AMC
Fight
Nights 111
Date and venue:
May 6, Vladivostok (Russia)
Notable fights:
Gennady Kovalev vs. Marcio Santos
AMC Fight Nights continues to explore regions.
Last month, the promotion held a tournament in Astrakhan, and this time decided to visit Vladivostok.
This is becoming a kind of tradition, because in May 2021 the show was also held in Primorsky Krai.
And Marcio Santos also fought in the main event of the evening.
True, if then the legendary Alexander Shlemenko was his rival, then this time it was the local fighter Gennady Kovalev.
The last time he fought was on the undercard of the fight between Santos and Shlemenko.
Then Kovalev, in the status of a favorite, approached the battle with Vyacheslav Babkin, but sensationally lost by knockout in the second round, after which he never entered the cage.
And while there are no prerequisites for a successful return.
Marcio has a lot of experience, and in general he surpasses Gennady in terms of level.
Therefore, the Russian will have to create a small miracle in order not to suffer a fifth defeat in the last seven fights.
RCC 11
Date and venue:
May 6, Yekaterinburg (Russia)
Notable fights:
Ivan Shtyrkov vs. Mikhail Kolobegov
In early May, another significant event will take place - the return of the Ural Hulk to its native promotion.
The last time Ivan Shtyrkov fought in RCC was in February 2020, after which he signed a contract with ACA.
As he stated in an interview with RT, the transition to another organization was provoked by the desire for growth and the desire to progress.
But when the light heavyweight title was literally just a couple of steps away, the fighter returned home.
He did not explain the reasons for this decision, noting that he simply did not renew his contract with the league.
Thus, instead of Leonardo Silva, he received Mikhail Kolobegov as opponents.
At one time, he claimed the ProFC title, but over the past four years he had only two fights.
In July 2018, he lost to Artur Astakhov in a rather strange way - in the third round he missed several blows and surrendered, and after that he told the team that the opponent hit him twice in the eye.
He returned to the cage only in January 2022, defeating Dana White's Contender Series participant Marcos Brigajao.
But whether he will be able to repeat his success in a duel with Shtyrkov is a big question.
So far, only Magomed Ismailov and Yasubei Enomoto have been able to cope with Ivan.
True, then the Ural Hulk performed in an unusual middle weight for himself and spent too much energy on the cut.
Bellator 280
Date and venue:
May 6, Paris (France).
Notable fights:
Ryan Bader (c) - Cheick Kongo (heavyweight title).
On the same day in Paris, the name of not only the current Bellator heavyweight champion, but also, possibly, the future rival Fedor Emelianenko, will be determined.
The last emperor has expressed a desire to end the farewell tour with a title fight, and Scott Cocker may well meet him halfway.
Even if the rumors are true, and the owners of the organization really do not want to give the Russians the opportunity to fight for belts, then this time they can make an exception.
After all, in the near future they are unlikely to have the opportunity to arrange a larger and discussed duel.
However, a rematch between Bader and Kongo is of interest regardless of a potential meeting with Emelianenko.
For the Frenchman who is about to celebrate his 47th birthday, this could be his last chance to become a Bellator champion.
Previously, he had already twice been a step away from the trophy, but both times he was unlucky.
In 2014, he lost to Vitaly Minakov by unanimous decision, and their first fight with the American was declared invalid.
In the first round, Ryan inadvertently poked Cheick in the eye, and he was unable to continue the battle.
PFL#3
Date and venue:
May 6, Arlington (USA).
Significant fights:
Kayla Harrison -
Marina Mokhnatkina
,
Magomed Magomedkerimov
- Joao Zeferino,
Nikolai Aleksakhin
- Sadibu Si.
In May, another show will be held as part of the Professional Fighters League season.
So far, domestic athletes have not suffered a single defeat, but it will be extremely difficult to extend this series.
And above all, fears are caused by the result of the fight with the participation of Marina Mokhnatkina, who got two-time champion Kayla Harrison as her opponent.
She is rightfully considered the most dominant female fighter in MMA, and experts regularly compare her to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
And although the Russian woman has been performing well lately, it is hard to believe in her success in the future battle.
Prospects for Magomed Magomedkerimov are clearer.
Over the past four years, he has reached the final twice, and in 2018 he even won the title, so he approaches the current competition as one of the main contenders for the trophy and the $ 1 million attached to it. But in order to confidently start in the championship, he needs to take the upper hand over Joao Zeferino, who has five victories in a row.
Previously, the organizers tried twice to bring them together in a cage, but both times were unsuccessful.
First, through the fault of the Russian, and then the Brazilian.
