September is shaping up to be a great month for fight fans featuring major events from the likes of UFC, Strikeforce, Art of War, and Sengoku.
With most of the fight cards now finalized we are here to give you a sneak peak on what is coming up in the month of September.
First up this month is: UFC Fight Night 19 on September 16th from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Main Card Bouts: Nate Diaz (10-4) vs.
Melvin Guillard (22-7-2) Gray Maynard (7-0) vs.
Roger Huerta (20-2-1) Carlos Condit (22-5) vs.
Jake Ellenberger (21-4) Nate Quarry (11-3) vs.
Tim Credeur (12-2) Preliminary Card Bouts: Steve Cantwell (7-2) vs.
Brian Stann (6-2) Chris Wilson (14-5) vs.
Mike Pyle (17-6-1) Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs.
Phillipe Nover (5-2-1) Jeremy Stephens (15-5) vs.
Justin Buchholz (8-3) Brock Larson (26-2) vs.
Mike Pierce (9-1) Steve Steinbeiss (4-2) vs.
Ryan Jensen (13-5) Dan Miller (11-2) vs.
C.
B.
Dollaway (8-2) A fairly solid card with some competitive fights amongst the rising talent in the UFC.
In the main Melvin Guillard makes his return to the UFC facing up against rising lightweight star and BJJ powerhouse Nate Diaz.
This will be the classic striker vs grappler match with no secret what either fighter wants to do.
Maynard-Huerta proves to be an interesting fight with Maynard seeming unstoppable in his last few fights and working his way towards the title.
With Huerta's long layoff due to his acting asperations and contract issues with the UFC you have to question his motivation to fight and training.
Will Huerta come back from the Florian loss game to prove himself or will he get mowed down and continue to pursue acting over fighting? Time will tell.
Tim Creduer has had some recent success in the UFC since his previous stint on The Ultimate Fighter show however Nate Quarry is a big step up in competiton.
Nate will be the big favorite coming into this fight but don't be surprised to see Tim hang in there and possibly pull out the win.
His groundgame is on point and will be looking to expose Nate's weaknesses on the mat.
Overall not many big names on the card but some competitive fights and hungry fighters which usually translates into a great night of fights.
UFC 103: SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas Main Card Bouts: Vitor Belfort(18-8) vs.
Rich Franklin (25-4) Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (25-6-2) vs.
Junior dos Santos (8-1) Martin Kampmann (15-2) vs.
Mike Swick (14-2) Josh Koscheck (12-4) vs.
Frank Trigg (19-6) Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs.
Hermes Franca (19-7) Preliminary Bouts: Efrain Escudero (11-0) vs.
Cole Miller (15-3) Jim Miller (14-2) vs.
Thiago Tavares (14-3) Paul Daley (21-8-2) vs.
Brian Foster (10-3) Drew McFedries (8-5) vs.
Tomasz Drwal (16-2-1) Jason Brilz (17-1) vs.
Eliot Marshall (7-1) Vladimir Matyushenko (22-4) vs.
Igor Pokrajac (21-5) Robert Emerson (9-7) vs.
Rafael Dos Anjos (11-4) Rafaello Oliveira (9-1) vs.
Nik Lentz (16-3-1) What a night of fights this is shaping up to be! After a rocky start planning the main event which was originally slated as Franklin vs Henderson, we now have an extremely stacked card with some very dynamic fights.
The return of Vitor Belfort to the UFC is huge news and couldn't arrive at a better time with the middleweight division becoming one of the most robust divisions in the sport.
He will have his hands full with Rich Franklin who is fresh off a victory over Wanderlei Silva in what transpired into a savage battle of three rounds.
Mirko Cro Cop also sees his return to the UFC to make amends for his previous poor performances.
He will be facing off against rising heavyweight star Junior Dos Santos who is coming off impressive back to back wins in the UFC both by knockout.
Don't sleep on this one because it isn't going to last long with these two strikers.
Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will be locking horns for the opportunity to take the gold at Welterweight.
This number 1 contenders match is very evenly matched with both fighters very well rounded and hungry to win.
Frank Trigg also makes his return to UFC and this time moving from middleweight down to welterweight to face Josh Koscheck.
Trigg says he has never felt better at 170 and looks to make a big statement on his return ala Paulo Thiago who upset Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut last time around.
One of my personal favorite fighters Drew McFedries is fighting on the undercard.
He may not win them all but he hits as hard as anyone in the sport and always puts on a good show.
Will do a more indepth preview of the event a week before the fight, stay tuned.
