At the beginning of every month, I feature my recurring “Veteran Watch” article, which takes a look at some notable veterans competing on the regional/overseas circuit. In this article, I recap how these veteran fighters fared in their respective bouts for the month of April.
April 7th – TKO 38: Ascension (Montreal, Quebec)
Jesse Ronson def. Derek Gauthier via TKO at 3:49, RD. 3
After losing three straight, UFC vet Ronson has now won back-to-back fights. Gauthier has now lost four of his last five.
April 8th – EFC Worldwide 58 (Cape Town, South Africa)
Ruan Potts def. Karl Etherington via TKO (Punches) at 2:33, RD. 3
Former UFC heavyweight Potts earned his his first three-fight win streak since 2013 while Etherington had his three-fight win streak snapped.
April 8th – Shogun Fights 16 (Baltimore, Maryland)
Jesse Stirn def. Mike Easton via Split Decision
Stirn has now won three fights in a row while UFC veteran Easton has now lost five straight.
April 8th – Strike League 1 (Cedar Park, Texas)
Bubba McDaniel def. Juan Torres via TKO (Punches) at 4:16, RD. 3
UFC/Bellator veteran McDaniel has now won six of his last seven fights while Torres has lost four of his last five.
April 14th – Victory FC 46 (Omaha, Nebraska)
Raufeon Stots def. Rob Emerson via Unanimous Decision
Roufusport product Stots earned his seventh straight win and has now won three in a row by unanimous decision. TUF 5 competitor Emerson is now 2-2 in his last four fights.
April 15th – Road FC 38 (Seoul, South Korea)
Melvin Guillard (32-17-2) vs. Seung Yeon Kim (2-1)
Bout cancelled per Tapology
April 15th – ACB 57: Payback (Moscow, Russia)
Eduard Vartanyan def. Alexander Sarnavskiy via Submission (Choke) at 4:47, RD. 2
Vartanyan improves his winning streak to three straight while Sarnavskiy has now lost two of his last three fights.
April 16th – RIZIN 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Yuki Motoya via Unanimous Decision
Horiguchi earned his first win outside the UFC and pushes his winning streak to four straight. Motoya lost for the first time since 2013 and had his 10-fight unbeaten streak snapped.
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Anthony Birchak via Unanimous Decision
Kawajiri snapped his three-fight skid and earned his first win since December 2015. Meanwhile, Birchak has now lost three of his last four fights.
Satoshi Ishii def. Heath Herring via Unanimous Decision
Ishii earned his first win since 2015 and broke a three-fight losing streak. Herring suffered his fourth loss in his last five fights.
Yusuke Yachi def. Daron Cruickshank via TKO (Right Hook) RD 1
Yachi earned his third straight win while Cruickshank has now dropped two in a row.
April 23rd – Shooto (Chiba, Japan)
Yutaka Saito def. Caol Uno via Unanimous Decision
Uno has now lost three of his last four fights while Saito snapped a two-fight skid.
April 28th – Fight Nights Global 64 (Moscow, Russia)
Tyson Nam def. Ali Bagautinov via TKO (Head Kick) at 4:59, RD. 3.
Nam pushed his unbeaten streak to four straight and earned one of the biggest wins of his career. Former UFC title challenger Baugautinov has now lost four of his last five fights. Watch the replay below.
April 28th – WXC 68: Nemesis (Ypsilanti, Michigan)
Johnny Bedford def. Eric Higaonna via TKO (Punches) at 1:28, RD. 1
UFC veteran Bedford earned his fourth stoppage victory in a row and remained undefeated since his UFC release in 2014. Higaonna suffered the first loss of his career.
Joe Riggs def. Jerome Jones via TKO (Punches) at 0:27, RD. 1
Longtime UFC vet Riggs picked up the WXC middleweight title and pushed his winning streak to three. Jones has now lost six of his last eight fights.
April 28th – Fight2Night 2 (Parana, Brazil)
Matt Hamill def. Luis Cane via TKO (Punches) at 0:38, RD. 1
Hamill earned his first win since 2012 and ended a four-fight skid. Cane had his three-fight win streak snapped. Watch the replay below.
Matt Hamill KO’s Luiz Cané at Fight2Night 2 pic.twitter.com/O5Jdl9MIGM
— Streetfight Bancho (@streetfitebanch) April 29, 2017
Paulo Thiago def. Faycal Hucin via Submission (Armbar) at 3:11, RD. 1
Thiago earned his third win in a row and improved to 3-1 since his UFC release in 2014. Hucin lost for the first time in his last four fights.
Killys Mota def. Akihiro Gono via TKO (Punches) at 1:56, RD. 3
Mota pushed his unblemished record to 10-0 while Gono has lost two of his last three fights.
William Macario def. Handesson Ferreira via Split Decision
UFC vet Macario handed Ferreira the first loss of his career and has now won back-to-back fights.
April 29th – CXF 7: Locked and Loaded (Studio City, California)
Terrion Ware def. Jared Papazian via KO (Punch) at 0:20, RD. 3
RFA veteran Ware has now won four in a row while UFC veteran Papazian dropped to 2-2 in his last four fights.
April 29th – KOTC: Supremacy (Wyandotte, Michigan)
Tony Lopez def. Josh Parisian via TKO at 3:27, RD. 2
73-fight veteran Lopez earned his fifth win in his last six fights while Parisian had his four-fight win streak snapped.
April 29th – LFA: Sioux Falls Fight Night 1 (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
David Michaud def. Jake Lindsay via TKO (injury) Rd. 3
Michaud took out fellow UFC vet Lindsay in the main event and has now won three of his last four fights. Lindsay has now lost three of his last four fights.
Jordon Larson def. Dakota Cochrane via DQ
RFA veteran Larson got back on the winning track while TUF 15 competitor Cochrane has lost two straight fights.
Daniel Sarafian def. Austin Heidlage via Unanimous Decision
Former UFC middleweight/welterweight Sarafian earned his first win since 2014. Heidlage has now lost back-to-back fights.
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 / fix it up. Thanks.
