KUMITE European MMA Rankings, April 2014

Sorry I’m a bit late with the rankings this month, been busy. Anyways it’s been an active month with movement in every division and a few big changes based on fighters being removed due to inactivity or bans. Check it out…

Heavyweight

1- Alistair Overeem (Holland) 37-13 UFC
2- Vitaly Minakov (Russia) 14-0, Bellator def. Cheick Kongo 4/4
3- Andrei Arlovski (Belarus) 21-10, UFC
4- Stefan Struve (Netherlands) 25-6 UFC
5- Cheick Kongo (France) 20-8-2 Bellator lost to Vitaly MInakiv 4/4
6- Alexander Volkov (Russia) 21-4 Bellator def. Siala-Mo Siliga 11/4 UP 1
7- Damian Grabowski (Poland) 19-1 M-1 DOWN 1
8- Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) 22-6 IND
9- Alexey Oleinik (Ukraine) 53-9-1 IND
10- Marcin Tybura (Poland) 10-0 M-1 def. Maro Perak 4/4 UNRANKED

Light Heavyweight

1- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden) 15-2, UFC
2- Jimi Manuwa (England) 14-1, UFC
3- Attila Vegh (Slovakia) 29-5-2, Bellator
4- Mikhail Zayats (Russia) 22-8, Bellator
5- Ilir Latifi (Sweden) 7-3 UFC
6- Jan Blachowicz (Poland) 17-3, KSW
7- Linton Vassell (England) 12-3, Bellator
8- Stephan Puetz (Germany) 9-1 M-1
9- Maxim Grishin (Russia) 17-6 IND
10- Mikkel Parlo (Denmark) 12-2 def. Johnny Cisneros 4/4 UNRANKED

Middleweight

1- Alexander Shlemenko (Russia) 50-7 Bellator UP 1
2- Michael Bisping (England) 24-5, UFC lost to Tim Kennedy 16/4 DOWN 1
3- Mamed Khalidov (Poland) 28-4-2, KSW
4- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia) 34-4-2 UFC
5- Frances Carmont (France) 22-8, UFC
6– Luke Barnatt (England) 7-0 UFC
7- Michal Materla (Poland) 20-4 KSW
8– Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (Russia) 23-2 M-1
9- Tom Watson (England) 16-6 UFC
10- Sultan Aliev (Russia) 11-2 IND NR

Welterweight

1- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium) 15-3, UFC
2- Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) 11-0-1, UFC
3- Cathal Pendred (Ireland) 13-2-1, Cage Warriors
4- Nicholas Musoke (Sweden) 12-2 UFC
5- Adlan Amagov (Russia) 13-2-1, UFC
6- Gael Grimaud (France) 19-6, Cage Warriors
7- Nicolas Dalby (Denmark) 12-0 Cage Warriors
8– Paul Daley (England) 34-12-2 BAMMA
9– Andrey Koreshokov (Russia) 15-1 Bellator
10- Karl Amoussou (France) 17-6-2 Bellator def. David Gomez 18/4 UNRANKED

Lightweight

1- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia) 22-0, UFC def. Rafael dos Anjos 19/4
2- Rustam Khabilov (Russia) 17-1, UFC
3- Alexander Sarnavskiy (Russia) 26-2 IND
4- Ross Pearson (England) 15-6, UFC
5 – Marcin Held (Poland) 18-3 Bellator def. Derek Anderson 18/4 UP 5 
6- Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia) 26-4 M-1 def. Sergey Golyaev 4/4 UP 2
7- Musa Khamanaev (Russia) 13-3, M-1 DOWN 2
8- Norman Parke (Northern Ireland) 19-2-1 UFC DOWN 2
9- Piotr Hallmann (Poland) 14-2 UFC DOWN 1
10- Mansour Barnaoui (France) 11-2 BAMMA DOWN 1

Featherweight

1- Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (Russia) 21-5, Bellator def. Mike Richman 4/4 UP 2
2- Conor McGregor (Ireland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC
3- Tom Niinimaki (Finland) 21-5-1 UFC
4- Marat Gafurov (Ukraine) 9-0 M-1 NR def. Lee Morrison 4/4 UNRANKED
5- Shabulat Shamhalaev (Russia) 12-2-1, Bellator
6- Daniel Weichel (Germany) 33-8, Bellator
7- Joni Salovaara (Finland) 14-7 IND
8- Sergei Greicho (Lithuania) 15-5-1 OC
9- Niklas Backstrom (Sweden) 7-0 IND
10- Robert Whiteford (Scotland) 11-2 UFC

* Dennis Siver removed from rankings due to PED ban.