SENGOKU 10: SEPTEMBER 23 ON HDNET live from Tokyo,Japan.
Kazunori Yokota (9-2-3) vs.
Ryan Schultz (20-11-1) Joe Doerksen (42-12) vs.
Takenori Sato (9-6-4) Nick Thompson (38-11-1) vs.
Dan Hornbuckle (18-2) Maximo Blanco (3-2-1) vs.
Tetsuya Yamada (3-1) Ryo Kawamura (10-4-2) vs.
Fabio Silva (11-5) Participants: -Antonio Silva (12-1) -Hiroshi Izumi (0-0) -Makoto Takimoto (5-5) The Japanese are notorious for putting their fight cards together at the last minute and Sengoku 10 is no exception.
So far they have only announced a handful of fights and we are expecting the rest to be announced in the coming weeks leading up to the event.
Not the strongest card Sengoku have put out though they do have a few compelling matchups that will be worth watching.
Nick Thompson vs.
Dan Hornbuckle is my pick for fight of the night.
Stay tuned for updates on the full card at a later date.
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS: SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 ON SHOWTIME in Tulsa, Oklahoma Main Card (on Showtime): Tim Kennedy (9-0) vs.
Zak Cummings (10-0) Ray Sefo (1-0) vs.
Kevin Jordan (11-7) Tyron Woodley (5-0) vs.
Zach Light (4-8) Travis Calanoc (4-0) vs.
Thomas Longacre (4-0) Preliminary Bouts (non-televised): Lacey Schuckman (2-0) vs.
Jeri Sitzes (2-2) Levi Avera (12-5) vs.
Paul Bradley (10-1) Trey Houston (1-0) vs.
Brandon Gaines (4-10) Kenny Giddens (8-5) vs.
John Carson (7-1) Nick Gibbons (13-0) vs.
Josh Pulsifer (11-4) Lemont Davis (2-3) vs.
Dillon Smith (1-0) Again not the strongest card Stikeforce has put out.
No big names are extremely compelling matchups though that doesn't always mean we will not see great fights.
Some of the best fight cards are the worst ones on paper.
The most interesting aspect of this card to me is the inclusion of Ray Sefo fighting in MMA.
Sefo is a K-1 veteran and very effective striker.
While he is past his prime and has been on a losing streak recently in K-1 his standup game should be enough to overcome Kevin Jordan early in the 1st.
Tim Kennedy vs.
Zak Cummings should also provide some solid entertainment with two hungry fighters both yet to taste defeat in their professional fight careers.
The good news about this card is that it is free on showtime tv rather than PPV so you can get over the lack of big names and just kick back to enjoy some wicked fights.
ART OF WAR 14: SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 live from Macao Vaughn Anderson (3-1) vs.
Kim Dong Hyun (4-2) Dai Shuang Hai (8-0-4) vs.
Arthit "Ating" Hanchana (2-2) Wang Sai (2-1) vs.
Lee Young Jae (0-0) Rolles Gracie (2-0) vs.
Peter Graham (0-2) Rodney Glunder (25-18-3) vs.
Antonio Braga Neto (5-1) Simeon Thoresen (11-1) vs.
Michael Costa (9-5) Claes Beverlov (1-0) vs.
Justin Holdaas (3-2) Li Jun Lei (0-1) vs.
Jung Sun Hak (0-0) Dorjderem Munkhayasgalan (1-0) vs.
Elyorbek Akbarov (0-0) Andy Wang (7-7) vs.
Atsuhiro Tsuboi (6-12-3) Bao Li Gao (4-0) vs.
TBA Art of War is a very interesting promotion for two main reasons.
For one they are only MMA organization in the world which still allows elbows, stomps, knees to the head on the ground, and the ever popular 4-point attack.
Two being that they are the only major MMA organization which is currently promoted in China.
Why is that interesting to me? It's interesting because China has a long history of martial arts and hand to hand combat with an insanely large population yet they are currently underrepresented in mixed martial arts.
With over 1 billion people in a country built on history of martial arts one would think they would be producing solid fighters left and right for the lower weight classes.
Hopefully with more exposure to the sport we can see some of the Chinese talent evolve and get the opportunity to fight on the big stages.
As for the fights the one that catches my eye is Rolles Grace vs Peter Graham.
Rolles being a BJJ fighter and Peter coming from K-1 will provide a nice contract of styles.
Andy Wang who achieved internet infamy during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter show is also fighting on the night.
Anyway that's it for September fights guys.
