411’s Midweek MMA Scouting Report

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Bellator 155: Carvalho vs Manhoef

A weekend of MMA action began on Friday night with what was described by Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith as “the worst decision I have ever seen” at Bellator 155. The CompuStrike statistics only served to back up that assessment. Without a single strike landed in Round One by the reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho (13-1), all three judges would score the round in his favour, much to the astonishment of Dutch challenger Melvin Manhoef (30-13-1, 2 NC).

That level of judging was the story of what was, in truth, a dull and largely action-free fight between two fearsome strikers who had previously bothered the judges just once each in their Bellator careers. Manhoef, the more aggressive fighter in a surprisingly passive fight, took next to no damage from the Brazilian champion, but somehow succumbed to a split decision defeat that seemed to hinge heavily on a pair of largely meaningless takedowns. Quite what Bellator plan to do in the wake of the outcome of the Bellator 155 main event remains to be seen – while Manhoef will gain the sympathy of a lot of fight fans for losing out on the scorecards, I don’t imagine many will be clamouring to relive another 25 minutes of this particular contest…

At featherweight, former Bellator divisional kingpin Pat Curran (22-7) bested always-game Armenian contender Georgi Karakhanyan (24-6-1) by unanimous decision with a 29-28 margin agreed by all three judges. Curran scored a knock down with a hard left hand in the first round, but saw his opponent ride out the pressure from the underside of the resulting grappling exchange. Curran would go on to take the second stanza, and although Kharakhanyan was able reverse things in the third with good top control, the damage had already been done. Curran will now doubtless look to assert his credentials for a title opportunity against reigning Featherweight Champion Daniel Straus, against whom he is 1-1 heading into a rubber match.

Bellator’s heavyweight division saw two offerings, but only one winner declared after undefeated Brazilian Augusto Sakai (9-0-1) shared a majority draw against Dan Charles (10-3-1). The most telling incidents of the bout were a pair of brutal kicks south of the border delivered by Sakai that saw the Curitiba native deducted a point that would ultimately cost him victory in the eyes of two judges. Chase Gormley (13-5, 1 NC), meanwhile, picked up a somewhat controversial split decision victory over Joey Beltran (17-13, 1 NC) in the evening’s main card opener, but both fighters likely find themselves lower down the pecking order than Charles and Sakai.

In the midst of the titanic heavyweight struggles, Team Quest exponent Alexis Dufresne (6-2) pulled off an upset of giant proportions in the women’s featherweight division when she submitted Dutch veteran Marloes Coenen (23-7) in the very first round. Coenen, the owner of 17 submission wins, had previously been forced to tap just once in her MMA career when Miesha Tate secured a fourth round arm triangle back in 2011 under the Strikeforce/M-1 Global banner – Dufresne, meanwhile, needed just 4:33 to lock in a fight-ending triangle armbar to secure the most significant win of her career, bringing her closer to the inaugural Bellator Featherweight Championship. What makes things more impressive is that Dufresne only accepted the fight on May 10, after Coenen’s previous opponent Julia Budd was forced out due to injury.

Venator 3: Palhares vs Meek

International attentions surrounding Italian MMA promotion Venator’s third fight card may have overly focussed on Jason “Mayhem” Miller missing weight by a full 24 lbs ahead of a now-fizzled Middleweight title fight against England’s Luke Barnatt, but after a couple of last minute changes it’s hard to deny the strength of the Venator line up this past weekend.

With dangerous and controversial leg lock specialist Rousimar Palhares (18-7) fighting for the first time since his release as champion from World Series of Fighting, there will have been more than a fleeting interest around the world as he took on Norwegian Emil Weber Meek (8-2-1) for the Venator Welterweight title – and there will be a few eyebrows raised as Meek pulled off an upset of huge resonance with a 45 second KO victory!

With Palhares predictably dropping for single leg in order to isolate his limb of preference, ‘Toquinho’ pushed Meek against the fence where the Norwegian delivered a string of lightning-fast counter elbows to the head of his opponent, finishing Palhares and allowing him to pick up not only the win, but the Venator championship belt.

