When fighters are given their release (or choose to sign elsewhere) from a major North American MMA promotion like the UFC or Bellator – 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 May 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.
MMA Bushido 77: Fighting Championship in Vilnius – Vilnius, Lithuania – May 3
Marius Zaromskis (20-9) vs. Aliaksandr Danilchenko (0-0)
Former Strikeforce/Bellator fighter Zaromskis returns to the cage for the first time since Jan. 2015 against Danilchenko who is making his professional MMA debut.
GR Fight II – Penza, Russia – May 3
Phil Baroni (16-18) vs. Shamil Zavurov (34-6-1)
UFC veteran Baroni looks for back-to-back wins for the first time since Sept. 2008. Zavurov meanwhile has won six of his last seven fights.
Alberto Uda (14-2) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (17-2)
Former UFC middleweight Uda aims to make it five-straight wins, while Fakhredinov hasn’t lost a fight since June 2016.
Invicta FC: Phoenix Rising 1 – Kansas City, Kansas – May 3
Danielle Taylor (10-4) vs. Juliana Lima (9-5)
Two UFC veterans clash, as Taylor looks for two-straight wins while Lima aims to snap a two-fight skid
Kailin Curran (4-6) vs. Sunna Daviosdottr (3-0)
Former UFC strawweight Curran looks for her first win since Dec. 2015.
LFA 65: Royval vs. Sanchez – Vail Colorado – May 3
Joby Sanchez (12-4) vs. Brandon Royval (8-4)
UFC veteran Sanchez faces former LFA title challenger Royval in the main event.
ONE Championship: For Honor – Jakarta, Indonesia – May 4
Yushin Okami (35-12) vs. Kiamrian Abbasov (20-4)
Former UFC title challenger Okami makes his promotional debut and competes in the middleweight division for the first time since Nov. 2014
RCC 6 – Chelyabinsk, Russia – May 4
Alexander Shlemenko (58-12) vs. Viscardi Andrade (20-7)
Former Bellator middleweight champion Shlemenko looks to make it two straight wins for the first time since June. 2017 when he faces UFC vet Andrade.
Shane Campbell (15-7) vs Pavel Gordeev (13-1)
UFC veteran Campbell looks for his sixth win in his last seven fights when he faces M-1 Challenge standout Gordeev.
Wagner Prado (15-3) vs. Anton Vyazigin (12-3)
Former UFC fighter Prado (who holds a win over UFC light heavyweight standout Johnny Walker) looks for his fourth straight win when he faces Vyazigin.
Jonavin Webb (12-3) vs. Nikolay Aleksakhin (23-5)
Two-time UFC veteran Webb looks to get back on the winning track against Aleksakhin.
Fight Clubbing 24: World Edition – Pescara, Italy – May 4
Will Chope (37-14) vs. Giovanni Melillo (12-4)
Former UFC featherweight Chope looks for his fourth straight win in his first fight this year.
PFL 2019 #1: Regular Season – Long Island, NY (May 9)
John Howard (27-14-1) vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov (23-5)
UFC veteran Howard drops back down to welterweight for the first time since Dec, 2015 when he faces Season 1 winner Magomedkerimov.
Sarah Kaufman (20-4) vs. Morgan Frier (4-1)
Former Strikeforce champion and UFC veteran Kaufman moves up two-weight classes for the first time in her career when she faces Frier.
David Michaud (15-4) vs. Sadibou Sy (7-4-1)
UFC veteran Michaud looks for his fifth straight win.
Bojan Velickovic (16-8-2) vs. Handesson Ferreira (13-2-1)
Former UFC welterweight Velickovic looks to snap a three-fight winless streak
LFA 66: Diamond vs. Neal – West Valley, Utah – May 10
Tyler Diamond (9-1) vs. Jon Neal (10-0)
TUF 27’s Diamond looks to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
Josh Burkman (28-17 NC) vs. William Macario (9-4)
A pair of UFC veterans clash in the co-main event as Burkman looks to snap a five-fight skid while Macario looks to avoid two-straight losses himself.
ONE Championship: Enter the Dragon – Singapore – May 17
Shinya Aoki (43-8) vs. Christian Lee (11-3)
Bellator/Strikeforce vet Aoki looks for his fifth win in a row when he faces Lee who is on a two-fight win streak.
Sage Northcutt (11-2) vs. Cosmo Alexandre (7-1)
UFC veteran Northcutt looks for his fourth win in a row when he faces Bellator vet Alexandre.
PFL 2019 #2: Regular Season – Long Island, NY – May 23
Chris Wade (14-5) vs. Nate Andrews (15-1)
UFC veteran Wade faces former CES lightweight champion Andrews
Rashid Magomedov (22-3-1) vs. Loik Radzhabov (11-0)
Former UFC lightweight Magomedov looks to avoid back-to-back losses.
Jeremy Kennedy (13-1) vs. Alexandre Bezerra (22-6)
UFC veteran Kennedy looks for his third straight win against Bellator veteran Bezerra.
Future FC 5: Alves vs. Ramos – Sau Paulo, Brazil – May 24
Matheus Nicolau (13-1) vs. Alan Gomes (11-1-1)
Former UFC flyweight Nicolau faces 24-year-old Gomes in a bantamweight bout
CFFC 75 – : Coachella, California – May 25
Terrion Ware (17-8) vs. Jordan Winski (10-2)
Former UFC bantamweight Ware looks for his first win since Apr. 2017
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.
