Once again the weekend is upon us. And if you’re in Kentucky, Indiana, or North Carolina, that means some Local MMA is in the works for you. Aside from the football onslaught that we’ve been witnessing over the past few weeks, the MMA scene has continued to chug along, because the sport has no offseason.
Here’s what’s on tap in our neck of the woods this weekend:
Hardrock MMA 67 (Bowling Green, KY)
Hardrock MMA kicks off the front end of two events in two week as they head to Bowling Green with a 15-bout pro/am lineup on tap. Derek Smith (5-3) battles Jeffrey Pearson (3-1) for the middleweight title in amateur action, while Michael Cockerham (6-10) is scheduled for the only pro bout against Tom Eskew (1-2). Cockerham has lost his last two after a three-fight winning streak, and this is one of three bouts that he has scheduled through the end of October. Eskew, meanwhile, comes up from Tennessee after earning his first pro win via TKO in February.
Other notable bouts include Charles Clark (4-0) vs. Stephen Scott (4-1) and Renje Loving (4-1) vs. Kabe Gruber (1-0).
Hoosier Fight Club 21 (Valparaiso, IN)
One of Indiana’s most consistent organizations returns to Valparaiso on Saturday night, as HFC 21 has a solid main event featuring Ohio’s Chris Curtis (10-3) vs. Belal Muhammad (5-0). Curtis is 5-1 in his last six bouts, with his only loss being a close decision against UFC veteran Forrest Petz. Check out Juan Valle’s feature on the bigger, stronger and faster Curtis that is heading into this bout. Muhammad is unbeaten and is coming off of a victory over A.J. Matthews at Bellator 112 in March.
In the co-main event, resident entertainer Bobby Emmons (4-3) has stepped in on a week’s notice for his second straight bout and will take on Tom Shoaff (5-0) at lightweight. Emmons looks for a second straight win after stopping A.J. Bosley via submission at Pinnacle FC 7 in May. Shoaff looks to stay unbeaten as he competes in his fifth straight HFC event.
This event features eight pro bouts overall, along with five amateur offerings.
Fight Lab 40 (Charlotte, NC)
Fight Lab returns for their 40th event, featuring top Kentucky welterweight Portland Pringle (6-1) vs. Cody Wilson (5-1) in the headliner. The event also features six amateur title bouts.
National Events
Aside from UFC Fight Night 51 taking place in Brazil and airing on Fight Pass on Saturday night, there are also a few other notable offerings from national organizatons that will be available on TV:
Bellator MMA returns to Plymouth, Michigan tonight with Bellator 124 (9 p.m. ET, Spike TV), featuring Emanuel Newton defending his light heavyweight title against veteran Joey Beltran. The main card also features the light heavyweight tournament finals, Ryan Couture’s Bellator debut, and more. Check out the prelims on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. to see Ohio fighter Cortez Phelia (0-1) take on Eric Ramirez (1-0) in a bantamweight battle.
The RFA heads to Albuquerque, New Mexico tonight for RFA 18 (10 p.m. ET, AXS TV). RFA has become one of the best “minor league” promotions, regularly putting fighters into the UFC after just one or two fights in the organization. If you want to see the next crop of UFC fighters, this would be a good event to check out.
World Series of Fighting makes its debut in Pennsylvania, as WSOF 13 (NBC Sports Network, 9 p.m. ET) takes place in Bethlehem on Saturday night. The main event features WSOF bantamweight champ Marlon Moraes taking on Cody Bollinger in a catchweight bout, but he’s so confident of a win that he said he’ll still give up his belt if he loses. Also check out the WSOF debut of longtime Ohio MMA prospect Isaiah Chapman on the main card, as he takes on Timur Valiev.
Be sure to return to BluegrassMMA.com early next week for full results from all of this weekend’s action.