Luke Barnatt (11-3) avoided any potential banana skins against over-matched last minute stand in Stefan Croitoru (6-2-1) of Moldova, who replaced the aforementioned Jason Miller at 185 lbs. While credit must go to Croitoru for stepping in with 24 hours notice, this was a comfortable fight for Barnatt, who had a huge size and reach advantage and used it well. Croitoru effectively threw in the towel at 2:32 of the second round. The win saw Barnatt crowned Venator Middleweight Champion.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (17-14) needed just 37 seconds to part UFC veteran Matt Hamill (11-7) from his senses at light heavyweight, bouncing back from a pair of defeats in Bellator and Abu Dhabi Warriors. Sokoudjou landed two big uppercuts against the fence to send Hamill face-first to the mat, picking up arguably his biggest win in 5 years. Hamill, meanwhile, is now on a three-fight slide having lost to Brazilian duo Thiago Silva and Vinny Magalhaes back-to-back in the UFC and WSOF respectively. His last win came in 2012 against Roger Hollett of Canada.

UFC veteran Igor Araujo (25-9) came in a huge favourite against 22 year old Italian Marvin Vettori (10-2) at middleweight, but fluffed his lines when Vettori locked on a 73-second guillotine choke to force a tap from the Brazilian submission specialist. Araujo, who himself holds 17 submission wins, became the promising Vettori’s fifth straight victim in the Venator cage, with 4 of those fights ending before the resolution of the first round. Vettori had previously disposed of tough English veteran Jack Mason in just 1 minute 46 as he continues to punch well above his weight in terms of experienced opposition.

There was another key win for an Italian native as Mattia Schiavolin (13-2-2) bested troubled title drop out Jason Miller (23-10) by second round rear naked choke to bring him one step closer to another fight with newly crowned champion Luke Barnatt, who defeated him at Venator 2. Miller, who was gassing badly during the second round, effected the transition to the ground, but with an apparently inadequate training regimen coming into this fight, the longer it went the more it favoured Schiavolin. Mattia finished the fight, and possibly Miller’s hopes of competing in Venator’s top bracket.

There were also wins for Karl Amoussou (22-7-2) over previously unbeaten rookie Giovani Melillo (4-1) by first round KO, Cody McKenzie (16-9) over young Moldovan Valeriu Mircea (9-3) by second round guillotine (no surprise!), and Icelandic veteran Jack Hermansson (13-2) over Polish fighter Ireneusz Cholewa (11-8-3) by third round TKO on a fine night of action.

Top FC 11: Top FC vs Kunlun Fight

An intriguing event from Seoul showcased cross-promotional fights between Korean-based outfit Top FC and China’s Kunlun Fight, and was headlined by undefeated Top FC Bantamweight Champion Kwan Ho Kwak (9-0), who continued to build on an impressive start to life as a professional MMA fighter with a successful defence against former UFC flyweight Alptekin Ozkilic by unanimous decision. Kwak, who trains with the likes of Hyun Gyu “The Ace” Lim and Dongi Yang at Korean Top Team, has dominated the competition in both Top FC and Pacific Xtreme Combat, and has proven the latest in an ever-growing list of extremely noteworthy Korean fighters.

Ji Yeon Kim (5-0-2) is another impressive undefeated Korean, with Top FC’s premiere female bantamweight picking up a career-best win over the vastly more experienced Kunlun Fight exponent Jin Tang (21-9-4). Chinese fighter Tang, who had gone 5 fights without defeat prior to this bout, was unable to build on her impressive record that already boasts 15 submission wins and 18 first round finishes, succumbing to a unanimous decision as Kim picked up the biggest win of her young career. Kim, who has also competed for Road FC and Deep – Jewels, now finds herself among a very select group of Asia’s elite female combatants.

