Weekend MMA Breakdown: Notable Non-UFC, Bellator Matchups

Cody Saftic / February 21, 2013 - 4:01pm

Everyone knows about the big fights happening in the UFC and Bellator this weekend, but that what some of the other fights that might have flown under the radar?

5. WHO: John Case (10-4) vs. Demi Deeds (17-10)
WHERE: Midwest Cage Championship 46, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
WHY IT MATTERS: Hometown fighter John Case puts his newly acquired MCC lightweight title on the line Friday night when he meets 10-year fight veteran Demi Deeds in Iowa. Case has been tearing through the Midwest regional circuit, going 4-0 since a loss to recent Bellator signee Rick Glenn two years ago. As a fighter, Case has obvious flaws and limitations; however the killer instinct that he possesses is enough to carry him through fights at this level. His opponent, Deeds, is no stranger to the fight game, having fought 26 times professionally, and an additional 20 times in the amateur ranks. In those 46 recorded fights, the Victory MMA representative has never been to the judges' scorecards, and has finished 13 opponents inside of a single round.

4. WHO: Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (12-2) vs. Jason Jones (19-9)
WHERE: Abu Dhabi Warriors 2, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
WHY IT MATTERS: DEEP light-heavyweight champion Yoshiyuki Nakanishi travels to the United Arab Emirates this weekend to take on Golden Glory member Jason Jones. Nakanishi got a taste of the Glory gym last year when he tangled with Melvin Manhoef at ONE FC 3, a fight that ended in a no-contest after both men suffered shin injuries. Now he will have to chance to erase that performance, and run his current win streak to four. Born in the Netherlands, Jones is coming off perhaps his biggest career victory, a unanimous decision win over Japanese standout Tatsuya Mizuno in October. Despite his strong background in kickboxing, the Dutch fighter has also shown an improved submission game, having finished seven opponents by way of tapout.

3. WHO: Ruslan Magomedov (9-1) vs. Mike Hayes (18-6-1)
WHERE: Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 10, Moscow, Russia
WHY IT MATTERS: Once-beaten Russian prospect Ruslan Magomedov returns to the ring for the first time this year when he tangles with Bellator FC veteran Mike Hayes. Magomedov gained a small degree of notoriety last year when he outclassed former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez en route to a decision victory. The 6-foot-5 Russian followed up that win with two more hard-fought victories before taking a bit of a break to close the year. In 10 career fights, Magomedov has shown nice diversity in his attack, but prefers to stand and trade with his opponent before testing the waters on the ground. Hayes enters this fight having lost his last two. However, with both losses being decision setbacks to Andrei Arlovski and DJ Linderman, respectively, there isn't too much to be ashamed of. Prior to his recent skid, the Washington native was on a strong six-fight win streak, including an upset victory over German heavyweight Andreas Kraniotakes under the Cage Warriors banner.

2. WHO: Brett Rogers (12-5) vs. Maro Perak (22-3-1)
WHERE: Abu Dhabi Warriors 2, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
WHY IT MATTERS: Former Strikeforce heavyweight standout Brett "The Grim" Rogers looks to right the ship this weekend against highly touted Croatian Maro Perak. Just three years ago, Rogers was being ranked as high as fifth in the world at heavyweight, after a stunning 22-second knockout over former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski. Unfortunately, that monumental victory would be followed by a disastrous 2-5-1 run that saw Rogers get bounced from Strikeforce, and, most recently, Bellator. Now 32, Rogers desperately needs to start some type of significant win streak, or risk falling out of the MMA spotlight for good. Perhaps the best Croatian heavyweight since Mirko "Cro Cop," Maro Perak enters this fight coming off a huge win over recent Bellator tournament finalist Travis Wiuff in November. Fighting predominantly in Europe, Perak has been quietly rising the heavyweight ranks since 2005. Despite having never competed for a major MMA promotion, Perak has still managed to mix it up with a number of notable names, including Jeff Monson, Bob Sapp and the aforementioned Wiuff.

1. WHO: Paul Daley (30-12-2) vs. Patrick Vallee (9-4-1)
WHERE: Cage Contender 16, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
WHY IT MATTERS: UFC exile Paul Daley looks to stay busy this Saturday live on Fight Network when he clashes with French welterweight Patrick Vallee in Ireland. Daley is supposed to be partaking in the current Bellator welterweight tournament. However, VISA issues forced the Brit from competing in the organizations Season 8 competition. Rather than sit on the sidelines and wait it out, the knockout artist has decided to keep active and put his hands to good use. His opponent Saturday night, Vallee, is only in this fight because no one else really wanted it. Still, Valle isn't all bad. He does possess a strong submission game and could shock the world and put his name on the map if he can surprise Daley and steal the win.

