10 Best MMA Featherweight Prospects of 2014
#3: Lance Palmer
Lance Palmer was my #1 Featherweight prospect in last year’s edition. I heard a bit of disagreement about my pick, with a lot of people proclaiming Goiti Yamauchi was more deserving of the #1 spot. Fast forward a year, and both Palmer and Yamauchi are coming off losses that have their long-term success in question. I am still confident that Palmer will have the better career of the two, and in fact, I still hold the belief that Palmer can be a future Top 10 contender with a few more years of seasoning. Since last year’s report, Palmer went on to sign with World Series of Fighting. He was immediately thrust into a title match on short notice against Bellator veteran Georgi Karakhanyan. Most weren’t giving Palmer much of a shot, but after 2 rounds of their scheduled 5-round fight, it was becoming clear that Palmer’s wrestling might just be enough to win him gold. That notion disappeared in a moment’s notice though as Karakhanyan was able to apply a guillotine choke and induce the tap out. Palmer will likely earn himself another crack at Karakhanyan in the near future, but first he has to get some more cage experience. Duane “Bang” Ludwig was very complimentary of Palmer’s improvement under his tutelage. The hope is that Palmer will continue to put the work and time in to eventually capitalize on his All-American wrestling pedigree.
Sherdog: http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Lance-Palmer-80836
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LancePalmer
