The UFC is tapping into some more European talent with their latest round of signings as they gear up for their first trip to Croatia.
It looks like 2016 in the UFC is going to be a year of new faces. With the promotion heading into at least two new markets this spring (shows planned in Croatia and the Netherlands) the UFC has been plucking up European talent left and right to make their debuts on these upcoming cards. There are enough new names that I couldn’t fit them all in one article, and will have another followup coming shortly. For the moment however, I’m here to talk about two new signings. LowKing.pl reports the signing of Croatian featherweight Filip Pejic. Pejic will debut at bantamweight against Damian Stasiak on the Zagreb show on April 10th. Joining him is Serbian welterweight Bojan Velickovic. Velickovic will make his debut against another newcomer, Alessio Di Chirico, on the Croatia card. The UFC announced the news via press release. So…
Who is Filip Pejic?
The 23-year-old Croatian fighter trains out of Olimp Ban Team under Bernard Ban in Zagreb, Croatia. It’s the home of regional standouts Matej Batinic and Antonio Mijatovic, however Pejic will be the first Ban fighter to make the leap from regional MMA to the big leagues. “Nitro” as he is also known, will make his UFC debut with a 10-1-1 record having gone undefeated in 9 straight fights since losing to Marko Burusic back in 2012. Pejic avenged that loss a year later and has wins over another strong regional prospects in Francisco Albano Barrio and solid talent like Burusic and Ivan Valdimir. Otherwise his record isn’t terribly notable with a the standard mix of cans and inexperienced competition.
What you should expect:
For something of an MMA native, it’s a little surprising to say that Pejic’s best asset is probably his hands. While he can be a little wild from range, throwing big looping strikes and a slightly strange side kick, when he gets in tight and lets his hands go he does a remarkably decent job throwing tight, sharp punches. That’s really the best part of his game. In the clinch he tends to be more of a leaning grinder than anything else, and isn’t much of a wrestler either offensively or defensively. He scrambles well enough on the ground and has a very aggressive guard game off his back, but I’d be surprised if it’s something he can depend on in the UFC.
What this means for his debut:
Stasiak is an interesting case. A well-recognized, competitive Karateka on the European circuit with a well rounded wrestling and grappling game. Pejic should be the better pocket boxer and probably is the better natural athlete, but Stasiak has the better range striking game (even if he doesn’t string combinations together). Still, what I think this will really come down to is wrestling. Stasiak is a willing and capable wrestler both offensively and defensively and has a pretty strong top game when he can get the fight there. Considering Pejic’s lack of wrestling and willingness to grapple from the guard, it’s hard not to see Stasiak getting him down and keeping him there for a decision loss.
To get us better acquainted, here’s Pejic’s recent draw against Slobodan Maksimovic:
Who is Bojan Velickovic?
“Serbian Steel” as he is also known is a 27-year old fighter training out of Elevation Fight Team alongside TJ Dillashaw, Matt Brown, Clay Guida, and Tony Sims. It’s a newly developing elite camp that’s been attracting some name talent, and alongside Sims, Veli is part of the first wave of fighters to use it as a jumping off point to get to the UFC. He’s coming to the promotion with a 13-3 record and the RFA welterweight title. According to the UFC, he’ll be making his debut at 185. He has strong wins over fellow prospects Ben Smith, and top LHW prospect Jiri Prochazka on his record along side some decent regional vets and lower level talent. He also made a failed bid for TUF 19, losing his entry fight to Tim Williams.
What you should expect:
Velickovic apparently comes to MMA with something of a Muay Thai background, which mostly shows itself in his snapping low kicks. At range he’s a very low output striker, who tends to keep a tentative jab out in front of him to dissuade opponents from closing range while he looks for the right opportunities to kick and to close down into the clinch. Velickovic is a big strong fighter, especially for welterweight, but he’s not an especially dominating one inside. He peppers away with short punches and knees against the fence, but is more of a grinder than anything. He’s also surprisingly hittable going in and out of the pocket, and has been caught flat footed a few times.
Because he’s big and strong and resilient, he’s a decent wrestler and scrambler. He has a nice power double when he can set it up and does well when opponents try to dive on submissions or take his back. He uses his large frame to really clamp down on his own sub opportunities, but he can be out-wrestled by more technical fighters. And while he’s got a lockdown control game from top position, he’s not exactly a dynamic sub hunter or a consistent ground and pound threat.
What this means for his debut:
This is really a matchup of the similarly skilled fighters. Velickovic has been competing against a much better level of competition than Di Chirico, and should have a better idea of what parts of his game will and wont work in the UFC. Otherwise, both guys lack volume, both are okay, but not great wrestlers, and both prefer to control their opponents from the top. I think Di Chirico is a bit faster and more fluid everywhere, but not so much that I expect him to get an easy win. This should be something of a coin flip fight.
To get us better acquainted, here’s Velickovic’s last RFA fight against Ben Smith: