A difficult test for Volkov, Shevchenko's record defense and the fight of Nurmagomedov's brother: the most anticipated events of June in MMA

UFC 

Vegas 56

Date and venue:

 June 4, Las Vegas (USA)

Significant fights:

- Jairzinho Rozenstruik,

- Dan Ige,

- Andreas Mikhailidis.

The first major tournament of the month will be held in Las Vegas, and the star Russian heavyweight, who is going through a difficult period in his career, will head the card.

Alexander Volkov did not have time to recover from the loss to Cyril Gan, which deprived him of the opportunity to claim the interim title, as an even more crushing defeat followed.

At the show in London, he lost to Tom Aspinall in less than four minutes and dropped to seventh in the division rankings.

The last time he was this low was in the summer of 2020 after an unsuccessful fight with Curtis Blades.

And we can safely say that the battle with Jairzinho Rozenstruik is extremely important for the Russian.

After all, something more is at stake than the status of the first applicant, namely, the future.

The last time Volkov lost in two fights in a row was in 2015, when he was alternately weaker than Tony Johnson Jr. and Cheick Kongo.

As a result, he left Bellator and returned to his homeland, but quickly restarted his career at M-1 Global.

Now there is no such possibility, and another failure may well knock the ground out from under his feet and deprive him of self-confidence and motivation.

Alexander risks leaving the top 10 and losing hope of winning the belt, finally turning into an ordinary gatekeeper.

For Movsar Evloev, the upcoming tournament will be special.

He will finally make his debut on the main card, and immediately in the second most important fight of the evening.

And if he copes with Dan Ige, then he will surely fall into the top ten featherweight.

And there are all the prerequisites for this.

The Russian is not only a more versatile athlete, but also goes on a winning streak of 15 fights, while the American, on the contrary, has not looked good lately.

Two years ago, he was considered one of the most promising representatives of the division, but lost twice in a row: first to ex-title contender Chen Sung Jung, and then to the strong, but not stellar Josh Emmett.

Also, within the framework of UFC Vegas 56, the first fight under the auspices of the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be held by Rinat Fakhretdinov.

The middleweight first entered the cage nine years ago, but gained popularity after moving to the Khabib Nurmagomedov promotion.

By the age of 30, he scored a solid record (20-2) and got the opportunity to try his hand at the UFC.

And judging by the statements, he does not hold confidence.

The athlete turned to Dana White and urged him to prepare a bonus for "Performance of the Night", and also promised to recite the poems of Mikhail Lermontov in the octagon. 

AMC

Fight

Nights 112

Date and venue:

 June 10, Moscow (Russia)

Notable fights:

 Nariman Abbasov (c) - Marif Piraev (welterweight title fight).

In early June, the first show in the Russian capital in 14 months will be held by AMC Fight Nights.

And as in April 2021, the belt will be defended by Nariman Abbasov.

But if then he was opposed by Shamil Amirov, known for the scandalous duel with Dmitry Bikrev, then this time the company in the cage will be Marif Piraev.

By the age of 29, he managed to fight in 17 different organizations, after which he returned to the well-known league and almost immediately received the status of the first contender.

The victory over Kuat Khamitov can hardly be called confident, so the decision of the promoters may well be surprising.

But now he faces a much bigger challenge.

Abbasov has not only not lost since December 2016, but in the last three battles he took the upper hand ahead of schedule.

The last "victim" of the Azerbaijani was the famous fighter, and now the president of Eagle FC Shamil Zavurov.

In September, he held a farewell fight in mixed martial arts, but even this did not affect Nariman's mood.

Already in the first round, he knocked out the opponent. 

UFC 275

Date and venue:

 June 12, Kallang (Singapore)

Significant fights:

 Glover Teixeira (c) - Jiri Prohazka (light heavyweight title fight), Valentina Shevchenko (c) - Taila Santos (flyweight title fight),

- Jack Della Maddalena.

The choice of venue for the next numbered tournament of the Ultimate Fighting Championship was quite unexpected.

In the entire history of the UFC, it has only visited Singapore four times and has exclusively hosted weekly Fight Night series there.

The last time local fans could watch the performance of the fighters of the largest MMA promotion was in October 2019.

