When fighters are given their release from a major North American MMA promotion like the UFC, Bellator or WSOF – unless they’re a major star – they often fall into obscurity on the regional/overseas circuit unless they rack up a few wins and end up signing with one of the aforementioned promotions. In this regular feature for MMAOddsBreaker.com, I take a look at some regional/overseas MMA matchups for the month of June, and rather than listing off the top fights outside these major organizations, I highlight some familiar names that you might recognize on upcoming fight cards.
Pancrase 288 – July 2nd (Tokyo, Japan)
Issei Tamura (10-8) vs. Yuki Nakahara (10-4)
Former UFC bantamweight Tamura looks to bounce back against Nakahara. The 33-year-old had his three-fight win streak snapped in his last fight, losing by submission to Nazareno Malegarie at Pancrase 285. Nakahara rides a five-fight win streak into this matchup, including a third-round TKO victory over Akitoshi Tamura at Pancrase 284 in his last outing.
Yuki Kondo (59-33) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (63-41-8)
Kondo — a 92-fight veteran — takes on “Minowaman” in a middleweight encounter. The 41-year-old is currently on a three-fight skid and has won just once since 2015. Minowa competes for the first time this year and has lost three of his last four fights.
Fight Nights Global 70 – July 7th (Republic of Buryatia, Russia)
Rousimar Palhares (18-8) vs. Alexei Ivanov (9-4)
Former WSOF welterweight champion Palhares looks for his first win since 2015 when he takes on Russian Ivanov. The 37-year-old is coming off two straight losses to Emil Weber Meek and most recently Michał Materla at KSW 36 in October. His 29-year-old opponent Ivanov had his five-fight win streak snapped in his last fight, suffering a submission loss to Gennadiy Kovalev at Fight Nights Global 57.
BAMMA 30 – July 7th (Dublin, Ireland)
Paul Redmond (11-6) vs. Rob Sinclair (13-4)
UFC vet Redmond looks to bounce back as he battles 37-year-old Sinclair. Redmond has lost three of his last four fights, including a majority-decision setback to Norman Parke at BAMMA 28 in March. Sinclair has lost two of his last three fights and looks to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
Russia vs Japan – July 10th (Ekaterinburg, Russia)
Satoshi Ishii (15-7-1) vs. Ivan Shtyrkov (11-0)
Bellator vet Ishi looks for back-to-back wins when he takes on undefeated Shtyrkov. Ishi snapped a three-fight skid in his last bout when he defeated Heath Herring at RIZIN 2017 back in April by unanimous decision. The 30-year-old is 3-3 in his last six fights. Shtyrkov boasts wins over UFC vets Antonio Silva, Ricco Rodriguez and Phil De Fries. The 28-year-old has only gone the distance twice in his 11-fight career.
Dana White’s Contender Series 1 – July 7th (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Kurt Holobaugh (17-4) vs. Matt Bessette (22-7)
It’s Titan FC vs. CES MMA encounter in the main event, as former UFC featherweight Holobaugh battles Bellator veteran Bessette. Holobaugh captured the Titan FC interim lightweight title in his last bout, knocking out Gesias Cavalcante at Titan FC 44 in May. The 30-year-old drops back down to the featherweight division for the first time since March 2016 and carries a three-fight win streak into the matchup. Bessette heads into this matchup on a seven-fight win streak, with all of those victories coming by stoppage. The CES featherweight champion has also won nine of his last 10 fights.
Joby Sanchez (9-2) vs. Manny Vazquez (11-2)
Former UFC flyweight Sanchez looks to make it three wins in a row when he battles former Legacy FC bantamweight champion Vazquez. Sanchez went 1-2 in the UFC, earning a win over Tateki Matsuda and losing matchups to Wilson Reis and Geane Herrera. The 25-year-old has since bounced back with two straight wins over Martin Sandoval and most recently Jesus Urbina by split decision at Fresquez Promotions: JacksonWink Fight Night 1 in February.
Road FC 40 – July 15th (Seoul, South Korea)
Siala Siliga “Mighty Mo” (11-5) vs. Dong Guk Kang (0-1)
Former Bellator heavyweight Siliga looks for his sixth straight win when he battles Kang. Since leaving Bellator in 2014, the 46-year-old has gone 5-2, with all of those wins coming by way of stoppage. Kang dropped his professional MMA debut in 2012 to Jeff Monson at Road FC 10 and competes for the first time since then.
Riki Fukuda (24-8 NC) vs. Hoon Kim (9-11-2)
UFC veteran Fukuda aims to make it two wins in a row when he battles fellow Korean fighter Kim. Fukuda is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nae Chul Kim at Road FC 36 in March and has won three of his last four fights. Kim hasn’t won since a 2011 victory over Robert Whittaker at Legend FC 6 and heads into this matchup losing three of his last four fights.
