More heavyweights!? Where are they finding these guys. After years and years of putting the division through a seemingly unending dry spell, the UFC suddenly has an eye out for fresher talent over 205 lbs. I don't know why or how it happened, but it's good to see, even if their latest isn't quite the most shining example. That signing, as reported by GNP1.de, is Danish fighter Christian Colombo. He'll be making his UFC debut against another recent signee, Jarjis Danho at UFC Hamburg on September 3rd. So...
Who is Christian Colombo?
Well, in 1492... Okay, wrong notes. "Godzilla" is an 8-1 (or 7-2 depending on who you believe) 36-year-old heavyweight training out of Renegade MMA in Denmark. He appears to be the first notable product of the gym so far, or at least the first to make the jump to the UFC. His record is about what you'd expect for a heavyweight fighting on the European regional scene, which is to say... not great. His best win on paper is probably Nedyalko Karadjov, but more realistically a string of wins over journeymen like Andreas Kraniotakes and Bjoern Schmiedeberg are his most notable accomplishments. Outside of MMA, Colombo has a background in kickboxing.
What you should expect:
It's really hard to know what to expect from the 6' 5", 265lb heavyweight, as the most recent tape available on him is a 2012 loss to Viktor Pesta. In the fight Colombo looked a bit shy about pulling the trigger, probably to avoid Pesta's takedown game, and ended up on his back nonetheless. Since then, he reeled off five wins, but a knee injury forced him onto the sidelines for most of 2014-2015. He's come back with a win since (over 0-0 Tom Sasaki), but that's his only fight in the last 3 years. While his 2012 striking technique looked reasonably clean in short bursts, he also looks really really slow. I'm sure he's improved since then, it's been years, but it's worth noting that the two times he's fought really experienced vets are the only two times he didn't get a stoppage win. That's not a good sign.
What this means for his debut:
As little as he's fought in the last 3 years, who knows. Colombo could be a totally transformed fighter. Still at 36 and with a general lack of baseline speed, that seems unlikely. More likely he's been brought in to get Danho a competitive win. Danho isn't any kind of technical marvel, but as he showed in his fight against Omielanczuk, he's tough enough to fight on an empty gas tank and big enough and a good enough athlete to make a few waves. Colombo could probably get an upset KO with a clinch knee, but this feels a bit like the Bojan Mihajlovic signing of bringing in some bottom end filler for other prospects to get wins off.