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 January.
Dominate FC 3 – Jan. 5 (Tacoma, Washington)
Anthony Hamilton (17-9) vs. Jared Torgeson (18-19)
Card moved to March
CES 54 – Jan 19 (Lincoln, Rhode Island)
Eric Spicely def. Leo Pla via TKO, RD. 1.
Former UFC middleweight Spicely competed outside the UFC for the first time since Oct. 2015 and earned his first win since Jan. 2017. Pla meanwhile has now lost four of his last five fights.
LFA 58 – Jan 25 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Joby Sanchez def. vs. Demetrius Wilson via unanimous decision
UFC veteran Joby Sanchez ended his two-fight losing streak with a unanimous nod over Demetrius Wilson in a flyweight bout. Sanchez went winless in his return to the UFC losing to Roberto Sanchez and most recently Mark De La Rosa at UFC Fight Night 139. Wilson returned to the cage for the first time in 16 months and has now lost two fights in a row for the first time in his career.
Fight Night 9: Lethbridge – Jan. 25 (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada)
Chris Curtis def. Matt Dwyer via Majority Decision – Wins Middleweight Title
In a crazy turn of events, Dwyer (Joe Riggs) and Curtis (Michael Graves/Michael Hill) ended up fighting each other after their opponents fell out. The Contender Series veteran Curtis moved up to middleweight and extended his winning streak to seven straight. Dwyer meanwhile suffers his first loss since Jan. 2016 and has his three-fight win streak snapped
Cage Titans 42 – Jan 26 (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
Joe Giannetti def. Connor Barry via TKO at 3:40, RD. 3
TUF 27 Finalist Giannetti gets back on the winning track while Barry has his two-fight win streak snapped.
ACA 91 – Jan 26 (Gronzy, Russia)
Elias Silverio def. Arbi Agujev via decision
Former UFC lightweight Silverio earns his second win in his last three fights while Agujev’s four-fight win streak is put to a halt.
Brett Cooper def. Azamat Amagov via decision
Former Bellator title challenger Cooper picks up his third straight win while Amagov falls to 10-2 overall.
Husein Kushagov def. Roan Carneiro via unanimous decision
UFC veteran Carnerio suffers his third straight loss while Kushagov has now alternated between wins and losses in his last eight fights.
Is there a notable MMA veteran who competed last month that I missed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports, and I’ll add it in or fix it up. Thanks.
