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 September and rather than listing off the top fights outside these major organizations, I highlight some familiar names that you might recognize on upcoming events. Sept 1st – ONE FC 30: Dynasty of Champions (Shanghai, China) Roger Huerta (22-7-1) vs. Koji Ando (11-4-0) UFC/Bellator veteran Huerta looks for his first two-fight win streak since 2007 when he meets Japanese standout Ando. Huerta is coming off an impressive first round TKO victory over Christian Holley which snapped a four fight losing streak. Ando is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Shinya Aoki at ONE FC 27, which snapped his five-fight win streak. Sept 11th – Legacy FC 45: Todhunter vs. Smith (Tulsa, Oklahoma) Sean Soriano (8-3-0) vs. James Warren (6-2-0) Soriano competes for the first time since his UFC release earlier this year when he meets Oklahoma native Warren. Soriano lost three straight fights in the octagon to Tatsuya Kawajiri, Chas Skelly and Charles Rosa before earning his walking papers. Warren is coming off a loss to Zac Chruch at Legacy FC 41 back in April. Sept 12th – GRANDSLAM 3 (Tokyo, Japan) Michihiro Omigawa (15-14-1) vs. Yoshifumi Nakamura (18-6-0) UFC veteran Omigawa looks for his third straight win when he faces off against Shooto veteran Nakamura. Omigawa endured a four fight losing streak between 2012-2013 but has got back on the winning track with two straight submission victories. Nakamura is coming off a loss to Yutaka Saito which snapped his five-fight win streak. Sept 12th – Huawu Fight (Shandong, China) Will Chope (24-8-0) vs. Kazushi Sugiyama (8-4-1) UFC veteran Chope looks to get back on the winning track as he faces off against Pancrase veteran Sugiyama. The 24-year old American had his five fight win streak snapped in his last fight, losing a unanimous decision to Isao Kobayash. His 38-year old opponent Sugiyama has won three of his last four bouts. Sept 12th – Absolute Championship Berkut 22 (St. Petersburg, Russia) Jesse Ronson (15-5-0) vs. Frodo Khasbulaev (21-5-0) UFC veteran and Canadian Ronson looks for his third win in a row since his UFC release when he meets Bellator veteran Khasbulaev. The 29-year old has won two straight fights by finish over Dom O’Grady and most recently Gadji Zaipulaev. Khasbulaev has won nine straight fights but hasn’t competed since Bellator 95 (April 2013) due to visa issues and injuries. Sept 12th – Face to Face 12 (Espirito Santo, Brazil) Pedro Rizzo (19-11-0) vs. Travis Fulton (252-50-11) Former UFC champion Rizzo competes for the first time since 2013 as he faces 313-fight veteran Fulton. The 41-year old Brazilian is coming off two straight losses to Fedor Emelianenko and Satoshi Ishi and will be looking for his first win since 2010. Fulton meanwhile has won four of his last five fights. Sept 12th – Cage Fury FC 51 (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) Louis Gaudinot (6-4-0) vs. Claudio Ledesma (11-5-0) Former UFC fighter Gaudinot competes for the first time since his UFC release when he meets Bellator veteran Ledesma. The TUF 14 contestant suffered losses to Tim Elliott and most recently Kyoji Horiguchi this past January at UFC 182 to earn his walking papers. Looking for his first win since 2012, he meets 32-year old Ledesma who has won two straight bouts. Sept 18th – Global FC Fight Series 4 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) James McSweeny (14-13-0) vs. Murat Aygun (252-50-11) UFC veteran McSweeny looks to snap a two fight win streak when he meets Aygun. McSweeny is coming off two straight knockout losses to Roger Gracie and Denis Goltsov. Sept 18th – Fight Nights: Dagestan (Makhachkala, Russia) Vitaly Minakov (15-0-0) vs. Gerônimo Dos Santos (36-15-0) Bellator heavyweight champion Minakov competes in his second straight fight outside the promotion when he meets Jungle FC veteran Dos Santos. Minakov kept his unblemished record in tact this past July when he knocked out Adam Maciejewski at Fight Nights: Sochi just 21 seconds into the bout. Dos Santos has won three of his last four fights including a win over Bellator tournament finalist Thiago Santos. Sept 19th – Cage MMA Finland 31 (Helsinki, Finland) Anton Kuivanen (22-8-0) vs. Eric Reynolds (18-9-0) Three time UFC veteran Kuivanen looks for his third straight victory when he meets WSOF/Bellator veteran Reynolds. These two previously fought at Cage MMA Finald 23 where the American ended up knocking out Kuivanen just 30 seconds into the first round. Things could be different this time around as Reynolds has lost three straight fights. Sept 19th – Chosen Few FC 6 (Madison, Wisconsin) Eric Schafer (13-7-2) vs. Eric Hammerich (7-10-0) Former UFC fighter Schafer competes for the first time since 2013 against Illinois native Hammerich. Schafer looks for his first two- fight win streak since 2009 and is mainly known for his UFC bouts with Michael Bisping, Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader. Hammerich has lost four in a row and hasn’t won a fight since 2012. Sept 25th – Unified MMA 24 (Edmonton, Alberta) Victor Valimaki (18-9-0) vs. Tanner Boser (7-1-0) UFC veteran Valimaki looks for his third win in his last four fights as he moves up to the heavyweight division against 24-year old Boser. The 33-year old has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and hopes a win over an up and comer in Boser will boost his resume. Boser has won 6 of his last 7 bouts with his only blemish coming to UFC veteran Tim Hague this past March at Unifed MMA 22. Sept 25th – Ring of Combat 52 (Atlantic City, New Jersey) Pete Sell (10-6-0) vs. Elijah Harshburger (7-5-0) Former UFC welterweight Sell competes for the first time since 2012 when he meets XFC vet Harshburger. Sell has been in the UFC cage with some notable fighters including Matt Brown, Thales Leites and Travis Lutter. Harshburger is coming off a first round submission loss this past March to Jonavin Webb at CFFC 47. Renee Forte (8-4-0) vs. Randy Brown (4-0-0) UFC veteran Forte competes for the first time since his UFC release last year when he meets undefeated ROC veteran Brown. The 28-year old lost two straight fights to John Makdessi and Frank Trevino to earn his walking papers from the Las Vegas based promotion. Looking for his first win since 2012, he meets 25-year old Brown who has won all of his fights by finish.
