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, I take a look at some regional/overseas matchups for the month of September and rather than listing off the top fights outside these major organizations, I highlight some familiar names that you might reconize on upcoming events. October 1st – Fight Nights Global 52 (Nizhnevartovsk, Russia) Fábio Maldonado (22-10) vs. Mikhail Mokhnatkin (8-1) UFC veteran Maldonado looks for his first win since 2014 when he takes on hometown favourite Mokhnatkin. The 36-year old is coming off a controversial majority decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko at heavyweight at Fight Nights Global 50 back in June. Prior to that, he lost back-to-back fights in the UFC to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Corey Anderson. Meanwhile Mokhnatkin is 26-years old and has remained undefeated since 2010. Sheila Gaff (11-6-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (7-3) Two-time UFC veteran Gaff looks to win two in a row for the first time since 2012 when she takes on Brazilian Lipski. Gaff went 0-2 in the UFC losing back-to-back fights against Sara McMann and Amanda Nunes. Lipski is just 22-years old and heads into this matchup on a five-fight win streak with four of those victories by TKO. October 1st – KSW 36: Trzy Korony (Gora, Poland) Rousimar Palhares (18-7) vs. Michal Materia (23-5) Former WSOF welterweight champion Palhares moves back up to middleweight for the first time since 2012 as he takes on former KSW 185-pound champ Materia. Palhares had his four-fight win streak snapped in his last bout as he suffered a first round TKO loss to Emil Weber Meek at Venator FC 3. Materia meanwhile has won four of his last five fights. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (17-14) vs. Tomasz Narkun (12-2) UFC/Bellator veteran Sokoudjou looks for his first two-fight win streak since 2014 when he battles Polish fighter Narkun. After back-to-back losses against Linton Vassell and Paul Buentello, Sokoudjou rebounded with a first round TKO victory over Matt Hamill at Venator FC 3. Narkun has won three-straight and hasn’t lost a fight since 2014. October 1st – EuroFC 01: Espoo (Espoo, Finland) Tom Niinimaki (21-8-1) vs. Johnny Bedford (22-12-1) A pair of UFC veterans clash in the main event with Finnish favorite Niinimaki battling TUF 16 vet Bedford. The 34-year old competes for the first time since December 2014. He went 1-3 in the octagon losing three-straight to Niklas Bäckström, Chas Skelly and Renato Carneiro. Bedford meanwhile moves up to featherweight for the first time in his career and has won three in a row. October 1st – Absolute Championship Berkut 47: Breaveheart (Glasgow, Scotland) Robert Whiteford (12-4) vs. Kevin Petshi (9-2) Whiteford competes for the first time since his UFC release when he battles French fighter Petshi. Whiteford went 2-3 in the UFC earning wins over Daniel Pineda and Paul Redmond, while suffering losses to Jimy Hettes, Darren Elkins and Lucas Martins. Petshi is 2-2 in his last four fights and is 26-years old. Mike Wilkinson (9-3) vs. Daniel Teymur (5-0) Former UFC featherweight Wilkinson looks to snap a two-fight skid when he battles undefeated Swedish fighter Teymur. After his UFC release earlier this year following his loss to Makwan Amirkhani, Wilkinson suffered another setback in a unanimous decision loss to Soso Nizharadze at Absolute Championship Berkut 41. Teymer has won all five of his career bouts by stoppage including three by submission and two by knockout. Norman Parke (21-5-1) vs. Andrew Fisher (14-7-1) Parke battles fellow Brit Fisher in a lightweight affair. Parke went 5-3-1 during his UFC run, most recently losing to Rustam Khabilov at UFC Fight Night 84 this past February. Fisher heads into this contest off back-to-back wins. Saul Rogers (11-1) vs. Michael Adalena (8-7-1) TUF 22 contestant Rogers looks to extend his winning streak to six straight when he battles Adalena. Rogers won all of his matchups on The Ultimate Fighter against Paulo Boer, Billy Quarantillo, Ryan Hall and Marcin Wrzosek. Visa issues have kept him out of the UFC. Adalena