Fight fans unfamiliar with the smaller Japanese leagues like GCM or Pancrase will most likely know Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures) only from his devastating first-round TKO loss at the hands of Brazilian Andre "Dida" Amade in the quarterfinals of the HERO'S 155-pound tournament.

What they don't know is that the 5-foot-6 kickboxer from Dagestan in southern Russia had been on an absolute tear in Japan before his defeat to Dida. After suplexing jobber Yuji Miyazaki (Pictures) for a knockout in only 63 seconds in his Pancrase debut, the SK Absolute Russia fighter received a much tougher opponent in his sophomore appearance. Standing across the ring was Pancrase old hand Takafumi Ito (Pictures), who, with more than 60 fights under his belt, had 30 times the experience of Oumakhanov.

Nonetheless the Russian grinded out a unanimous decision, which catapulted him to No. 1 challenger status for the Pancrase lightweight title. Two wins over Kaynan Kaku (Pictures) and Wataru Miki (Pictures) later, and HERO'S matchmaker Akira Maeda (Pictures) called him up as a short-notice replacement for Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures).

Even though he botched his HERO'S debut, Oumakhanov still ranks second in Pancrase's official rankings. Before he can think about becoming a King, the 28-year-old, who also trains in Fedor's disciplines of sambo and judo, has a chance at redemption. He takes on Cage Warriors lightweight tournament winner Tomonari Kanomata (Pictures) in the main event of Cage Force's Nov. 11 show.

Kanomata will be an excellent test for Oumakhanov. He is not only a well-rounded and very experienced fighter, but also he has been undefeated in his last 11 fights, winning the last eight straight. The only time in his career the Paraestra Hachioji fighter was left empty-handed after a fight was against former DEEP lightweight champion and PRIDE veteran Nobuhiro Obiya (Pictures).

‘Tiger' ready for Silva

In a recent interview with the official Pancrase Web site, heavyweight challenger Kestutis "Tiger" Arbocius was very confident going into his King of Pancrase title bout Sunday with Brazilian champion Assuério Silva.

"I am fit and ready and expecting a hot war," the 32-year-old karate stylist said. "I'm certain that I will be able to leave the champion because of my wealth of experience."

In what Pancrase is promoting as the biggest heavyweight fight in its history, Arbocius will have his hands full with the Brazilian, who now trains at his own gym in Curitiba, Brazil, after previous stints at Chute Boxe and Muay Thai Dream Team.

Team Hardcore and Golden Glory battle in Arnhem

Team Hardcore, led by PRIDE veteran Rodney Faverus and the "Sambo Brothers," Sergey and Vitalius Shemetov, will duke it out with legendary Dutch fight team Golden Glory on Sunday at the Battle of Arnhem 6 at the Rijnhal Olympus in Arnhem.

Leading the charge for Golden Glory will be five-time European Muay Thai champion Ashwin Balrak, highly talented heavyweight Errol Zimmerman and Shooto veteran Dion Staring.

In the main event, Chico "El Torro" Martinez will take on Oktay Karatas in a rematch of an encounter in January, when Karatas submitted Martinez in the first round.

Muay Thai:
Dennis Selhorst (kb Arnhem) vs. TBA
Brian Hordijk (kb Arnhem) vs. Emin Ozbasi (Gunyar)
Rachid Belaini (Mike's Gym) vs. Chad Bischop (Oude Westen)
Peter Verschuuren (Team Hardcore) vs. Jan Wessels (Bully's Gym)
David Kirian (Team Hardcore) vs. Behrouz Rastagar (Team Lomulder)
Abdel Halim Issaoui (Team Hardcore) vs. Vejwsi Ipek (Germany)
Koos Wessels (Team Hardcore) vs. Mutlu Karabulut (Team Aerts)
Linda Ooms (Team Hardcore) vs. Maria Krivoshapkina (Ukraine)
Nong Toom (Thailand) vs. Jorina Baars (Sportart Den Helder)
Imro Main (FFC) vs. Gvegor Petroysan (Italy)
Tarek Slimani (Team Hardcore) vs. Victor Dick (Germany)
Henrique Zowa (Team Hardcore) vs. Ashwin Balrak (Golden Glory)
Rodney Faverus (Team Hardcore) vs. Errol Zimmerman (Golden Glory)