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Bellator MMA 90
February 21, 2013
The Maverik Center
West Valley City, Utah, USA
Airing: Spike TV

-Rad Martinez (14-2) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (11-1-1)
-Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (9-1) vs. Emanuel Newton (19-7-1)
-Douglas Lima (23-5) vs. Bryan Baker (18-4)
-Mikhail Zayats (20-6) vs. Jacob Noe (11-1)
-Ben Saunders (15-5-2) vs. Raul Amaya (11-1)
-Chase Beebe (24-8-1) vs. Travis Marx (19-4)
-Jordan Smith (17-4-1) vs. Jesse Juarez (18-8)
-David Allred (11-4) vs. Sean Powers (6-3)
-Trevor Carlson (6-1) vs. Terry Davinney (10-5)
-Shanon Slack (5-1) vs. Josh Tyler (2-0)
-Lionel Lanham (4-1) vs. Joe Rodriguez (0-0)

Abu Dhabi Warriors 2
February 22, 2013
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

-Brett Rogers (12-5) vs. Maro Perak (22-3-1)
-Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (12-2) vs. Jason Jones (19-9)

Jungle Fight 49
February 22. 2013
Ginásio da AABB
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

-Alexandre de Almeida (12-4) vs. Talison Soares Costa (7-1)
-Thiago dos Santos (14-4-2) vs. Fábio Queiroz (2-1)
-Marcos Vinicius (8-0) vs. Sidney Oliveira (6-4)
-Sean Peters (5-0) vs. Lúcio Fernandes (5-3)
-Salomão Ribeiro (3-2) vs. Fábio Cesar Marongiu (1-1)
-Ary Santos (3-3) vs. Guilherme Sawaya (2-1)
-Rodolfo Buda (2-1) vs. Ederson Macedo (1-1)

Fivestar Fight League 4: Resurgence
February 22, 2013
Jackpot Casino
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

-Jordan Beecroft (4-1) vs. Duncan Wilson (2-3)
-Raphael Bergmann (4-3) vs. Jon Ganshorn (4-3)
-Brandon MacArthur (7-24) vs. Cory Knipe (2-0)
-Nick Campbell (3-3) vs. Mariusz Zastawny (2-2)
-Zach Gait (3-3) vs. Cameron Loutitt (2-2)
-Derek Abrahamson (2-0) vs. Tang Thongpheng (2-2)
-Travis Matthews (2-0) vs. Justin Bloomer (2-2)
-Dave McLennan (1-1) vs. Taylor Bull (1-5)

Midwest Cage Championship 46
February 22, 2013
Hy Vee Hall
Des Moines, Iowa, USA

-John Case (10-4) vs. Demi Deeds (17-10)
-Ben Crowder (8-10) vs. Andy Stock (9-16)
-Matt Rider (5-3) vs. Michael McBride (2-0)
-Nick Walker (4-14) vs. Zakk Smith (2-4)
-Jon Kennedy (2-6) vs. Donovan Carboney (1-1)

XFC 22: Crossing the Line
February 22, 2013
Grady Cole Center
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

-Roger Carroll (11-8) vs. Josh Eagans (6-2)
-Jason Hicks (5-0) vs. Scott Holtzman (3-0)
-Ricky Rainey (5-1) vs. Joseph Corneroli (3-0)
-Jimmy Fowler (5-1) vs. D'Angelo Bynum (1-0)
-Len Cook (4-1) vs. Joey Carroll (7-8)
-D'Juan Owens (6-4) vs. Nate Landwehr (2-0)
-Thomas Campbell (2-2) vs. Rahshun Ball (0-0)
-Carlos Vivas (1-0) vs. Brandon Boggs (0-1)
-Jeremy Severn (1-0) vs. Aaron Osborne (0-0)
-Suzie Montero (1-1) vs. Pearl Gonzalez (0-1)

South Texas Fighting Championships 24
February 22, 2013
McAllen Convention Center
McAllen, Texas, USA

-Francisco Trevino (9-0) vs. Joseph Daily (4-3)
-Danny Salinas (10-4) vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (5-0)
-Andrew Garza (4-4) vs. Josh Trevino (2-1)
-Vaughn Govia (1-0) vs. Miguel Saenz (1-1)
-Elias Garcia (1-0) vs. Jose Montiel (0-0)
-Israel Martinez (0-1) vs. Sam Guardiola (0-2)
-Fabian Saldivar (1-1) vs. George Powery (0-0)

