Worldwide MMA Preview – Thunder, Titan FC and CFFC

The first action of the weekend comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday night (10pm BST) for Thunder Fight 8 which sees two UFC veterans look to get their careers back on track. In the main event Elias Silverio takes on Washington Nunes at welterweight. Silverio won his first three UFC fights but lost the next two and was released. He picked up a win on a Thunder Fight show back in April to steady the ship and could maybe find himself back in the UFC with a few more good wins. Nunes has a 5-2 record and is coming off a loss in WSOF back in November.

Lucas Martins won his last fight in the UFC so it is strange to see him here but he takes on Sergio Leal in the co-main event. After winning three fights in a row in the UFC he dropped fights to Darren Elkins and Mirsad Bektic but righted the ship with a close victory over Robert Whiteford. His opponent, Leal has a solid record of 13-4 and is currently on a nine fight winning streak but the strength of competition is not there and Martins will be a big step up for him.

Titan FC 40 is live on UFC Fight Pass on Friday night (midnight BST) from Florida, United States. Lightweight champion Gesias Cavalcante takes on Freddy Assuncao. Cavalcante is a veteran of Dream and Strikeforce and won the vacant Titan title in his first appearance for the promotion two months ago against Pat Healy. Assuncao is the brother of UFC contender Raphael Assuncao and has had a stop start career due to injuries. He was out for 18 months after winning a fight in Titan in 2012 and he only managed one fight in 2014 and 2015, that 2015 outing was a submission win against Cody Bollinger in Titan, albeit at featherweight.

In the co-main event young prospect Jose Torres will compete for the interim flyweight title. The 24 year old Torres won gold at two IMMAF world championship competitions before turning pro and since then he has got off to a great start with two wins in Titan, he is also a part of Bahrain’s KHK Team. His opponent Abdiel Velazquez is no slouch himself and has a 7-2 record and he beat Bellator and WSOF veteran Alexis Vila in his last fight.

The final regional action of the weekend comes from Atlantic City, New Jersey for CFFC 60 on Saturday night (midnight BST) Headlining the card is former UFC fighter Jonavin Webb, who takes on Isaac Steele. Webb had an undefeated run through CFFC until he got the call for the UFC where he lost two fights to Kyle Noke and Nathan Coy. Ohio native Steele has a perfect 5-0 record but has not faced the experience that Webb has.

In the co-main event Ultimate Fighter 19 winner Eddie Gordon has his first fight since being released from the UFC. After winning the show he lost three successive fights and was shown the door. He will take on Chris Lozano who is returning to MMA for the first time since 2012. Lozano collected all of his losses in Bellator tournaments and is 10-3.