Bantamweight

1- Vaughan Lee (England) 14-9-1 UFC
2- Brett Johns (Wales) 10-0, Cage Warriors © def. James Brum 12/4
3- Ronnie Mann (England) 23-6-1 Cage Warriors UP 1
4- Cory Tait (England) 8-2 Cage Warriors UP 1
5- Timo-Juhan Hirvikangas (Finland) 8-2 Cage FC def. Tymoteusz Swiatek 5/4 UP 1
6- James Brum (England) 14-2, Cage Warriors lost to Brett Johns 12/4 DOWN 3
7- Sirwan Kakai (sweden) 9-2, IND UP 1
8- David Haggstrom (Sweden) 7-2-1 IND UP 1
9- Toni Tauru (Finland) 9-1-1 Cage Warriors UP 1
10- Magomed Biboulatov (France) 5-0 IND UNRANKED

* Martin McDonough now a Flyweight

Flyweight

1- Ali Bagautinov (Russia) 13-2 UFC
2- Brad Pickett (England) 24-8 UFC
3- Pietro Menga (England) 11-0 FCC ©
4- Marcin Lasota (Poland) 8-0 Cage Warriors
5- Neil Seery (Ireland) 13-10 UFC
6- Shaj Haque (England) 4-1 Cage Warriors def. Martin McDonough 12/4 UP 1
6- Mikael Silander (Finland) 10-3 The Cage def. Daniel Barez 5/4
7- Rany Saadeh (Germany) 6-1 BAMMA def. Mahmood Besharate 5/4 UNRANKED
8- Kairat Akhmetov (Kazakhstan) IND UNRANKED
9- Kevin Petshi (France) 5-0 IND def. Victor Balica 4/4
10- Phil Harris (England) 22-12 Cage Warriors DOWN 2

Women’s P4P

(Due to the less developed state of Women’s MMA we’re ranking our top ten female fighters from across the weight classes – we hope to expand this section in future.)

1- Joanne Calderwood (Scotland) 8-0 Invicta FC
2 – Marloes Coenen (Netherlands) 21-6 Invicta FC
3 – Katja Kankaanpaa (Finland) 8-1-1 Invicta FC
4- Rosi Sexton (England) 13-4 IND
5- Aisling Daly (Ireland) 12-5 Cage Warriors
6- Milana Dudieva (Russia) 8-3 ProFC
7- Maria Hoegaard Djursa (Denmark) 5-4 IND
8- Shiela Gaff (Germany) 10-6-1 UFC
9- Agnieszka Niedzwiedz (Poland) 6-0 Cage Warriors def. Gemma Hewitt 12/4 UNRANKED
10- Pannie Kianzad (Sweden) 4-0 IND DOWN 1

 

 

European MMA Rankings, November 2013

Following an offhand Twitter comment from Cage Warriors’ Paul Dollery, we thought that European rankings might be a fun thing to have a crack at, being definitely more interesting (and more work) than UFC or world rankings (which are in some divisions almost the same thing.)

We’ve assembled these rankings based on a ‘what have you done for me lately’ premise, rewarding good form over reputation, largely concentrating on a fighter’s record over the last three years.

Wins by stoppage, over name opposition in bouts of consequence are weighted most heavily, with a narrow, competitive loss to a quality fighter often being worth more than three wins over horridly outclassed opposition.

For us, is who you fight and how that matters most, not the cold win/loss record…

Let’s get into it…

Legend –

The information at each fighter record is
#Ranking- Fighter Name (Nation) overall record, record in last three years, promotion (biggest/most recent wins)

