October 27, 2016
By Ryan Porzl
A few years ago, I wrote about looking at the MMA world every month and having wanted to do something like this for a while, I decided to try and showcase the fights that fans should look forward to during the month. For now, I'll look at most of the top MMA companies like UFC, Bellator, WSOF, ONE, and Rizin since I'm most familiar with them.
Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson (UFC 205, 11/12/16)- This fight is for the UFC Welterweight Championship which Woodley won at UFC 201 on July 30 of this year. Woodley is currently riding a three fight win streak with wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Kelvin Gastlum (which was The Ultimate Fighter winner's first loss), and Robbie Lawler (who he defeated for the championship). At 13-1, Thompson has been streaking as he has not lost since Matt Brown back at UFC 145 in April 2012. Since then, he's gone on a path of destruction by racking up seven wins including wins over TUF Winner Robert Wittaker, former Middleweight Title Contender Patrick Cote, former Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks, and former Welterweight Title contender Rory MacDonald. Woodley is looking to make his first successful title defense while Thompson is seeking his first MMA Title.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (UFC 205, 11/12/16)- This is the battle of the undefeated Polish women who will compete for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship. As mentioned, both are undefeated and thus, on a roll. Jedrzejczyk has been a wrecking ball by steamrolling through inaugural champion Carla Esparza and has racked up three successful title defenses so far. Kowalkiewicz is no stranger to gold as she is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion before heading to The UFC. It's usually very interesting to watch a dominating champion because you have to wonder if the next fight will be the one where they fall and history is made. Having that in mind, this fight is more interesting due to the fact that both are also undefeated with Jedrzejczyk being 12-0 while Kowalkiewicz being 10-0. Barring a no contest or draw, one of these women will be guaranteed to suffer their first loss but which will it be? Will Jedrzejczyk continue to reign as the undefeated Women's Strawweight Champion or will Kowalkiewicz be the new undefeated Strawweight Queen?
Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero (UFC 205, 11/12/16)- This fight could potentially be a title eliminator as Weidman is a former UFC Middleweight Champion while Romero was not too long ago considered the number one contender before a positive drug test cost him months of his career and his shot. Neither have fought in the last ten months as both fought at UFC 194 in December 2015 where Weidman lost the title to former Strikeforce Champion Luke Rockhold while Romero defeated Jacare Souza. Prior to his recent loss to Rockhold, Weidman was undefeated and blitzed through the competition with brutal wins over Mark Munoz, two over All Time Great Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Vitor Belfort. Both have a lot to gain while they have a lot to lose. If Weidman loses, then it'll take more time to climb back to a title shot while Romero already has a bad reputation with a positive drug test and accusations of being a dirty fighter. Meanwhile, Romero will be 40 next year so this could be his best and only chance to get a UFC Middleweight Title shot.
Timothy Johnson vs. Alexander Volkov (UFC FN 99, 11/19/16)- This is an interesting fight to look for as it's Volkov's UFC debut. The Russian Volkov got his start in M-1 Global before getting his break in Bellator where he competed from 2012-2015 and was the second Heavyweight Champion in company history as well as the only fighter to win two heavyweight tournaments but his run ended in lackluster fashion as he dropped two fights with the first being against the returning Tony Johnson and then against Cheick Kongo which resulted in his release. Since then, Volkov bounced back in M-1 Global where he won the M-1 Global Heavyweight Championship by defeating former title contender Denis Smoldarev to win the vacant title and proceeded to successfully defend it against former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Attila Vegh. It will be interesting to see if Volkov has learned new tricks or worked on his weaknesses but we'll know as Johnson is a former two time All-American NCAA Div. II Wrestler. Ironically, Johnson could be considered a potential M-1 Hunter as he's coming off a win over former M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion Marcin Tybura who debuted in that fight. Does Volkov have a successful UFC debut or does Johnson hand another former M-1 Global Champion a defeat in their UFC debut?
Luke Rockhold vs. Jacare Souza (UFC FN 101, 11/27/16)- Like Weidman/Romero, this fight could also be a potential Middleweight Title eliminator. Rockhold is coming off a tough loss to Michael Bisping in their second encounter which saw Rockhold lose the UFC Middleweight Championship in his first title defense. Souza was streaking since his arrival in the UFC until suffering a close and controveral split decision to Yoel Romero a year ago. This fight is also interesting as it is the second fight between the two as Rockhold defeated Souza back at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov on September 10, 2011. The fight, which was Rockhold's first in nineteen months, was Rockhold's break out fight as he defeated Souza for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship and handed Souza his only loss under the Strikeforce banner. Given both men have been very successful in the UFC, Souza bouncing back against Vitor Belfort not too long ago, and Rockhold being a former champion, this fight could be a title eliminator as many would argue that Souza is long overdue for a title shot while Rockhold would have a rubber match against Bisping as he won their first fight.
