10 November Tussles Worth Watching

In an effort to bring more attention to the global stage of mixed martial arts, this list does not focus on major North American-based promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA and the World Series of Fighting.*** Shinya Aoki has no intention of ceding his throne anytime soon.Aoki will put his lightweight crown on the line against Eduard Folayang in the One Championship “Defending Honor” main event on Nov. 11 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The 33-year-old champion has never lost under the One Championship banner. A former Dream and Shooto titleholder, Aoki will carry a nine-fight winning streak into the cage. He last competed inside the Rizin Fighting Federation organization on Dec. 29, when he registered a first-round technical knockout against the iconic Kazushi Sakuraba. Wins over Satoru Kitaoka, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mizuto Hirota, Joachim Hansen (twice) and Eddie Alvarez anchor the stellar Aoki resume. A black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he has secured 25 of his 39 professional victories by submission. Folayang, 31, has posted back-to-back wins over Tetsuya Yamada and Adrian Pang since he was on the receiving end of a vicious Timofey Nastyukhin knockout in December 2014. The former Universal Reality Combat Championship titleholder trains out of the Lakay MMA camp in the Philippines. Folayang has compiled a 6-3 mark in One Championship. The Aoki-Folayang clash is but one under-the-radar matchup worth monitoring during the month of November. Here are nine more:Josh Hill vs. Xavier Alaoui TKO Major League MMA 36 “Resurrection” Nov. 4 | Montreal In the aftermath of his second loss to Marlon Moraes, Hill has put his World Series of Fighting pursuits on hold to return to the regional scene in his native Canada. There, the 29-year-old will lock horns with Alaoui, an undefeated Tristar Gym prospect who has begun to climb the ladder at 135 pounds. Hill, who competed on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has not fought since he was cut down by a second-round head kick from Moraes at WSOF 32 on July 30. Alaoui, 25, owns a perfect 7-0 record and has submitted each of his last four opponents, three of them inside one round.Marat Gafurov vs. Narantungalag Jadambaa One Championship “Defending Honor” Nov. 11 | Kallang, Singapore No one has been able to solve the Gafurov riddle, as 14 men have tried and 14 men have failed. Jadambaa will get a second chance when he challenges the “Cobra” for the One Championship featherweight crown. The unbeaten Gafurov boasts 11 finishes among his 14 victories, 10 of them via submission. The 31-year-old last appeared on May 27, when he put away Kazunori Yokota inside two rounds. Gafurov defeated Jadambaa for the One …

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