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 May.
ACB 86 – May 5 (Moscow, Russia)
Georgi Karakhanyan def. Alexey Polpudnikov via unanimous decision
Former Bellator featherweight Karakhanyan has now won two of his last three fights while Polpunikov has his 13-fight win streak snapped.
HFC 37 – May 5 (Hammond, Indiana)
Mike “Biggie” Rhodes (10-5) vs. Tyler Hufnagle (5-1)
Bout cancelled per Tapology
KC Figthing Alliance 28 – May 5 (Independence, Missouri)
Anthony Gutierrez def. Jose Martinez via unanimous decision
TUF 18’s Gutierrez has now won three-straight fights while Martinez drops to 2-2 in his last four fights.
RIZIN 10 – May 6 (Fukuka, Japan)
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Ian McCall via TKO at 0:09, RD. 1
Former UFC title challenger Horiguchi pushed his winning streak to nine straight while McCall suffers his third straight setback.
Daron Cruickshank def. Koshi Matsumoto via TKO at 3:58, RD. 1
UFC veteran Cruickshank has now won back-to-back fights while Matsumoto has his three-fight win streak snapped.
Yusuke Yachi def. Diego Nunes via Split Decision
UFC and Bellator vet Nunes has his three-fight win streak snapped while Yachi earns his sixth straight win.
Unified 33 – May 11 (Enoch, Alberta)
Matt Hamill (12-8) vs. Teddy Ash (10-3)
Hamill off the card due to injury.
Shane Campbell def. Stephen Beaumont via submission at 3:31, RD. 3
UFC veteran Campbell successfully makes second defense of his Unified MMA lightweight title and has now gone 4-0 since his UFC release. Beaumont meanwhile drops to 2-2 in his last four fights.
Brave 12 – May 11 (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Pawel Kietek def. Mehdi Baghdad via unanimous decision
Baghdad loses his third fight in a row while Kietek has now won two of his last three fights.
M-1 Challenge 91 – May 12 (Shenzhen, China)
Mikhail Zayats def. Caio Magalhaes via unanimous decision
Zayats earns back-to-back wins for the first time since Feb. 2013 while Maglhaes has now lost four of his last five fights.
Road FC 47 – May 12 (Bejing, China)
Gilbert Yvel def. Siala Siliga via submission (armlock) at 3:43. RD. 3
Yvel has now won four fights in a row in his first fight since Nov 2016. Siliga has his six-fight win streak snapped.
Areana Fight: In Memorian Meire Cabral – May 12 (Redencao, Brazil)
Luis Henrique da Silva def. Edvaldo de Oliveira via unanimous decision
“Frankenstein” earns for his second straight win outside the UFC against journeyman Oliveira, who stepped in on short notice and has now lost three straight.
Alaska FC 140 – May 16 (Anchorage, Alaksa)
Carlton Minus def. Justin Buchholz via unanimous decision
Minus keeps his undefeated record intact while Buncholtz has now lost four of his last five fights.
ONE Championship: Unstoppage Dreams – May 18 (Sinapore)
Shinya Aoki def. Rasul Yahyaev via submission at 3:15, RD. 1
Aoki earns his first win since Dec. 2015 while Yahyaev has now lost four of his last five fights.
Fight Nights Global 87 – May 19 (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Nikita Krylov def. Fabio Maldonado via TKO (Punch) at 3:33, RD.2
Kyrlov meanwhile has now won nine of his last 10 fights while Maldonado has his two-fight win streak snapped,
Elias Silverio def. Saygid Izagakhmaev via unanimous decision
Silverio earns his first win since Oct. 2016 while Izagakhmaev has his eight-fight win streak snapped
ACB 87 – May 19 (Nothingham, England)
Ibragim Chuzhigaev def. Mike “Biggie” Rhodes via unanimous decision
Chuzhigaev earns his third straight win while short notice opponent Rhodes has now lost back-to-back fights
Robert Whiteford def. Kane Mousah via split decision
Former UFC featherweight Whiteford pushes his winning streak to three straight. Meanwhile Mousah has his three fight win streak snapped.
Takeya Mizugaki def. Pietro Menga via unanimous decision
UFC veteran Mizugaki snapped a four-fight skid and earns his first win since Sept. 2015. Menga has now lost back-to-back fights.
Rob Emerson def. Shamil Shakhbulatov via unanimous decision
UFC and Bellator veteran Emerson earns his first win since Dec. 2016 while Shakbulatov has his seven-fight win streak snapped and loses for the first time since June 2014.
Piotr Strus def. Fernando Gonzalez via split decision
Strus is now unbeaten in his last five fights while Gonzalez has now lost two-straight fights.
Andre Winner def. Adam Aliev via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:43, RD. 2
UFC and TUF veteran Winner earns his first win since June 2016 and has now won two of his last three fights. Aliev meanwhile has his six-fight win streak snapped.
M-1 Challenge 92 – May 24 (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Sergei Kharitonov (28-7) vs. Anton Vyazigin (9-2) – NO CONTEST
Kharitonov fights to the first “No Contest” of his career and remains unbeaten in his last five fights.
Pavel Gordeev def. Mickael Lebout via Split Decision
Former UFC lightweight Lebout earns back-to-back wins while Gordeev meanwahile has his three-fight win streak snapped.
Fight Exclusive Night 21- May 25 (Wroclaw, Poland)
Goran Reljic (16-8) vs. Kevin Wiwatowski (4-5)
Bout cancelled due to an injury to Reljic
LFA 40 – May 25 (Dallas, Texas)
Damon Jackson def. Jeremy Spoon via submission (choke) at 3:59, RD. 2
Since being released from the UFC in 2016, Jackson has now gone 6-1, with all of those wins coming by stoppage. Spoon has his six-fight unbeaten streak snapped.
MFP 220: Mayor’s Cup 2018 – May 26 (Khabarovsk, Russia)
Cody Pfister (15-6-1) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (11-1)
Bout cancelled per Tapology
KOTC: Grand Finale – May 26 (Lincoln City, Oregon)
Mac Danzig (22-12-1) vs. Tyson Jeffries (14-10)
Danzig withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons. Jeffries ended up losing to Salaiman Ahmadyar via first round knockout.
Is there a notable MMA veteran competing this month that I missed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports, and I’ll add it in or fix it up. Thanks.
