Donald Cerrone‘s Cowboy Fight Series officially gets going on January 19th, 2019.

Cowboy has been teasing his promotion for some time, promising only the most gritty up and comers.

He delivered.

Three NCAA Wrestling studs will make their MMA debut for Cowboy Fight Series.

Look at some of these hammers involved with @CowboyFights 1 January 19 in Virginia! @Cowboycerrone NCAA Champs, All Americans, World Champs, Muay Thai Champs, Regional MMA Champs! #BestProspectsInMMA pic.twitter.com/SICnI6fQnT — Cowboy Fight Series (@CowboyFights) October 19, 2018

“PD3” Pat Downey

Lauded for his freestyle wrestling chops, real wrestling nomad Pat Downey made waves with his brash personality and electrifying style. The highlight of his NCAA career was a pin over eventual national finalist Jared Haught at 197 pounds.

Downey is otherwise known for his antics on social media, although he has gone through several profiles and seems to have toned things down. Still worth a follow.

What type of competitor should you expect Downey to be? This sums things up.

That’s Daniel Cormier protege Kyle Crutchmer getting tossed. This is a man who took out 2x NCAA champion Gabe Dean in freestyle, and pushed several national champions and world team members to their limits. If he is committed to greatness in MMA, he will win a world title.

Richie Lewis “RL Savage”

He’s a Jersey kid, it’s a perfect fit.

After transferring to wrestle Division 1 at Rutgers, Richie Lewis turned heads with his Twitter self-promotion and hard-nosed style. He gave the top contenders at his weight a run for their money.

More importantly, Richie represented the USA at the Under-23 World Championships and won a gold medal for the stars and stripes.

He was perhaps the most noteworthy omission from my list of Five Wrestling to MMA Prospects from 2018.

Garrett Lineberger

A teammate and close associate of Bellator super-prospect Joey Davis, Lineberger represented the Notre Dame College Falcons, winning national titles his freshman and senior year.

One of the greatest talents at the Divison 2 level, Lineberger has always been down for a good scrap. He will be slept on as an emerging talent, but don’t be surprised if Lineberger surpasses his much-lauded peers on this list.

Cowboy Fight Series

“CFS” is boasting the greatest prospects in MMA, and it certainly seems to be the case thus far. Donald Cerrone might be on to something here.