A look at the regional scene of MMA highlighting the bouts of well-known veterans and rising prospects fighting in promotions not named UFC, Bellator, or WSOF. With the increasing international expansion of the UFC and the restructuring of Bellator, we could see many of these fighters signed by top promotions in the very near future.
There were not a whole lot of high profile fighters on the regional scene in the past two weeks, but there are some notable bouts that should be mentioned. Vale Tudo Japan hosted a Flyweight tournament that featured a big match-up between Czar Sklavos and Ryuichi Miki, while on the other side of the bracket was another big bout of Hiromasa Ogikubo versus Kana Kyatt. Sklavos and Ogikubo will meet up in October to battle for the VTJ Flyweight title.
VTJ recently signed a deal with UFC to hold 135 and 145 tournaments with the winner earning UFC contracts (similar to TUF, but in a different format) that may end up on UFC Fight Pass. More info will be released during the promotion for UFC Fight Fight: Hunt vs Nelson in September. In the same vein, CES MMA will now be air their events on AXS.TV starting next month. In the wise words of their recent headliner...let them bang bro.
June 27
Julian Lane (7-3-1, WW#291) def Gemiyale Adkins (8-8, WW#463) by UD3 @ CES MMA 24 - Lincoln, Rhode Island
Aaron Johnson (12-9, HW#100) def Greg Rebello (16-6, HW#237) by R2 SUB(guillotine) @ CES MMA 24
Saul Almeida (16-5, LW#200) def Andres Jeudi (6-3) by UD3 @ CES MMA 24
Oleg Borisov (11-1, FW#197) def Maximiliano Videla (2-3) by R1 TKO(punches) @ Fight Nights:Battle on Volga - Kostroma, Russia
Piotr Wawrzyniak (5-3, MW#271) def Antoni Chmielewski (26-12, MW#364) by UD3 @ Pro MMAC:Just Fight! - Lublin, Poland
Pawel Zelazowski (7-0, WW#249) def Pierre Chretien (8-4) by R1 SUB(guillotine) @ PLMMA 37 - Biala Podlaska, Poland
June 28
Czar Sklavos (10-3, FLY#14) def Ryuichi Miki (16-7-4, FLY#38) by UD3 @ Vale Tudo Japan:5th in Osaka - Osaka, Japan
Hiromasa Ogikubo (12-3-2, FLY#27) def Kana Hyatt (13-13, FLY#110) by R1 SUB(RNC) @ VTJ:5th in Osaka
Brandon Ricetti (6-0, LW#235) def Ousmane Thomas Diagne (5-4, LW#392) by SUB(RNC) @ WFC 10 - Sacramento, CA
Tymoteusz Swiatek (14-2-0-1, BW#205) def Martin Bipouna (4-3-1) by R1 KO(punch) @ FEN 3 - Wroclaw, Poland
Jan Jorgensen (7-0, HW#117) def Ben Fuimaono (17-12-1) by R1 SUB(arm-triangle) @ Showdown Fights 14 - Orem, Utah
Clay Collard (13-4-0-1, FW#38) def Nicholas Compton (8-4, FW#273) by UD3 @ Showdown Fights 14
DeAnna Bennett (4-0, BW#23) def Colleen Schneider (5-5) by R1 SUB(RNC) @ Showdown Fights 14
June 29
Tetsuya Yamada (13-3-2, LW#202) def Hisato Izawa (9-8-1) by R1 TKO(punches) @ ZST in Yokosuka Vol 1 - Kanagawa, Japan
July 3
Demarte Pena (9-0, BW#75) def Nkazilmulo Zulu (5-2-1) by UD5 @ EFC Africa 31 - Johannesburg, South Africa
Ante Delija (9-2, HW#174) def Valentijn Overeem (30-32) by R1 TKO(punches) @ HOG 9 - Dubrovnik, Croatia
Rosen Dimitrov (23-3-0-1) def Adria Vinias (0-1) by R1 SUB(RNC) @ Twins MMA 6 - Sofia, Bulgaria
