Another month of mixed martial arts mayhem is almost upon us, so let’s take a look at the must-see shows coming your way in October.
Friday, October 4th: Bellator 102
The month kicks off with Bellator action in California which will play host to the opening round of their four-man heavyweight tournament with some familiar names on show.
In the main event Cheick Kongo makes his debut against Mark Godbeer, while in the other pairing former UFC fighter Lavar Johnson fights Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz.
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Wednesday, October 9th: UFC Fight Night 29 – Shields Vs Maia
The first of three UFC events in October takes place a week on Wednesday as the promotion returns to Brazil for UFC fight Night 29.
Headlining the show is an intriguing match-up between two of the division’s best grapplers, Jake Shields and Demian Maia, while one of the young stars at 170lbs, Erick Silva goes up against the vastly experience and tough-to-beat Dong Hyun Kim and Thiago Silva fights Matt Hamill.
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Friday, October 11th: Bellator 103
We head back to Bellator just a couple of days later for the semi-finals of their current featherweight tournament.
Headlining the show is one of the semi-final brackets as Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire faces Fabricio de Assis Costa da Silva, and Justin Wilcox will battle it out with Joe Taimanglo for the other spot in the final.
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Friday, October 18th: Bellator 104
A week later and Bellator gets the ball rolling on the first of three notable MMA events in the space of two days featuring welterweight semi-final action.
Rick Hawn headlines this one against Brent Weedman, while War Machine will attempt to get the better of Ron Keslar in the other semi-final.
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Friday, October 18th: One FC 11
Also airing late night Friday / early Saturday morning depending on where you live is ONE FC 11: Total Domination from Singapore.
They’ve got a good card lined up that features two of their biggest stars, Bibiano Fernandes and Shinya Aoki both competing against Soo Chul Kim and Cody Stevens respectively.
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Saturday, October 19th: UFC 166: Velasquez Vs Dos Santos III
A day later comes undoubtedly the biggest event of the month as Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos collide for a third time in Texas to establish the definitive heavyweight champion of the world.
That bout is worth the admission fee alone, but the card is a strong one with Daniel Cormier Vs Roy Nelson in the co-main event plus Gilbert Melendez Vs Diego Sanchez and Hector Lombard’s welterweight debut against Nate Marquardt amongst the other choice encounters.
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Friday, October 25th: Bellator 105
Bellator’s final event of the month, and last before their big PPV show in early November is far enough away that the promotion has yet to even announce who will be on the bill.
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Saturday, October 26th: UFC Fight Night 30: Machida Vs Munoz
The UFC has one last offering in October as they return to the UK with a good main event for a ‘Fight Night’ card which finds Lyoto Machida making his middleweight debut against Mark Munoz.
Also look for a potentially explosive lightweight encounter in the co-main event between Melvin Guillard and Ross Pearson, plus another British favorite Jimi Manuwa taking on Ryan Jimmo.
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Saturday, October 26th: World Series Of Fighting 6 – Burkman Vs Carl
Going head-to-head with the UFC on that evening is world Series Of Fighting’s latest event which will finally see a welterweight fighter crowned champion as the resurgent Josh Burkman takes on Steve Carl in the main event.
The line-up is still being finalized for this one, but look out for Marlon Maraes Vs carson Beebe and others like Miguel Torres and Dan Lauzon to find a spot on the main card which will air as usual on NBC Sports.