Heavyweight

1- Vitaly Minakov (Russia) 13-0, 10-0 Bellator (Alexander Volkov, Ryan Martinez)
2- Stefan Struve (Netherlands) 25-6, 5-2 UFC (Stipe Miocic, Pat Barry)
3- Cheick Kongo (France) 20-8-2, 5-2 Bellator (Matt Mitrione, Pat Barry, Shan Jordan)
4- Alistair Overeem (netherlands) 36-13, 3-2 UFC (Brock Lesnar)
5- Andrei Arlovski (Belarus) 20-10, 5-2 WSOF (Mike Kyle, Mike Hayes)
6- Alexander Volkov (Russia) 19-4, 10-2 Bellator (Rich Hale, Vinicious Spartan, Brett Rogers)
7- Alexey Oleinik (Ukraine) 53-9-1, 10-2 IND (Mirko Filipovic, Jeff Monson, Dion Staring)
8- Damian Grabowski (Poland) 18-1, 5-0 IND (Stave Economou, Dave Huckaba)
9- Magomed Malikov (Russia) 7-2, 5-2 M-1 (Jeff Monson, Aleksandr Emelianenko, Alexey Oleinik)
10- Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) 21-6, 4-1, IND (Andrei Arlovski)

Light Heavyweight

1- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden) 15-2, 5-1 UFC (Shogun Rua, Thiago Silva)
2- Jimi Manuwa (England) 14-0, 5-0 UFC (Ryan Jimmo, Cyrille Diabate)
3- Attila Vegh (Slovakia) 29-4-2, 9-0-1 Bellator (Christian M’Pumbu, Emanuel Newton, Zelg Galesic, Travis Wiuff)
4- Mikhail Zayats (Russia) 22-7 , 10-2 Bellator (Renato Sobral)
5- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia) 34-3-2, 4-0-1 UFC (Mike Kyle, Ovince St-Preux) *returning to Middleweight in February,
6- Jan Blachowicz (Poland) 17-3, 5-1 KSW (Goran Reljic, Houston Alexander, Rameu Thierry Sokoudjou)
7- Victor Nemkov (Russia) 19-4, 10-1 M-1 (Vasily Babich)
8- Linton Vassell (England) 12-3, 7-0 Bellator (Zelg Galesic)
9- Jason Jones (Netherlands) 20-10, 5-1 BAMMA (Max Nunes, Tatsuya Mizuno, Przemyslaw Mysiala)
10- Cyrille Diabate (France) 19-9, 3-2 UFC (Chad Griggs)

Middleweight

1- Michael Bisping (England) 24-5, 4-2 UFC (Alan Belcher, Brian Stann)
2- Frances Carmont (France) 22-7, 9-0 UFC (Costa Phillipou, Lorenz Larkin, Tom Lawlor)
3- Alexander Shlemenko (Russia) 49-7, 11-0 Bellator (Doug Marshall, Brett Cooper)
4- Mamed Khalidov (Poland) 27-4-2, 7-0 KSW (Melvin Manhoef, Kendall Grove, Jesse Taylor)
5 – Luke Barnatt (England) 7-0, 7-0 UFC (Andrew Craig)
6 – Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (Russia) 23-2, 13-1 M-1 (Trevpr Prangley)
7- Michal Materla (Poland) 19-4, 6-1 KSW (Kendall Grove, Matt Horwich)
8- Tom Watson (England) 16-6, 3-2 UFC (Stanislav Nedkov, Jack Marshman)
9- Ramazan Emeev (Azerbaijan) 11-2, 8-0 M-1 (Mario Miranda)
10- Nicolas Musoke (Sweden) 11-2, 7-1 UFC (Alessio Sakara) *returning to Welterweight 

Welterweight

1- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium) 14-3, 4-1 UFC (Nate Marquardt)
2- Martin Kampmann (Denmark) 20-7, 3-3 UFC (Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves, Rick Story)
3- Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) 11-0-1, 3-0 UFC (Jorge Santiago, Damarques Johnson)
4- Cathal Pendred (Ireland) 13-2-1, 8-1-1 Cage Warriors (Che Mills, Gael Grimaud)
5- Adlan Amagov (Russia) 13-2-1, 6-1 UFC (TJ Waldburger)
6- Andrey Koreshokov (Russia) 13-1, 12-1 Bellator (Lyman Good, Marius Zaromskis)
7- John Hathaway (England) 17-1, 3-0 UFC (John Maguire, Pascal Krauss)
8- Rashid Magomedov (Russia) 12-1, 6-0 IND (Alexander Yakovlev)
9- Gael Grimaud (France) 19-6, 10-2 Cage Warriors (Jesse Taylor, Bruno Carvalho)
10- Nicolas Dalby (Denmark) 11-0 7-0 Cage Warriors (Morten Djursaa)