Japanese UFC veteran Takenori Sato (19-11-7), meanwhile, needed just 90 seconds to dispose of overmatched Korean Kyung Soo Park (2-2) via armbar submission in a welterweight tilt, and English lightweight import Adam Boussif (9-3) likewise conquered local opposition in Jung Min Kang (7-8-2) via second round rear naked choke. Greater success, however, was enjoyed by both bantamweight Jae Hyun So (9-13) and flyweight Kyu Sung Kim (7-1), who outpointed Chinese Kunlun Fight representatives Xie Junpeng (0-1-1) and Meixuan Zhang (10-4) respectively.

Tachi Palace Fights 27:
TPF Bantamweight Title Fight: Cody Gibson (14-6) df. Rolando Velasco (c) (13-4-1) via Unanimous Decision
TPF Featherweight Title Fight: Adrian Diaz (8-3-1) df. Andres Quintana (9-2) via TKO (Body Kick and Punches) @ 2:10 of Round One
Bantamweight Fight: Jared Papazian (19-12, 1 NC) df. Alex Perez (13-4) via Submission (Armbar) @ 3:26 of Round One
Welterweight Fight: Angel DeAnda (15-5) df. Justin Baesman (19-9-1) via TKO (Punches) @ 1:54 of Round Two

Victory Fighting Championship 50
VFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Daniel Gallemore (5-3) df. Abe Wagner (10-8) via Submission (Guillotine) @ 1:37 of Round One
Featherweight Fight: Alexandre Pimentel (15-1) df. Jared Mercado (14-4) via Submission (Armbar) @ 3:59 of Round Four
Welterweight Fight: Maki Pitolo (7-2) df. Justin Guthrie (18-9) via TKO (Punches) @ 0:48 of Round One
Lightweight Fight: Yuri Villefort (9-5) df. Cody Carrillo (11-13) via Unanimous Decision
Lightweight Fight: Jake Lindsey (11-4) df. Zak Bucia (15-8) via TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) @ 1:26 of Round Three
Featherweight Fight: Chuka Willis (8-2) df. Justin Overton (3-1) via TKO (Submission to Punches) @ 3:49 of Round Three

King of the Cage – Battlezone:
Heavyweight Fight: Mike Hayes (20-11-2) df. Jamelle Jones (6-3) via Split Decision
Featherweight Fight: Julian Erosa (16-3) df. Daniel Swain (16-7-1) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) , Round One

Cage Fury Fighting Championships 58:
Heavyweight Fight: Azunna Anyanwu (11-4) df. Plinio Cruz (8-7) via Majority Decision

World Fighting Championship Akhmat 22:
Flyweight Fight: Magomed Bibulatov (12-0) df. Giovanni da Silva (16-2) via TKO (Punches) @ 3:46 of Round Three
Welterweight Fight: Shamil Zavurov (29-4-1) df. Luciano Palhano (14-2) via Unanimous Decision
Welterweight Fight: Khusein Khaliev (15-1) df. Alexandre Cidade (12-2) via Submission (Armbar) @ 2:45 of Round Two
Featherweight Fight: Salman Zhamaldaev (12-1) df. Fabiano Silva (26-8) via Split Decision
Featherweight Fight: Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (24-6) df. Khunkar Osmaev (5-2) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight Fight: Rakhman Dudaev (18-3) df. Mateusz Vasco (13-3) via Submission (Guillotine) @ 3:42 of Round One

Absolute Championship Berkut 38:
ACB Middleweight Title Fight: Anatoly Tokov (c) (23-2) df. Arbi Agujev (29-7) via TKO (Punches) @ 4:19 of Round Four
Lightweight Fight: Oleg Bagov (22-8) df. Renat Lyatifov (28-22) via TKO (Punches) @ 0:47 of Round One
Welterweight Fight: Sergey Khandozhko (22-3) df. Mauricio Machado (14-9) @ 0:05 of Round One
Light Heavyweight Fight: Isa Umorov (4-1) df. Rodney Wallace (25-12) via Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight Fight: Oleg Borisov (16-1) df. Filip Macek (14-11) via TKO (Punches) @ 1:33 of Round Two

