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.com, I take a look at some regional/overseas MMA matchups for the month of August, 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.
LFA 18 – August 4th (Shawnee, Oklahoma)
Chris Kelades (9-3) vs. Tyler Shinn (8-3)
Former UFC flyweight Kelades competes for the first time since his release from the Las Vegas-based promotion as he battles RFA veteran Shinn. Kelades went 2-2 in the UFC, earning wins over Paddy Holohan and Chris Beal while suffering losses to Ray Borg and Sergio Pettis. The 36-year-old returns to the cage for the first time since April 2016. Shinn heads into this matchup off back-to-back victories and looks for his first three-fight win streak since 2013.
Mike Jackson (0-1) vs. Rafael Justino (2-1)
One-time UFC fighter Jackson looks for his first professional win when he takes on Cris Cyborg’s brother Justino. Jackson is coming off a first-round submission loss to Mickey Gall at UFC Fight Night 82 in February 2016. The 32-year-old is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to LFA veteran Jeremie Holloway earlier this year in a Muay Thai bout. Justino makes his North American debut and hasn’t fought since a November 2016 TKO victory over David Parreño at International Peru Fighting.
CFFC 66 – August 5th (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Jonavin Webb (9-2) vs. Cody Wilson (9-3)
UFC veteran Webb looks to make it two straight wins when he takes on Legacy FC vet Wilson. Webb went 0-2 in the UFC dropping back-to-back matchups against Kyle Noke and Nathan Coy. Meanwhile, Wilson heads into this matchup on a two-fight skid, including a third-round TKO loss to UFC veteran David Michaud at Beatdown 20 in March.
CES 45 – August 11th (Lincoln, Rhode Island)
Ashley Gooch (10-5) vs. Juliano Coutinho (7-3)
WSOF veteran Gooch defends his CES heavyweight title against Triforce MMA product Coutinho. Gooch won the vacant heavyweight title last year, knocking out Greg Rebello at CES 37. The 42-year-old is coming off a first-round TKO loss to UFC veteran Shawn Jordan at WSOF 33 back in October. Meanwhile, Coutinho is coming off a loss to UFC heavyweight Justin Willis in his last fight at WSOF 31 in April 2016. The 38-year-old has lost two of his last three fights.
Rebel FC 5: Quest for Glory – August 12th (Las Vegas, NV)
Andy Wang (7-8-1) vs. Makoto Maeda (8-6-4)
TUF 5 competitor Wang returns to the cage for the first time since 2011 as he battles Maeda. Wang is perhaps best know for his stint on Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter where he called himself a “warrior” and broke down into tears after he lost his fight during the competition to Brandon Melendez. Since losing to Cole Miller at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale in 2007, Wang competed just four times, going 2-1 with one draw. Meanwhile, Maeda has won three of his last four fights, including two of those by knockout.
Aspera FC 55 – August 12th (Parana, Brazil)
Maiquel Falcão (37-10) vs. José Rodrigo Guelke (19-13)
Bellator/UFC veteran Falcao looks to get back on the winning track when he faces fellow Brazilian Guelke. Falcao has lost three of his last five fights, including a first-round TKO setback to Vladimir Mineev at Fight Nights Global 63 back in January. While he’s primarliy fought at middleweight in his career, he will be competing here in a 231-pound catchweight bout. Guelke hasn’t fought since an August 2016 setback to UFC heavyweight Júnior Albini at Aspera FC 43. He’s 2-2 in his last four fights.
Ivan Jorge (27-7) vs. Paulo Bueno (24-8-1)
Four-time UFC veteran Jorge competes for the first time this year when he takes on Bueno. Jorge went 2-2 in the UFC, earning wins over Keith Wisniewski and Josh Shockley while losing to Rodrigo Damm and Joseph Duffy. The 36-year-old is 2-2 in his last four fights. Bueno heads into this matchup on a six-fight win streak and hasn’t lost a fight since 2013.