Liam McGeary vs. Phil Davis (Bellator 163, 11/4/16)- This is for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship and a fight a year in the making. Davis made his debut in Bellator in impressive fashion in September 2015 by winning the Bellator Dynamite Light Heavyweight Tournament where he defeated former champion and tournament winner Emanuel Newton and fellow UFC alumni Francis Carmont (replacing an injured Mo Lawal). Speaking of Lawal, Davis followed up by defeating Lawal by unanimous decision at Bellator 154 back in May which snapped Lawal's seven fight win streak. McGeary is coming off a fourteen month absense due to injury as his last fight was back in September 2015 where he retained the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship against Tito Ortiz at Bellator 142 which was the same event Davis debuted. McGeary has looked impressive in Bellator but this will be his toughest challenge given Davis' skills and his success so far in the organization. McGeary also struggled with Ortiz's wrestling which can be bad as Davis is a more decoriated wrestler while being younger and healthier. However, Davis can't get too comfortable on the ground with his wrestling as McGeary is skilled and slick off his back having scored wins with inverted triangle chokes.
Marloes Coenen vs. Talia Nogueira (Bellator 163, 11/4/16)- This fight is mostly interesting giving Coenen's last fight as well as this being old guard vs. new blood. Long considered the #2 Women's Featherweight Fighter, Coenen signed with Bellator in 2014 when the company created a women's featherweight division which just about everyone assumed was a matter of time before Coenen became the division's inaugural champion. After racking two wins, Coenen was put in a fight with Julia Budd to determine who would be the first Women's Featherweight Champion at Bellator 155 this past May 20th. However, the event proved to go disasterously for Coenen as the fight was cancelled when Budd suffered an injury and Coenen was put against Alexis Dufresne with the title no longer on the line. To make matters worse, Coenen entered the fight a -600 favorite but suffered a huge loss when caught and forced to submit to a triangle choke. The submission loss marked the first in five years with Coenen's only other submission loss coming against Miesha Tate when she lost The Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. Going into this fight, Nogueira is undefeated at 6-0 but hasn't fought in three years. No doubt, Nogueira is hoping to make a name for herself at Coenen's expense like how Dufresne did. Nogueira is also a former Jiu-Jitsu world champion so it will be interesting if she can pull off a submission of her own. This fight will see if Nogueira can score the biggest win of her career or not while Coenen will fight hoping that the recent loss was only a temporary setback instead of a case of declining.
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Javy Ayala (Bellator 163, 11/4/16)- This fight marks the debut of Kharitonov who signed with Bellator earlier this year but saw his debut which was set for Bellator 154 on May 14th delayed after pulling out due to illness. The fight marks Kharitonov's return to American MMA since he lost to Josh Barnett at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov five years earlier. Since then, Kharitonov has bounced between MMA and Kickboxing where he's coming off two straight wins over former M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion Kenny Garner. Being a former two time tournament semifinalist, Kharitonov would probably love nothing more than to finally win a big one and a good win over Ayala would likely put him in the mix for the vacant Bellator Heavyweight Championship. Since his arrival to Bellator in 2013, Ayala has become a spoiler as he's scored a few big upsets early in his run including a knockout win over season five tournament runner up Thiago Santos, a dominating performance over season five tournament winner & title contender Eric Prindle, and a quick submission win over former prospect Raphael Butler. After going on a two fight losing streak from 2015 to early 2016, Ayala returned to his winning ways back on June 17th at Bellator 156. Ayala has scored upsets before and is hoping for another as a win over Kharitonov would put Ayala in title contention or title elimination fights.
Andrey Koreshkov vs. Douglas Lima (Bellator 164, 11/10/16)- This is for the Bellator Welterweight Championship and a rematch from Bellator 140 back in July 2015 which saw Koreshkov defeat Lima to win the championship. Since then, Koreshkov is coming off the most notable and perhaps biggest win in his career by retaining against Ben Henderson while Lima bounced back with a win over Paul Daley. Given both mens style, this should be a very fun fight and title implications make it even more worth going out of your way to watch. Lima also has much on the line as another loss could put him in no man's land where he'll have to rack up a huge win streak or wait until Koreshkov loses the title. Koreshkov is coming his two biggest wins to date so the last thing he wants is to lose now especially with the title on the line.
Michael Page vs. Fernando Gonzalez (Bellator 165, 11/19/16)- Another fight worth seeing for tons of reasons. One being that this could be a title eliminator and the winner could meet the winner of the Koreshkov/Lima fight. Page is undefeated in both Bellator and his MMA career while coming off a knockout of the year candidate win over Cyborg Santos all the while being one of the company's biggest prospects. Gonzalez has been a huge overachiever since arriving in Bellator back in 2014. Originally brought in as a winnable opponent for Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Winner Karl Amoussou, Gonzalez upset the former title contender and since racked up a five fight winning streak with wins over Karo Parsayan, Marius Zaromskis, Curtis Millender, and Gibert Smith. Page is a streaking prospect but Gonzalez has scored his share of upsets in Bellator so it could go either way. This fight is also nearly a year in the making as well with Bellator having first booked it for Bellator 151 on March 4th and Bellator 158 on July 16th but both times saw the fight cancelled for one reason or another.