Shooto Brazil 63:
Featherweight Fight: Felipe Froes (14-2-1) df. Marcos Vinicius (10-5-1) via Unanimous Decision
Welterweight Fight: Mario Sartori (12-5) df. Sergio Fernandes (6-7) via TKO (Punches to the body) @ 3:09 of Round One
150 lb Catchweight Fight: Carlos Ribeiro (11-3) df. Nikolas Motta (7-2) via TKO (Punches) @ 1:08 of Round One

PREVIEWS:

ONE Championship: Kingdom of Champions

ONE Championship heads to Thailand for the first time in the company’s history, which is something of a surprise in itself given how Thailand is virtually synonymous with martial arts, enjoying a mention on almost every MMA broadcast by way of the obvious association with the ‘Art of Eight Limbs’, or Muay Thai to you and I.

Indeed Thailand might prove to be a real hotbed of MMA talent sooner rather than later, and with ONE Championship already counting one Thai fighter among it’s elite group of titleholders in strawweight Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (6-0), the time feels right for the Singapore-based promotion to make a move.

Amnuaychoke, a three-time Muay Thai champion, will indeed be defending his ONE Championship title at Kingdom of Champions, as undefeated Japanese challenger Yoshitaka Naito (10-0) comes calling in the main event. The Shooto Strawweight Champion, Naito will be relishing this champion versus champion bout having wrested his own title from compatriot Shinya Murofushi in 2014. He has since defended the gold twice. Now he will fight outside his homeland for the first time, looking to add more gold to his collection. In 37 year old Amnuaychoke, however, Naito will have his hands full.

Amnuaychoke spoke to 411mania ahead of his title defence. “When I joined Evolve MMA in Singapore I got fascinated with MMA. I saw the world champions [that] train there and I developed my interest,” adding that “I wish to maintain my title for as long as I can.” Amnuaychoke also commented on life as an MMA fighter and champion, saying “Unlike Muay Thai, I fight twice a year in MMA and so I get to train and learn more techniques when I am not fighting. I hope to be in the scene for a few more years and become a better MMA fighter.”

Naito, meanwhile, stated that “I think I am tougher than most of Dejdamrong’s previous opponents. I am a Shooto champ with an undefeated record 10-0, and so it will be a great fight for both of us.”

Naito will not be the only Japanese title holder to compete in Bangkok, however, as DEEP Featherweight Champion Kazunori Yokota (25-5-3) also steps in for a champion versus champion encounter as he takes on another undefeated star Marat Gafurov (13-0). Former M-1 Global competitor Gafurov is currently 4-0 under the ONE Championship banner, and won his title from Mongolian sensation Jadambaa Narantungalag in November of last year.

Gafurov will look to his stellar record of 9 submission wins to make the difference against hardened veteran Yokota, who most recently bested Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari.

Also on the card, Australian export Rob Lisita (14-7) will face tough Russian Timofey Nastyukhin (9-2) in a featherweight contender eliminator, although both fighters are coming off tough losses to Gafurov and Brazilian Herbert Burns respectively. Still, with Lisita disposing of Yusuke Kawanago in just 28 seconds in his ONE Championship debut, and with Nastyukhin having never seen the close of a round, we are likely to see fireworks in Bangkok before the night is through!

Heavy-hitting middleweight Leandro Ataides (8-2) of Brazil will also be looking to bounce back after consecutive defeats to Igor Svirid and Aleksei Butorin respectively, though Polish knock out specialist Marcin Prachnio (10-2) stands in his way. The imposing Prachnio needed less than half a round to put away Brazilian Alexandre Machado on his ONE Championship debut, and a similar outing against Ataides will almost certainly propel him to greater things within the company.

Elsewhere, there will be a second fight in three weeks for 17 year old Singaporean sensation Christian Lee (4-0), brother of ONE Championship’s women’s title holder Angela Lee, as he steps in to face Rocky Batolbatol (5-2) of the Philippines. Batolbatol is yet to record a win in ONE Championship, and will be desperate to avoid a third-straight defeat. Lee, meanwhile, will look to make it 4 wins from 4 in a very impressive 2016 that has seen stop every opponent within the very first round. Christian told 411mania regarding taking fights fast and often that “I’m excited to fight any time in the ONE cage. I want to climb the featherweight roster and make a name for myself, and so I am super thrilled to fight again.”