Lightweight

1- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia) 21-0, 12-0 UFC (Pat Healy, Gleison Tibau)
2- Rustam Khabilov (Russia) 17-1, 6-1 UFC (Jorge Masvidal)
3- Alexander Sarnavskiy (Russia) 25-2 Bellator (Ricardo Tirloni, Marcus Davis)
4- Ross Pearson (England) 15-6, 4-2 UFC (George Sotiropolos)
5- Musa Khamanaev (Russia) 13-3, 8-1 M-1 (Daniel Weichel)
6- Norman Parke (Norther Ireland) 19-2, 5-0 UFC (Jon Tuck, Colin Fletcher)
7- Steven Ray (Scotland) 14-4, 10-3 Cage Warriors © (Jason Ball, Sean Carter)
8- Piotr Hallmann (Poland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC (Francisco Trinaldo)
9- Marcin Held (Poland) 16-3, 6-2 Bellator (Rich Clementi)
10- Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia) 24-4, 8-2 Cage Warriors (Jason Ball, Diego Gonzalez)

Featherweight

1- Conor McGregor (Ireland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC (Ivan Buchinger, Max Holloway)
2- Dennis Siver (Germany) 21-9, 4-2 UFC (Diego Nunes, Nam Phan)
3- Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (Russia) 21-5, 11-1 Bellator (Mike Richman, Marlon Sandro)
4- Tom Niinimaki (Finland) 20-5-1, 6-0 Cage FC (Walel Watson, Chase Beebe)
5- Shabulat Shamhalaev (Russia) 12-2-1, 6-1-1 Bellator (Mike Richman)
6- Joni Salovaara (Finland) 14-7 7-2 IND (Olivier Pastor, Chase Beebe)
7- Graham Turner (Scotland) 23-7, 7-1 Cage Warriors (Nad Narimani, Fouad Mesdari, Nathan Beer)
8- Sergei Greicho (Lithuania) 15-5-1, 8-2 OC (Joni Salovaara, Olivier Pastor)
9 – Niklas Backstrom (Sweden) 6-0, 4-0 IND (Sergeio Greicho)
10 – Akira Corassani (Sweden) 11-3, 2-1 UFC (Robbie Peralta)

Bantamweight

1- Brad Pickett (England) 23-8, 4-3 UFC (Mike Easton, Yves Jabouin)
2- Brett Johns (Wales) 8-0, 8-0 Cage Warriors © (David Haggstrom)
3- James Brum (England) 13-2, 9-2 Cage Warriors (Olivier Pastor, Moktar Benkaci)
4- Timo-Juhan Hirbokangas (Finland) 8-2, 7-1 Cage FC (Niko Gjoka, Artemij Sitenkov)
5- David Aranda Santacana (Spain) 9-0, 3-0 IND (Olivier Pastor, James Doolan)
6- James Pennington (England) 9-1, 7-1 Cage Warriors (Kris Edwards, James Doolan)
7- Martin McDonough (Wales) 11-4, 6-2 Cage Warriors (Alex Enlund, Stee McCombe)
8- Sirwan Kakai (sweden) 9-2, 5-1 IND (Jose Luis Zapater, James Doolan)
9- David Haggstrom (Sweden) 7-2-1, 3-2 IND (Artemij Sitenkov, James Doolan)
10- Cory Tait (England) 7-2, 5-2 UCMMA (Spencer Hewitt, Nathan Beer)

Flyweight

1- Ali Bagautinov (Russia) 12-2, 10-2 UFC (Tim Elliot)
2- Neil Seery (Ireland) 13-9, 5-1 Cage Warriors © (Mikael Silander)
3- Phil Harris (England) 22-11, 3-2 UFC (Ulysses Gomez, Neil Seery)
4- Pietro Menga (England) 10-0, 10-0 FCC © (Artemij Sitenkov)
5- Mikael Silander (Finaland) 8-3, 7-3 IND (Wade Choate)
6- Paul McVeigh (Northern Ireland) 19-8, 2-2, Cage Warriors (Paul Marin)
7- Paul Marin (Romania) 6-3, 6-3 Cage Warriors (Shaj Haque)
8- Shaj Haque (England) 3-1, 3-1 Cage Warriors (Kris Edwards)
9- Steve McCombe (Northern Ireland) 19-21-1, 6-7 IND (Scott Pooley)
10- Scott Pooley (England) 6-4-1, 3-1 SnA (Kris Edwards, Martin McDonough)

