Your weekly look at the ups and downs of big-show veterans on the regional circuit.
This past week has been a bit rough for UFC alumni, who were just as likely as not to lose their fights. Nevertheless, one or two seem well on their way back to the big stage. Chief among them is former UFC flyweight Louis Gaudinot.
Gaudinot (8-4, 1-3-1NC UFC) received his walking papers after going winless in his last three UFC appearances, including a victory that was overturned to a no-contest after he tested positive for diuretics. However, an earlier submission win over John Lineker hinted at some significant promise, which he seems to be fulfilling during his tenure with Cage Fury FC. In his latest outing, Gaudinot made short work of two-time flyweight champion Sidemar Honorio (11-6, 1-2 WSOF), putting him away with strikes less than a minute into Round 1. Gaudinot is now 2-0 in his post-UFC career.
Conversely, TUF 12’s Jeff Lentz (11-5-1, 1-0 Bellator) took a loss in his title fight, this one by unanimous decision to Bill Algeo (8-2, 1-0 WSOF). Lentz, who captured the title in his last outing, is 4-3-1 since a 2011 appearance in Bellator.
Also on the card, two-time TUF contestant Tim Williams (12-3-0) notched his second victory in a row by way of a split-decision over undefeated neophyte Ruslan Melikov (3-1-0). Williams is 4-2 since his appearance on TUF 19.
Also last weekend, in the co-main event of LaPlatte, Nebraska’s MCF 11, Eric Prindle (11-7, 3-5-1NC Bellator) submitted Maurice Jackson (3-2, 1-0 Bellator) with a first-round kimura. Prindle, whose career with Bellator is more or less characterized by an extended game of rochambeau with Thiago Santos, has won three straight.
Other Results
At Top FC 10 in Seoul, South Korea, Will Chope (30-9, 0-1 UFC) defeated Jung Min Kang (7-7-0) by split-decision.
Also on the card, Takenori Sato (18-11-7, 0-2 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision to Han Seul Kim (7-3-0). Sato is 1-1 since the end of his UFC career, during which he fought for a total of two minutes and ten seconds.
At Australia FC 15, TUF: The Smashes alum Ben Wall (8-4-1, 0-2 UFC) picked up a much-needed victory in his fight with Matiu Thoms (5-3-0), submitting him in the third with a rear-naked choke. The victory pulls Wall out of a four-fight slump.
At Full Metal Dojo 10, Tommy Hayden (9-3, 0-2 UFC) likewise escaped a recent losing streak with a predictably quick TKO of novice Arben Escayo (1-2-0).
TUF 13’s Julian Lane (9-6-1) dropped his third fight in a row, losing by second-round TKO to Nate Andrews (8-1-0). This is the longest losing streak of Lane’s career.
Meanwhile, Marcos Vinicius (23-10-1, 1-2 UFC) also lost by second-round TKO. This latest defeat, dropping him to 3-5 since his last appearance in the UFC, came at the hands of Adlan Bataev (5-0-0).
Fellow UFC veteran Shunichi Shimizu (30-14-11, 0-1 UFC) faired no better, submitting to a triangle armbar from Tadahiro Harada (10-5-2) in Round 2 of their fight at Pancrase 276.
In the main event of Grandslam 4 in Tokyo, Masakatsu Ueda (22-4-2, 0-1 Bellator) extended his win streak to four with a unanimous-decision victory over Jun Doi (10-4-1).
At One Championship’s latest show, in Yangon, Myanmar, Aung La Nsang (17-9, 1-0 Bellator) put the guillotine to Mohamed Ali (10-9-0) in Round 1, making for a successful return to the ring after nearly two years away from competition.
And in the main event of Ohio’s Big Guns 18, young heavyweight Jeff Hughes (6-0-0) claimed a unanimous decision over John Hawk (11-7, 2-1 Bellator).