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, I take a look at some regional/overseas matchups for the month of April and rather than listing off the top fights outside these major organizations, I highlight some familiar names that you might recognize on upcoming events. Apr. 1st – CES 34 (Mashantucket, Connecticut) Nah-shon Burrell (12-6) vs. Chris Curtis (14-4) UFC/Bellator veteran Burrell looks for back to back wins for the first time since 2012 when he takes on CES welterweight champion Curits. Burrell has gone 2-2 in his last four fights earning wins over Ryan Hodge and Ryan Dickson while suffering setbacks to Micahel Page and Lyman Good. Curtis won the CES title in his last fight by defeating former champion Gil de Freitas by first round submission. These two previously fought each other at Xtreme Caged Combat in 2010, where Curtis took a unanimous decision victory. Apr. 1st – Absolute Fighting Championship 25 (Coconut Creek, Florida) Steve Montgomery (8-4) vs. Avery McPhatter (9-6) Montgomery competes for the first time since his UFC release as he takes on Bellator vet McPhatter. The 25-year old was released from the UFC after losses to Tony Sims and Daniel Kelly. McPhatter meanwhile is currently riding a six-fight win streak. Apr. 1st – Victory Fighting Championship (Omaha, Nebraska) Dakota Cochrane (23-9) vs. Valdir Araujo (15-6) Bellator veteran Cochrane squares off with TUF 21 contestant Arajuo in a welterweight contest. Cochrane heads into this contest off five-straight wins, including four victories by stoppage. Araujo is coming off a first round submission win over Victor Moreno, which snapped his two-fight losing streak. Rob Emerson (17-11) vs. Alonzo Martinez (39-19-1) UFC veteran Emerson competes for the first time since 2014 as he takes on Strikeforce veteran Martinez. Emerson is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Rafael Silva at Bellator 127, which snapped his five-fight win streak. Martinez has lost two-straight fights. Apr. 2nd– Thunder Fight 6 (Sao Paulo, Brazil) Elias Silvério (11-2) vs. Vitor Regis (8-5) Silverio competes outside the UFC for the first time since 2013 as he takes on fellow Brazilian Regis. Losing back to back fights against Rashid Magomedov and Shane Campbell, Silverio was released from the UFC late last year. Regis meanwhile has gone 2-2 in his last four fights and is coming off a 45 second head kick knockout loss to Luis Melo last November. Apr. 8th – M-1 Challenge 65: Emeev vs. Falcão (St. Petersburg, Russia) Maiquel Falcão (35-8) vs. Ramazan Emeev (13-3) UFC/Bellator veteran Falcao looks to get back on the winning track when he faces 28-year old Emeev. Falcao had his three-fight win streak snapped in his last bout, losing by TKO to Aziz Karaoglu at KSW 33 just 30 seconds into the bout. Emeev meanwhile has won back to back fights against Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and Luigi Fioravanti. Jeremy May (13-8) vs. Evgeni Myakinin (13-7) TUF 7 contestant May looks to push his unbeaten streak to six-straight when he faces Myakinkin in his M-1 debut. The 29-year old hasn’t lost a fight since a 2011 loss to David Branch at Shark Fights 15. Myakinkin heads into this matchup off back-to-back victories. Apr. 8th – Legacy FC 53 (Atlanta, Georgia) Dhiego Lima (10-4) vs. Antonio Trocoli (10-1) TUF 19 finalist Lima competes for the first time since his UFC release last year as he takes on 25-year old Brazilian Trocoli. Lima went 1-3 in the UFC suffering losses to Eddie Gordon, Tim Means and Jinglang Li. Trocoli meanwhile is coming off the first loss of his career as he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Jacob Volkman. Apr. 9th – Superior Challenge 13 (Norrköping, Sweden) David Bielkheden (21-12) vs. Daniel Acácio (30-18) UFC veteran Bielkheden looks for his fifth straight win