fight Rafael Tobias, who lost his UFC debut at UFC 326.<\/p>\n

For complete UFC London results, coverage, and highlights click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut! Five rookies made their first walks to the Octagon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,40762,785,32785,85,1396,179146,6656],"class_list":["post-557940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-mma-prospects","tag-sports","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-results"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}