Welcome to the Summer of Violence- June Edition

Last week (beginning 5/30) kicked us off in stellar fashion as ONE 158 went down on Friday morning, with only one fight going the distance on the main card, and stacks of action preceding it! Later on Friday, Jorge Masvidal‘s promotion, iKON FC, put on their third show, which featured Bo Nickal putting on a shining performance, with the three-time folk-wrestling world champion winning his professional MMA debut with a stunning KO. Watch this man’s career. He is sure to go far.

This weekend past also featured a Featherweight Title bout in LFA between José Delano and Michael Stack, a UFC Fight Night that delivered way more excitement than the name-value would have suggested, and an absolute war in Fury FC 64 between Justice Torres and Siron Harrison to close out the weekend.

Looking Ahead to the Summer of Violence

However, if one were to think of this Summer as an all-you-can-eat Vegas buffet, last weekend was simply your complimentary mimosa. Looking ahead to the rest of the Summer of Violence, we’ve got an absurd week of fights (beginning 6/6) ahead of us.

Kicking off the week, we have the Road to the UFC, featuring twenty bouts spread over two days of some of the best fighters from Asia and around the world all competing in Singapore across four single-elimination tournaments across four weight classes for a chance at a UFC contract. Laura Sanko makes another appearance as a commentator here alongside John Gooden, so make sure to tune into that one! On the other side of the world, Cage Warriors 139 goes down in San Diego, with LFA 134 following just an hour later.

Finally, the weekend is capped by UFC 275, with Jiri Prochazka finally getting the opportunity to challenge Glover Teixeira for the undisputed Light-Heavyweight Title. Valentina Shevchenko will also make her return to the Octagon, on the hunt for her seventh ruby in Taila Santos. And as if that wasn’t enough, the rematch of the best women’s Title Fight in history between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili is going down in the featured bout.

Bangers and Mash – June Edition

Had your fill yet? Didn’t think so. The week beginning 6/13 sees the beginning of the second round of the PFL Regular Season: Lightweight & Light Heavyweights going down in Atlanta, Georgia. This card features Clay Collard, Jeremy Stephens, Raush Manfio, and Natan Schulte. It’s one not to be missed.

The following day sees the premier Polish promotion, KSW, throw down at KSW 71: Ziółkowski vs. Rajewski. These shows never lack entertainment or production effort, and are always a great time.

The UFC makes its return to Austin for a Featherweight Main Event between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett in what could prove to be a Title Eliminator, given that Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez have both suffered definitive defeats to Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski within this calendar year, and would likely have to fight the loser for a chance at the title.

The following week, beginning 6/20 sees the PFL Featherweights and Heavyweights throw down on a card featuring Brendan Loughnane and Anthony Pettis, which is guaranteed to deliver fireworks. This will be going head to head with Bellator 282: Mousasi vs. Eblen, on an absolutely stacked card. One to watch here is Cody Law, who predicted his last win down to the second, and we’re not kidding.

As if that wasn’t enough, ARES FC returns with Renan Barão, former UFC Bantamweight Champion in enemy territory, facing off against William Gomi. Akhmed Salamov faces off against Jose Galindo for the vacant AFC Middleweight Title, and Abdoul Abdouraguimov will attempt to defend his Welterweight Title against Karl Amoussou. This ARES card will go head to head with some of the best of Irish MMA, with Rhys McKee vs. Justin Burlinson for the currently vacant CW Welterweight Title going down at CW 140 in Belfast, Ireland.

The card also includes the locals, 4-0 Ryan Shelley, and 5-0 Caolan Loughran, as well as plenty of talent from across the UK and the rest of Ireland. Capping off the week is an absolute banger of a UFC Fight Night, featuring Brian Kelleher vs. Serge Morozov, Thiago Moises vs. Christos Giagos, Neil Magney vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (who is 15-0 with all finishes), and a Lightweight Main Event that is simply the closest thing to a guaranteed war possible in #11 ranked Arman Tsarukyan vs. #12 ranked Mateusz Gamrot.

In case that’s too much MMA to keep track of, make sure to keep an eye on our ever evolving list, which will be updated as later cards are announced.

• June 9-10: Road to the UFC
• June 10: Cage Warriors 139
• June 10: LFA 133
• June 11: UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka
• June 17: PFL Regular Season: Lightweights & Light Heavyweights
• June 18: KSW 71: Ziółkowski vs. Rajewski
• June 18: UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Emmett
• June 24: PFL Regular Season: Featherweights & Heavyweights
• June 24: Bellator 282: Mousasi vs. Eblen
• June 25: ARES FC 7
• June 25: Cage Warriors 140
• June 25: UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot
• July 1: PFL Regular Season: Welterweights & Women’s Lightweights
• July 2: UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier
• July 9: UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev
• July 9: UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez
• July 22: ONE Championship 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash
• July 22: Cage Warriors 141
• July 23: UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall
• July 30: UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2
• August 5: PFL Playoffs: 1
• August 6: UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill
• August 13: PFL Playoffs: 2
• August 13: UFC Fight Night
• August 20: PFL Playoffs: 3
• August 20: UFC 278
• August 26: ONE 161: Moraes vs. Johnson II

As always, these remain subject to change, and we’ll keep you updated if and when they do. Stay tuned for our breakdowns of the rest of the summer! Which card are you most excited for? Sound off on Twitter!

Featured Image Credits to Embed from Getty Images