Budding talents looking for a big break are set to tangle stateside this weekend, as Europe tests prospects with some serious veterans.
The UFC has a banger of a card this weekend, while Bellator has a tape-delayed European card that fans aren’t exactly stoked about. What about the rest of the MMA world? Glad you asked.
CES MMA has an event with some young prospects, but a few more notable names than they usually feature. The welterweight title is up for grabs in a contest between Chris Curtis (17-5) and Jason Norwood (18-4). Curtis brings serious athleticism and has earned a very good record on the regional scene, with wins over Nah-Shon Burrell (more on him later), Bellator vet Ron Keslar, and Gil de Freitas. His more notable losses are to former UFC fighter Forrest Petz, current UFC fighter Belal Muhammad and two-time Ultimate Fighter contestant Tom Gallicchio.
Norwood’s had an interesting career, starting on the Southern and Midwestern circuits to fight Jon Kirk in Bellator before heading off to accept an MMA match in Iraq. He returned to the U.S. and has continued to improve his record, leading to earning a three-fight win streak with his last win against former UFC fighter Carlo Prater.
The lightweight title will also be contested as Nate Andrews (12-1) faces Chris Padilla (9-3). Former UFC fighter Sean Soriano (10-5) faces Jonathan Gary (13-9-2). Former Bellator and Invicta talent Kaline Medeiros (8-6) returns to CES with her energetic style against Ring of Combat alum Jenna Serio (3-2).
CES 49 takes place this Friday, airing live on AXS TV starting at 7:00pm
Titan FC starts at the same time, with an online stream full of prospects, and also has two title fights at the top. The main event is a featherweight bout Luis Gomez (6-1) and Jason Soares (10-0). Gomez came up through the Florida circuit to make his way to Dana White’s Contender Series, losing by submission to Dan Ige. Two consecutive wins followed under Titan FC, including a TKO win last December that got him the featherweight title against Sodiq Yusuff. Much like his opponent, Soares also came up via the Florida circuit to become a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. After losing to Julian Erosa by decision, he earned back to back wins to get his title shot under the Titan banner.
The welterweight title will be disputed between 6-1 Rami Hamed and 13-7 Jose Caceres, while Kazakh import and Kunlun Fight veteran Beibit Nazarov (15-2) and American Top Team veteran Rafael Alves (15-9).
Titan FC 49 streams live on UFC Fight Pass, starting at 7:00pm EST.
ACB 84 is live from Bratislava ,Slovakia this Saturday, with a group of recognizable talent. No titles are on the line, but the main event is a showcase at welterweight between former UFC and Bellator fighter Nah-Shon Burrell (15-9) and Arbi Agujev (31-7). Burrell comes into this fight with two straight losses in ACB, both of them decisions against Beslan Isaev and Albert Tumenov. Agujev has three straight wins, with his latest being a brutal knockout against Marcelo Alfaya. Former Strikeforce and UFC vet Ron Stallings (14-8) moves up to light heavyweight to replace former Bellator champion Atila Vegh against Spain’s Jose Toledo Canellas (6-5), whose last fight was a loss to former UFC fighter Thiago Silva.
Dangerous German Lom-Ali Eskijew (14-3) faces former World Series of Fighting title challenger Luis Palomino (26-14) at featherweight. Eskijew has won 8 straight with his last loss in 2014, while Palomino’s last fight was a decision loss to Yusup Raisov. Former Bellator, WSOF and CES fighter Saul Almeida (19-8) tests himself against Adlan Bataev (9-1). Islam Siszbulatow (8-4) has a tall order ahead of him as he challenges well-travelled veteran Luis Nogueira (21-7-1 draw).
ACB 84: Burrell vs Agujev starts at 2:00pm EST, with videos uploaded via their YouTube channel.