Leo Kuntz (18-3-1) vs. Shamil Zavurov (32-5-1)
ATT product and former UFC lightweight Kuntz looks for back-to-back victories when he takes on Zavurov. Kuntz rebounded from a two-fight skid, earning a third-round submission victory over Young Gi Hong at Road FC 36. The 33-year-old looks for his first two-fight win streak since 2013. Zavurov heads into this matchup on a three-fight win streak and looks for his first stoppage victory since 2015.
Gleristone Santos (33-6) vs. Munguntsooj Nandin-Erdene (6-2)
Former Bellator bantamweight Santos looks for his third win in a row when he takes on Nandin-Erdene. The 28-year-old went 0-2 in Bellator from 2015-2016, losing to John Teixera and Brent Primus. Since then, he’s rebounded with wins over Pablo Villaseca and most recently Hyung Seok Lee. Nandin-Erdene has won four in a row, including three straight wins by knockout. The 30-year-old has never gone the distance in his eight-fight career.
Ronys Torres (34-5) vs. Elnur Agaev (13-7)
WSOF/UFC vet Torres looks to extend his winning streak to 10 straight when he battles Ageav. Since losing a split decision to Brian Cobb at WSOF 1 in 2012, the 30-year-old has won nine straight fights, with eight of those victories by finish. Agaev had his three-fight win streak snapped in his last fight, when he lost by unanimous decision to Alexander Merezhko at MFP/WSOF GLOBAL: Mayors Cup back in March.
TFC 15 – July 22nd (Seoul, South Korea)
Takenori Sato (19-11-7) vs. Sung Chan Hong (6-1) – Vacant lightweight title
UFC veteran Sato battles Korean Top Team product Hong for the promotions lightweight title. Sato went 0-2 in the UFC, losing back-to-back fights against Erick Silva and Hyun Gyu Lim. The 32-year-old has won two of his last three fights, including a win over UFC vet Chad Reiner. Hong heads into this matchup on a five-fight unbeaten streak, including a unanimous-decision victory over UFC veteran Will Chope at TFC 13 in his last fight.
ACB 65: Silva vs Agnaev – July 23rd (Ontario, California)
Thiago Silva (19-5) vs. Batraz Agnaev (3-0)
Former UFC/WSOF light heavyweight Silva aims for his fourth win in a row when he battles Agnaev. After losing two straight fights in 2015, the 34-year-old has earned three wins in a row, including a third-round knockout victory over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Agnaev is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Max Nunes at ACB 54 in March, which was his third-straight win by stoppage.
Leandro Silva (20-5-1) vs. Joshua Aveles (25-11-2)
Seven-fight UFC veteran Silva looks to build off his TKO victory over UFC vet Pat Healy when he takes on Aveles. Silva only needed 38 seconds to knock out Healy at ACB 51, which was his first win since November 2015. Aveles has remained unbeaten in his last six fights and is coming off a split-decision nod against Amirkhan Adaev at ACB 54.
Mike Kyle (22-14-1) vs. Evgeny Erokhin (17-5)
UFC/Strikeforce veteran Kyle looks for his first two-fight win streak since 2010 when he takes on 31-year-old Erokhin. Kyle snappped a two-fight skid after taking out Bellator veteran Dan Charles at ACB 51 in his last fight. The 37-year-old is 2-5 in his last seven fights. Erokhin had his 13-fight unbeaten streak snapped in his last fight, losing a unanimous decision to Gerônimo Dos Santos at MFP: Cup of the Eastern Borders 2 in December.
Oktagon 3 – July 29th (Prague, Czech Republic)
Attila Vegh (29-8-2) vs. Paul Byrne (6-2) – Vacant light heavyweight title
Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Veigh looks for his first win since February 2013 when he takes on SBG product Byrne. The 31-year-old heads into this matchup on a four-fight skid, with three of those losses coming by decision. Byrne has lost back-to-back fights and will be looking for his first win since September 2015.
RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017: 1st Round – July 30th (Saitama, Japan)
Kyoji Horiguchi (19-2) vs. Hideo Tokoro (34-29-2)
Former UFC title challenger Horiguchi looks for his fifth win in a row when he battles 65-fight vet Tokoro. In his last fight, the American Top Team product earned a unanimous-decision victory over Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura in April, which was his first win since leaving the UFC. Tokoro is coming off a submission win against Erson Yamamoto at the RIZIN GP back in December and now looks to make it two in a row for the first time since 2013.
Anthony Birchak (12-4) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (22-13-2)
UFC vet Birchak looks to bounce back in the bantamweight division as he takes on Otsuka. In his last fight, Birchak moved up to featherweight to battle Tatsuya Kawajiri and ended up losing a unanimous decision at RIZIN 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura back in April. The 31-year-old has never lost two straight fights in his career. Otsuka has remained unbeaten in his last six fights and hasn’t lost since a 2014 TKO setback to Shintaro Ishiwatari at DEEP DREAM Impact.
Is there a notable MMA veteran competing this month that I missed? Or is there a matchup that has been changed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports, and I’ll add it in or fix it up. Thanks.
