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Over the course of the next few days, I'll pick three fighters from the European scene to keep an eye on in 2017.



We start off with a promising Englishman who has quietly built up a nice record for himself on the U.K. domestic scene.



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There's plenty of talent knocking around the U.K. mixed martial arts scene right now, but perhaps one name flying under the radar is Sunderland, Tyne and Wear's Ryan Scope.



The 24-year-old fighter is currently unbeaten at 10-0 in his professional career and has fought in organizations such as BAMMA, Made4TheCage (M4TC) and Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB). He trains out of Sunderland and has recently begun training again alongside UFC lightweight Ross Pearson, who he cornered at UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.



Scope's rise to the top could have been faster had he not had to deal with health complications, cancelled bouts and injuries in 2014 and early 2015, but with all that now behind him, he looks set to take the domestic and European scene by storm with his first bout for 2017 already lined up.



On Feb. 25, Scope will face Welshman Lew Long at Made4TheCage 23, which is set to take place in Newcastle, England. The two will meet for the M4TC European welterweight title that Long won back in May 2015, when he defeated Tommy Quinn at M4TC 17.



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The fight with Long will be Scope's first major title fight and will see him move up from lightweight, where he last competed in ACB last October.



Speaking of Scope's last fight, it was an absolute barnburner. The Englishman returned from an 18-month exile and took on Yusup Umarov at ACB 47: Braveheart in Glasgow, Scotland. It was an exciting bout from the opening few seconds, with both men trading on the feet and not taking a step back.



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The finish came in the second round when, after suffering a hard knockdown off an uppercut in the first 70 seconds, Scope fought back bravely and finished his opponent just two minutes later when he pushed him up against the cage and unloaded a barrage of clean shots to both the face and body.



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It was a typically brave performance by Scope, who prior to the bout had gone 18 months without stepping foot inside the cage.



Following the fight, it was said that he asked ACB matchmakers to find him the "biggest, baddest motherf****r in Russia." Seemingly, he's not been found yet, but Scope has more than enough to keep busy when he takes on the highly talented Long in February.



Keep an eye out for Scope in 2017. He owns all the talent and the world and this could well be the year his star rises.