The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention to the most talented fighter on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.
We often see fighters from Russian promotions make their way over to the UFC. The area seems to be a hot bed for martial arts talent – so much so that the UFC linked a deal with M1 in order to make it easier to bring over top talent. That’s the case with this week’s breakout star, but here’s the catch – he’s not Russian.
Nate Landwehr
Nickname – The Train
Affiliation – SSF Submission Academy
From – Clarksville, TN
Height – 5’9″
Weight – 145 lbs (Featherweight)
Record – 13-2 (0-0 UFC)
What makes him impressive
Nate Landwehr’s greatest attribute has got to be the fact that he doesn’t ever seem to take a backwards step. The pressure is constant from him and whether on the ground or the feet, he is suffocating. However, unlike others who relentlessly move forward regardless of the circumstance, Landwehr is rarely taken down. This is true even with him coming from a Russian promotion – an area of the world known for their abilities to rip a fighter down. This paired with his type of style makes Landwehr not only impossible to get away from, but puts you in danger at all times.
Why he has been overlooked
The UFC has cherry picked a handful of top talent over from M1 already. Some of those choices have been largely successful, others not so much. The success, though, is likely not the reason Landwehr has been overlooked. The reason is that he’s not the Russian fighting in Russia; he’s the American fighting in Russia. While this is a rare concept and likely would be reason to talk about him more, it seems to have gotten him overlooked for some reason or another.
What makes this a good match-up
Herbert Burns has a lot of the same attributes as his brother Gilbert. Both are really talented grapplers, and both can put together some mean strikes when they need to. Heck, both even have some pretty legitimate power in their hands. However, Burns will be fighting a guy who concedes few takedowns and is damn near impossible to get out of there. He’s going to have to work hard for some takedowns and likely will fail on some of them. If he gets tired with that, the pressure from Landwehr is just going to make things that much harder.
Prelim Breakout Star Record: 191-80-1 (2 NC) (7 DNF)
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