While there is a lack of big names during the month we will have an abundance of quality fights with some great young and hungry talent putting it all out on the line.
With most of the fight cards now finalized we are here to give you a sneak peak on what is coming up in the month of September.
First up this month is: UFC Fight Night 19 on September 16th from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Main Card Bouts: Nate Diaz (10-4) vs.
Melvin Guillard (22-7-2) Gray Maynard (7-0) vs.
Roger Huerta (20-2-1) Carlos Condit (22-5) vs.
Jake Ellenberger (21-4) Nate Quarry (11-3) vs.
Tim Credeur (12-2) Preliminary Card Bouts: Steve Cantwell (7-2) vs.
Brian Stann (6-2) Chris Wilson (14-5) vs.
Mike Pyle (17-6-1) Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs.
Phillipe Nover (5-2-1) Jeremy Stephens (15-5) vs.
Justin Buchholz (8-3) Brock Larson (26-2) vs.
Mike Pierce (9-1) Steve Steinbeiss (4-2) vs.
Ryan Jensen (13-5) Dan Miller (11-2) vs.
C.
B.
Dollaway (8-2) A fairly solid card with some competitive fights amongst the rising talent in the UFC.
In the main Melvin Guillard makes his return to the UFC facing up against rising lightweight star and BJJ powerhouse Nate Diaz.
This will be the classic striker vs grappler match with no secret what either fighter wants to do.
Maynard-Huerta proves to be an interesting fight with Maynard seeming unstoppable in his last few fights and working his way towards the title.
With Huerta's long layoff due to his acting asperations and contract issues with the UFC you have to question his motivation to fight and training.
Will Huerta come back from the Florian loss game to prove himself or will he get mowed down and continue to pursue acting over fighting? Time will tell.
Tim Creduer has had some recent success in the UFC since his previous stint on The Ultimate Fighter show however Nate Quarry is a big step up in competiton.
Nate will be the big favorite coming into this fight but don't be surprised to see Tim hang in there and possibly pull out the win.
His groundgame is on point and will be looking to expose Nate's weaknesses on the mat.
Overall not many big names on the card but some competitive fights and hungry fighters which usually translates into a great night of fights.
UFC 103: SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas Main Card Bouts: Vitor Belfort(18-8) vs.
Rich Franklin (25-4) Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (25-6-2) vs.
Junior dos Santos (8-1) Martin Kampmann (15-2) vs.
Mike Swick (14-2) Josh Koscheck (12-4) vs.
Frank Trigg (19-6) Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs.
Hermes Franca (19-7) Preliminary Bouts: Efrain Escudero (11-0) vs.
Cole Miller (15-3) Jim Miller (14-2) vs.
Thiago Tavares (14-3) Paul Daley (21-8-2) vs.
Brian Foster (10-3) Drew McFedries (8-5) vs.
Tomasz Drwal (16-2-1) Jason Brilz (17-1) vs.
Eliot Marshall (7-1) Vladimir Matyushenko (22-4) vs.
Igor Pokrajac (21-5) Robert Emerson (9-7) vs.
Rafael Dos Anjos (11-4) Rafaello Oliveira (9-1) vs.
Nik Lentz (16-3-1) What a night of fights this is shaping up to be! After a rocky start planning the main event which was originally slated as Franklin vs Henderson, we now have an extremely stacked card with some very dynamic fights.
The return of Vitor Belfort to the UFC is huge news and couldn't arrive at a better time with the middleweight division becoming one of the most robust divisions in the sport.
He will have his hands full with Rich Franklin who is fresh off a victory over Wanderlei Silva in what transpired into a savage battle of three rounds.
Mirko Cro Cop also sees his return to the UFC to make amends for his previous poor performances.
He will be facing off against rising heavyweight star Junior Dos Santos who is coming off impressive back to back wins in the UFC both by knockout.
Don't sleep on this one because it isn't going to last long with these two strikers.
Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will be locking horns for the opportunity to take the gold at Welterweight.
This number 1 contenders match is very evenly matched with both fighters very well rounded and hungry to win.
Frank Trigg also makes his return to UFC and this time moving from middleweight down to welterweight to face Josh Koscheck.
Trigg says he has never felt better at 170 and looks to make a big statement on his return ala Paulo Thiago who upset Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut last time around.
One of my personal favorite fighters Drew McFedries is fighting on the undercard.
He may not win them all but he hits as hard as anyone in the sport and always puts on a good show.
Will do a more indepth preview of the event a week before the fight, stay tuned.
SENGOKU 10: SEPTEMBER 23 ON HDNET live from Tokyo,Japan.
