Declaration of Independents for August

Andre Arlovski faces Tim Sylvia in One FC

All the fans know the UFC and all the press report on that promotion but where do their fighters come from? What else is going on now? Perhaps most importantly what shows should fans watch to see tomorrow’s stars develop? The Declaration of Independents is a monthly snapshot of what is going on in the non-UFC or “independent” scene.

The Olympics are over and most people are wrapping up summer vacations, now it is time to get ready for the fall season.  The biggest non-Zuffa news of course is Bellator wrapping up the summer series and announcing the first of the season 7 shows beginning September 28th however literally every independent show holds an event in September or October, most having one more show before the end of the year.  Events are still being scheduled around UFC and Strikeforce events making the “off” weekends more busy than the “UFC weekends”, a great thing for the scene as a whole. 

Here is a list of confirmed MMA events on TV and the internet for the next five weeks:

August 24th BFC 73 (MTV2)
August 24th CFFC (GoFightLive)
August 24th Titan FC (HDNet)
August 25th NAAFS (GoFightLive)
September 1st CWFC (MMA Junkie)
September 1st UFC 151 (PPV)
September 7th TPF 14 (Sherdog)
September 14th LFC (AXS)
September 14th ROC (GoFightLive)
September 22nd UFC 152 (PPV)
September 28th BFC 74 (MTV2)
September 29th Strikeforce (Showtime)
October 5th BFC 75 (MTV 2)
October 6th Invicta FC (webstreamed)

Televised shows:
 
British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) - No confirmation is available on if BAMMA 10 September 15th will be broadcast on AXS, about all that is known is Rob Sinclair vs. Andre Winner headlines. 

Marcos Galvao in BFC BW tournament finalsBellator Fighting Championship (BFC) - Bellator 73 this Friday ends the 2012 Summer Series with Marcos Galvao vs. Luis Nogueira in the finals of the season 6 bantamweight tournament and Travis Wiuff vs. Attila Vegh in the finals of the summer series light heavyweight tournament.  Season seven starts September 28th with four dates announced so far.  Look for both a preview of BFC 73 and season seven in the days to come. 
 
King of the Cage (KOTC) - For what was once the second-biggest show the pay-per-views are basically down to just “greatest KOs” instead of whole shows.  The live front however is packed with events August 23rd and 30th plus eleven more for the rest of the year. 

Legacy Fighting Championship (LFC) - Derrick Lewis defeated Jared Rosholt for the vacant HW title August 17th, next up is an amateur show this weekend followed by LFC 14 on September 14th. 

Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) – Finally venturing into the featherweight division MFC 35 features Shane Nelson vs. Graham Spencer, a fight that is getting more attention right now than Elvis Mutapcic defending his new middleweight title.  The event is already confirmed as being broadcast on AXS TV. 

Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) - The June 30th RFA show was impressive even if it was a webstream in conjunction with Fight Now! TV.  In the archives is coverage of the event where Dakota Cochrane defeated Joe Stevenson, no information on the next show is available. 

Rig of Fire - FIGHT NOW TV broadcast the June 2nd show, no further information is available. 

Braulio Estima makes MMA debut at TFCTitan FC - ADCC Worlds champion Braulio Estima this weekend and former WEC champion Miguel Torres in November are just two of the TFC debuts drawing attention to this growing company.  This weekend TFC 24 takes place with Estima vs. Chris Holland as co-headliner under Anthony Johnson vs. Esteves Jones broadcast on AXS TV. 
 
Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) - September 28th’s XFC 20 card is expected but not confirmed to be broadcast on AXS TV, Eric Reynolds vs. Danny Salinas headlines. 

Webstreamed shows:

George Sullivan to defend CFFC welterweight titleCage Fury Fighting Championships - Titles at Flyweight, Bantamweight, welterweight, and Middleweight are all on the line this weekend at CFFC 16 making it difficult to pick one fight to focus on.  Look for a preview in the days to come.    

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship (CWFC) - No confirmation is available on if CWFC Fight Night 7 will webstream on MMA Junkie as CWFC 48 did.  Originally the main event was to be John Phillips vs. Pavel Kusch in the finals of the middleweight tournament for the vacant title, now Kusch fights Chris Fields. 

Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA) - a new entry to the list the Florida-based promotion caught the attention of many with the June 30th show where Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante was defeated by Luis Palomino.  The problem is CFA 9 was postponed twice, now there is no confirmable date with rumors being October.  Maybe this will be the next breakout show, maybe it is already over. 

Jessica Pene headlines Invicta 3Invicta MMA - Gorwing rapidly despite the limitations of being an all-women show Invicta return to Memorial Hall in Kansas October 6th.  The first two shows were webstreamed, expect that to change with this show. 

North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) - Just one week after Rock N Rumble 6 (see archive report) NAAFS return to WV and GoFightLive with Caged Fury 18 August 25th.  The card is still being finalized so look for details in the days to come.

One FC - Asia’s biggest show is at this time webstreamed on Facebook in the US but expect that to change with the August 31st show.  Bibiano Fernandes vs. Gustavo Falciroli headlines while former UFC champions Andre Arlovski and Tim Sylvia also square off. 

Deividas Taurosevicius defends ROC title September 14thRing of Combat (ROC) - Another show to take the summer off ROC’s last show was June 15th (see archives), the next one is ROC 42 on September 14th.  ROC 42 is headlined by Deividas Taurosevicius vs. Mike Santiago and also features Ed Gordon vs. Marvin Eastman. 

Score Fighting Series (SFS) - The AXS deal starts with the October 19th show, the August 24th show will webstream on thescore.com while the main card will be televised on that Canadian cable channel. 

Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) - One of the shows taking the rest of the summer off TFC return September 7th.  Sherdog will again webstream the show.  In the archives is a report on the May 10th show where Joe Soto defeated Chad George.   

Other:

Kris McCray fights in CESClassic Entertainment & Sports (CES) - Making the move from RI to NJ CES “War on the Shore” takes place Saturday with Kris McCray vs. Christopher Curtis headlining. 
 
Pure MMA - the second event for this Pennsylvania promotion was impressive with the fight teams involved and the news the promotion was expanding into TX has potential.  The downside is at this time there is no more information available. 

Ultimate Victory Challenge (UVC) - trying to grow and deserving a closer look Ohio’s UVC return to Columbus September 15th, no details on  the card are available at this time.