While it may lack the type of high-profile events that we’ve seen in the Spring and Summer, September still features plenty of MMA action with the third season of Bellator picking up steam, Dream returning with the finals of its light heavyweight title tournament and the UFC running both an Ultimate Fight Night and UFC 119. Check out all the big fights this months and where you can see them.
Don’t forget to check out our staff picks for the must see fights.
Bellator 27 (September 2nd) – Fox Sports Net
Joe Soto (c) vs. Joe Warren (for featherweight title)
Zach Makovsky vs. Nick Mamalis (bantamweight tourney bout)
Ulysses Gomez vs. Travis Reddinger (bantamweight tourney bout)
Bryan Goldsby vs. Ed West (bantamweight tourney bout)
Bellator 28 (September 9th) – Fox Sports Net
Rich Clementi vs. Carey Vanier
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Alvin Robinson
Shine Fights (September 10th) – PPV
Eight Man Single Elimination Light Heavyweight Tournament
Shark Fights 13 (September 11th) – PPV
Keith Jardine vs. Trevor Prangley
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Houston Alexander
Paul Daley vs. Jorge Masvidal
Joey Villasenor vs. Drew McFedries
Brock Larson vs. Tarec Saffiedin
UFC Fight Night 22 (September 15th) – Spike TV
Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira
Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau
Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson
Bellator 29 (16th September) – Fox Sports Net
Neil Grove vs. Alexey Oleinik (heavyweight tournament semifinal)
Damian Grabowski vs. Cole Konrad (heavyweight tournament semifinal)]
Bellator 30 (23rd September) – Fox Sports Net
No Matches Officially Announced
DREAM.16 (25th September) – HDNET
Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Gegard Mousasi (for vacant light heavyweight title)
Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Kazushi Sakuraba
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Joe Warren
UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop (25th September) – PPV
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir
Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra
Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens
WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan (September 30th) – Versus
Jose Aldo(c) vs. Manny Gamburyan (for World Featherweight Title)
Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia
Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner
Chan Sung Jung vs. George Roop
Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick
Bellator 31 (September 30th) – Fox Sports Net
No Matches Announced
Staff Picks: Fight To Watch
Chris Roberts’ Pick: Joe Soto vs. Joe Warren
The dawn of autumn has given us an abundance of shows that are filled with less than intriguing fights. There are a total of three title bouts: Joe Soto vs. Joe Warren for the Bellator Featherweight strap, Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Gegard Mousasi for the vacated DREAM Light Heavyweight title, and Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan for the WEC Featherweight title. The most eye catching of the three is probably Aldo/Gamburyan but right now Aldo is such a dominant force of nature that we will really just be watching him put on a clinic as opposed to engaging in a competitive contest.
Rather I’m going with Soto/Warren which will headlined the first show of the month. In becoming the first Bellator Featherweight champion Soto looked very impressive racking up victories via TKO, submission and judge’s decision. Then back in May he won an easy one over Diego Saraiva in which the doctors had to stop the match after Soto nearly cracked his skull in half with a perfectly executed elbow. Warren, still new to the sport, comes in with a 5-1 record including the match he won in dramatic fashion over Patricio Pitbull to earn the title shot. They both bring wrestling backgrounds into the fight though Warren specializes in the Greco Roman. Soto would seem to be the favorite, he’s more polished and hits a hell of a lot harder, but Warren was never supposed to be here in the first place and escaped the grasp of Pitbull by the skin of his teeth so we know better than to count him out. I would hate to pick a winner and that is why this match excites me more than any other in September.
Scott Keith’s Pick: Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop
It’s kind of slim pickings for September, but realistically Frank Mir v. Mirko Cro Cop is the kind of fight I would have been jazzed to see even a few years ago, before UFC completely exposed Cro Cop. Still, I think that Mir can talk enough trash to provoke some interest from me in that one, even if the buyrate is likely to be a write-off for Dana White. Obviously it won’t be a ground battle, and Shane Carwin showed that a hard enough strike can put Mir out (as Ian Freeman did years ago as well), even if everyone pretty much knows it’s going to be a one-sided ass-kicking on Mir’s part.
Will Cooling’s Pick: Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia
Life just hasn’t been the same since August last year when Brian Bowles shockingly defeated Miguel Torres, ending his seventeen fight winning streak and taking his title away from him. Torress then lost to Joseph Benavidez in his comeback fight in January. This is now his second attempt at a return to winning ways, having taken nine months off to recover from being defeated in back to back matches for the first time ever. A victory over Charlie Valencia will be the foundation for Torres to begin climbing his way up the ranks again, possibily setting up a dream fight with Urijiah Faber. A defeat to Valencia may well signal the end of the career of the sport’s greatest ever bantamweight. Not withstanding the title matches taking place this month, this is the fight for the highest stakes.
