It’s a loaded weekend for MMA fans, as the top three state side promotions are putting on shows. On Friday, Bellator MMA returns to Spike TV with a featherweight title fight in Temecula, California. Then on Saturday, the World Series of Fighting returns to Las Vegas, Nevada with a #1 contender’s fight in their welterweight division. The busy three day stretch comes to a close on Sunday, when the UFC heads to Boston, Massachusetts with one of it’s biggest stars headlining a Fox Sports 1 card. With 33 fights lined up, that means there’s 66 fighters ready to compete. Here’s the top 10 fighters to watch:
10: Krasimir Mladenov, WSOF 17
Krasimir Mladenov is an undefeated Bulgarian middleweight prospect with a 2-0 record inside WSOF. Originally, Mladenov was supposed to face off with former WSOF title challenger Jesse Taylor on this card, but Taylor had to pull out due to injury. He now faces 5-0 Canadian Brendan Kornberger. Another main card victory this weekend for Mladenov could possibly set up a title fight against current WSOF middleweight champion David Branch.
9: Fabricio Guerreiro, Bellator 132
Fabricio Guerreiro is an up-and-comer in Bellator’s featherweight division that everyone should be keeping an eye on. He’s already 20-3, 1 NC in his career, and he’s just 24-years-old. Although his Bellator record is a mere 2-2, his losses came against current champ Patricio Pitbull and former tournament winner Magomedrasul Khasbulaev. His wins are impressive, coming against a former tourney winner, Shabulat Shamhalaev, and a former runner-up, Des Green. Guerreiro has finished his opponent in 17 of his 20 wins, and a win on Friday night against Nick Piedmont will put him on the track to some main card fights, and possibly a future title shot.
8: Derek Anderson, Bellator 132
Another bright spot on the Bellator prelims is Derek Anderson. Anderson is 11-1 in his young career, with his only loss coming to Bellator tournament winner Marcin Held in April of last year. It’s exciting to see how Anderson, also just 24-years-old like Guerreiro, bounces back from his first career defeat. In his 11 wins, he’s finished all of his opponents inside the distance except for Patricky Pitbull. Pitbull is the biggest name on Anderson’s resume, and he dominated him for fifteen minutes in an upset. Anderson takes on Danny Navaro Friday night.
7: Chris Wade, UFC Fight Night 59
The first UFC fighter to appear on this weekend’s watch list is Long Island’s Chris Wade. The 27-year-old Wade made his UFC debut last August with an impressive 72-second guillotine win against Cain Carrizosa. Wade’s fight Sunday night, against TUF China winner Zhang Lipeng, will be just the tenth of his career, but his potential looks endless. Long Island has been cranking out elite mixed martial artists over the past two or three years, including UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, and Wade is primed to be the next one up.
6: Lorenz Larkin, UFC Fight Night 59
This is a make-or-break fight for Lorenz Larkin. He entered the UFC from Strikeforce in 2013 coming off of a win over current UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler, and he had a ton of hype. He lost a very questionable decision in his UFC debut to Francis Carmont, then followed that up with a decision win over Chris Camozzi. Things fell apart for Larking in 2014, going 0-3 and getting thoroughly outclassed in each bout, losing decisions to Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson, and getting knocked out by Costas Philippou. With his UFC career on the line, he’s making the drop from middleweight to welterweight to take on fellow striker John Howard. If Howard wins, it will be Larkin’s fourth straight loss, and likely the end to his UFC career. Will Larkin be able to step up, save his job, and show the world the 2012 Larkin that had fans and pundits alike excited about?
5: Georgi Karakhanyan, Bellator 132
In March of 2011, Georgi Karakhanyan was defeated by Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 37, and the promotion released him. It was just his third career loss at the time, and his record was 14-3-1. Since then, Karakhanyan fought ten times, going 9-1 and winning the WSOF Featherweight Championship. He makes his return to Bellator riding a wave of momentum, and he’s being matched up with heavily hyped prospect and decorated wrestler Bubba Jenkins on Friday night. Karakhanyan’s first career loss came to another heavily hyped wrestler inside of the Bellator cage: current Bellator Bantamweight Champion Joe Warren. Karakhanyan could come full circle with a win over Jenkins, and his quest to capture another title would be underway.
4: Jake Shields, WSOF 17
Jake Shields, the former Strikeforce and Elite XC champion and former UFC title challenger, takes on Brian Foster in the main event of WSOF 17 on Saturday night. With a win, Shields earns himself a title shot against WSOF Welterweight Champion and fellow grappling ace, Rousimar Palhares. Foster is basically a slightly worse version of Ryan Ford, and Shields submitted Ford in one round in his previous fight. This is arguably nothing but a showcase fight for Shields, and there’s nothing wrong with watching one of the best in the world put his skills on display, and getting everyone excited for Palhares vs Shields.
3: Patricio Pitbull & Daniel Straus, Bellator 132
First up in the top three, a twofer! Bellator 132’s main event is a featherweight title fight rematch between champion Patricio Pitbull and former champion Daniel Straus. Pitbull only has two career losses: a questionable split decision loss to current bantamweight champ Warren, and a questionable split decision loss in a title fight to then featherweight champ Pat Curran. Since that January of 2013 loss to Curran, Pitbull has gone 5-0, including finally winning the title in a rematch against Curran. Since April of 2009, Straus has lost just three times: once to Pitbull, and twice to Curran. In May of 2011, Straus fell to Pitbull in the Season 4 Tournament Final, but he rebuilt himself and won six straight, including a title win against Curran. Curran submitted him in the rematch with 14 seconds left to win the title back in a fight Straus was winning. Straus bounced back last October with a knockout of Justin Wilcox, and now we are here, ready for Pitbull vs Straus II. Both men are better than they were when they first fought nearly four years ago, and the winner will be sitting atop Bellator’s most loaded division.
2: Donald Cerrone, UFC Fight Night 59
Fan-favorite Donald Cerrone makes his return to the octagon Sunday night in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 59 a mere 15 days after his previous fight. Earlier this month, Cerrone dismantled Myles Jury over the course of fifteen minutes in the co-main event of UFC 182, and post-fight, he stated his desire to get back at it right away. A few days later, Eddie Alvarez fell out of his fight with Benson Henderson, and Cerrone was immediately ready to step in. Cerrone and Henderson fought twice previously. The first fight was 2009’s Fight of the Year, with Henderson winning a thrilling 5 round decision over Cerrone for the interim WEC Lightweight Championship. The second meeting went much quicker, with Henderson retaining his WEC lightweight title with a submission via guillotine on Cerrone in just under two minutes. Despite the two prior losses to Henderson, Cerrone is riding a wave of momentum and a six fight win streak. Can he do the unthinkable and win a fight on just 15 days rest? If anyone can, it would be “Cowboy” Cerrone.
1: Conor McGregor, UFC Fight Night 59
Could anyone else top this list? Conor McGregor will literally be the last man to walk to the cage this weekend, and the 65 men who make the walk prior are all just build up to him. The UFC is promoting his main event fight against Dennis Siver on Sunday night as if Siver won’t even be there, but that’s okay. Like Shields in WSOF, this a showcase fight for McGregor, and if he wins, it sets up a huge title fight for him with UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. After three cards spread out over three days, this is the man everyone wants to see, inside and outside of the cage, and it’s fitting that he’ll close out the weekend with basically a commercial for his upcoming title shot.
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