Also in Arlington, there will be a principled battle between Nikolai Aleksakhin and Sadibu Si.
Unlike Magomedkerimov and Zeferino, they were still destined to meet in a cage, but the battle lasted a little less than one and a half rounds.
The Russian received a poke in the eye and could not continue to fight, and the fight was declared invalid.
Subsequently, he was never able to turn the tide of an unsuccessful emerging season and did not even make it to the playoffs.
UFC 274
Date and place:
May 7, Phoenix (USA).
Notable fights:
Charles Oliveira (c) - Justin Gaethje (lightweight title), Rose Namajunas (c) - Carla Esparza (minimum weight title), Michael Chandler - Tony Ferguson.
A day later, one of the most anticipated tournaments of the month in mixed martial arts will take place.
A numbered UFC show will be held in Phoenix, which will be crowned by two title fights at once.
Of greatest interest is the battle between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gati, on the outcome of which the legacy of the same Nurmagomedov largely depends.
If the Brazilian crushes Khabib's former adversary, he will seriously question whether the Eagle was really that good, or he was just lucky not to cross paths with Du Bronx.
Among other things, the victory will help Oliveira write his name in UFC lightweight history.
If he repeats Nurmagomedov's achievement and makes Gaethje knock, he will overtake veteran Jim Miller (nine) and set a division record for the number of wins by submission and choke, and also come close to achieving the American in the number of fights won under the auspices of the championship (14).
At the moment, Charles is in third place (12), also behind Joe Lauzon.
He will also perform on the show, in which he will face off against Donald Cerrone.
The second most important in the tournament will be the long-awaited rematch between Namajunas and Esparza.
In December 2014, it was in their duel that the first ever holder of the UFC minimum weight belt was determined.
In the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 20, Carla “strangled” her opponent, but in the next fight she was severely beaten by Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and for the next four years she alternated success with failure.
Only in April 2019 did she return to winning ways and since then she has won five bouts in a row, earning the title of the first contender.
But this does not make her the favorite of the coming battle.
Since their meeting, Rose has noticeably improved and rightfully bears the title of the strongest in her division.
No less intriguing is the confrontation between two veterans of mixed martial arts.
Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson will undoubtedly arrange an uncompromising slaughter in the octagon, and the career of one of the fighters may well depend on its result.
El Cucuy is on a three loss streak, and one more will finally confirm that his best years are in the past.
At the same time, the victory will allow, if not to return to the championship race, then again to get into the top 5 rankings.
UFC
on
ESPN 36
Date and venue:
May 14, Las Vegas (USA).
Significant fights:
Jan Blachowicz - Aleksandar Rakic.
A week later, there will be a battle that will most likely determine the next contender for the light heavyweight belt.
Jan Blachowicz will try to prove that his fiasco in the duel with Glover Teixeira was an offensive accident and inflict a second defeat on Alexander Rakic in the UFC.
In the championship, the Serb was second only to Volkan Ozdemir in a fairly close fight, after which he won twice in a row.
True, in both cases he was not impressed.
Nevertheless, Rakic is considered the favorite of the upcoming duel, for which there may be several reasons.
First, problems with Blachowicz's neck, due to which their confrontation was postponed from March to May.
Secondly, the difficulties that the Pole had with training.
According to him, a few weeks before the tournament, a car with training equipment was stolen from him, which spoiled the final stage of preparation.
And only in the octagon will it become clear how seriously this affected his condition.
ACA 139
Date and venue:
May 21, Moscow (Russia).
Significant fights:
Eduard Vartanyan - Alain Ilunga, Alexander Sarnavsky - Herdeson Batista.
Another significant event in the world of MMA will take place in Moscow, where the next ACA show will take place.
It was originally scheduled for April 15, but due to logistical problems, it was shifted to the second half of May.
And during this time, the promotion managed to lose one of the star recruits, whose performance was supposed to be one of the main events of the tournament.
Ex-UFC fighter Luis Peña was unable to obtain a passport and dropped out of the lightweight Grand Prix with a prize fund of $1 million. Thus, little-known Alain Ilunga took his place in the fight with Eduard Vartanyan.
The Congolese spent most of his career in the South African organization EFC (not to be confused with Eagle FC), but even there he often lost.
And he is unlikely to be able to impose a fight on the Russian.
Otherwise, the card show turned out to be not the most intense, and only the battle between Alexander Sarnavsky and Herdeson Batista can attract the attention of fans.
The Russian takes first place in the lightweight rankings, and a third success in a row could well guarantee him a fight for the title.
At the moment it is owned by Abdul-Aziz Abdulvahabov.