when he takes on Brazilian Acacio in a welterweight bout. Bielkheden is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Cody McKenzie at Superior Challenge 12. Acacio heads into the matchup off five straight losses and looks for his first win since 2013. Papy Abedi (9-3) vs. Bruno Carvalho (16-10) Abedi competes for the first time since his UFC release in 2013 when he meets Brazilian Carvalho. Abedi went 1-3 in the UFC, losing to Thiago Alves, James Head and Dylan Andrews. Carvalho snapped a four-fight skid in his last fight, defeating Eun Soo Kim via submission at Top FC 9 last October. Apr. 9th – Fight Night Medicine Hat (Medicine Hat, Alberta) Cody McKenzie (15-8) vs. Ryan Machan (23-9) Former UFC fighter McKenzie looks for his first win since 2014 when he takes on Canadian Machan. These two were slated to square off athe Fight Night Calgary event back in January, but the card was cancelled on the day of the event. Machan has won four in a row, but hasn’t competed since a November 2014 victory over Marcus Hicks. Emanuel Newton (25-10-1) vs. Matt Baker (13-8) Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Newton competes for the first time outside Bellator since 2011, when he takes on Canadian Baker. The 32-year old has lost three straight fights and was given permission from the promotion to take this matchup. Baker heads into this contest off a first round TKO victory over Cody Krahn at XFFC 7 back in October. Josh Hill (13-1) vs. Bendy Casimir (20-13-2) TUF 18 contestant Hill takes on WEC veteran Casimir in a bantamweight title affair. Hill is coming off a split decision victory over Bekbulat Magomedov at WSOF 26, which was his fourth straight win. Casimir has lost two in a row and eight of his last nine fights. Antonio McKee (29-6-2) vs. Marcelo Mafra (6-0) UFC/MFC veteran McKee competes for the first time since November 2014 when he takes on undefeated Mafra. The 46-year old snapped his two-fight losing streak in his last bout, defeating Gadji Zaipulaev by split decision. Mafra meanwhile has won all of his fights by stoppage. Apr. 15th – Xcessive Force FC 9: Conviction (Grande Prairie, Alberta) Tim Hague (20-12) vs. Kalib Starnes (17-10-1) A pair of Canadian UFC veterans collide as Hague meets Starnes in a heavyweight affair. Hague heads into this fight off three-straight losses – all by knockout – and will be looking for his first win since March of 2015. Starnes looks for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2013 and is coming off a second round submission victory over Craig Hudson at XFFC 7 back in October. Jesse Ronson (15-6) vs. Matt MacGrath (17-8) UFC veteran Ronson looks for his third win in his last four fights when he meets fellow Canadian MacGrath. These two were supposed to meet a XFFC 8 back in December, but an injury to Ronson scrapped the matchup. MacGrath has won six-fights in a row and hasn’t tasted defeat since a 2012 loss to Nordine Taleb at Bellator 67. Mike Hill (8-4) vs. Spencer Jebb (11-4) TUF 16 competitor Hill looks to get back on the winning track when he takes on fellow Canadian Jebb in a welterweight contest. Hill has gone 1-2 in his last three fights earning a win over Mark Drummond at WSOF 21 and losing bouts to Bristol Marunde and most recently Matt MacGrath. Jebb meanwhile has won back to back fights over Cody Krahn and David Perron. Apr. 16th – RFA 37: Viana vs Clark (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) David Michaud (8-2) vs. Chris Hugh (16-11) Michaud competes for the first time since his UFC release as he takes on “The Hitman” Michaud hasn’t competed since his loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier at UFC 186 last April and was slated to compete on that cancelled Titan FC 36 card in December. Hugh heads into this fight off two-straight knockout defeats and will be