Fights To Watch In December: Part 2

Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 December 2012 22:21 Monday, 03 December 2012 15:38

Written by Rian Scalia

I've already given ten fights to keep an eye on this month, now here's ten more. December is a really busy month with tons of great fights going on. Even with two parts to this post, I'm still leaving out a ton of good fights.

December 8: Duoli Chen vs. Shkodran Veseli - Vendetta VI - Vienna, Austria

Duoli Chen looks to be a promising up and coming fighter at 77kg, with a dominant win at It's Showtime Brazil last month. He lost to L'houcine "Aussie" Ouzgni in October but there's no shame in that and seems to be getting better under the tutelage of Lucien Carbin. This fight should be another fight for him to showcase why he's been featured on It's Showtime, as well as to get some more momentum going into 2013 as GLORY looks to utilize his weigh class.

December 9: Stephen Meleady vs. Seeoui Sor Sunantachai - Muay Thai Warriors - Macau

Stephen Meleady has made a name for himself this year, beating Kongnapa Sirimongkol and giving a very tough fight to Rungravee Sasiprapa. Here he's in another fight that is bound to be action packed. Seeoui is an action fighter himself so this promises to be a great fight.

December 9: Toni Milanovic vs. Dragon Jovanovic - Supreme FC - Belgrade, Serbia

Originally scheduled to fight Nenad Pagonis, this is now a full on heavyweight fight as Toni Milanovic fights Dragon Jovanovic. Put this into perspective: Milanovic just won a four man tournament in the Czech Republic on November 24 - but the tournament was at 86kg. Now Milanovic steps all the way up to heavyweight and faces an opponent who significantly outweighs him. Having fought Sahak Parparyan and Andrei Stoica this year, I don't put it past Milanovic to do well here, as he's a bright up and comer at only 22 years of age.

December 14: Hirotaka Urabe vs. Naoki Ishikawa - Krush.25 - Tokyo, Japan

Hirotaka Urabe is Krush's champion at 60kg and at times lately has made easy work of some opponents but that won't be the case here. Ishikawa has given some very tough fights to Urabe, although Urabe has a win and a draw against him. Their second and last encounter was the one which ended in a draw and still stands as the only blemish on Urabe's record in his last twelve fights. Ishikawa has won two in a row since that fight and there's no doubt that he'll be up for this fight.

December 15: Aikpracha Meenayothin vs. Jordan Watson - Bangkok, Thailand

Aikpracha has had a breakout year in 2012, winning a Lumpinee title and getting many international fights. This time he gets Jordan Watson, who already faced Saiyok Pumphanmuang this year. Aikpracha fights are never boring

December 15: Vladimir Mineev vs. Ali Cenik - Battle at Moscow 9 - Moscow, Russia

Vladimir Mineev is one of the best up and comers in kickboxing at just 22 years of age, having won ten fights in a row. Mineev is in a similar position to Roman Mailov, having built up a name in Russia and gradually increasing the level of opposition that he faces. In Ali Cenik its one of his toughest tests yet. Cenik gave Danyo Ilunga a tough fight and was able to hit him a lot. Look for Mineev to work some slick counters as Cenik tries to throw big power shots.

December 15: Halim Chibani vs. Alyssane Sy - Saint Raphael, France

Halim Chibani may not be well known outside of France but in October he scored a big win over another one of France's best 85kg fighters in Yassine Ahaggan, which probably makes Chibani the top 85kg fighter in France. This should be an interesting fight to see just how good Chibani is, as Ahaggan also defeated Sy.

December 16: Singmanee Kaewsamrit vs. Andrei Kulebin - Thai Fight 2012 Finals

Singmanee and Andrei Kulebin fought back in June with Singmanee getting what was to many a controversial decision. Now they'll meet again, with Singmanee looking in better form in his last fight especially. Kulebin hasn't looked spectacular so far in Thai Fight but he's done what he's needed to do to win and gave Singmanee trouble last time. A three round fight is completely different so it'll be interesting to see what kind of pace the fight is fought at, considering that some weren't too fond of their first fight.

December 16: Buakaw Por. Pramuk vs. Vitaly Gurkov - Thai Fight 2012 Finals

This might be Buakaw's toughest test in a while (that might not be saying much considering the competition he's faced this year) in Gurkov. What Gurkov brings is a smothering clinch game that allowed him to defeat Kem Sitsongpeenong at the IFMAs. Gurkov seems to have found his place as a clincher in Muay Thai as opposed to fighting kickboxing and its paid dividends in Thai Fight so far. I'm interested in seeing if Gurkov will be able to trouble Buakaw and make for a competitive fight. And well, Buakaw's fighting.

December 21: Artem Levin vs. Simon Marcus - Ekaterinburg, Russia

Artem Levin and Simon Marcus are two of the best light heavyweight Muay Thai fighters right now and they'll finally meet after a number of delayed fights on December 21. Levin was given a lot of trouble by Steve Wakeling in July and hasn't fought pro since, although he did win the IFMAs. Marcus just won on Saturday very impressively against Sadibou Sy. This is what everyone wants to see, two top guys fighting each other.

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