Maximo Blanco is a Venezuelan lightweight prospect currently training in Japan at the Yoshida Dojo. He comes from a wrestling background and has competed on the international stage, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. The third Lightweight King of Pancrase, Blanco is a good athlete who's fast, powerful and definitely explosive.

An incredibly intense competitor, Blanco gets caught up in his fights and does have a reputation of being a bit of a loose cannon. After an inadvertent head butt had knocked Yuki Yashima out cold, Blanco proceeded to continue raining in punches and even tried stomping his downed opponent despite the referee's clear intervention. Against Hiroki Aoki, Blanco tried pouncing on his opponent after the fight had been stopped and once again had to be restrained by the in-ring official. While Blanco's enthusiastic approach is refreshing and exciting, he'll need to learn to control his emotions better and fight with a little more restraint.

Blanco is an unbelievably aggressive fighter who's always pressing forward and pushing the action on the feet. He's not hesitant at all about rushing right at his opponents, and proceeding to unleash a wild barrage of kicks and punches. Blanco dives in head first throwing jump kicks and wild haymakers, and although his technical skills will need improvement, the raw power is very evident in his striking. Blanco is a naturally hard hitter who packs considerable knockout power in his strikes, and comes equipped with a powerful right hand and quick left hook. Maximo's striking power always needs to be respected, he definitely isn't shy about letting his hands go and he's already secured a couple of brutal KO's on his resume (see bout with Kim). Blanco does keep his hands low and is extremely raw in his technical development, and going forward will need to harness his aggression, focus on his technique and work on tightening up his defensive skills. His natural tools and athletic abilities however are very promising, and he does have the potential to develop into a dynamic MMA striker with the right training.

Blanco's initial base upon entering MMA was his wrestling background. He's a powerful wrestler who possesses strong takedowns, big slams and a solid amateur wrestling pedigree (including a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan-American Games). Physically, Blanco is a gifted athlete who's proven very strong, simply powering and slamming his way out of dicey situations in past bouts. Blanco's armed with an aggressive and powerful (albeit unrefined) ground and pound attack, showing the ability to unleash quick, impressive punches and wicked foot stomps (see bout with Seigo Inoue) from top position. A physically imposing grappler, Blanco is difficult to control on the mat and does throw everything he has at his opponents in an attempt to finish as emphatically as possible. Due to his tenacity and aggressive style, Blanco will get wild at times and will need to continue working on the technical aspects of his ground game. His BJJ and submission skills need refining, and Blanco will need to learn to harness his aggressive nature a bit better too.