Alberto Uda (13-2) vs. Andre Francisco (3-0)
Former UFC middleweight Uda looks for his fourth straight win when he takes on undefeated Francisco. Uda went 0-2 during his UFC tenure losing back-to-back fights against Jake Collier and Marvin Vettori. Franscio made his professional debut in May 2015 and has won all of his fights by knockout. “Tyson” competes for the first time this year.
Iliarde Santos (31-13-1) vs. Rafael de Abreu (3-4)
Former UFC flyweight Santos looks to avoid his third loss in a row when he takes on de Abreu. Santos lost all three of his fights in the Octagon, suffering setbacks to Iuri Alcântara, Ian McCall and Chris Cariaso. The 36-year-old is 3-4 in his last seven fights. De Abreu hasn’t fought since a 2015 knockout loss to Marcelo Dias, which snapped his three-fight win streak.
Fight Nights Global 72 – August 13th (Sochi, Russia)
Josh Hill (15-2) vs. Grachik Engibaryan (7-3)
TUF 18 and former WSOF title challenger Hill looks for back-to-back victories when he takes on Russian fighter Engibaryan. Hill is coming off a split-decision win over Xavier Alaoui back in November at TKO 36. Prior to that, the Canadian fighter lost in a rematch to Marlon Morales at WSOF 32. Engibaryan, meanwhile, has won four of his last five fights, with all of those victories coming by stoppage.
Titan FC 45 – August 18th (Pembroke Pines, Florida)
Valdir Araujo (17-7) vs. Adriano Capitulino (5-1)
TUF 21 contestant Araujo battles Jungle Fights veteran Capitulino in the main event of the evening. Araujo was eliminated from Season 21 of The Ultimate Fighter after losing by unanimous decision to Nathan Coy. He is perhaps best known for defeating show favorite Steve Carl by second-round submission on that same season. The 32-year-old is coming off a first-round submission victory over Preston Parson at Titan FC 43. Capitulino heads into this matchup off a third-round submission win over Taylor Krahl at Titan FC 42 and competes for the first time this year.
ACB 67: Berkhamov vs Cooper – August 19th (Gronzy, Chechnya)
Brett Cooper (23-12) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov (11-1)
Former Bellator title challenger Cooper looks to make it three wins in a row when he takes on Berkhamov. Cooper is coming off a third-round TKO victory over Aslambek Saidov at ACB 50 in December, which capped off back-to-back victories. The 30-year-old hasn’t won three straight fights since 2013. Berkhamov is coming off a submission victory over Sharaf Davlatmurodov at ACB 55 in March and has won nine of his 11 career fights by submission.
Pancrase 289 – August 20th (Tokyo, Japan)
Richie Vaculik (10-4) vs. Nobuki Fujii (15-8-3)
Four-time UFC veteran Vaculik competes for the first time since 2015 when he battles Fujii in a bantamweight affair. The former UFC flyweight went 1-3 in the UFC, earning a win over Roldan Sangcha-an and suffering setbacks to Justin Scoggins, Louis Smolka and most recently Danny Martinez at UFC 193. Fujii heads into this matchup on a three-fight win streak.
Dual Combat Sports – August 25th (Detroit, Michigan)
Melvin Guillard (32-18-2) vs. Dequan Townsend (16-7)
UFC veteran Guillard looks for his first win since 2014 when he takes on Townsend. Guillard has lost five fights in a row, including a first-round TKO setback to Muslim Salikhov at Kunlun Fight MMA 12 last month. Townsend has won back-to-back fights and competes for the third time this year.
Dana White’s Contender Series 8 – August 29th (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Elias Urbina (3-0) vs. Bevon Lewis (3-0)
TUF 23 competitor Urbina gets a shot at redemption as he battles the 26-year-old Lewis. Urbina was eliminated from The Ultimate Fighter after losing a unanimous decision to UFC middleweight Eric Spicely on the show. The 23-year-old competes for the first time since the show aired, which was February 2016. Lewis is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Sonny Yohn at LFA 10 back in April.
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.
