Fights To Pay Attention To In October 2013

Fights To Pay Attention To In October 2013

September 30, 2013

By Ryan Porzl

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos

UFC 166 (October 19, 2013)

On November 12, 2011, UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez defended his title against Junior Dos Santos on the first UFC on FOX. The fight would last 64 seconds with Dos Santos catching Velasquez and defeating him by KO. The loss resulted in Velasquez in not only losing the heavyweight title but also suffering his first loss. One year later on December 29, 2012, Velasquez avenged the loss by dominating and defeating Dos Santos to regain the UFC Heavyweight Championship as well as hand Dos Santos his first UFC loss. On October 19^th, Velasquez and Dos Santos will meet a third time. The winner will become the UFC Heavyweight Champion and the winner of their trilogy. The loser will not only not be the champion but will likely not get a title shot for a long time. The winner will gain everything and the loser will lose everything.

Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Munoz

UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz (October 26, 2013)

An injury to Michael Bisping has allowed Lyoto Machida to make his middleweight debut earlier than expected. Following his controversial loss to Phil Davis, Machida has decided to give Middleweight a shot. A win over Mark Munoz would immediately shoot him to the top of the division if he chooses to stay there. His stock would also grow should his friend Anderson Silva fail to regain the UFC Middleweight Championship. Munoz was thought of a top Middleweight, if not, a top 3 middleweight until he ran into Chris Weidman and took a year off. Since his return, he defeated Tim Boestch and a win over a fighter like Machida would see him regain his lost momentum from the Weidman loss and the year layoff.

Dustin Pague vs. Kyoji Horiguchi

UFC 166 (October 19, 2013)

Since 2007/2008, the Japanese MMA scene has not been the same. Along with the business not doing as good, the country has not had a star that can properly represent them. Over the years, many legends have transitioned to the UFC but very little have seen success. On October 19^th, one of Japan's biggest prospects makes his UFC debut when Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Dustin Pague. A member of Kid Yamamoto's Krazy Bee gym, Horiguchi has been considered a prospect for a few years and won his first championship when he won the Shooto Bantamweight Championship. Horiguchi has a weight on his shoulders. Outside of Yushin Okami and Takeya Mizugaki, the japanese fighters haven't been doing well. The question is if Horiguchi shows his true potential or if he is another failed experiment.

Rafael Silva vs. Anthony Leone

Bellator 102 (October 4, 2013)

This fight is the finals of the Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament. After a rough start in Bellator, Leone returned in May of last year and scored three straight wins including a close upset win over Zach Makovsky. Silva debuted in Bellator back in July with an 11 fight win streak and put on a clinic against Rodrigo Lima. The winner here not only becomes a tournament champion and $100,000 richer, they will be the next challenger to Eduardo Dantas and the Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

Saad Awad vs. Will Brooks

Bellator 105 (October 25, 2013)

This fight is not only a semifinal fight in the Bellator Season Nine Lightweight Tournament but it's a rematch as well. Their last encounter was not only a semifinal Bellator Lightweight Tournament fight at Bellator 91 but it also marked the first time Will Brooks lost a fight after Awad knocked him out in less than a minute. Now on a 2 fight win streak, Brooks will no doubt hope to avenge that loss and also advance to the finals.

Dave Rickels vs. JJ Ambrose

Bellator 103 (October 11, 2013)

Dave Rickels to his career to the next step early this year when he become the Season 8 Bellator Lightweight Tournament Winner. Unfortunately, he was knocked back down to Earth when he challenged Michael Chandler for the Bellator Lightweight Championship and was knocked out in less than a minute. This fight is Rickels first since his crushing loss to Chandler and a win will see Rickels back in another tournament while a loss could send him further back. Ambrose has only had a few here and there fights. This is the fight that could get him noticed in Bellator. Should he win, he''ll likely see more bookings in Bellator and a spot in the next tournament.

Josh Burkman vs. Steve Carl

WSOF 6 (October 26, 2013)

This fight is one of the most important fights in WSOF's history. This fight not only crowns the first WSOF Welterweight Champion but the first champion in WSOF history. Burkman is on the comeback of a lifetime as he's been very impressive in his WSOF run and just scored the biggest win of his career when he choked Jon Fitch in only 41 seconds. A former Bellator vet, Carl is another guy who is coming into his own. A win over Burkman would be the biggest in Carl's career and could potentially shoot him up in a lot of MMA rankings.

Soo Chul Kim vs. Bibiano Fernandes

ONE FC: Total Domination (October 18, 2013)

Bibiano Fernandes knows what it's like to be one of, if not, the best Bantamweight/Featherweight in Asian MMA. However, as long as his title has the word “Interim” between ONE FC and Bantamweight Champion, then he'll never be the best bantamweight in Asia or at least in ONE FC. Right now, that honor belongs of Soo Chul Kim. At only 21 years old, Kim became the first ONE FC Bantamweight Champion when he upset Leandro Issa and avenged a previous loss by doing so. However, since then, Kim has been out with an injury until now. With a year layoff, Kim hopes to get his title reign going and scoring a big victory in the process.

