Fights in February outside of major promotions

1. 2/28 at LW Musa Khamanaev (13-3) vs. Mansour Barnaoui (11-2) at M-1 Challenge 45

This is a title fight between two of the top Lightweights in Europe. Musa is on a run in M-1 culminating with wins over Daniel Weichel and Niko Puhakka and has won himself the M-1 title. Mansour Barnaoui is the reigning BAMMA LW Champ, and his last two victories were over UFC vets Curt Warburton and Colin Fletcher. The winner of this fight can say they're the best in Europe.

2. 2/6 at BW Joe Soto (12-2) vs. Jeremiah Labiano (7-1) at Tachi Palace Fight 18

Joe Soto is one of the best young Bantamweights out there. He should be close to signing with a major promotion. He was the former Bellator FW champion before losing it to Joe Warren. He's still 26, and could be a star at 135. His opponent, Jeremiah Labiano, while less touted, is on a 3 fight submission streak. This fight will be a finish.

3. 2/28 at LW Gleristone Santos (25-4) vs. Kalvin Hackney (12-3) at Titan FC 27

25 year old Santos is making his debut on US soil. He is 14-1 in his last 15 fighting solid competition in Brazil. His opponent is a Bellator veteran, but went 0-2 in the promotion. This will be his first fight in about a year and a half. The winner of this fight should be in the mix for a title fight (if Titan does title fights).

4. 2/28 at HW Denis Smoldarev (5-0) vs. Ante Delija (8-1) at M-1 Challenge 45

Smoldarev is on a tear in M-1's HW division. He's early in his career, but has already taken out some veterans in M-1. His opponent is coming off a loss to Dion Staring, but is still very young and he goes for a finish in every fight. The winner should be in the mix for Damian Grabowskis HW title.

5. 2/22 at WW Walter Gahadza (13-0) vs. Ryan Scope (7-0) at M4TC 13

The winner of this fight should be fighting the best of Europe and perhaps abroad. Both undefeated, with 3 decisions between them, this should be a brawl.

6. 2/15 at BW Cory Tait (7-2) vs. James Pennington (9-1) at CWFC 64

Tait is a veteran of the UCMMA promotion making his CWFC debut. He won 5 of his last 6 there, avenging that loss in his fight with a KO. He's taking on a guy with a couple CWFC fights under his belt. The winner should fight CWFC BW champion, Brett Johns.

7. 2/8 at FW Dave Courchaine (16-6) vs. Thiago Meller (18-5) at XFCi 1

Both guys have a lot of fights under their belt already. They've fought most of their career at a higher weight. They both lost to good competition, while beating some good. This fight is also the main event for XFCs first international event.

8. 2/22 at LW Ayub Tashkilot (11-3) vs. Ott Tonissaar (7-1) at European MMA 8

Tashkilot is one of Denmarks best prospects, and it earned him a contract with CWFC. This fight is still on according to EMMAs website, but it could be scratched if he gets a fight in CWFC. He's won 8 of his last 9. His opponent, Tonissaar, is Estonian and has 5 submission victories so far in his career.

9. 2/15 at WW Max Griffin (7-1) vs. Scott Smith (18-10) at WFC 8

Griffin has been making a name for himself on the west coast and it earned him the WFC WW title. He is fighting his biggest test yet in Scott Smith. Smith has fought in UFC, EliteXC, and Strikeforce and beat enough solid competition to stay on top. He may be on the decline now, but he should still be good enough to beat some people on the regional scene.

10. 2/8 at FW Scott Heckman (16-4) vs. Jeff Lentz (9-2-1) at CFFC 31

This is a title fight for CFFCs FW title. Heckman is a Bellator vet with more submission wins than anything. He's fighting Jeff Lentz, a TUF vet who hasn't fought since February of 2012, but is still only 24. The winner of this should get some big time fights.

Other fights to look out for:

