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 June.
M-1 Challenge 79 – June 1st (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Alexander Shlemenko def. Brandon Halsey via Submission (Punches) at 0:25, RD. 1
Former Bellator middleweight champion Shelemenko gets revenge from his 2014 loss to Halsey at Bellator 126 and earns his fifth straight win. Halsey has now lost three straight fights by stoppage and hasn’t won since a May 2015 victory over Kendall Grove at Bellator 137.
Josh Rettinghouse def. Baktiyar Uulu Toichuba via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:31, RD. 2
Former WSOF title challenger Rettinghouse earns his fifth straight win while Toichuba has his eight-fight win streak snapped.
Fight Nights Global 68 – June 2nd (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Vitaly Minakov def. Antonio Silva via TKO (Punches) at 1:37, RD. 2
Former Bellator heavyweight champion Minakov remains undefeated improving to 20-0. Meanwhile, “Bigfoot” has lost five in a row and is 1-7 in his last eight fights.
Nikita Krylov def. Stjepan Bekavac via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:53, RD. 1
Krylov earns his first win since leaving the UFC and has now won six of his last seven fights. Bekavac drops to 2-2 in his last four fights.
Tony Johnson Jr. def. Baga Agaev via Knockout (Punch) at 1:20, RD. 1
Bellator veteran Johnson Jr. has now won four of his last five fights while Ageav drops to 2-9 in his last 11-fights.
LFA 13 – June 2nd (Burbank, California)
Curtis Millender def. Kevin Holland via Unanimous Decision
Bellator veteran Millender improves to 12-3 while Hollland has his four-fight win streak snapped.
Karen Darabedyan def. Sam Liera via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:46, RD. 2
Former WEC lightweight Darabedyan has now won four of his last five fights while Liera loses his third straight fight.
Victory FC: Fight Night at Harrahs 5 – June 3rd (Council Bluffs, Iowa)
Dakota Cochrane def. Dave Castillo via Unanimous Decision
Former Bellator fighter Cochrane snaps a two-fight skid while Castillo drops to 2-2 in his last four fights.
WFF 34 – June 3rd (Chandler Arizona)
Ed West def Glen Baker via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:55, RD. 1
Former Bellator title challenger West has now won four in a row (with three wins by submission) while Baker drops to 2-2 in his career.
Unified MMA 31 – June 9th (Edmonton, Alberta)
Shane Campbell def. Tristan Connelly via Submission (Kneebar) at 4:54, RD. 3
UFC veteran Campbell wins the Unified lightweight title and subsequently earns back-to-back wins for the first time since 2015. Connelly has his four-fight win streak snapped.
Road FC 39 – June 10th (Seoul, South Korea)
Seo Hee Ham def Mina Kurobe via TKO (Punches) at 4:11, RD. 3
Ham competes for the first time since her UFC release as she wins the vacant atomweight title. Kurobe has her five-fight win streak snapped and loses for the first time since 2015.
Fight Night Medicine Hat 3 – June 10th (Medicine Hat, Alberta)
Joe Riggs vs. Dennis Hallman
Bout scrapped due to late replacement Hallman not getting his medicals done on time.
M-1 Challenge: Battle in the Celestial Empire 2 – June 14th (Harbin, China)
Sergei Kharitonov def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO (Punches) at 0:39, RD. 1
Kharitonov has now won seven of his last eight fights while Sokoudjou drops to 2-7 in his last nine fights.
NEF 29: Stars & Stripes – June 17th (Lewiston, Maine)
Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra def. Ray Wood via Unanimous Decision
Bezerra has now won three of his last four fights while Wood drops his third straight bout.
Conquer FC 4 – June 24th (Richmond, California)
Shawn Bunch def. Rodrigo Lima via Unanimous Decision
Bunch earns his third straight win while Lima has now lost three of his last four 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 or fix it up. Thanks.
