When fighters are given their release from a major North American MMA promotion like the UFC, Bellator, WSOF or Titan – 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, I take a look at some regional/overseas matchups for the month of July and rather than listing off the top fights outside these major organizations, I highlight some familiar names that you might recognize on upcoming events. July 3rd – M-1 Challenge 59: Battle of the Nomads 5 (Astana, Khazakhstan) Sergei Kharitonov (22-5-0) vs. Kenny Garner (16-8-0) PRIDE/Strikeforce veteran Kharitonov looks for his fifth win in a row when he battles ATT product Garner in a rematch of their encounter at M1 Challenge 53 last year. The 40-year old Garner lost that fight via injury and will look to earn his third win in a row on July 3rd. Meanwhile 34-year old Kharitonov has remained undefeated since losing to Josh Barnett at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals back in 2011. Luigi Fioravanti (25-13-0) vs. Sergey Kovalev (5-0-0) UFC veteran Fioravanti looks to get back on the winning track when he meets undefeated Russian Kovalev. The 34-year old has lost two of his last three fights, but holds a significant edge in experiencing having 38 career bouts to Kovalev who has just five. Speaking of the 29-year old he’s won all of his fights by finish and competes for the first time since 2013. July 5th – Pancrase 268 (Tokyo, Japan) Luis Nogueira (19-3-1) vs. Masakatsu Ueda (15-4-2) Seven time Bellator veteran Nogueira looks to extend his winning streak to seven straight when he meets ONE FC banamweight Ueda. The Brazilian Noguiera went 5-2 in Bellator, with his only losses coming to current bantamweight title holder Marcos Galvao and former tournament finalist Ed West. Ueda has suffered back to back losses for the first time in his career and he’ll be looking for his first win since 2013. July 5th – Budo Fighting Championships 10 (Birmingham, England) Jeff Monson (55-23-1) vs. Paul Taylor (8-3-0) Monson will look to snap a three fight skid when he meets BAMMA veteran Taylor. Despite being 44-years old Monson has been very active this year having already competed five times. Taylor is coming off a loss to Bellator veteran Mark Godbeer, but prior to the loss had won three straight fights. July 11th – Fury Fighting Championship 7 (Humble, Texas) Bubba McDaniel (24-9-0) vs. Edgar Verdin (6-5-0) TUF 17 contestant McDaniel looks for his fourth win in his last five fights when he meets Verdin. Since his UFC release in last year, McDaniel went 1-1 in Bellaotr and is coming off a first round knockout victory over Marvin Babe back in March. Verdin meanwhile has won three straight fights. July 17th – Legacy FC 43 (Hinckley, Minnesota) Brock Larson (41-9-0) vs. Derrick Krantz (16-8-0) UFC veteran Larson aims for his third straight victory when he meets Texas native Krantz. Larson made quick work last month at KOTC: Bad Blood defeating Kyle Olsen via first round knockout. Krantz has won two straight over UFC veterans Kyle Bradley and Daniel Roberts. Jacob Volkmann (17-6-0) vs. Zak Ottow (9-2-0) UFC/WSOF veteran Volkman competes for the first time in over a year when he meets RFA veteran Ottow. Since leaving the UFC in 2013, the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product has gone 2-2, with setbacks to Luiz Firmino and T.J. O’Brien. Ottow looks for his fourth straight win and has finished his last three opponents. July 18th – MMA Summer Showdown 2 (Tulalip, Washington) Dennis Hallman (53-17-2) vs. Albert Tadevosyan (5-0-1) Former UFC fighter Hallman competes in his 73rd professional bout when he meets 23-year old Armenian fighter Tadevosyan. Hallman has lost three straight bouts and will be looking for his first win since 2013. Tadevosyan made his professional MMA debut last year and had won four of his five fights by stoppage. July 20th – DEEP Cage Impact 2015 (Tokyo, Japan) Michihiro Omigawa (14-14-1) vs. Kosuke Umeda (13-15-3) Former Sengoku featherweight champion Omigawa looks for his first two fight win streak since 2010, when he battles DEEP veteran Umeda. The five time UFC veteran Omigawa was on a four fight losing streak before defeating Peter Cepeda last September at DEEP 68. Umeda meanwhile has lost three straight fights. July 24th – Tech-Krep FC: PRIME Selection 2015 Stage 4 (Krasnodar, Russia) James McSweeney (14-12-0) vs. Denis Goltsov (14-4-0) TUF 10 contestant McSweeney looks for his fourth win in his last five fights when he meets M1 veteran Goltsov. McSweeney had won three straight before losing by first round knockout to Roger Gracie at ONE FC 23 this past December. His 25-year old opponent has won nine straight fights including victories over Brett Rogers and Peter Graham. July 25th – Road FC 24 in Japan (Tokyo, Japan) Riki Fukuda (22-7-0 ) vs. Uh Jin Jeon (3-2-0) UFC veteran Fukuda looks for his fourth win in a row when he battles 21-year old Jeon. Fukuda has remained undefeated since his UFC release in 2013 and has yet to see the judges scorecards during that stretch. Jeon has just five professional fights but has won two straight bouts. Hong Man Choi (2-3-0) vs. Carlos Toyota (5-6-1) 7’2 monster Choi returns to MMA for the first time since 2009 when he battles Japanese heavyweight Toyota. Choi last saw action at DREAM 11 Superhulk Grand Prix, where he lost via submission to Ikuhisa Minowa. Toyota meanwhile has won two in a row, both by first round knockout. July 25th – Golden Fights: Cage Wars 22 (Grand Junction, Colorado) Shonie Carter (51-30-17) vs. Billy Martin (6-12-0) UFC veteran Carter looks for his first two fight win streak since 2009 when he takes on 25-year old Martin. The 43-year old TUF 4 contestant is coming off a first round TKO victory over Shannon Rich back in January at Super Brawl Showdown 1. His 25-year old opponent Martin has lost four straight after winning three in a row last year. July 26th – Shooto (Tokyo, Japan) Caol Uno (32-17-5) vs. Shigeki Osawa (14-6-3) Longtime UFC veteran Uno looks for his seventh win in his last eight fights when he meets fellow countryman Osawa. Uno was undefeated from 2013 until this past January before dropping a decision to Yoshifumi Nakamura at Shooto: Season Opener. The 40-year old meets Osawa who has won three of his last four bouts.
