There is still a long way to go, particularly in one of the UFC’s
deeper divisions, but Onama is a promising prospect who can cause a
ton of damage in the future. The UFC’s first fighter born in
Uganda, Onama immediately impressed in his late-notice debut in
2021, stepping up in weight and holding his own against Mason Jones
in a tough three-round war. Upon moving down to his natural weight
class in 2022, the “Silent Assassin” has been wrecking shop, with
finishes of Gabriel
Benitez and Garrett
Armfield. Onama had his rough moments in each fight—there is
not much defense built into his game yet, so he normally forces his
way to his impressive offense—but his combination of durability and
finishing ability has seen him power through whatever comes his way
for a violent comeback. Onama is keeping up a busy schedule. Just a
shade over a month removed from the Armfield win, he turns around
for a tough test against Landwehr. A well-traveled vet upon getting
the UFC call late in 2019, “The Train” made his name in Russia,
mostly by staging impressive comebacks. Landwehr could be
outwrestled but managed to keep surviving and outlasting his
opponents before pouring on some late offense. That has mostly been
Landwehr’s path to victory through four UFC fights. His two wins
have seen him gut through some absolute wars to take over late, but
the losses have seen him get sparked quickly before he can ever get
the ball rolling. Once again, Landwehr should be able to gain
momentum, provided he survives the early going. However, this is
Onama’s fight to lose. Beyond the solid chance at an early finish,
he also does not appear to be a particularly breakable prospect and
should still be effective come the later rounds. The pick is Onama
via second-round knockout.
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