Over the years Arizona is one of the states that is producing top talent for some of the major organizations in MMA. With fighters like UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Ryan Bader, C.B. Dollaway, Aaron Simpson, and Seth Baczynski to name a few, Arizona has become a hotspot for up and coming talent.

 

In the coming years we will probably see many new Arizona fighters in the big show.

 

One of the top talents in Arizona today is current Strikeforce lightweight Estevan “El Terrible” Payan (13-3) from Phoenix, Az., who trains out of Arizona Combat Sports.  Estevan is an incredible fighter with deadly stand-up and has shown it by finishing 3 of his last four opponents by TKO or KO.

 

Estevan is also a well rounded fighter as he can take a fight to the ground and is comfortable there as it was shown in his fights during the first season of Bellator. Payan is definitely a fighter to be on the lookout for as he is hitting a stride of putting his game together and his boxing is some of the best seen in Strikeforce.

 

Do not be surprised if we see him fighting top talent soon.

 

Another up and comer is a team mate of the aforementioned Payan and it is Bantamweight fighter John Moraga (8-1). John is another fighter where it is only a matter of time before Bellator or Zuffa pick him up as it can easily be argued that he is one of the best bantamweight’s not under the ZUFFA or Bellator roster.

 

An incredible collegiate wrestler from ASU, Moraga is great with submissions and isn’t shy of letting his hands go. His only loss came against Ultimate Fighter winner John Dodson in a fight he dropped via decision.

 

Moraga is definitely ready for the big time as he really doesn’t have much competition in the regional circuit with the exception of maybe one or two fighters. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled as Moraga could be the next big thing at flyweight or bantamweight.

 

Nate Vorel (4-1) is a name known very well in Tucson, AZ, as he is one of the most crowd pleasing and explosive bantamweights in Arizona in the moment. Vorel is a quick powerful southpaw striker that can take the fight where ever he wants as he is a very powerful wrestler as well.

 

He is undefeated at 135, his lone lost came at 140 Lbs but in his division he is still very dangerous, especially if he finds his range. Once he smells blood it doesn’t take him long to finish. Vorel is destined for big things and with fighters like Nick Piedmont, Chad Dietmeyer, and Dominick Cruz available to him for training the sky the limit for this fighter.

 

Nobody has better twitter updates than AZ’s own Anthony Birchak (6-1) not only is he a funny guy but he can fight. Birchak is a scrappy fighter with incredible submissions in his arsenal as he has secured 5 submissions over good grappler such as over grappling champion Matt Betzold.

 

If Birchak gets the d’arce it’s pretty much over as he showed it in his Bellator debut in Yuma Az. Birchak is an explosive fighter with great Greco-Roman wrestling to work his submission in. He has been working hard on his stand up training with a great camp at Apex MMA with fighters like Joey Rivera, Ed West, George Roop, and Chris Cariaso.

 

After spending most of 2011 on the shelf due to injury, 2012 could be his breakthrough year. It is easy to say with a good showing in his next 1-2 fights his agent will probably get him in the UFC. 

 

The last fighter we will be talking about for part 1, is a young fighter who dabbles at flyweight and bantamweight but isn’t afraid to step up last minute and go all the way to featherweight. That fighter is Fred Lux (5-1) from Tucson AZ.

 

Lux happens to be a training partner of Anthony Birchak. Lux is a powerful wrestler who is incredibly fast with his takedowns and stand-up. He has shown he is willing to drag people to the deep end and make it a fight as Lux puts on every entertaining fights which exhibit all aspects of MMA.

 

He is a natural Flyweight and will be making noise in the division in the future, but don’t be surprised if he is offered and accepts a bout at a higher weight class, he is game. Though he is coming off his first loss against the aforementioned

Moraga, one should expect Lux to come out even better from that experience. 

 

Lux is a top prospect and should eventually find himself fighting against top talent at Flyweight. Maybe we will see him in the UFC as they are expanding their roster for that division and Lux would be a perfect fit.

 

Arizona is pouring out talent left and right, these are just a handful of fighters that can compete at a higher level if given the chance. They have all the talent in the world as well as Arizona’s love and support.

 

Tune in next week as we introduce you to another crop of fighters such as Nick Piedmont, Andy Perez, Joey Rivera, Chad Dietmeyer, Frankie Saenz, and Chris Gruetzemacher

 

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