Worldwide MMA Preview – Fight Nights, Warrior FS, WSOF

This weekend has action from Russia and England as well as a fantastic card presented by World Series of Fighting.

Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov will compete for Russian promotion Fight Nights on Friday. Minakov has not fought since defending his title against Cheick Kongo in April 2014. Before going on hiatus Minakov was considered to be one of the finest heavyweights outside the UFC and with a 14-0 record and only 30 years of age he still has time on his side to make a big mark in the sport. His comeback will be against Poland’s Adam Maciejewski. Despite Maciejewski’s mixed record of 13-5-1 this fight will not be a walk in the park for Minakov as Maciejewski has not lost since 2008. It is unclear right now exactly when or if Minakov will compete in Bellator again but at least he is back fighting and hopefully he can stay active.

In British MMA action this weekend there is a card from London brought to us by Warrior Fight Series. The main event is a middleweight clash between former UFC fighter Karlos Vemola and Bellator and Cage Warriors veteran Jack Hermansson. Vemola has won all seven of his fights since parting ways with the UFC and his record now sits at 16-4. Hermansson captured the Cage Warriors title in 2014 and his last fight was a successful defence of that title in a first round stoppage victory over Deyan Topalski.

On Saturday night, going up against UFC 190 is WSOF 22. The main event is an incredibly intriguing battle between two grapplers in Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields for the WSOF welterweight title. Palheres is a controversial figure, having been booted from the UFC for holding onto leg locks too long. Regardless of this, he is a quality grappler and the highest level leg lock specialist competing in MMA right now which makes him compelling viewing. He is currently on a three fight win streak but he faces one of the toughest tests possible outside the UFC right now in Shields. Shields has had a long and storied career with his finest moment perhaps being a victory over Dan Henderson in 2010. This will be a great clash of grappling styles with Shields wrestling pitted against Palhares aggressive style of BJJ.

Also on the card is a bantamweight title clash between Marlon Moraes and Sheymon Moraes. Marlon has beaten everyone put in his way so far in WSOF, having won seven straight in the promotion. Sheymon is less experienced than his namesake but he has a perfect 7-0 record which includes four KO/TKO’s.

Another point of interest on this card is the two promising Russian fighters on show. Lightweight Islam Mamedov will make his second appearance for WSOF after a quick stoppage of Leon Davis in his last outing which brought his record to 11-1. At welterweight, the brother of UFC standout Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abubakar will make his stateside debut. Abubakar has a 9-1 with his lone defeat coming from the UFC’s Magomed Mustafaev and he will be looking to follow in his brothers footsteps and make a good impression in America.