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 are still unbeaten in 2019! 3-0 on our Prelim Breakout Star picks and almost 100 fights over .500. Here’s another to help get us over the hurdle.
Aleksandra Albu
Nickname – Stitch
Affiliation – MMA – KEGI
From – Moscow, Russia
Height – 5’3″
Weight – 115 lbs (Strawweight)
Record – 3-0 (2-0 UFC)
What makes her impressive
Albu is without a doubt a high caliber striker. Her quick motions make it such that her strikes are rarely telegraphed. This is especially true of her kicks, which come with virtually no wind up at all.
While striking is clearly her forte, in her last bout she showed a surprisingly strong wrestling game as well. In the bout with Kailin Curran, Albu landed five of the eight takedowns that she attempted. The fact that she’s willing to mix it up makes the aforementioned striking ability even stronger.
Why she has been overlooked
It only took one fight to get Albu into the UFC, and one fight usually doesn’t create much hype. On top of that, she’s been in the UFC for nearly four years at this point and has only fought twice. Some of that is due to the fact that she competes in bodybuilding and CrossFit competitions as well. Regardless, her lack of rush on her MMA career seems to keep everybody lukewarm on her as a prospect.
What makes this a good match-up
Emily Whitmire has lost twice recently. Once on The Ultimate Fighter to Roxanne Modafferi and once to Gillian Robertson. In both of those fights, she looked adequate striking, but was badly outclassed on the ground. This means that her strength mostly matches up with Albu’s strength – striking. However, Albu’s karate black belt and overall diversity of her strikes is clearly higher than Whitmire’s. As a result, there is a really limited path to victory here for Whitmire.
Prelim Breakout Star Record: 165-68-1 (2 NC) (6 DNF)
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