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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
After a tumultuous and newsworthy year thus far of injury ravaged cards, major paradigm-shifting deals brokered by Zuffa and more, an extremely eventful fall kicks off this month with seven events between the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator Fighting Championships. With a ton of fight action coming to fans this month, the following five fights are the ones I'm most interested in or intrigued by for the month (with a couple of honorable mentions thrown in below).
5. Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva - Strikeforce "Barnett vs. Kharitonov - Sept. 10
With Alistair Overeem removed from the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix, Olympic wrestler-turned undefeated MMA fighter Daniel Cormier steps in to meet "Bigfoot" in the tournament's semifinals.
The most intriguing thing to me about this fight is how much of a massive size difference there is going to be, and how Cormier is able to handle that will determine the path this fight takes. Cormier's striking looked really good against Jeff Monson in June, and his wrestling is already known to be top notch, but will he have the strength to out-grapple the 6'4", 265 lb. Silva?
Cormier will enter the cage at just shy of 5'10", so with a six inch height disadvantage and what will be a very serious reach disadvantage, the question becomes whether or not Cormier can find success with a mixture of his improved striking and his dominant wrestling.
Because of those questions, and with "Bigfoot" entering the event off his win over Fedor Emelianenko in February, I'm very interested to see how this fight plays out.
4. Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez - UFC 135 - Sept. 24
10 months after getting viciously knocked out in his rubber match with B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes returns to the cage to prove he's still fully capable of competing at a high level in the UFC.
Regardless of his own performance against B.J. Penn and his disappointing follow-up against John Hathaway, Diego Sanchez represents a very big challenge for Hughes. Sanchez has expressed that he's in a better place mentally and emotionally after these last couple of fights than he was in that two fight losing streak in 2009 and 2010, and after winning two straight he wants to notch what would be one of the biggest wins of his career.
With Hughes' time in the sport inevitably winding to a close, he wants to show everyone that he's still a legitimate force in the welterweight division. He had won three straight into that Penn loss last November, and this is a chance for him to erase that memory and pick up a big victory.
For the newly re-nicknamed Sanchez - going by "The Dream" rather than "The Nightmare" - this fight is a continuation of his path towards earning another title shot in the UFC. With what both have on the line coming in, it makes for a very interesting welterweight clash, and the fight itself deserves its co-main event booking on the UFC 135 card. It's one I can't wait to see.
3. Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch - UFC Fight Night 25 - Sept. 17
This fight won't be on everybody's list of "must watch" fights this month, but it should be. Brookins is returning to the featherweight division in his first fight since winning The Ultimate Fighter, and while the level of TUF competition has certainly been lacking over the last several years, Brookins was a bright spot of the 12th season of the show.
With only two decision losses and a TKO loss to current Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo on his record, Brookins brings a lot of talent to the UFC, even if it isn't completely polished just yet.
But it's the other side of this fight that makes this "must-see television" to me, and that's Roufusports' Erik Koch. The 22-year-old featherweight is a fantastically talented fighter, and coming from a camp known for their flare and excitement in the cage, he certainly fits the mold. He responded to his only career loss - a decision against top contender Chad Mendes - by rattling off three straight wins, all in the first round.
His head kick finish over Francisco Rivera in his final WEC appearance was fantastic, and then he followed that up with a knockout over Raphael Assuncao in his UFC debut, becoming the only person to stop Assuncao by strikes.
This fight has "exciting" stamped all over it, and it's coming free to Spike TV from New Orleans. This is a fight, and actually a fight card, that should absolutely not be missed.
2. Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger - UFC Fight Night 25 - Sept. 17
That can segue us into this fight, which headlines the New Orleans card on Spike TV. Shields is coming off what was not his best performance in a loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129, but considering that was the first loss of his in 16 fights, and it was against one of the world's best fighters, it's not necessarily something to hold against him.
Ellenberger has been begging for this fight for a while, and after notching his fourth straight UFC win in April the 26-year-old got his wish.
This is a great stylistic matchup, because while Shields is an incredible grappler, Ellenberger's got a very good wrestling game of his own, and he uses it well in the cage.
Add to that Ellenberger's good overall striking game as well, and you've got a very real challenge for Shields in this fight. In addition to that, Shields is taking the fight with a heavy heart after his father passed away earlier this week, and with that either being a source of motivation or potential detriment it adds another layer for fans to look for, and makes it a bit unpredictable as far as knowing how Shields will approach the fight.
I know there's a segment of fans that do not enjoy Jake Shields fights, but while I acknowledge he's had some duds, I'm generally always intrigued by his fights. As a fan of what Ellenberger's been able to put together as well there's a lot to like in this fight. Plus it's free.
1. Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - UFC 135 - Sept. 24
Easily the biggest fight of the month, the newly crowned Champ Jon Jones will look to do what no fighter has been able to in the UFC's light heavyweight division since his opponent on this card: defend the belt without needing an immediate rematch due to controversy.
The UFC Light Heavyweight Title has switched hands four times now since Jackson's belt was taken from him by Forrest Griffin, and only Lyoto Machida has successfully defended it. However, that came in a razor thin fight that most - including UFC officials - scored for "Shogun" Rua. With Machida getting the decision, he then had to defend the belt against "Shogun" again, this time getting knocked out in the first round.
Jones' immensely fast rise to the title has been well documented, but this fight represents an opportunity to establish himself beyond simply being another one-and-done champion in the division, and if he convincingly defeats Rampage its on to a heated grudge match with former teammate Rashad Evans.
This fight is also Rampage's first opportunity at regaining the belt since losing it to Griffin in 2008. He's gone through injuries, uninspired performances, a second TUF coaching stint, a beginning movie career and more to get to this point, and now that he's got his shot he needs to put in a better performance than we've seen from him since losing his title.
Whether Jones can continue living up to the hype or whether Jackson derails the hype train and recaptures the belt, there's going to be drama with this fight, and it's definitely the one I'm most anticipating.
Larkin's two appearances in Strikeforce have been very entertaining, and he's an excellent fighter more people should be paying attention to. I can't wait to see how he fares in his third fight in Strikeforce.
Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald - UFC Fight Night 25 - Sept. 17
Belcher's return is a very welcome sight, as it has taken him a long time to recover and get back to fighting. He hasn't fought since May of last year, and after the detached retina issue that he went through, it's incredible that he's fighting at all. This fight with MacDonald should be a great test to see how the recovery has gone to this point.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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