As the year winds down, fights fans are about to get their first opportunity to see what the new Bellator MMA will look like going forward. Sure, Scott Coker has been around for a couple months now and he’s began reshaping “Spikeforce” into the organization he wants it to be, but this month delivers the promotion’s first event from its new monthly show format and it’s not bad.
On top of that, World Series of Fighting (WSOF) drops by with an event featuring not one, not two, but three championship fights.
Did we mention that those two shows are on the same night? Did we also mention that it’s the same night (Nov. 15) as UFC 180 from Mexico City? Yep. One night, three major events – fill your boots, fights fans!
Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi (Nov. 1)
Fights to Watch:
Barb Honchak vs. Takayo Hashi (for Invicta FC flyweight title)
Honchak is one of the best female fighters on the planet – a Miletich Fighting Systems rep who brings that old school Davenport, Iowa, “grind you out” style to the cage. “Little Warrior” holds wins over a host of fighters currently on the UFC roster (Leslie Smith, Aisling Daly, Nina Ansaroff, Felice Herrig) and fights between the two divisions the UFC currently promotes, so a potential move up or down the scale and into the Octagon isn’t out of the question.
Hashi, meanwhile, is an experienced Japanese veteran best known to North American audiences for her Strikeforce bantamweight title loss to Sarah Kaufman. She’s unbeaten in her last three (2-0-1), but it’s worth noting that the 37-year-old lost three straight before that, all against top competition.
While there aren’t any other fights that jump off the page scheduled for Saturday’s Invicta FC event, it’s worth noting that with the UFC set to launch the women’s strawweight division in December at the TUF 20 Finale, we could see several of the 115-pound competitors from this card making their way into the UFC at some point in the future.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance 20: Sanders vs. Mercado (Nov. 7)
Fights to Watch:
Luke Sanders vs. Jarred Mercado
If you’ve been paying attention over the last few months, you’ve noticed that several RFA champions have made their way into the Octagon and enjoyed some success. Fighters like Sergio Pettis, Zach Makovsky and Pedro Munhoz all earned titles under the RFA banner before getting called up, and recent middleweight title winner Jake Collier just inked a deal as well.
Sanders, an MMA Lab rep, and Mercado, who trains with the Elevation Fight Team in Denver, will battle it out for the bantamweight title. Given that both come from teams that are well represented in the UFC and RFA’s track record, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the winner get a shot in the big leagues.
WSOF 15: Branch vs. Okami (Nov. 15)
Fights to Watch:
David Branch vs. Yushin Okami (for WSOF middleweight title)
Justin Gaethje vs. Melvin Guillard (for WSOF lightweight title)
Jessica Aguilar vs. Kalindra Faria (for WSOF women’s strawweight title)
This is quite the tetra-pack of title fights, as each bout features fighters who could – theoretically – compete with their UFC counterparts.
While the UFC has greater depth at strawweight, WSOF has the best of the bunch on their roster in Aguilar, an ATT product who is 13-1 over her last 14 fights, including two wins over Megumi Fujii, plus a 2-1 edge over Angela Magana after a trio of fights and victories over Lisa Ellis and Carla Esparza as well.
Faria has won 11 straight heading into this one, but Aguilar has been on a different level than her competition of late, and that will probably hold true here as well.
Lightweight champ Gaethje might be the best fighter competing outside of the UFC right now. If he’s not at the top of the list, he’s one of very few fighters in the running for that distinction. The 25-year-old has dominated everyone he’s faced to date under the WSOF banner and Guillard will serve as a great measuring stick to gauge where Gaethje might stack up against the best lightweights in the world.
Branch is 6-1 since getting bounced from the Octagon following a 2-2 run, with his only loss coming to Anthony Johnson. He’s a tactical grappler and very good at shutting opponents down, resulting in four consecutive victories, with TUF 7 alum Jesse Taylor being his most recent conquest.
Okami picked up a second-round submission win in his WSOF and is still talented enough to be a handful for several fighters in the UFC middleweight division; he just ran out of options after getting starched by “Jacare” Souza. That being said, “Thunder” might be able to enjoy a nice run atop the WSOF 185-pound ranks going forward.
Bellator 131: Tito vs. Bonnar (Nov 15)
Fights to Watch:
Tito Ortiz vs. Stephan Bonnar (I guess)
Will Brooks vs. Michael Chandler
Mo Lawal vs. Tom DeBlass
Melvin Manhoef vs. Joe Schilling
The main event is several years beyond its expiration date, but it’s the headlining act and people know who both Ortiz and Bonnar are, so it has that going for it. Neither guy should be relevant in the title chase if Bellator hopes to build credibility, but who knows.
Brooks and Chandler deserve top billing over the fossilized fighters with the TNA Impact storyline attached to their fight, but what can you do? Brooks surprised Chandler on short notice earlier in the year when he filled in for Eddie Alvarez, and now they’ll do it again for the undisputed lightweight title. Chandler is rarely in a boring fight and “Ill Will” is far better than people understand or acknowledge. This should be a helluva fight.
Because Bellator is forever going to push Lawal, you have to acknowledge his every appearance in the cage. He rebounded from his questionable loss to Quinton Jackson with a second-round knockout of Dustin Jacoby and remains one of the biggest names on their roster. DeBlass has picked up a pair of wins following a brief hiatus after an 0-2 run in the UFC, and there has been friction between these two, so it should be heated.
As for Manhoef and Schilling, this will be a straight kickboxing match contested as an MMA bout and there is a very real chance that someone gets laid out in spectacular fashion.