Boxing world champion Yodsanan Sityodtong (1-1) will also be present, the former WBA Super Featherweight Champion with a boxing record of 57-3-1 will be looking to ignite the Bangkok powder keg with a win over Chrech Kosal (2-1) of Cambodia. For Kosal, however, the opportunity to defeat one of combat sports greats will be a fantastic incentive.

M-1 Challenge 66: Nemkov vs Yusupov

M-1 Challenge 66 takes place from Orenburg, Russia, and features two of the promotions biggest stars in the current and former M-1 Light Heavyweight Champions Viktor Nemkov (23-5) and German Stephan Puetz (13-2). Nemkov, who overcame Puetz to claim the title back at M-1 Challenge 63, now looks to make his first defence against compatriot Rashid Yusupov (6-2). Yusupov, who rides a 4-fight win streak, already holds wins over two of the sports most experienced veterans in Brazilian Charles “Gracie” Andrade and German Martin Zawada, who each possess 40+ fight records. Now he will try to spring the upset of his career over the impressive Russian-Kazakh title holder.

Nemkov, speaking to 411mania about the upcoming title defence, said “I had a good training camp, payed a lot of attention to my endurance, [and] also wrestled a lot. I trained in Stary Oskol, [where] Fedor Emelianenko helped me [along with] many other talanted fighters. I expect my opponent to show good stand up, he is a good striker with [a] Wushu Sanda background, and also he is good [at] wrestling. So I expect a tough and exciting fight.”

Stephan Puetz, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from his five-round decision defeat to Nemkov, against whom he is now 1-1 and potentially destined to close out a thrilling trilogy of fights. In his way, though, is M-1 debutant Andrey Seledtsov (5-1), who comes in riding a 4-fight win streak. While victory would prove a major upset for Seledtsov considering Puetz’ record that includes wins over UFC heavyweight Marcin Tybura and a plethora of highly-rated fighters under the M-1 banner, the former Spetsnaz soldier is unlikely to be overawed by his 6’5 opponent.

Also on the card, Kazakh fighter Damir Ismagulov (6-2) takes on Georgian Raul Tutarauli (6-3) in a lightweight tilt, while undefeated featherweight Mikhail Korobkov (9-0-1) faces Russian compatriot Timur Nagibin (6-1).

American Josh Rettinghouse (12-4), a WSOF veteran, will make his M-1 Global debut in a 140 lb catchweight tilt against Belarusian Vadim Zhlobich (3-2), a Kunlun Fight-veteran with successive submission wins on his résumé.

KSW 35: Khalidov vs Karaoglu

Finally, Polish outfit KSW will provide a strong offering headlined by their impressive Middleweight Champion Mamed Khalidov (31-4-2). Khalidov, who has crushed a succession of big-name international stars in recent years, will face one of KSW’s most unlikely success stories in Aziz Karaoglu (9-6), who debuted as a little-known and little-fancied Turkish veteran (now 39 years old), but who has recorded first round finishes of all of Piotr Strus, Jay Silva, and Maiquel Falcao in succession. While Khalidov is likely a huge favourite, Karaoglu will be looking to spring the upset of all upsets in Gdansk, Poland.

Also on the card, Michal Materla (22-5) will face Antoni Chmielewski (32-14) also at middleweight, while the big boys are in town as former multiple time World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski (9-4) continues his highly entertaining MMA voyage against Marcin Rozalski (5-4). Former BAMMA and M-1 Lightweight Champion Mansour Barnaoui (12-3) will face unbeaten 155 lber Mateusz Gamrot (10-0) in what should be a scintillating scrap, while Russian Marif Piraev (13-1-1) faces Lukasz Chlewicki (13-4-1) also at lightweight.