10 November Tussles Worth Watching

Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons (left): Jim Page | Sherdog.com

The mixed martial arts fan has rarely had it better. Exciting prospects are popping up left and right, shows around the world are improving and creating new stars, and veterans of the major promotions are lending their names to help grow smaller organizations.

Like every month, Sherdog.com spotlights some gems that might not get much recognition otherwise. One again, the formula revolves around 10 fights in 10 different countries.

As always, the list does not focus on the well-promoted main event bouts you already know to watch but rather on fights from all over the planet that are worth seeing. The UFC, Strikeforce, Dream and Sengoku Raiden Championship are excluded by design.

While KSW remains the clear-cut number one promotion in Poland, a couple of organizations are struggling for seconds, Beast of the East, Infinite Fighting Federation and Iron Fist among them. Finland’s Vainikainen and Durell, a German-based U.S. Air Force instructor will headline the MMA portion of Iron Fist’s third show. Unbeaten in eight appearances, “The Death Dealer” has made a name for himself on the European circuit and wants to use a win over a seasoned striker like Vainikainen to position himself for fights stateside.

Around the turn of the Millennium, there were two strikers in MMA everyone feared: Igor Vovchanchyn and Landi-Jons. “Pele” made his name in Brazil, with memorable wars against Jose Patino, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Johil de Oliveira. Seventeen years into his career, the 37-year-old muay Thai ace is still going strong. In his first fight this year, he will take on William Dias, who hopes to use the stage as a springboard. Chances of a knockout are high.

An interesting light heavyweight scrap will go down on Hawaii when Suganuma meets Lee. Suganuma enjoyed a strong start into his career, winning four of his first five fights inside the Pancrase promotion. After splitting a pair of bouts with UFC veteran Jared Hamman under the EliteXC banner, the heavy-hitting Hawaiian never received another chance to show his skills on a bigger stage. Lee, a Korean judoka, has fought and beaten a number of notables, including Roman Zentsov, Aleksander Emelianenko and Alexey Oleinik; he seems certain to put Suganuma to the test.

The Hero’s promotion may be long dead and buried in Japan, but it remains very much alive and kicking in Europe, as main licensee Donatas Simanaitis readies the sixth edition of Hero’s Lithuania at the massive 12,500 seat Siemens Arena in the Lithuanian capital. Markevicius, a 40-fight veteran, will compete in his fourth straight Hero’s Lithuania show. The renowned submission specialist will collide with a fellow ground fighting guru in Russia’s Prokofiev. The two men have combined to win 80 percent of their matches by submission.

File photo

Tom Niinimaki

Grecicho, one of Lithuania’s top fighters and a two-time combat sambo world champion, rarely fights at home. The European featherweight recently lost a controversial decision to Jason Young in a catchweight bout, and while lesser fighters might have asked for a tune-up fight following the defeat, the 25-year-old will instead take on Niinimaki, a Shooto veteran.

The experienced Finn has thrived on hunting prospects in 2010, dealing Dutchman Ben Boekee and Englishman Dave Hill their first career defeats.

Two UFC-sharpened fighters will do battle in the main event of Xtreme Fight Night’s inaugural effort. Rosholt entered the sport of MMA on the back of an outstanding collegiate wrestling career that saw him win three Div. I titles between 2003 and 2006. While Rosholt was in college, Horwich was busy submitting opponents in MMA. The deeply religious Californian has endured many close fights this year. In August he broke out of his shell and dealt Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Thales Leites the first submission loss of his career. Can he handle Rosholt?

In this month’s premier flyweight matchup, Kitahara, a 2008 rookie tournament champion, will take on Yamaguchi, a former Shooto world titleholder. The 26-year-old Kitahara recently won two significant decisions over seasoned veterans Masatoshi Abe and Masaaki Sugawara. Now, he gets to test himself against a former champion. Yamaguchi sports the best-known afro in Japanese MMA, has a wealth of experience and is skilled in fighting in all distances. A win over the Yokohama, Japan, native would catapult Kitahara into title contention and propel him into the top five rankings worldwide.

The Maximum Fighting Championship promotion carries the reputation as the “Canadian UFC” for a reason. Just this year, Yves Edwards, Wilson Gouveia, Thales Leites and Jesse Taylor have all competed inside the MFC ring. The light heavyweight showdown between Heath, the UFC veteran, and Teixeira, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, does not lack intrigue, even though it will not serve as one of the main events at this MFC show. Heath owns a 3-0 mark in 2010, having finished each of his opponents; Teixeira has not tasted defeat since his decision loss to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 finalist Ed Herman in March 2005.

Top European action originates from Germany, as Carvalho, the World Free Fight Challenge middleweight champion, takes on Jocz, the World Full Contact Association 185-pound titleholder. After a bumpy start to his career, Carvalho -- who now calls Gothenburg, Sweden, his home -- has come into his own in the past 18 months, adding some devastating knockout power to his judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts. Jocz suffered the first knockout loss of his career at the hands of previously unknown Armenian Hracho Darpinyan on Oct. 16, but the Pawel Nastula disciple remains a dangerous and durable opponent.

Former Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships qualifier and Renzo Gracie black belt Haim Gozali has made it his mission to advance the sport of MMA in his home country of Israel. Spurred by his grappling enthusiasm, he has booked a host of ground fighting virtuosi for IFC’s “Genesis” event. The show will be co-headlined by the man who eliminated Gozali in the quarter-finals of his lone ADCC appearance in 2005, as Rodriguez tackles a steady Spaniard in Tabera. The flagship fighter out of Valencia’s S.H.O.O.T. academy, Tabera reached the final in KSW’s recent 209-pound tournament.

Contact Tim Leidecker at www.facebook.com/Rossonero1 or follow him on twitter @Rossonero1.