Women’s P4P

(due to the less developed state of Women’s MMA we’re ranking our top ten female fighters from across the weight classes – we hope to expand this section in future)

1- Marloes Coenen (Netherlands) 21-6, 3-2 Invicta FC (Romy Ruyssen, Liz Carmouche)
2- Katja Kankaanpaa (Finland) 8-0-1, 5-0-1 Invicta FC (Aisling Daly)
3- Joanne Calderwood (Scotland) 7-0, 7-0 Invicta FC (Asjley Cummins, Sally Krumdiack)
4- Rosi Sexton (England) 13-4, 3-2 UFC (Aisling Daly, Roxanne Modafferi)
5- Milana Dudieva (Russia) 8-3, 3-2 ProFC (Danielle West, Sheila Gaff)
6- Maria Hoegaard Djursa (Denmark) 5-4, 3-0 IND (Alexandra Buch)
7- Shiela Gaff (Germany) 10-6-1, 3-3 UFC (Jennifer Maia, Aisling Daly)
8- Pannie Kianzad (Sweden) 4-0, 4-0 IND (Milana Dudieva)
9- Aisling Daly (Ireland) 12-5, 4-4 Cage Warriors (Jessica Eye)
10- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Poland) 4-0, 4-0 (Julia Berezikova)

In the interests of amusement, I decided to tally up the totals per nation, awarding points in reverse order (10pts for a first place ranking, 1pt for a 10th place ranking) just to see which nation in Europe is the most awesome at MMA right now.

European National Rankings

1 – Russia – 119 pts
2 – England – 92 pts
3 – Finland – 34 pts
4 = Ireland – 28pts
4 = Netherlands – 28pts
6 = Poland – 25pts
7 = Sweden – 21 pts
8 = France – 20 pts
9 = Scotland – 16 pts
10 = Denmark – 15 pts

We here at Kumite welcome our new Russian overlords…

MMA Monday – 3rd December 2012

Well, we had a frustrating weekend watching online updates about MMA cards we couldn’t see.  A handful of British cards allied with action across the world to make it one of the most compelling weekend’s to not feature a UFC card in a long while.

Later this week, we’ve got preview of next weekend’s Cage Warriors 50 and UFC on FOX 5 cards, but for today, we’ll run over this past weekend’s action.

BAMMA 11: Marshman vs. Foupa-Pokam
Birmingham, England

By all accounts this was a grand card, with standout victories for James Doolan over Spencder Hewitt and Max Nunes over Kevin Thompson on the undercard.  One of BAMMA’s best innovations in recent times has been the implementation of British titles below their promotional/world belts and this event saw Tom Breese and Steven Ray put in great performances to win the Welterweight and Lightweight straps respectively.

The main event saw Xavier FoupaPokam score a surprise split decision win over Jack Marshman, based on an unexpected game-plan of taking the Welshman down, and although Marshman had a deep armbar in during the first round, it was a cut-causing elbow from ‘Professor X’ in the second that was the key mount.  Not that we saw any of this on BAMMA’s much trumpeted debut on mainstream TV.

In the match that was of least interest to MMA fans but apparently all that Channel 5 was interested in broadcasting, Alex Reid scored a predictable and scrappy (I’m being generous) unanimous decision win over the unheralded Sam Boo.

I was mightily disappointed by BAMMA’s ‘live on Five’ debut turning out to be a slot of a little over an hour which showed only the co-main event (with attendant build up and post fight interviews) of Reid vs. Boo in full, with merely ‘highlights’ of the main event, which actually turned out to be the last round with no context as to the drama which had preceded.  Of either Lonsdale British title fights or the four other first round finishes on the card (surely nice and easy to fit into the broadcast if you’re trying, especially seeing as the show wasn’t actually live) we got neither sight nor mention.

I call that a missed opportunity to spread Reid’s ‘fame’ around some of the more compelling but less well known fighters but it seems that the blame lies squarely with Channel 5.  Sigh.