looking for his first win since 2014. Apr 16th – Road FC 30 (Beijing, China) Hong Man Choi (3-4) vs. Aorigele (2-2) Choi looks to make it two-straight wins when he takes on 20-year old Aorgele. The towering 7’2 South Korean returned to MMA competition last year, going 1-1 after having not competed in the sport since 2009. Aorigele is 2-2 in his career and is coming off a second round knockout loss to Wunier Jirigala back in January. Mighty Mo (8-5) vs. Hyun Man Myung Mo looks to make it three in a row when he takes on South Korean Myung. Mo has won two straight fights over Mu Bae Choi, both victories coming by way of first round knockout. Myung has also won two in a row with back to back wins last year over Jairo Kusunoki and Lingyu Liang. Apr. 16th – Chosen Few FC 8 (Madison, Wisconsin) Eric Schafer (14-7-2) vs. James Heidlage (9-1) UFC veteran Schafer competes for just the second time since 2014 as he takes on 26-year old Heidlage. After two years away from the sport, Schafer made a successful return by submitting Eric Hammerich at Chosen Few FC 6 back in September. “Corndog” meanwhile has won back to back fights and looks for his 10th win in his last 11 bouts. Apr. 16th – GMC 8 (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) Mickael Lebout (14-5-2) vs. Jessin Ayari (14-3) Lebout looks to get back on the winning track when he battles German fighter Ayari. The 28-year old Frenchman went 1-2 in the UFC earning a win over Teemu Packalen and losing bouts to Sergio Moraes and Stevie Ray. Ayari comes into this fight off five-straight wins and hasn’t lost a fight since 2013. Apr. 16th – Asperfa FC 34 (Ceara, Brazil) Nazareno Malegarie (29-4) vs. Iramar Frota (11-11) UFC/Bellator veteran Malegarie looks for his ninth win his his last ten bouts as he takes on fellow Brazilian Frota. Malegarie had a short stint in the UFC, losing a split decision to Joaquim Silva at UFC 191 which prompted his release from the promotion. Frota has lost two fights in a row and will be looking for his first win since 2014. Apr. 17th – RIZIN FF 1 (Aichi, Japan) Daron Cruickshank (16-8) vs. Shinji Saski (16-8-3) Cruickshank competes for the first time since his UFC release when he takes on Japanese fighter Saski. The 30-year old MTT product has lost three straight fights by submission and will be looking for his first win since 2014. Saski is unbeaten in his last four-fights. Apr. 22nd – Triumph FC 1: Inception (Edmonton, Alberta) Tom Gallicchio (19-8) vs. Andrew McInnes (6-1) TUF 22 contestant Gallicchio looks for his fourth straight win when he takes on WSOF veteran McInnes. Gallicchio was eliminated from The Ultimate Fighter after losing to Marcin Wrzosek by decision. McInnes hasn’t seen action since a DQ victory over Cody McKenzie at WSOF 18 back in February 2015 and heads into this matchup off six-straight wins. Apr. 22nd – Fight Time 30 (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Vagner Rocha (11-4) vs. Gabriel Miranda (9-3) Former UFC lightweight Rocha competes for the first time since his UFC release as he takes on fellow Brazilian Miranda. Rocha had won four straight fights before losing to Jake Matthews at UFC Fight Night 55. He was later slated to fight Joe Duffy at UFC 185, but had to pull out of that fight due to injury and was released from the promotion. Miranda is coming off a loss to Hiroki Nagaoka at Pancrase 273, which snapped his eight-fight win streak. Apr. 23rd – Mobstyles: Fight and Mosh (Urayasu, China) Yoshiro Maeda (31-15-5) vs. Kosuke Suzuki (11-5-3) PRIDE/WEC veteran Maeda aims to make it four in a row when he battles fellow Japanese fighter Suzuki. Maeda fought in the WEC from 2008-2009 gpomg 1-2 with a win over Charlie Valencia and losses to Miguel Torres and Rani Yahya. Suzuki snapped his two-fight losing streak in his last fight by defeating Fumihiro