Eddie Ng vs. Peter Davis

ONE FC: Total Domination (October 18, 2013)

This fight features two ONE FC prospects. Both Ng and Davis are rising stars in ONE FC and can be future champions in the making. Both are 6-1 and both have looked good in ONE FC. Ng comes from a brazilian jiu-jitsu background but has shown to have knockout power. Davis is more of a striker but does have a few submission victories. This fight is likely more important since Shinya Aoki has announced he'll cut to featherweight. Should he remain there, then the Lightweight Championship will be vacated which will likely mean the winner of this fight will get a title shot.

Kenny Garner vs. Alexei Kudin

M-1 Challenge 42 (October 20, 2013)

Since June 21, 2012, Kenny “Deuce” Garner has been the top heavyweight in M-1 Global when he become the undisputed M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion. However, this past year, his position has been threatened when he lost to Konstantin Gluhov in the first round of the M-1 Global Heavyweight Grand Prix. Heading into this fight, Garner knows he needs to not only win but impressively if he still wants to be considered the top heavyweight in M-1 Global. Kudin comes from a kickboxing background. Since he lost his Bellator debut, Kudin has bounced back by going 3-1 since. A win over Garner would be the biggest in his career and the M-1 Global Heavyweight Championship would be the biggest achievement in his career to date.

Konstanin Gluhov vs. Marcin Tybura

M-1 Challenge 42 (October 20, 2013)

This fight is the finals of the M-1 Global Heavyweight Grand Prix which makes this important. This fight is also interesting as Gluhov defeated Kenny Garner in the quarterfinals in a close split decision. Gluhov will no doubt be coming in with a lot of confidence. Tybura is coming off defeated Chaban Ka who was coming off defeating #1 contender Alexei Kudin in the Grand Prix. This fight and the Heavyweight Championship fight can lead to some interesting scenarios. Gluhov can be considered the uncrowned Heavyweight Champion due to his win over Garner. A rematch would be a big one for M-1 Global. On the other hand, Gluhov vs. Kudin could be fireworks as both came from kickboxing backgrounds. Tybura is coming off a win over the fighter who knocked Kudin out of the GP. Should he and Kudin win, he'll have tremendous confidence. However, should Garner retain, that would be a good fight too.

Yui Chul Nam vs. Takasake Kume

ROAD FC 013 (October 12, 2013)

This fight is a rematch from ROAD FC 011 back in April. In that fight, Nam defeated Kume by unanimous decision to become the first ROAD FC Lightweight Champion. However, the decision has been considered controversial with some fans believing that Kume won the fight by Nam got the home country decision. This fight will see both having everything to give and as much to lose. If Nam wins, he shuts up most of the critics and proves he is the better fighter. If Kume wins, he proves the loss was a fluke and he wins the championship some think he should already have. If Nam loses, then he loses his title and proves the critics right in that he was never the better fighter and only got the belt because of a gift decision. If Kume loses, then it may be a long time before he gets another shot.

Megumi Fujii vs. Jessica Aguilar

Vale Tudo Japan 3 (October 5, 2013)

This fight has a lot on the line. It's already been announced that at 39 years old, 28 fights, and 9 years of fighting, Megumi Fujii has announced her retirement. During her career, Fujii has been considered to be one of, if not, the best female fighter in the world. She competed in Smackgirl, Shooto, and Bellator during her run. The fight is also important as Jessica Aguilar is only the second and recent fighter to have defeated Fujii. The big question going in is can Fujii ride off into the sunset by avenging the loss or will Aguilar have her number again?

Dan Hornbuckle vs. Ryo Chonan

DEEP – Tribe Tokyo Fight (October 20, 2013)

Sadly, Fujii is not the only legend retiring in October. It's been announced that fellow MMA legend Ryo Chonan has also decided to call it a day. Chonan enjoyed a successful career as he captured the DEEP Middleweight Championship and scored wins over Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton, and Joey Villasenor. But the big moment of his career was his famous win over Anderson Silva in 2004 when he won by submission with his famous flying scissor heel hook which won him many submission of the year awards and even Bleacher Reports Submission of the Decade. Heading into this last fight, Chonan has the chance to add one more big moment to his career when he not only faces Dan Hornbuckle but challenges for the DEEP Welterweight Championship. A win will not only allow Chonan to retire in style but also become one of the few MMA fighters to have won belts in multiple divisions. Hornbuckle is coming off a loss to Dennis Hallman in Titan FC. A win here would allow him to regain that lost momentum and be a nice feather in his cap.