Then in the main fight, Ben Askren was “strangled” by Demian Maia, after which he decided to hang up his gloves on a nail.

This time, fans are waiting for two title fights, even if one of them is practically devoid of intrigue.

After all, few people believe in the ability of Tayla Santos to impose a fight on Valentina Shevchenko and take away her title in the category up to 56.7 kg.

The Kyrgyz native is on a streak of eight wins and is one step away from the UFC record for the number of successful defenses among women.

She has already defended the trophy six times - the same number in the asset of the legendary Ronda Rousey.

The duel between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka will crown the tournament.

The oldest of the current UFC champions will try to create a sensation again and deal with one of the brightest prospects of recent years.

The Czech stormed through the light heavyweight division and earned first contender status after his second fight thanks to his uncompromising and crazy style.

First, he knocked out Volkan Ozdemir in a fierce cabin, and then repeated the same thing with Dominick Reyes.

And although it is he who is considered the favorite of the upcoming battle, the Brazilian cannot be written off.

The 42-year-old veteran has vast experience and unique skills in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which he has proven time and again.

Russian MMA fans will closely follow the performance of Ramazan Emeev.

In October, he lost a split decision to Danny Roberts, and will try to close the defeat in the battle with Jack Della Madalena.

The Australian got into the championship through Dana White's Contenders Series, but has already managed to loudly declare himself, effectively dealing with Pete Rodriguez.

But it will not be easy for him to repeat it.

Until now, the Russian has only lost by knockout once - in 2014, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky laid him on the floor. 

ACA 140

Date and venue:

 June 16, Sochi (Russia)

Notable fights:

 Artyom Reznikov vs. Davi Ramos

In the ACA, the Lightweight Grand Prix continues.

Previously, two semi-finalists have already been determined, and in mid-June the third will become known.

And they may well become Artyom Reznikov.

The last time a Kazakhstani entered the cage was in September 2020, and then found himself at the epicenter of the scandal.

In October, the promotion announced his rematch with Yusuf Raisov, but the athlete refused to fight, noting that he was not interested in the return fight, and the fee did not meet expectations.

A conflict ensued between the parties.

Moreover, the showdown took place right in the comments to the league's message in social networks.

Apparently, later Reznikov still managed to find a common language with the leadership of the promotion and get into the number of participants in the tournament, the victor of which will receive more than $ 200 thousand. And the first obstacle on the way to the award will be ex-UFC fighter Davi Ramos, who has not known victories for more than three years.

Taking into account grappling competitions, the Brazilian lost in six of the last eight fights, and in two cases he lost to the Russians.

In September 2019, he lost to Islam Makhachev, and ten months later, to Arman Tsarukyan.

PFL#4

Date and venue:

 June 17, Atlanta (USA)

Notable fights:

vs Theodoras Aukstuolis

The next PFL show will again not be complete without fighters from Russia.

Now Omari Akhmedov has six points in his asset and shares the first place in the table with Antonio Carlos Junior, and one more success practically guarantees him access to the playoffs of the light heavyweight championship.

And while it is difficult to imagine that Theodoras Aukshtuolis will be able to compete with him.

By the age of 30, the Lithuanian had 17 fights and only 11 of them won, and the difficulties began already in the first serious promotion - the Japanese RIZIN FF.

There he won only two out of five fights.

And although future PFL champion Bruno Capellozza was one of the defeated, Aukstuolis himself failed to achieve the same progress.

The last time he won was more than four years ago - in November 2017 he dealt with journiman Marvin Aboeli.

A month later, he ended his career with a record of 2-5. 

UFC

one

ESPN 37

Date and venue:

 June 18, Austin (USA)

Notable fights:

Joaquin Buckley

There will be someone to watch at the show in Austin.

And although the focus will be on the battle between Calvin Catter and Josh Emmett, as well as the return to the octagon of Donald Cerrone, the duel involving Albert Duraev is no less interesting.

In October, he made a real massacre together with Roman Kopylov and will surely please the fans in the duel with Joaquin Buckley.

The same fighter who scored one of the most furious knockouts in the history of mixed martial arts.

In October 2020, he sent Impa Kasanganai to the floor with a spectacular jump spinner, and subsequently this strike was recognized as the best of the year according to both RT and the UFC.

Nevertheless, it is Duraev who is considered the favorite.