Kazunori Yokota (9-2-3) vs.
Ryan Schultz (20-11-1) Joe Doerksen (42-12) vs.
Takenori Sato (9-6-4) Nick Thompson (38-11-1) vs.
Dan Hornbuckle (18-2) Maximo Blanco (3-2-1) vs.
Tetsuya Yamada (3-1) Ryo Kawamura (10-4-2) vs.
Fabio Silva (11-5) Participants: -Antonio Silva (12-1) -Hiroshi Izumi (0-0) -Makoto Takimoto (5-5) The Japanese are notorious for putting their fight cards together at the last minute and Sengoku 10 is no exception.
So far they have only announced a handful of fights and we are expecting the rest to be announced in the coming weeks leading up to the event.
Not the strongest card Sengoku have put out though they do have a few compelling matchups that will be worth watching.
Nick Thompson vs.
Dan Hornbuckle is my pick for fight of the night.
Stay tuned for updates on the full card at a later date.
STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS: SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 ON SHOWTIME in Tulsa, Oklahoma Main Card (on Showtime): Tim Kennedy (9-0) vs.
Zak Cummings (10-0) Ray Sefo (1-0) vs.
Kevin Jordan (11-7) Tyron Woodley (5-0) vs.
Zach Light (4-8) Travis Calanoc (4-0) vs.
Thomas Longacre (4-0) Preliminary Bouts (non-televised): Lacey Schuckman (2-0) vs.
Jeri Sitzes (2-2) Levi Avera (12-5) vs.
Paul Bradley (10-1) Trey Houston (1-0) vs.
Brandon Gaines (4-10) Kenny Giddens (8-5) vs.
John Carson (7-1) Nick Gibbons (13-0) vs.
Josh Pulsifer (11-4) Lemont Davis (2-3) vs.
Dillon Smith (1-0) Again not the strongest card Stikeforce has put out.
No big names are extremely compelling matchups though that doesn't always mean we will not see great fights.
Some of the best fight cards are the worst ones on paper.
The most interesting aspect of this card to me is the inclusion of Ray Sefo fighting in MMA.
Sefo is a K-1 veteran and very effective striker.
While he is past his prime and has been on a losing streak recently in K-1 his standup game should be enough to overcome Kevin Jordan early in the 1st.
Tim Kennedy vs.
Zak Cummings should also provide some solid entertainment with two hungry fighters both yet to taste defeat in their professional fight careers.
The good news about this card is that it is free on showtime tv rather than PPV so you can get over the lack of big names and just kick back to enjoy some wicked fights.
ART OF WAR 14: SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 live from Macao Vaughn Anderson (3-1) vs.
Kim Dong Hyun (4-2) Dai Shuang Hai (8-0-4) vs.
Arthit "Ating" Hanchana (2-2) Wang Sai (2-1) vs.
Lee Young Jae (0-0) Rolles Gracie (2-0) vs.
Peter Graham (0-2) Rodney Glunder (25-18-3) vs.
Antonio Braga Neto (5-1) Simeon Thoresen (11-1) vs.
Michael Costa (9-5) Claes Beverlov (1-0) vs.
Justin Holdaas (3-2) Li Jun Lei (0-1) vs.
Jung Sun Hak (0-0) Dorjderem Munkhayasgalan (1-0) vs.
Elyorbek Akbarov (0-0) Andy Wang (7-7) vs.
Atsuhiro Tsuboi (6-12-3) Bao Li Gao (4-0) vs.
TBA Art of War is a very interesting promotion for two main reasons.
For one they are only MMA organization in the world which still allows elbows, stomps, knees to the head on the ground, and the ever popular 4-point attack.
Two being that they are the only major MMA organization which is currently promoted in China.
Why is that interesting to me? It's interesting because China has a long history of martial arts and hand to hand combat with an insanely large population yet they are currently underrepresented in mixed martial arts.
With over 1 billion people in a country built on history of martial arts one would think they would be producing solid fighters left and right for the lower weight classes.
Hopefully with more exposure to the sport we can see some of the Chinese talent evolve and get the opportunity to fight on the big stages.
As for the fights the one that catches my eye is Rolles Grace vs Peter Graham.
Rolles being a BJJ fighter and Peter coming from K-1 will provide a nice contract of styles.
Andy Wang who achieved internet infamy during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter show is also fighting on the night.
Anyway that's it for September fights guys.
While there is a lack of big names during the month we will have an abundance of quality fights with some great young and hungry talent putting it all out on the line.