has lost three of his last five fights. October 1st – KC Fighting Alliance 20: Fight For The Cure Anthony Gutierrez (7-3) vs. Jimmy Flick (7-2) TUF 18 competitor Gutierrez looks to bounce back from a split decision loss to Gabriel Solorio at Titan FC 37 earlier this year when he takes on 25-year old Flick. “Sharkbait” has gone 2-2 in his last four fights. Flick is 1-2 in his last three fights and heads into this matchup off a loss to Tim Sosa at King of The Cage back in Feburary. October 1st – Fight Night 2 (Florence, South Carolina) Steve Montgomery (9-5) vs. Roger Carroll (16-14) UFC vet Montgomery aims for a bounce back win when he takes on CES veteran Carroll. Montgomery is 1-3 in his last four fights including a first round TKO loss to Nicolai Saichov in his last fight at House of Fame 5 back in May. Carroll meanwhile heads into this matchup off three-straight losses. October 2nd – Pancrase 281 (Tokyo, Japan) Leonardo Mafra (13-3) vs. Satoru Kitaoka (38-14-9) Three-time UFC veteran Mafra competes in Japan for the first time in his career as he takes on 61-fight vet Kitaoka. After his UFC release last year, Mafra rebouded with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Njokuani back in June at Fight Fight Championship 25. Kitaoka meanwhile has won six of his last seven fights. Nazareno Malegarie (31-4) vs. Guy DeLumeau (21-11-3) UFC and Bellator vet Malegaire looks for his third-straight win when he battles American DeLumeau. The 30-year old Argentina fighter heads into this contest off back-to-back wins over Iramar Frota and Hiroyuki Takaya. DeLumeau is 3-3 in his last six fights and competes in his 9th straight fight for Pancrase. October 4th – Akhmat Fight Show: Grand Prix Akhmat 2016 Finals (Gronzy, Russia) Frodo Khasbulaev (24-6) vs. Salman Zhamaldaev (12-1) Bellator veteran Khasbulaev looks for his third win in a row when he battles fellow countryman Zhamaldaev. Since leaving Bellator in 2013, the Russian fighter has gone 3-1, including a win over UFC vet Kurt Holobaugh. Zhamaldaev hasn’t lost since 2012 and is riding a 12-fight win streak. October 8th – Superior Challenge 14 (Stockholm, Sweden) David Bielkheden (22-12) vs. Daniel Acacio (30-18) Three-time UFC veteran Bielkheden looks to make it six straight wins when he battles Brazilian Acacio. The 37-year old has racked up a five-fight win streak including wins over UFC vets Besam Yousef and Cody McKenzie. Acacio has lost five in a row and will be looking for his first win since 2013. Papy Abedi (9-3) vs. Bruno Carvalho (16-10) Former UFC middleweight Abedi competes for the first time since 2013 when he battles Cage Warriors vet Carvalho. Abedi went 1-3 in the UFC with a win over Besam Yousef and losing to Thiago Alves, James Head and Dylan Andrews. Carvalho competes for the first time this year and is 1-4 in his last five fights. October 8th – Hugs Combat 2: Fight Night (Sao Paulo, Brazil) Elias Silverio (12-3) vs. Rene Pessoa (13-4) UFC vet Silverio looks to get back on the winning track as he takes on fellow Brazilian Pessoa. Silverio has gone 1-1 since his UFC release including a second-round submission loss to Washington Nunes at Thunder Fight 8 back in August. Pessoa has won four of his last five fights and hasn’t gone the distance since 2012. October 14th – Legacy FC 61; Peterson vs. De La Rosa Damon Jackson (9-1-1) vs. Kevin Aguilar (11-1) Two-time UFC veteran Jackson competes for the first time since his UFC release as he battles Legacy FC 145-pound champ Aguilar. The 28-year old 1-0-1 NC in the UFC and he’ll be looking for his first win since 2014. Aguilar will be looking for his fourth win in a row and hasn’t lost a fight since 2013. October 14th – Combate Americas 9: Empire Rising (Verona, New York) Matt Hamill (11-7) vs. Julian Marquez (3-1) Hamill looks for his first win since 2012 as he battles four-fight vet Marquez. Since his UFC release in 2013, Hamill has gone 0-2, with two stoppage losses to Vinny Magalhaes and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Marquez has only gone the distance once in his career and all of his wins are by stoppage. October 15th – Cage Warriros 