Yushin Okami vs. Paul Bradley (WSOF 34, 11/12/16)- I picked this fight not because it'll be explosive but because of where both men are in their careers. Bradley is a former UFC and Bellator fighter and is making his debut in WSOF for this fight after going 3-1, 1NC in Bellator with his last fight being a quick knockout win over prospect Chris Honeycutt. Like anybody debuting, Bradley would love to come out of his first fight with a win and a win over an aging name like Okami would do him good, if not put him in title contention. Okami is at a cross roads in his career. After debuting in WSOF in 2014 where he was expected to be a future Middleweight Champion, Okami is now 1-2 in the promotion as he won his debut fight in dominating fashion against Svetlozar Savov but stumbled since then as he suffered a TKO loss to Middleweight Champion David Branch in a big upset and then lost his Welterweight debut against future champion Jon Fitch. Though Okami has picked up two wins in DEEP and Pancrase, he needs a win here to show his time hasn't passed and he still can compete for the title.
Shinya Aoki vs. Eduard Folayang (ONE 49, 11/11/16)- This is for the ONE Lightweight Championship. One of MMA's greatest and dominant lightweights, Aoki returns to ONE for the first time since ONE 28 on May 22, 2015. Aoki won the title from Kotetsu Boku back at ONE 8 at April 5, 2013 and has since made two successful title defenses against former UFC fighter Kamal Shalorus and former LEGEND FC Champion Koji Ando. Aoki is coming off a win over the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba at Rizin Fighting Federation's inaugural event back on December 29th and is riding a nine fight winning streak with his last loss being against the now current UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 66 on May 20, 2012. Folayang is one of ONE's first stars and has had a roller coaster ride since. The URCC Champion debuted all the way back to ONE's first event which he main evented against A Sol Won back on September 3, 2011. Through it all, it appeared that Folayang was destined to be a future ONE Champion but has hit many speed bumps over the years including a few crushing defeats. Now, Folayang will get his long awaited title shot in the biggest fight of his career after racking up a two fight win streak with wins over former ZST Champion Tetsuya Yamada and former LEGEND Champion Adrian Pang. A win would be huge for Folayang as he would end Aoki's iron grip on the title, and snap his nine fight win streak. It would also end a big drought from Team Lakay (the gym Folayang trains out of) as they have repeatedly come up short in recent title matches including Joshua Pacio failing to win the ONE Strawweight Championship from Yoshitaka Naito a few weeks ago. This fight is also the classic "grappler vs. striker" match as Aoki is one of the greatest grapplers in MMA history while Folayang is a wushu fighter. Will Aoki get another submission win or with Folayang find a way to catch Aoki with a knockout blow?
Marat Gafurov vs. Jadamba Narantungalag (ONE 49, 11/11/16)- This fight is for the ONE Featherweight Championship and a rematch from last November when Gafurov won the title from Narantungalag. One reason to look out for this fight is because the first was fun as these two went back and forth for nearly 4 rounds. This fight should be just as exciting if it's anything like the first one. Gafurov is undefeated at 14-0 and coming off a successful title defense against DEEP Champion Kazunori Yokota back in May while Narantungalag has bounced back in style with a two fight win streak which features a submission win over first ever ONE Lightweight Champion Kotetsu Boku via von flue choke and a 44 second knockout win over former ONE Featherweight title challenger Eric Kelly. This will be an extremely important fight for Narantungalag as he already lost to Gafurov once already which means another loss will put him in the back of the line and it could take awhile before getting another title shot. Narantungalag is also nearly 41 years old so this could be his last opportunity to hold a major MMA Championship.
Timofey Nastyukhin vs. Kotetsu Boku (ONE 49, 11/11/16)- This fight is on here for the potential fireworks. Since arriving in ONE, Nastyukhin has been known for his nasty highlight reel knockouts including his flying knee and soccer kick finish over Eduard Folayang in 2014 and his recent six second knockout against Robert Lista this past spring. Nastyukhin has the power and techinque to end a fight at any time and you're almost always guaranteed a finish as Nastyukhin has yet to go the distance in any of his fights regardless of whether he wins or loses. Boku is ONE's first lightweight champion but dropped to featherweight after losing to Eduard Folayang back in May 2014. Since then, Boku started great winning two fights in featherweight while winning one in catchweight but his win streak ended this past May with a submission loss to #1 contender Jadamba Narantungalag. A win over Nastyukhin would get Boku back on track and like Nastyukhin, Boku has the KO power to either turn the tide of a fight or end it at any moment. The winner could also make an argument to get the next title shot over the winner of the Gafurov/Naratungalag fight.
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