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 August.
PFL 2018 #5: Regular Season – Aug 2 (Long Island, NY)
Brian Foster (28-10) vs. Nathan Shulte (12-3)
Shulte ended up fighting Jason High and defeated him by unanimous decision. Shutle has now won 11 of his last 12 fights while High has lost three of his last four.
Efrain Escudero (30-13) vs. Islam Mamedov (15-2)
Escudaro was forced out of the matchup
Rashid Magomedov def. Luiz Firmino via unanimous decision
Former UFC lightweight Magomedov earns his second-straight win in his PFL debut. Meanwhile Firmino has now lost four of his last five fights.
Vinny Magalhaes def. Brandon Halsey via TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:34, RD. 1.
Magalhes has now won back-to-back fights while Halsey has his two-fight win streak snapped.
Will Brooks def. Robert Watley via unanimous decision
Former Bellator lightweight champion Brooks earns his second-win in a row meanwhile Watley has his eight-fight win streak snapped.
Thiago Tavares def. Arthur Estrazulas via split decision
UFC veteran Tavares has now alternated between wins and losses ins his last six fights. Estrazulas meanwhile has his two-fight win streak snapped.
Chris Wade def. Yuki Kawana via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:24, RD. 1
Former UFC lightweight Wade bounces back from his PFL debut loss meanwhile Kawana meanwhile has now suffered losses in back-to-back fights.
CES 51 – Aug 3 (Lincoln, Rhode Island)
Bruce Boyington def. Sean Soriano via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:55, RD. 2.
Boyington earns back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2016, while Soriano has his two-fight win streak snapped.
URCC34 – Aug 4 (Richmond, California)
Tyson Griffin def. Jordan Bailey via unaimous decision
Former UFC lightweight Griffin earned his first win since Nov. 2012 and snapped a two-fight skid. The 34-year-old also competed for the first time since June 2014. Bailey meanwhile has now lost three of his last four fights.
X-1 World Events 50: Day 2 – Aug 4 (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Jason Novelli def. Jace Kaopua via Split Decision
Former UFC lightweight Novelli earned his first win since Mar. 2016 while Kaopua has now lost two-straight fights.
LFA 47 – Aug 10 (Dallas,Texas)
Damon Jackson def. Nate Jennerman via TKO (punch) at 0:33, RD. 2
Former UFC featherweight Jackson captures the interim LFA featherweight title and notches his fifth win in a row. Jennerman meanwhile has his three-fight win streak snapped.
Bilal Williams def. Sean Spencer via TKO (strikes) at 0:58, RD. 2.
UFC veteran Spencer has now lost four-straight fights while Williams snaps a four-fight losing streak.
Ramiz Brahimaj def. William Macario via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:34, RD. 2
UFC veteran Macario has his two-fight win streak snapped while late replacement Brahmaj avoids back-to-back losses.
Rebel FC 9 – Aug. 11 (Bejing, China)
Card moved to Sept. 7 per MMA Today
Antonio Silva (19-12) vs. Wenbo Liu (11-7-1)
Former UFC title challenger Silva looks for his first win since June 2015 when he faces Liu. Silva has lost five-fights in a row, with four of those losses coming by knockout. Liu meanwhile has won three of his last four fights.
Hacran Dias (24-6-1) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (8-3-2)
UFC veteran Dias looks for his second-straight win when he faces Russian fighter Rabadanov. Dias snapped a three-fight skid in his last bout, defeating Mauricio Machado at Shooto Brasil 84 in May. Prior to that he had lost three straight fights to Cub Sawnson, Andre Fili and Jared Gordon. Rabadanov meanwhile has won back-to-back fights and is 5-1-1 in his last seven fights.
Takeya Mizugaki (22-13-2) vs. Guanyou Ning (5-4-1)
Former UFC bantamweight Mizugaki looks to make it two in a row when he faces Ning. Mizugaki snapped a four-fight losing streak when he defeated Pietro Menga at ACB 87 in May. Ning meanwhile looks for his first win since May 2015 as he’s coming off back-to-back losses.
Premier MMA Championship – Aug. 11 (Covington, Kentucky)
Justin Edwards def. Carlo Prater via submission, RD. 3
Edwards earns his first win since Sept. 2016 while Prater has his two-fight win streak snapped.
Ascendancy FC 18 – Aug 11
Mike Biggie Rhodes def. BJ Lacy via submission, RD. 1
UFC veteran Rhodes snaps a three-fight winless streak as he earns his first win since June 2016. Lacy meanwhile has now lost back-to-back fights.
RIZIN 12 – Aug 12. (Nagoya, Japan)
Mikuru Asakura def. Hatsu Hioki via TKO (high kick) RD. 1
Former UFC featherweight Hioki drops to 2-5 in his last seven fights while Asakura has now won four of his last five fights.
Kaitlin Young def. Reina Miura via unanimous decision
Young earns her first MMA win since Jan. 2012 and snaps a four-fight skid. Miura meanwhile has her two-fight win streak snapped.
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Ryuichiro Sumimura via submission (sleeper choke) in RD. 2
Kunimoto now has back-to-back wins while Sumimura has his six-fight win streak snapped.
Kanako Murata def. Angela Magana via submission (von flue choke) in RD. 2
Controversal former UFC strawweight Magana drops her sixth fight in a row while Murata improves her winning streak to four straight.
CES 52 – Aug 17 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Ron Stallings def. Nah-Shon Burrell via unanimous decision
Stallings earns his second-straight wins and competed for the first time since Aug. 2016. Burrell meanwhile has lost his fourth fight in a row.
BRAVE CF 14 – Aug 18 (Tangier, Morocco)
Kennedy earns his first win outside the UFC since May 2016 and notched his first stoppage win since Aug. 2014. Pilo meanwhile has his four-fight win streak snapped.
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.