79 (Newport, Wales) Che Mills (16-8) vs. Lewis Long (12-4) Four-time UFC vet Mills looks for his first win since 2014 as he battles 27-year old Long. Mills went 1-3 after his UFC release in 2013, losing bouts to Cathal Pendred, Faycal Hucin and Jack Marshman. He’s coming off a No Contest against Terry Montgomery at Venator FC 3 back in May. Long had his five-fight win streak snapped in his last bout, losing via TKO to Andreas Stahl at Cage Warriors 76 this past June. October 21st – M-1 Challenge 71 (St. Petersburg, Russia) Attila Vegh (29-7-2) vs. Viktor Nemkov (23-6) Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Vegh looks for his first win since 2013 when he battles 29-year old Nemkov. Veigh has lost three-straight fights to Emmanuel Newton, Goran Reljic and Alexander Volkov. Nemkov had his four-fight win streak snapped when he suffered split decision loss to Rashid Yusupov at M-1 Challenge 66 in his last fight. October 22nd – Troa FC 1 (Fortaleza, Brazil) Valmir Lázaro (14-4) vs. Iamik Furtado (2-1) UFC vet Lazaro looks for his second straigh win since his UFC release as he battles fellow Brazilian Furtado. Lazaro went 1-2 in the UFC, earning a win over James Krause and suffering setbacks to James Vick and Michel Prazeres. Furtado made his pro-debut last year and has won two-straight fights. October 22nd – Absolute Championship Berkut 48: The Rematch (Moscow, Russia) Benny Alloway (18-7) vs. Sergey Khandozhko (22-3-1) Three time UFC vet Alloway looks for his fifth win in his last six fights as he takes on Russian Khandozhko. Alloway has gone 5-2 since his UFC release in 2013. Khandozhko meanwhile is 2-2 in his last four fights. Jesse Taylor (30-14) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov (9-0) UFC/Strikeforce veteran Taylor looks for back-to-back wins when he takes on undefeated Berkhamov. Taylor snapped a two-fight skid in his last bout, earning a unanimous decision over fellow UFC vet Seth Baczynski at TFE: Vengeance back in August. Berkhamov has only gone the distance twice in his career and boasts five of his wins by submission. October 28th – Cage Legacy Fighting Championship 1 (Droheda, Ireland) Norman Parke (21-5-1) vs. Declan Dalton (6-1) That’s right, UFC veteran Parke has another fight scheduled at the end of the month. He takes on Dalton who heads into this matchup off a first round TKO loss to Gary Morris at Clan Wars 24. The loss snapped his six-fight win streak. October 28th – Z Promotions: Fight Night Medicine Hat 2 (Medicine Hat, Alberta) Johnny Bedford (22-12-1) vs. Jesse Arnett (11-4) Just like Norman Parke, Bedford is also slated to compete twice this month as he battles top Canadian bantamweight Arnett. His 32-year old opponent has won eight straight fights, with seven stoppages including a first round submission victory over Mike Hernandez at Hard Knocks 50 in his last fight. Cody McKenzie (16-9) vs. Joe Riggs (41-17- NC) A pair of UFC veterans go to war as TUF 12’s McKenzie battles former UFC title challenger Riggs. McKenzie snapped a five-fight skid in his last bout, submitting Valeriu Mircea at Venator FC 3 back in May. Riggs competes for the first time since his UFC release and is coming off a first round TKO loss to Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 83. Jonathan Brookins (15-8) vs. Kyle Nelson (8-1) TUF 12 winner Brookins looks to get back on the winning track when he takes on Canadian standout Nelson. Brookins has gone 2-2 since his UFC release in 2012 and will compete at featherweight for the first time since 2012. Nelson has won back-to-back fights and has only gone the distance three-times in his career. Vik Grujic (7-5) vs. Roger Bowling (12-5- 1 NC) TUF Nations contestant Grujic competes for the first time since his UFC release against Strikeforce veteran Bowling. Grujic went 1-3 in the UFC and competes for the first time this year. Bowling has only competed once since 2015 and heads into this matchup off a first round TKO victory over Joshua Thorpe back in August 2015. Is there a notable MMA veteran competing this month that I missed? Hit me up on Twitter @LynchOnSports and I’ll add them in.