Kitahara by unanimous decision back in December. Apr. 23rd – DEEP: Cage Impact (Tokyo, Japan) Nam Phan (21-15) vs. Masakazu Imanari (32-15-2) UFC veteran Phan looks to get back on the winning track when he takes on submission specialist Imanari. Phan has gone 3-2 since leaving the UFC 2014, suffering losses against Mike Richman and Andy Main. Apr. 23rd– PRIDE Fighting Show: The Stars of World MMA (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) Jeff Monson (58-25-1) vs. Maxim Kiselev (0-0) 84-fight veteran Monson looks to get back on the winning track when he takes on Kiselev, who makes his pro-MMA debut. The 45-year old has gone 2-2 in his last four fights and competes for the first time in 2016. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-4) vs. Shannon Ritch (53-80) Former Bellator heavyweight Vasilevsky looks to avoid back to back losses for the first time in his career when he takes on 133-fight veteran Rich. Vasilevsky is coming off a majority decision loss to Alexander Shlemenko in the M1 heavyweight tournament semifinal. 45-year old Rich has lose three straight fights and will be looking for his first win since 2013. Apr. 23rd – Aspera FC 35 (Ji-Parana, Rondonia) Iliarde Santos (30-11-1) vs. Bruno Viana (9-1) UFC veteran Santos looks to get back on the winning track when he meets fellow Brazilian Viana. Santos went 0-3 in the UFC, losing bouts to Iuri Alcantara, Ian McCall and Chris Cariaso in 2013. Since his UFC release he’s gone 2-2, winning bouts against Nick Honstein and Gilliard da Silva, while suffering setbacks to Tim Elliott and Rafael Dias. Viana meanwhile has won nine of his last 10 matchups and competes for the first time this year. Apr. 23rd – WXC 63: Implosion (Southgate, Michigan) Johnny Bedford (20-12) vs. Mike Hernandez (10-2) UFC veteran Bedford looks to win two-straight fights for the first time since 2012 when he meets Michigan Top Team product Hernandez. Bedford is coming off a fifth round TKO victory over Josh Robinson at WXC 59 last August, which snapped his two-fight losing streak. Hernandez has won six fights in a row and hasn’t lost a fight since November 2014. Apr. 29th– Pinnacle Combat 23 (Dubuque, Iowa) Derrick Mehmen (19-7) vs. Rakim Cleveland (13-7-1) Former WSOF title challenger Mehmen takes on 26-year old Roundkick Gym product Cleveland. Mehmen is coming off a second round TKO loss to WSOF heavyweight champion Blagoi Ivanov at WSOF 24. Cleveland heads into this heavyweight showdown off three-straight wins. Apr. 30th– CFC 2 (South Richmond, California) James Terry (16-9) vs. Buddy Wallace (11-5) Strikeforce/Bellator veteran Terry takes on Tachi Palace veteran Wallace. Terry has gone 2-2 in his last four fights with both of his losses coming under the Bellator banner. Wallace has lost four of his last six fights and has been finished in three of those losses. Ulysses Gomez (9-5) vs. Josh Paiva (7-1) UFC veteran Gomez competes for the first time since 2014 when he takes on 24-year old Paiva. Gomez went 0-2 in the UFC from 2012-2013 – losing back to back fights to John Moraga and Phil Harris – and is currently on a three-fight skid. The 32-year old hasn’t won a fight since 2011. Paiva meanwhile has won three straight fights by submission and hasn’t lost since 2013. Apr. 30th– Art of War 17 (Beijing, China) Waylon Lowe (16-7) vs. Gadji Zaipulaev (22-8) UFC veteran Lowe looks to win back to back fights for the first time since 2013, when he takes on Russian fighter Zaipulaev. Since his UFC release in 2011, Lowe has gone 6-3, with four of those victories coming by stoppage. Since losing to UFC veteran Jesse Ronson last year, Zaipulaev has won back to back fights by submission. Is there a notable MMA veteran competing this month that I missed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports and I’ll add them in.