11. 2/21 Cosmo Alexandre (5-1) vs. Anselmo Luna (9-4) Legacy FC 28
12. 2/23 Naoyuki Kotani (32-10-7) vs. Yoshihiro Koyama (17-6-2) Vale Tudo Japan 4th
13. 2/8 Nick Hein (9-1) vs. Michael Erdinc (6-1) Fair FC
14. 2/6 Ronys Torres (27-5) vs. Gilmar Dutra Lima (23-11-1) Bitetti Combat 19
15. 2/28 Matt Riddle (7-3) vs. Michael Kuiper (12-3) Titan FC 27
16. 2/28 Keita Nakamura (26-5-2) vs. Frank Camacho (11-2) PXC 42
17. 2/28 Kurt Holobaugh (9-2) vs. Eric Marriott (22-7) Titan FC 27
18. 2/22 Frankie Saenz (7-2) vs. Marvin Blumer (9-3) KOTC Radar Lock
19. 2/23 Yuta Sasaki (15-1-2) vs. Teruto Ishihara (6-1-1) Vale Tudo Japan 4th
20. 2/22 Stav Economou (15-3) vs. James Mulheron (4-0) M4TC 13
21. 2/22 Bernardo Magalhaes (12-3) vs. Nick Patterson (12-4) AFC 8
22. 2/22 Marcos Pancini (20-6-1) vs. Anderson Berlinger Dos Santos (9-1) Talent MMA Circuit 6
23. 2/2 Yasutaka Koga (8-1) vs. Tatsuya So (13-8-1) Pancrase 256
24. 2/21 Matthew Lozano (4-1) vs. Damacio Page (16-9) Legacy FC 28
25. 2/8 Marcelo Rojo (6-1) vs. Fernando Vieira (8-2) XFCi 1
26. 2/8 Alan Omer (17-3) vs. Dennis Tomzek (10-1) Fair FC
27. 2/22 Gustavo Falciroli (13-4-2) vs. Kaiwhare Kara-France (5-3-1) AFC 8
28. 2/14 Mateusz Teodorczuk (11-2) vs. Vasiliy Fedorych (16-2) Iron Cage warriors MMA 1
29. 2/28 Kevin Croom (13-4) vs. Bryan Goldsby (17-15) Titan FC 27
30. 2/2 Tiago Trator (17-4-2) vs. Ary Santos (6-3) Jungle Fight 65
31. 2/2 Shintaro Ishiwatari (16-5-4) vs. Yo Saito (13-8-3) Pancrase 256
32. 2/8 Max Coga (8-1) vs Lom-Ali Eskijew (6-2) Fair FC
33. 2/9 Takasuke Kume (15-3-4) vs. Eduardo Simoes (7-2-1) Road FC 14
34. 2/9 Motonobu Tazuka (20-7-4) vs. Soo chul Kim (7-5) Road FC 14
35. 2/15 Kai Puolakka (11-3) vs. Glenn Sparv (7-3) Cage 25
36. 2/21 Damon Jackson (7-0) vs. Hunter Tucker (6-1) Legacy FC 28
37. 2/15 Anthony Avila (11-2) vs. Josh Berkovic (4-0) WFC 8
38. 2/22 Norman Paraisy (13-3) vs. Andrew Punshon (13-7) M4TC 13
39. 2/22 Irwing Romero Machado (9-2) vs. Uilian Fuga (6-2) Talent MMA Circuit 6
40. 2/22 Richie Whitson (12-4) vs. Myles Merola (11-7) Unified Combat League 20
41. 2/8 Leonardo Mafra Texeira (9-1) vs. Alexandre Goncalvez (12-8) NCF 19
42. 2/8 Jake Lindsey (6-0) vs. Ted Worthington (34-43) VFC Fight Night Junction City 5
43. 2/22 Joachim Christensen (8-3) vs. Stephen Puetz (9-0) European MMA 8
44. 2/11 Kensaku Nakamura (12-5-3) vs. Sho Yamaguchi (3-1) Grachan 12
45. 2/6 Andrezinho Nogueira (16-6) vs. Erick Carlos Silva (11-2) Bitetti Combat 19
46. 2/2 Lucio Abreu (8-3) vs. Alexandre Cidade (9-1) Jungle Fight 65
47. 2/2 Yusuke Kawango (13-3-1) vs. Hiroyuki Oshiro (3-1-1) Pancrase 256
48. 2/2 Andy Main (7-1) vs. Akira Okada (7-3-2) Pancrase 256
49. 2/2 Rodrigo Souza (10-3) vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (11-4) Jungle Fight 65
50. 2/22 Jordan Stiner (6-0) vs. Levan Makashvili (2-0) CFFC 32

Squash Fights:

1. 2/7 Tyler Toner (14-6) vs. Gilbert Jimenez (6-9-1) Prize FC 5
2. 2/8 Luis Rafael Laurentino (24-0) vs. Gabriel Fernandes (2-3) NCF 19
3. 2/8 Claudio Ledesma (8-4) vs. Justin Dalton (4-7) CFFC 31
4. 2/1 Karlos Vemola (12-4) vs. Mahmoud Salama (4-4) UCMMA 38
5. 2/22 Corey Nelson (14-4) vs. Rick Alchin (6-7) AFC 8
6. 2/22 Victor Meza (13-3) vs. Eric Moon (10-11) KOTC Radar Lock
7. 2/16 Keinosuke Yoshinaga (15-4) vs. Teppei Hori (11-10-2) Rings The Outsider 29
8. 2/15 Mikael Silander (8-3) vs. Tony Caizedo (1-1) Cage 25
9. 2/8 Drew Brokenshire (11-3) vs. Talon Hofman (7-7) CageSport 29
10. 2/9 Bae Young Kwon (9-3) vs. Mu Gyeom Choi (3-3) Road FC 14

Very nice list, I´m mostly excited about the upcoming M-1 fights. Smoldarev vs Delija winner is definietly in the mix for a titleshot. M-1 is a huge promotion, probably #2 or #3 in the world.

Good fights coming up in February. M-1 has a good card coming, VTJ, Pancrase, and once Bellator returns they have some real good cards planned.

nathanli wrote:1. 2/28 at LW Musa Khamanaev (13-3) vs. Mansour Barnaoui (11-2) at M-1 Challenge 45

This is a title fight between two of the top Lightweights in Europe. Musa is on a run in M-1 culminating with wins over Daniel Weichel and Niko Puhakka and has won himself the M-1 title. Mansour Barnaoui is the reigning BAMMA LW Champ, and his last two victories were over UFC vets Curt Warburton and Colin Fletcher. The winner of this fight can say they're the best in Europe.

Champion vs champion is always cool. I have Musa via decision, what about you?

KSW wrote:

nathanli wrote:1. 2/28 at LW Musa Khamanaev (13-3) vs. Mansour Barnaoui (11-2) at M-1 Challenge 45

This is a title fight between two of the top Lightweights in Europe. Musa is on a run in M-1 culminating with wins over Daniel Weichel and Niko Puhakka and has won himself the M-1 title. Mansour Barnaoui is the reigning BAMMA LW Champ, and his last two victories were over UFC vets Curt Warburton and Colin Fletcher. The winner of this fight can say they're the best in Europe.

Champion vs champion is always cool. I have Musa via decision, what about you?

I agree with you. Barnaoui hasn't fought many top guys and Musa looks like he's ready to take his game to the next level. Ring rust could be an issue though, Barnaoui has fought 5 times since Musa fought Puhakka last February. Musa better watch his neck.

M-1 LW champ vs. BAMMA LW champ. Winner is top European LW for sure.