This hasn’t been the most exciting August when it comes to MMA. The UFC has only held one card so far, UFC 227, and while it was a solid card, there’s just one more offering from the world’s biggest MMA promotion left this month. However, there are still two more PFL cards left to go, as well as a Bellator MMA card, and there are still a few good fights that MMA fans should remember to tune in for.
Here are some of the top five fights to watch out for over the rest of the month:
Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick, UFC Fight Night 135
The best remaining fight of he month has to be the main event of UFC Fight Night 135, which goes down Saturday, August 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. That’s when two of the best lightweights in the UFC meet in a grudge match when Gaethje takes on Vick. These two have been taking turns calling out each other in the media and this fight needed to happen. Gaethje started off his UFC career with a KO win over Michael Johnson, but has since been knocked out by Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez. Keep in mind, he won “Fight of the Night” in all three bouts. Vick, meanwhile, has a 9-1 record in the UFC and is currently on a four-fight win streak. This is going to be an awesome fight to cap off August and lead us into September.
• Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. John Moraga, UFC Fight Night 135
Also at UFC Fight Night 135 is an important flyweight bout between Moraga and Figueiredo. Moraga is currently riding a three-fight win streak that has pushed him back into contender status. Figueiredo has gone undefeated in his pro MMA career, with a 14-0 record including a 3-0 mark so far in the UFC. With the flyweight division now wide open, this is a really important fight.
• Deiveson Figueiredo vs. John Moraga
Darrion Caldwell vs. Noad Lahat, Bellator 204
The main event of Bellator 204 is a really intriguing featherweight fight between Bellator bantamweight champion Caldwell, who is moving up to 145 lbs, and Lahat, the UFC veteran. Caldwell has a 9-1 record in Bellator and is currently riding a three-fight win streak. There was no one for him to fight at 135 lbs, so he decided to move up. Lahat is 3-1 since signing with Bellator and will be a good test for Caldwell’s featherweight debut. This Bellator 204 card, by the way, takes place this Friday (August 17), at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
• Darrion Caldwell vs. Noad Lahat
Ray Cooper III vs. Pavlo Kusch, PFL 6
One of the biggest upsets of the year took place earlier this summer when Ray Cooper III destroyed Jake Shields in the PFL tournament, and now he looks to make it 2-0 in PFL when he fights Pavlo Kusch, who also picked up a huge upset with his win over Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Cooper and Kusch meet in the main event of PFL 6, which takes place tomorrow night (August 16) at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Based on what we saw out of these two in their respective PFL debuts, this should be a really good fight between two promising youngsters.
• Ray Cooper III vs. Pavel Kusch
Kayla Harrison vs. Jozette Cotton, PFL 6
Also at PFL 6, women’s featherweight prospect Kayla Harrison also looks to make it 2-0 when she takes on Jozette Cotton in a non-tournament special attraction bout. Harrison looked amazing in her MMA debut earlier this summer when she submitted Brittney Elkin, and now she will look to push the hype train to new levels when she takes on Cotton, a hand-picked opponent who she should be able to smash with her elite wrestling and judo.
• Kayla Harrison vs. Jozette Cotton
It’s obviously not the greatest conclusion to a summer that has seen some amazing fights and huge upsets, but there are still some fights to keep your eyes on in the final days of the summer heat/ And the good thing is, once we get by this dry end to August, we’re in store for a great month in September.