Shooto: Shooting Disco 20
February 23, 2013
Shinjuku Face
Tokyo, Japan

-Yoshifumi Nakamura (11-4) vs. Daiki Takashima (4-1-2)
-Masaaki Sugawara (12-8-1) vs. Akinobu Watanabe (7-6-3)
-Takayuki Kobayashi (5-2-1) vs. Yu Fujimaki (2-1)
-Takafumi Ato (5-3) vs. Nobita Naito (2-0)
-Yutaka Saito (3-1) vs. Keita Kono (3-2-1)
-Daiki Gojima (3-1) vs. Makoto Ohashi (1-0)
-Tateo Iino (1-0) vs. Akira Torigoshi (0-0)
-Hiroaki Fujita (1-3) vs. Ryuta Umishita (0-0)
-Tomoaki Ota (1-3-1) vs. Hiroyuki Takahashi (0-0)
-Hideto Okada (1-3-1) vs. Kiyoshi Kitamura (0-2)

Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 10
February 23, 2013
Luzhniki Palace of Sports
Moscow, Russia

-Ruslan Magomedov (9-1) vs. Mike Hayes (18-6-1)
-Zubair Tukhugov (11-3) vs. Harun Kina (4-2)
-Alexei Nazarov (11-5) vs. Tarrence Williams (3-0)
-Magomed Alhasov (7-0) vs. Erdi Karatas (2-1)
-Bagautdin Abasov (5-2) vs. Vadim Sandulitsky (2-2)
-Marc Vlieger (2-0) vs. Eugene Kondratiev (0-0)
-Zhanybek Amatov (1-3) vs. Evgeny Gondarev (0-0)
-Serob Minasyan (1-5) vs. Ermek Tlauov (0-0)

Cage Contender 16
February 23, 2013
National Basketball Arena
Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
Airing: LIVE on Fight Network

-Paul Daley (30-12-2) vs. Patrick Vallee (9-4-1)
-Ali Arish (17-2) vs. Arni Isaksson (12-4)
-Greg Loughran (22-19) vs. Chris Stringer (11-10-1)
-Myles Price (7-3) vs. Ali Maclean (9-5-1)
-Christopher McDonald (6-2) vs. John Redmond (3-6)
-Peter Queally (2-0) vs. Diego Coloma (2-1)
-Josh Boal (1-0) vs. Rich Edgeworth (3-6)
-Mick Brennan (1-2) vs. Alek Muzicuk (0-0)

Ultimate Impact 9: Vendetta
February 23, 2013
Leisure @ Cheltenham
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

-Lee Caers (8-2) vs. Ashley Beaumont (3-0)
-Stuart Austin (4-0) vs. Stu Furay (1-0)
-Mario Saeed (3-1) vs. Leon Rosser (2-1)
-Sam Mensah (4-2) vs. Harry McLeman (1-1)
-Andy Costello (4-6) vs. Brett Cole (0-1)
-Ben Constantine (3-4) vs. Kester Mumba (1-1)

UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche
February 23, 2013
Honda Center
Anaheim, California, USA
Airing: PPV

-Ronda Rousey (6-0) vs. Liz Carmouche (8-2)
-Dan Henderson (29-8) vs. Lyoto Machida (18-3)
-Urijah Faber (26-6) vs. Ivan Menjivar (25-9)
-Josh Koscheck (17-6) vs. Robbie Lawler (19-9)
-Josh Neer (33-12-1) vs. Court McGee (14-3)
-Mike Chiesa (8-0) vs. Anton Kuivanen (17-5)
-Brendan Schaub (8-3) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-6)
-Sam Stout (18-8-1) vs. Caros Fodor (7-2)
-Matt Grice (15-4) vs. Dennis Bermudez (9-3)
-Kenny Robertson (11-2) vs. Brock Jardine (9-2)
-Nah-shon Burrell (8-2) vs. Yuri Villefort (6-1)
-Neil Magny (7-1) vs. Jon Manley (7-1)

CFX 22: Winter Blast
February 23, 2013
Jungle Plex 8
Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

-Billy Giovanella (4-0) vs. Robby Slade (3-0)
-Randy Smith (14-13-1) vs. Juliano Cuitanho (2-1)
-Jerry Spiegel (18-37-1) vs. Steve Skrzat (6-6)
-Tyler King (5-1) vs. Bobby Favors (10-14)
-Leon Davis (3-1) vs. John Ortolani (7-6)
-Mark Giove (4-2) vs. Joshua Beauparlant (0-3)
-Jeff Moore (3-2) vs. Dominic Warr (3-3)
-Kin Moy (1-0) vs. Hassan Mahmood (1-1)
-Shane Manley (1-1) vs. Evan Scott (0-0)
-Anthony Carmenatti (0-1) vs. Tom Balzano (0-0)

Disorderly Conduct 16: Heartbreakers
February 23, 2013
New World Inn & Conference Center
Columbus, Nebraska, USA

-Ted Worthington (32-37) vs. Robert Rojas (4-3)
-Elsha Cleffman (0-2) vs. Kate Bloomfield (0-2)
-Kassius Holdorf (0-0) vs. Jesus Sandoval (0-0)

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