Courtesy Sherdog.com
Ricco Rodriguez, right, looks to get his career back on track when he faces Robert Beraun on Nov. 8.
With October's top fights -- like Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley and Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin -- in the books, the time has come to look forward to what November has to offer in terms of quality mixed martial arts matchups.
Traditionally, the year's penultimate month is a bit slow, as the best fighters are held back for the big year-end shows in Japan and Las Vegas; this year is no different. Nevertheless, Sherdog.com has compiled a list of 10 tussles fans should not miss.
10. Denniston Sutherland vs. Kevin Thompson
Ultimate Force "Nemesis," Nov. 1 -- Doncaster, England
Plenty of smack talk leads into this clash between two UK light heavyweights. Hybrid Fight Team's Sutherland has amused the UK MMA scene for the last couple of months by claiming he's the No. 1 205-pound fighter in the country. Now he has the chance to back up those bold words as he takes on Thompson, an undefeated ground-and-pound machine from Northern England.
9. Ricco Rodriguez vs. Robert Beraun
Rage in the Cage 117, Nov. 8 -- Phoenix
Rodriguez made himself a laughingstock of the MMA world when he lost to Beraun, a totally unheralded striker, at RITC 78 in January 2006. Although three years removed from his prime, Rodriguez's loss to the Arizona heavyweight came as a major surprise to anyone following the former UFC champion's career. Now, almost three years later, Rodriguez has a chance to redeem himself, as he gets a second crack at Beraun, a man coming off back-to-back losses against UFC veterans Mike Whitehead and Wade Shipp.
8. Robert Jocz vs. Assan Njie
Glory 10, "The Battle of Arnhem," Nov. 9 -- Arnhem, Netherlands
A late addition to the Glory 10 card that features the heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Gary Goodridge, Jocz will lock horns with Njie, a Gambian submission specialist and professional boxer. A superbly rounded Pole, Jocz has recently signed a contract with Japanese promotion Sengoku and could be a candidate for its Jan. 4 show should he make it past the extremely tough and durable Njie. It's a true European super fight in the east of Holland.
7. Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia
UFC 91 "Couture vs. Lesnar," Nov. 15 -- Las Vegas
Despite a 22-month layoff from a career-threatening back injury, likable middleweight Quarry has made an impressive comeback, knocking out Pete Sell and winning a one-sided decision over Canadian Kalib Starnes in back-to-back fights. Now the 36-year-old is pitted against Maia, a reigning Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling world champion, and the best pure jiu-jitsu player in the UFC. The last time Quarry faced a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Brazil, he suffered a unanimous-decision loss. How will he fare this time?
6. Stefan Struve vs. Mario Neto
Cage Gladiators X "Clash of the Titans," Nov. 29 -- Liverpool, England
The main event at Cage Gladiators X will feature giant Dutch champion Struve, in the first defense of his heavyweight title, against incredibly experienced Brazilian Neto. Struve -- a 20-year-old, 6-foot-8, 235-pound prospect out of Team Schrijber -- has been busy the past two years, fighting a total of 12 times (11 wins). Neto, the head Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach at the prestigious Wolfslair Academy, has not fought since he was victimized by a second-round knockout against Eddie Sanchez in September 2006.
5. Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Sang Soo Lee
M-1 Challenge 9, Nov. 21 -- St. Petersburg, Russia
Emelianenko -- the younger brother of World Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko -- will make his first appearance in a ring since being denied a license to fight in California in July. Lee, a 25-year-old Korean prospect, will try and test the borderline top-10 fighter. The Han AJC fighter earned his crack at the younger Emelianenko by submitting Roman Zentsov -- a training partner of the Emelianenko brothers and No. 3 heavyweight in the Red Devil Sport Club stable -- in August at an M-1 Challenge event in Korea.
4. Rani Yahya vs. Yoshiro Maeda
WEC 36 "Faber vs. Brown," Nov. 5 -- Hollywood, Fla.
The fight between Brazil's Yahya and Japan's Maeda is a technique-lover's dream come true. Buried on the undercard below the featherweight title fight between Urijah Faber and Mike Thomas Brown, the bout offers a classic striker-versus-grappler showdown between Yahya -- the world's best grappler under 145 pounds -- and Maeda -- the reigning featherweight King of Pancrase. Coming off losses, both fighters will look to position themselves near the top of the WEC's star-studded bantamweight division.
3. Bobby Southworth vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Strikeforce "Destruction," Nov. 21 -- San Jose, Calif.
Babalu's shot at Southworth's gold was originally scheduled for the Strikeforce show at the Playboy Mansion in September, but had to be postponed when the champion injured his knee training. Fight fans at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., hope the second time's the charm for the two light heavyweights. The charismatic Brazilian will finally make his long-awaited debut for the promotion, as he tries to capture the 205-pound belt from the American Kickboxing Academy's Southworth.
2. Jorge Santiago vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Sengoku 6, Nov. 1 -- Saitama, Japan
Brazil's Santiago was written off by many experts after a mediocre start to his career, but the American Top Team middleweight has come to life in the past three years, winning 10 of his last 12 fights. Bahadurzada finds motivation for this bout from the fact that the winner of the Sengoku middleweight grand prix will draw Japanese standout Kazuo Misaki sometime in 2009. Misaki handed Bahadurzada a rare defeat at Sengoku's inaugural event in March.
1. Hideki Kadowaki vs. Takeshi Inoue
Shooto "Tradition 4," Nov. 29 -- Tokyo
One of the few duels between two world-ranked fighters in November has reigning Shooto lightweight champion Kadowaki defending his strap against one of his predecessors, the ninth-ranked Inoue. "Lion Takeshi" has slumped recently, losing to unranked American Savant Young and Akitoshi Tamura, an opponent he had already beaten. The crafty champion comes in with just one loss in three years and looks to tame Inoue with his slick submission skills.
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Tim Leidecker is a contributor to Sherdog.com.
