10 June Tussles Worth Watching
In an effort to bring more attention to the global stage of mixed martial arts, this list does not focus on major North American-based promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA.
Vitaly Minakov holds plenty of value, even though he has yet to set foot inside the famed Octagon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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A four-time gold medalist at the World Sambo Championships, Minakov owns a perfect 19-0 record as a professional mixed martial artist. The 6-for-2, 249-pound Russian has delivered 17 finishes, 13 of them inside one round. Minakov last appeared under the Fight Nights Global banner on Feb. 23, when he knocked out journeyman D.J. Linderman in the third round of their encounter at the Krylatskoye Sports Palace in Moscow. Wins over Cheick Kongo, Alexander Volkov and Geronimo dos Santos anchor his resume.
Silva, 37, finds himself in a downward spiral, having lost four
fights in a row and six of his last seven. The former EliteXC and
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder last competed at an
RCC Boxing Promotions event in November, when he wound up on the
wrong side of a three-round unanimous decision against Ivan
Shtyrkov. “Bigfoot” owns victories over Alistair
Overeem, Travis
Browne, Andrei
Arlovski and the great Fedor
Emelianenko. Twenty of his 31 career bouts have concluded in
the first round.
Minakov-Silva is but one under-the-radar clash worth monitoring during the month of June. Here are nine more:
Fight Nights Global 69
June 2 | St. Petersburg, Russia
In his first outing since he parted ways with the UFC, Krylov confronts a virtual unknown in what appears to be a high risk-low reward matchup. The 25-year-old Ukrainian was released from his contract following a Dec. 10 submission loss to Misha Cirkunov at UFC 206, despite a lack of quality depth in the light heavyweight division. The setback snapped a five-fight winning streak for Krylov but did little to quell the excitement surrounding him, as he had firmly established himself as one of the most promising young talents at 205 pounds. Bekavac, 34, will enter the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories over Evan Nedd and Martin Solc.
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 84
June 2 | London
Bergh has made himself a person of interest on the European scene. A Frontline Academy rep, the undefeated Norwegian has carved through his first five opponents in a grand total of 7:52. Bergh, 27, was eliminated by Eric Spicely on Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but consecutive submission victories over Brett McDermott and Ross Cooper quieted some of the concern regarding his future. In Paraisy, he draws a seasoned 22-fight veteran who has tested himself against Brett Cooper, Maiquel Falcao, Paulo Filho and others. The Frenchman has rattled off four wins across his past five appearances, a rear-naked choke submission loss to Jack Hermansson his only misstep.
Ring of Combat 59
June 2 | Atlantic City, New Jersey
The fate of the Ring of Combat bantamweight championship hangs in the balance when Dvalishvili defends his title against the hard-charging Stots at the Tropicana Casino and Resort. Spawned by the same Serra-Longo Fight Team that produced Chris Weidman, Al Iaquinta and Aljamain Sterling, Dvalishvili captured the vacant bantamweight crown with a second-round armbar on Sukhrob Aydarbekov at Ring of Combat 58 on Feb. 24, the victory pushing his current winning streak to five fights. Roufusport’s Stots, 28, has won all eight of his bouts, including a five-round unanimous decision over Robert Emerson that brought with it the Victory Fighting Championship bantamweight title in April.
Unified MMA 31
June 9 | Edmonton, Alberta
The once-beaten Anstead will challenge Kornberger for the Unified MMA middleweight championship at the Royal Palace. The 29-year-old Anstead has won three fights in a row, all of them finishes, since his ill-fated encounter with Brandt Dewsbery in June 2015. That defeat looks more and more like a blip on the radar. Anstead has not fought since he submitted Adrian Miles with a rear-naked choke under the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship flag in October. Kornberger laid claim to the Unified MMA title on Dec. 16, when he outdueled Teddy Ash across five rounds.
Road Fighting Championship 39
June 10 | Seoul
After a four-fight stint in the UFC, Ham returns to familiar haunts. The 30-year-old Korean dynamo will take on Kurobe for the vacant Road Fighting Championship women’s atomweight title inside Jangchung Gymnasium. Ham went 1-3 in the UFC, her tenure in the promotion coming to an end with a split decision loss to Danielle Taylor at UFC Fight Night 101 on Nov. 26. Kurobe, 40, enters the match with the wind of a five-fight winning streak at her back. Decision defeats to Naho Sugiyama and Mei Yamaguchi remain the only blemishes on her resume.
TKO Major League MMA 39
June 16 | St. Roch, Quebec
The unbeaten Jourdain, 21, will get the first serious test of his career when he dukes it out with Romero in the TKO 39 main event. Operating out of the Academie Pro Star MMA camp in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Jourdain has stopped all four of his opponents: two with punches, one with a flying knee and another with a rear-naked choke. Romero has competed in both Bellator and the World Series of Fighting, the 34-year-old having compiled a 10-5 record along the way. Romero has been finished only once in his career; Patricio Freire did the honors with a heel hook in 2010.
New England Fights 29
June 19 | Lewiston, Maine
Wood went 1-2 in a three-fight stop in Bellator and has elected to return to the regional circuit for further seasoning. The former New England Fights featherweight champion finds himself on a two-fight losing streak for this first time in his career. However, those two losses came at the hands of A.J. McKee and Adam Piccolotti -- fighters with a combined record of 17-0. Wood meets fellow Bellator alum Bezerra in his return to the NEF organization. Bezerra last competed in September, when he failed in his bid to unseat Titan Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Andre Harrison.
Legacy Fighting Alliance 14
June 23 | Houston
The vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight championship will be up for grab when the undefeated Anders tackles the once-beaten Allen in the LFA 14 headliner at the Arena Theatre. Before making the transition to mixed martial arts, Anders played linebacker for the University of Alabama, where he recorded 66 tackles and six sacks as a senior in 2009. The 30-year-old has compiled a 6-0 record with five finishes since moving to MMA, including a 23-second knockout on Brian White at Bellator 162 in October. Allen, meanwhile, has pieced together a five-fight winning streak since he submitted to a rear-naked choke from Trevin Giles in March 2016. He has never fought beyond the second round.
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 85
June 24 | Bournemouth, England
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship matchmakers have tapped Radcliffe and Cheng to battle for the vacant middleweight crown at the O2 Academy. Radcliffe has proven to be an offensive force. The London Shootfighters standout has delivered all 11 of his victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Included among those are 10-, 14-, 26-, 34-, 46-, 48- and 65-second finishes. Radcliffe has won six fights in a row since being choked unconscious by Chad Brown’s reverse triangle at an Ultimate Challenge MMA event in 2014. Cheng, 32, has won 10 of his past 11 bouts, including four straight.
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