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| Name: |  Wagner Prado |
| Nickname: | Caldeirao |
| Age: | 24 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Location: |
Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil |
This is a guest post by Rory MacLeod (smoogy)
It is a daunting task to break into the upper-echelon of the light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts. The UFC is home to virtually all the biggest names, and few are making retirement plans. Top contenders aside, even the entry-level UFC ranks represent a big step up for most newcomers. If there is one prospect on our list most likely to successfully make the leap, it has to be Sao Paulo Muay Thai stylist Wagner Prado (7-0). Representing Praetorian MMA and Team Nogueira, "Caldeirao" looks to have the requisite combination of size, speed, and skills for the task.
Physically, Wagner appears to be a cross between Mark Kerr, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. and a gorilla. If championships were determined by the size of a fighter's limbs, chest and cranium, Prado would already be wearing gold. With a dozen muay thai fights to his credit, he is unsurprisingly strong in the stand-up department, and is capable of ending any fight abruptly with his savage roundhouse kicks and knees. Prado has done just that in most of his bouts thus far, scoring either clean KO wins or chopping victims down to the canvas to be finished off with heavy ground and pound.
Though he doesn't have the tallest frame or longest reach, Wagner controls distance well from a southpaw stance and possesses good defensive skills. He needs to develop a little more offense with his hands though; currently he is over-reliant on a quick lead right hook and rarely throws his left. As a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he does not look for prolonged grappling exchanges but has enough ability to defend and escape back to his comfort zone. Besides his novice status in submission fighting, Wagner acknowledges his need to seek out specialized wrestling training that he currently isn't receiving in Sao Paulo.
Wagner was set to face #8 selection Thiago Perpetuo in May, but a knee injury suffered by Prado in training caused the bout to be postponed indefinitely and put an early end to his 2011 campaign. He's now back in the gym and should return soon, likely with Sao Paulo's Max Fight series. With a win over Perpetuo or another fighter on his level of experience, Wagner Prado will be in striking range of a shot on the world stage in 2012.
Footage of Wagner Prado after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - Andrey Koreshkov #2 - Dhiego Lima #3 - Brandon Thatch #4 - Nordine Taleb #5 - Hernani Perpetuo #6 - Brock Jardine #7 - Alan Jouban #8 - Mohsen Bahari #9 - Andre Santos #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - Antonio Braga Neto #2 - Marcelo Guimaraes #3 - Claudio Silva #4 - Bojan Velickovic #5 - Ildemar Alcantara #6 - Michal Materla #7 - Elvis Mutapcic #8 - Tor Troeng #9 - Jack Hermansson #10 - Tim Ruberg |
#1 - Wagner Prado #2 - Phelipe Lins #3 - Tom DeBlass #4 - Misha Cirkunov #5 - Kyle Cerminara #6 - Robert Drysdale #7 - Artur Alibulatov #8 - Thiago Perpetuo #9 - Steve Bosse #10 - Juha Saarinen |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
Wagner Prado vs. Fernando Tressino - Campinas Fight 2
Wagner Prado vs. Luis Eduardo da Paixao
Wagner Prado vs. Alexandre Imperador
1 recs | 14 comments
wow that guy looks like a savage
also can’t wait for heavyweights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - January 21, 2012
Wagnao was featured on a reallity show that can be shortly described as pimp my ride brazil. In the show he was introduced to nogueira and that basically changed his life. He comes from a small team in our town (campinas) and he is a great guy, very cool and kind hearted. I’ve sparred with him a few times and believe me, he hits hard. Probally the strongest clinch i’ve ever been in.
docsin - January 21, 2012
That's awesome
So is being on that show and meeting Nog the reason he got into the sport?
What gyms are around Campinas?
Robert V-U - January 21, 2012
In portuguese, of course
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFZ8mZQjyuI
Henrique - January 21, 2012
Awesome
smoogy2 - January 21, 2012
He’s kind of on the soft side of 205lbs. With his height he’ll probably end up at 185, Markes style.
dancingChicken - January 21, 2012
He’s very strong. I’d be wary of him cutting down. If anything, he’ll add muscle, just like Lins will.
Leland Roling - January 21, 2012
I don't know nearly as much about him as Leland does
But I tend to agree that he’s probably better off staying at 205 but doing some good strength and conditioning work to make himself a firmer 205. If you lose 20 pounds you’re going to lose strength.
Leland, are you concerned by his quality of competition? Doesn’t seem like he has fought particularly good opponents.
MichaelDavidSmith - January 21, 2012
It’s definitely a factor, although we don’t like to make it the end all, be all of our rankings. We mostly looked at his skills and what happened when he was put in danger. He definitely needs to be tested.
DeBlass is clearly the most experienced, well-rounded guy of the top 3, but I do like Lins and Prado’s upside, especially with their striking skills.
Leland Roling - January 21, 2012
Guy looks dangerous
Be interesting to see what he does this year.
Newman24 - January 21, 2012
A cross between Mark Kerr, Shogun and a Gorilla?
I lol’d
Rob Young - January 21, 2012 via mobile
Are any of last years prospect in the UFC now?
Kefka - January 21, 2012
Do a search
In the top right corner for “scouting review” to see breakdowns of how each weight class’ alumni got on.
wonderfulspam - January 21, 2012 via Android app
I like it.
How awesome would a fight between Prado and Lins be?
Tag01 - January 22, 2012
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