AXS TV's Ron Kruck talks 'Cageside' series profiling top MMA prospects, which premieres Friday

If you want to get to know future stars of the UFC and Bellator before they make it to the big show, AXS TV Fights just might have you covered.

“Cageside,” a new series focused on profiling top prospects from LFA and CES, debuts Friday at 9 p.m. ET on AXS TV. The AXS TV Fights broadcast team of Ron Kruck, Pat Miletich and Phoenix Carnevale will go in-depth with the top up-and-comers, as well as count down the best knockouts and submissions of the year from both promotions. The show is set to air each Friday night when there is no live MMA event.

Kruck took some time with MMAjunkie to discuss what to expect from the show and shared some names to be on the lookout for right now.

Pat Miletich, Phoenix Carnevale and Ron Kruck. (Richard Burmaster, AXS TV)

MMAjunkie: What do you hope to bring to the viewers with this new show?

Kruck: “The ultimate goal for ‘Cageside’ is to give fans a front row seat to the future of mixed martial arts. We want UFC fans to know who is going to be the next Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Calvin Kattar, or Derrick Lewis to dominate in the octagon.

“Each episode will feature a look at our AXS TV Fights rankings, check out how our alumni are faring in both Bellator and the UFC, and have in-depth features showcasing our athletes both in and outside of the cage. Of course, we will be promoting future LFA and CES events coming up on the network, as well.”

MMAJ: With so many prospects competing each week, how do you determine who to feature on the show?

Kruck: “We have always tried to do features on athletes who are intriguing both inside the cage and out. For the premiere of “Cageside,” we decided to showcase 19-year old women’s prospect Maycee Barber (3-0) from Fort Collins, Colo., former U.S. Marine and undefeated welterweight Kyle Stewart, CES mainstay and Sityodtong Boston product Denis Pavia, and finally heavyweight prospect Juan Adams.

“Barber is a Gracie Jiu Jitsu purple belt and head instructor at Fort Collins Martial Arts. When she is not training, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family.

“Stewart served eight years in the Marines beginning when he was 18. He was deployed to Afghanistan, where he was an infantry gunner, earning him the MMA nickname “Guns-Up.” His journey is truly inspiring.

“We also had some fun visiting Pavia’s family restaurant, O’Denis, in Providence, R.I., with the AXS TV Fights crew, and Juan Adams talks about why he enjoys wearing “male rompers.” Need we say more?”

LFA product Curtis Millender during his UFC debut.

With so many fighters moving on to the UFC after AXS TV, do you end up following their careers?

Kruck: “Absolutely! After covering the UFC for almost a decade with “Inside MMA,” I still follow the promotion as much as I do our AXS TV Fights organizations LFA and CES. Witnessing how our AXS TV alumni performed at UFC Fight Night 126 in Austin this past weekend was extremely rewarding. We had nine former LFA athletes in action, seven of them won, and alumni Curtis Millender, Steven Peterson and Derrick Lewis all earned fight-night bonuses. These results once again prove that both the LFA and CES are developing top prospects and preparing them to succeed at the highest level.

“It’s also cool to watch a fighter we have featured on AXS TV enjoy success in either Bellator or the UFC. For example, we told the story of current UFC middleweight Eryk Anders’ football career at the University of Alabama and visited his old high school, Smithson Valley High in Comal County, Texas. To see Anders go from the gridiron to AXS TV Fights and finally to the octagon is really satisfying.”

Are there any fighters that MMA fans need to be paying attention to right now?

Kruck: “There are so many AXS TV Fights athletes to keep an eye on, but to name a few, I think LFA lightweight champion Robert Watley is one of the best fighters outside of the UFC right now. No. 1 and No. 2 ranked Ricky Simon and Vinicius Zani will battle for the LFA bantamweight title on March 23rd with the winner getting a step closer to the big show.

“CES welterweight title holder Chris Curtis, CES lightweight Nate Andrews, CES welterweight Gary Balletto Jr., as well as LFA light heavyweight champ Ryan Spann, Alonzo Menifield, Sabina Mazo, Sid Bice, and Ian Heinisch are all future stars.”

For more on the upcoming MMA schedule, visit the MMA Rumors section of the site.