Full Results

Xavier Foupa Pokam def. Jack Marshman via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Alex Reid def. Sam Boo via Unanimous Decision (28-27 – 28-27 – 28-27)
Tom Breese def. Warren Kee via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Rnd. 1 – 3:06 – to win the BAMMA Lonsdale British Welterweight title
Max Nunes def. Kevin Thompson via KO – Rnd. 1 – 1:40
Steven Ray def. Dale Hardiman via Unanimous Decision (30-27 – 30-27 – 30-27) – to win the BAMMA Lonsdale British Lightweight title
Marcin Lazurz def. Sam Mensah via Submission (Armbar) – Rnd. 1 – 4:16
James Doolan def. Spencer Hewitt via Submission (Triangle Choke) – Rnd. 1 – 1:42
Jeremy Petley def. Richie Downes via Unanimous Decision (30-27 – 30-27 – 30-27)
Marc Allen def. Kyle Redfearn via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 28-29)
Andrew Fisher def. Andy Green via TKO – Rnd. 1 – 2:26
Yannick Bahati def. Ben Constantine via Unanimous Decision (29-28 – 30-27 – 30-27)
Leon Edwards def. Jonny Bilton via TKO – Rnd. 2 – 1:11
David Farycki def. Bryan Creighton via TKO – Rnd. 2 – 4:25
Mike Neun def. Thomas Denham via TKO – Rnd. 3 – 3:58
VISION Fighting Championship 5: Finale
Stockholm, Sweden

Vision FC rounded off a great 2012 with their biggest card to date in Stockholm and despite the co-main event being called off due to one of the competitors drastically failing to make weight, the card lived up to expectations and from the ongoing Twitter commentary from the Vision team, it seems that we really missed out.  Top match honours seem to have been shared by the anticipated scrap between Jonathan Westin and Glen Sparv and the Bantamweight title bout between David Haggstrom and Artemij Sitenkov.

Full Results

David Häggström def. Artemij Sitenkov via submission (strikes/body kick) – round 3 – to retain the Vision FC Bantamweight title.
Nicolas Musoke vs. Michael Lebout finished as a draw.
Joni Salovaara defeats  Olivier Pastor via Majority decision
Jonathan Westin def. Glen Sparv via Majority decision
Fernando Gonzalez def. Lauri Väätäinen via submission (guillotine choke) – round 1
Pannie Kianzad def. Cheryl Flynn via TKO (strikes) – round 1
Niclas Danielsson def. Håkon Foss via Decision
Dennis Erdogan def. Jonatan Salminen via TKO (strikes) – round 1
Oskar Sollevi def. Botan Tokay via DQ (illegal upkick) – round 1

Bellator 82
Mount Pleasant, Michigan, USA

I can’t be the only person who feels like Bellator is in a holding pattern at the moment.  Ever since it became clear they’d be moving onto a bigger stage with SPIKE TV next year, combined with reverses like losing champions Hector Lombard to the UFC, Cole Konrad to retirement, Eddie Alvarez dropping the lightweight title and seemingly content to run out his contract and other champions like Eduardo Dantas and Cheick M’Pumbu losing in other organisations and in non title matches, Bellator seem to have been struggling for legitimacy and momentum.  I’ve long felt they were the de facto number two promotion in the world, but of late that impression has been slipping and at the moment they have exactly one match that I’m actually excited about seeing – Pat Curran’s Featherweight title defence against ‘Pitbull’ Freire.  I’m hoping that changes, because in order for MMA to grow as something more than the UFC and minor leagues, we need a strong American alternative to the Zuffa big dog.

As for this card, the biggest news is that Andrey Koreshkov outpointed Lyman Good in a close fight to earn the right to be the next person wrestled into frustration by Ben Askren…

Full Results

Andrey Koreshkov def. Lyman Good via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – to win the Welterweight tournament and become no.1 contender
David Rickels def.  Jason Fischer via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Doug Marshall def. Kala Hose via KO at 0:22 of R1.
Alexander Sarnavskiy def. Tony Hervey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Mario Navarro def.  Anthony Bain via submission (triangle choke) at 3:18 of round two.
Shawn Bunch def. Chad Coon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Giva Santana def. Brendan Seguin via submission (kneebar) at 2:33 of round two.
Terry Devinney def. Matt Van Buren via KO at 0:15 of round one.
John Schulz def. Hector Garcia via TKO at 2:45 of round three.
Jeremy Czarnecki def. Justin Houghton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

