There have been only a handful of mixed martial artists who have came out of the Middle East, and while our #4 ranked prospect wasn’t raised in the region — he was born in the war-torn country of Iraq during the lapse in artillery fire between the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War. Alan Omer (15-3) has had a lifetime of unfortunate experiences. His family escaped Iraq during the Gulf War to evade the threats of death at the hands of Sadaam’s regime. They landed in Germany, where Omer has since flourished into one of the best featherweight prospects in the world. Despite getting into the sport a bit later in life, Omer has absorbed the sport’s laundry list of martial art forms to become one of the most well-rounded fighters on our countdown.
Offensive Skills: Known for most of his career for his dynamic grappling ability, Omer has become one of the better strikers on our countdown. Solid kickboxing skills, effective clinch attacks, and quick boxing make him a dangerous opponent for those who can’t take advantage of his poor takedown defense. He has yet to find consistency in landing for power, but he has been able to land more effectively than any of his opponents.
While Omer’s stand-up is a favorable attribute in his progression to the top, his grappling skills are where he separates himself from the pack. Slick transitions and quickness combine to dominate most of his opposition, but he does have a tendency to get caught on his back far too often. More powerful opponents have proven to be a test, but Omer’s toughness has allowed him to gut out the rough moments.
Defensive Skills: Omer’s takedown defense is his biggest weakness, and I tend to believe that if we asked Alan about being thrown down constantly by his opponents — he’d tell you that he’s not too worried about it because of his submission game. Unfortunately, I’m not in complete agreement that it’s the best option, especially if he gets the opportunity to battle some of the better wrestlers in the UFC.
On the feet, Omer is defensively sound. Good hand placement, quick footwork, and smart gameplans focusing on using leg kicks to batter the lead legs of his opponents. He has a tendency to move back and forth at a straight angle rather than circle at times. That will need to change as he continues to progress up the ladder.
Progression: Omer’s striking has improved considerably over the course of his four-year career. He’s also improved on the ground, and one could say that Omer is one of the few prospects we’ve seen who has grown incredibly in a short period of time. He still has some work to do, but at only 22 years of age — he has the skills to become a top ten featherweight down the road.
Environment: Omer trains out of Stallion Cage in Stuttgart, Germany. His camp isn’t anything to write home about, and Germany isn’t an exploding region in the landscape of mixed martial arts. He may need to think about heading farther west if he intends to improve.
According to Omer’s management, he’s been wrestling in Landesliga Baden-Württemberg with the KV Stuttgart 1895 e.V. wrestling squad for the last ten months. A very good sign for things to come. He is also training with Vitali Tajbert, 2004 Summer Olympics Bronze medalist featherweight boxer.
| Featherweight | Lightweight | Welterweight |
|---|---|---|
| #4 – Alan Omer #5 – Koichiro Matsumoto #6 – Tom Niinimaki #7 – Marcos Vinicius #8 – Matt Fiordirosa #9 – Isaac DeJesus #10 – Michel Gagnon |
#1 – Thiago Michel #2 – Ricardo Tirloni #3 – Magno Almeida #4 – Ui Cheol Nam #5 – Henrique Mello #6 – Reza Madadi #7 – Alexander Sarnavskiy #8 – Ole Laursen #9 – Guillaume DeLorenzi #10 – Al Iaquinta |
#1 – Yuri Villefort #2 – Alex Garcia #3 – Erick Silva #4 – Douglas Lima #5 – Luis “Sapo” Santos #6 – Jesse Juarez #7 – Gunnar Nelson #8 – Quinn Mulhern #9 – Alberto Mina #10 – Joe Ray |
| Middleweight | Light Heavyweight |
|---|---|
| #1 – Papy Abedi #2 – Chris Weidman #3 – Vitor Vianna #4 – Vyacheslav Vasilevsky #5 – Bruno Santos #6 – Costantinos Philippou #7 – Jordan Smith #8 – Uriah Hall #9 – Victor O’Donnell #10 – Assan Njie |
#1 – Marcos Pezao #2 – Gian Villante #3 – Jimi Manuwa #4 – Glover Teixeira #5 – Jan Blachowicz #6 – Yoel Romero #7 – Ryan Jimmo #8 – Nik Fekete #9 – Marcus Vanttinen #10 – Ronny Markes |
Potential: Omer has all the tools in his arsenal to be an elite level fighter. Great hands, quickness, and a consummate skill-set that only needs some fine tuning to be highly threatening to anyone across the cage from him. His takedown defense is a minus that most readers will look at as detrimental to his continued success, and Mark Adams proved that in their showdown at BAMMA 3.
But if that’s all that is stopping Omer from becoming one of the top prospects in the free agent market, he should be able to focus on that deficiency and improve. I believe a shift in training partners and move to a bigger camp is a must in the future, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he sticks to what he knows in Germany. Seeking out BJJ guys like Carlos Eduardo Rocha might be in his best interest.
Video:
Alan Omer vs. Rouven Kurath
Konstantin Tabakov vs. Alan Omer
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