Every Monday, The MMA Corner takes a look – with video footage when possible – at the previous weekend’s action at small regional and international shows with a focus on UFC and Pride veterans, consensus-ranked fighters and up-and-coming prospects. Here’s what went down between Dec. 21 and Dec. 25:
World Ultimate Full Contact: Best from the Best (Mahachkala, Russia; Dec. 24)
Fresh off his heavyweight title defense at “King of the Cage: Magnaflow” on Dec. 15, Bellator and ShoXC veteran Tony Lopez (28-8) claimed the WUFC world heavyweight title with a third-round triangle choke submission of Shamil Abdurahimov (12-2).
Lopez (ponytail) vs. Abdurahimov
Dec. 21
Bushido Lithuania: vol. 50 (Almaty, Kazakhstan)
Emelianenko (solid black trunks) vs. Akylbekov
Pride veteran Aleksander Emelianenko (18-5) submitted Tolegen Akylbekov (3-2) via a first-round kimura.
Dec. 22
League S-70/Fight Nights: Russian Championship First Round (Volgograd, Russia)
Igor Savelyev (12-4-1) earned a unanimous decision over Mikhail Sysoev (0-4)…Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (13-5) scored a first-round TKO of Sergei Andreev (0-1).
Bryan Henderson became a fan of MMA in the late '90s when he happened upon the early UFC events on VHS at a local video rental store. He started writing about the sport on his Sporting News member blog in 2007 before becoming an official staff writer for Sporting News' "The Rumble" MMA/boxing blog. He then became a staff writer and the Features Manager for MMA DieHards before moving on to assume the same roles with The MMA Corner, and eventually moving into his current role as Editor-in-Chief. In addition to covering mixed martial arts, Bryan also operates the Modified Mind body modification e-zine website.
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