KSW 21: Final Resolution
Warsaw, Poland

In a case of business as usual from KSW, Mahmed Khalidov despatched a former UFC Middleweight with apparent ease.  It’s a travesty that the man himself isn’t in the UFC, but seeing as he knocked back an offer earlier in the year as they were offering less money that KSW and he wouldn’t accept an exclusive deal, that looks unlikely to happen.  I guess we can take this as a sign of MMA in Poland being pretty healthy, as a top fighter prefers to fight at home and get paid more rather than chase the bright lights of the UFC.  Also, three title fights on the one card is pretty good value…

Mamed Khalidov def. Kendall Grove via submission (achilles lock) – round 2
Michal Materla def. Rodney Wallace via KO (punch) – round 1 to retain the KSW Middleweight title
Aslambek Saidov def. Borys Mankowski via TKO (injury) – round 2 to win the KSW Welterweight Title
Maciej Jewtuszko def. Artur Sowinski via submission (brabo choke) – round 1 to win the KSW Lightweight title
Piotr Strus def. Krzysztof Kulak via TKO (retirement) – round 2
Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Paulina Bonkowska via unanimous decision (round 2)
Matt Horwich def. Terry Martin via TKO (punches) – round 2

Aside from these top notch international cards, there were a few other UK cards that I want to mention, if only to drive home the fact that there is a damn sight more to UK MMA than Alex Reid…  UCMMA in particular put on a compelling card featuring fighters with UFC and Bellator experience (Neil Grove and Paul Kelly) and three title matches while Martin Stapleton won three fights to win the Cage Contender Lightweight tournament.  Sadly, none of them have slept with Jordan so you won’t be seeing this on mainstream TV anytime soon.  This saddens me, but the continued vibrancy of the UK scene gives me hope…

Ultimate Challenge MMA 31
London, England

Full Results

Neil Grove def. Tomasz Czerwinski via TKO – Rd 1 to win the UCMMA Interim Heavyweight Title
Ben Callum def. Dan Dixon via submission (rear naked choke) – Rd 1 to win the UCMMA Middleweight Title
Cory Tait def. Jody Collins via submission (footlock) – Rd 1 – to win the UCMMA Bantamweight title
Paul Kelly def. Richard Griffin via submission (guillotine) – Rd 2,
Nick Chapman def. Aurelijus Kerpe via unanimous decision
Khalid Ismail def. Tautydas Lilekis via TKO – Rd 1
Jamaine Facey def. Andy Cona via TKO (flying knee) – Rd 1
Chase Morton def. Colin Wilby via TKO – Rd 1
Sean Carter def. Maksym Matus via submission (triangle) – Rd 1
Joe Holder def. Lee Taylor via submission (triangle) – Rd 1
Ben McGonigle def. Dominic Clarke via TKO – Rd 1
Cage Contender Fight Stars
Liverpool, England

Lightweight tournament matches

Martin Stapleton def. Tommy Maguire via unanimous decision – to win the Lightweight tournament

Tommy Maguire def. Uche Ihiekwe via majority decision – Rd 2, 5:00
Martin Stapleton def. Arnold Quero via submission (heel hook) – Rd 1, 4:59

Uche Ihiekwe def. Phil Flynn via KO (knee) – Rd 1, 1:13
Tommy Maguire def. Chris Stringer via unanimous decision – Rd 2, 5:00
Arnold Quero def. Mihail Kazaku via TKO (punches) – Rd 1, 1:49
Martin Stapleton def. Jamie Rogers via unanimous decision – Rd 2, 5:00

Other Matches

Alexei Roberts def. Dan Welsh via submission (keylock) – Rd 1, 0:26
Mike Wootten def. Alan Philpott via submission (triangle) – Rd 3, 1:43
Shay Walsh def. Saul Rogers via submission (arm triangle) – Rd 3, 1:49
Dan Rushworth def. Russ Smith via TKO (strikes) – Rd 1, 2:53
Paddy Pimblett def. Dougie Scott via submission (flying triangle) – Rd 1, 2:09
Dez Parker def. Lee Williams via submission (armbar) – Rd 1, 2:53 to win the Amateur Middleweight title

That’s about it for this MMA Monday, but we’ll be back with our usual mix of previews, editorials and articles later in the week.