His unbeaten streak is already ten fights, and the last failure is dated March 2014.

Then he lost ahead of schedule to Anatoly Tokov.

But if in the stand Buckley, most likely, will look preferable, then in the fight he is noticeably weaker than Albert.

For his ability to bind an opponent hand and foot, he has already earned comparison with Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

Bellator 282

Date and place:

 June 24, Uncasville (USA)

Significant fights:

 Gegard Mousasi (c) - Johnny Eblen (middleweight title fight),

- Brent Primus,

- Enrique Barzola.

The main event of the next Bellator tournament will be the third defense of the belt by Gegard Mousasi.

And although Johnny Eblen has good wrestling skills, he is unlikely to be able to fight on equal terms with an experienced Dutchman.

He is in great shape and playfully deals with rivals.

Suffice it to recall how easily he got the better of John Salter and Austin Vanderford.

Therefore, fights with the participation of Russians are much more interesting, because each of them has to go through an extremely difficult test.

First of all, this applies to Alexander Shabliy, who is waiting for a meeting with Brent Primus.

The American is great on the ground and will do everything possible to catch the opponent on a branded gogo plate or choke from behind.

In shock technique, the domestic fighter has an advantage and will probably try to stay on his feet as long as possible, but whether he will succeed in this is a big question.

As for Magomed Magomedov, the victory over Enrique Barzola will help him kill two birds with one stone.

Firstly, to rehabilitate for the defeat from Raufeon Stots, and secondly, to get the status of the first contender for the bantamweight title and the opportunity to take revenge on the American.

The Peruvian is a worthy opponent and was not a boy to fight even in the UFC, but has solid gaps.

For example, in wrestling, and this is what the former rival of Peter Yan is famous for.

At one time, they were clearly demonstrated by Evloev, who transferred the South American to canvas four times. 

UFC Fight Night 208

Date and venue:

 June 25, Las Vegas (USA)

Significant fights:

- Mateusz Gamrot,

- Tyson Nam,

- Nate Maness.

It is planned that the program of the month will be closed by another yet unannounced show of the Absolute Fighting Championship, and Russians will again be among the main characters.

And later than others in the octagon will be the rising star of the light division Arman Tsarukyan, who is waiting for one of the most difficult confrontations in his career.

Among the previous opponents of the fighter, only Islam Makhachev is clearly superior to Mateusz Gamrot in class, while the rest are noticeably inferior.

The Pole has already managed to deal with such eminent athletes as Diego Ferreira and Jeremy Stephens, and was second only to Guram Kutateladze, and even then by a separate decision of the judges.

Now Tsarukyan and Gamrot occupy the 11th and 12th lines in the rating of the category up to 70.3 kg, respectively, and success may well allow them to break into the top ten.

The only question is whether the Russian will be able to cope with the pressure of the Pole and not allow him to transfer himself to the floor.

On average, he spends 5.83 takedowns per fight, while he himself has never been on the floor in his career in the UFC.

In turn, Umar Nurmagomedov will try to continue the ascent to the top.

In March, Khabib's cousin rolled over Brian Kelleher, and now he got Nate Maness, not the most star fighter with a good track record (14-1), as opponents.

However, the level of rivals left much to be desired, so you should not consider him a too serious threat.

The undefeated Russian has already made it clear that he has tremendous potential and must prove it in the cage.

Like three months ago, Nurmagomedov Jr. will be accompanied by another Eagles MMA representative at the tournament.

But Tagir Ulanbekov will try to redeem himself for his recent loss to Tim Elliott and defend his place in the top 15.

And he will be opposed by the oldest flyweight fighter, who will turn 39 in October.

It is curious that Tyson Nam reached the largest MMA promotion only in September 2019, immediately lost two times in a row, but was not fired and rose a category higher, where he took over twice.

It would seem that the American should continue to compete in 61.2 kg, but for some reason he returned to his native weight and lost to Mat Schnell.

Thus, the upcoming duel will be the most important for both fighters.

Nam is faced with the task of proving his professional suitability and getting a chance to continue performing in the UFC, and Ulanbekov is facing the challenge of getting back on the winning track.

After all, one more defeat will not only deprive him of his place among the strongest in the division, but can also put an end to his prospects in the promotion.