Dutch welterweight title fight
Joost Bauhaus (Team Hardcore) vs. Papyan Karapet (Ubeda Gym)

European middleweight title fight
Henry Akdeniz (Team Hardcore) vs. Darius Skliaudys (Lithuania)

MMA:
Sergei Shemetov (Team Hardcore) vs. Dave Dalgliesh (Team Schrijber)
Imre Horvath (Hungary) vs. Dion Staring (Golden Glory)
Vitali Shemetov (Team Hardcore) vs. Michael Starlaski (Poland)
Chico Martinez (Team Hardcore) vs. Oktay Karatas (Golden Glory)

‘The Bull' replaces Correira, Mousasi debuts

Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures), the younger but much bigger brother of the world's undisputed pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter, Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), has had a change of opponents for his Oct. 19 debut at Hardcore Championship Fighting.

Initially scheduled to face Hawaiian brawler Wesley "Cabbage" Correira in a clash of two very big heavyweights, the tattooed Russian will now have to adjust to an even heavier adversary in Dan "The Bull" Bobish.

The 6-foot-1, 330-pound wrestler is a former King of the Cage heavyweight champion and is riding a six-fight win streak that goes back to May of last year. Bobish also had brief stints in the UFC (1997) and PRIDE (2003-04).

Also on the card is another former PRIDE veteran in Armenian Muay Thai specialist Gegard Mousasi (Pictures). The 22-year-old current Cage Warriors middleweight champion made his North American debut in August with a first-round TKO victory over Kyacey Uscola (Pictures) in Vancouver.

He will square off against Croatian Damir Mirenic, who was named in a previous edition of European Throwdown as a future fighter on a UFC Fight Night.

Petraitis faces Puhakka at HERO'S Lithuania

The first fight announced for K-1's third annual HERO'S Lithuania show on Nov. 10 matches experienced Lithuanian grappler Erikas Petraitis (Pictures) against Scandinavian jiu-jitsu champion Niko Puhakka (Pictures) of Finland in what should be an all-out ground war.

Petraitis has been undefeated in his last five fights, with submission victories over the Polish duo of Przemyslaw Tomcyzk and Blazej Woznicki, and over Latvian newcomer Nikolai Khaustov. He also drew with UFC vet Naoyuki Kotani (Pictures) and then with fellow jiu-jitsu player Mariusz Radziszewski in his most recent bout.

Puhakka has had less luck during the same time span. Four straight defeats in 2004-2005 prompted the Espoon Kehahait fighter to drop from middleweight to lightweight. After taking 2006 off, a rejuvenated Puhakka has won two out of three in his new and much more fitting weight class.

Polish sumo wrestler at Cage Rage, Zaromskis returns

PRIDE may be dead and buried, but other promotions have learned from how the star-studded Japanese organization booked fights. One such event is Britain's Cage Rage, a former farm league for PRIDE and now a member of the ProElite network that includes EliteXC, Rumble on the Rock, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Spirit MC, and ICON Sport.

Cage Rage has been notorious for booking freak fights such as actor Dave Legeno (Pictures) against aging UFC legends Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) and Dan Severn (Pictures). That tradition continues at Cage Rage 24 on Dec. 1, when Robert Paczków fights kickboxer James McSweeney (Pictures).

Paczków is a 38-year-old Polish sumo wrestler who weighs 320 pounds but has zero MMA experience. Judging by past appearances of sumo legends like Akebono and Henry "Sentoryu" Miller, this does not bode well for the two-time world champion.

The future looks much brighter for Lithuanian prospect Marius Zaromskis (Pictures). The 26-year-old welterweight has taken out some of the better 170-pound fighters in Cage Rage, including Damien Riccio (Pictures) and Ross Mason (Pictures). Now he will square off against "The Ultimate Fighter 3" participant Ross Pointon (Pictures).

Kongo likely to meet ‘Minotauro'

The UFC has offered Cheick Kongo (Pictures) a fight against former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Sherdog.com confirmed with Reed Wallace of White Chocolate Management, which represents the French fighter in the United States.

Knowing that Nogueira has never shied from a challenge in his eight-year career, MMA fans can consider this marquee bout as good as signed. The only thing still to be decided is the date. Originally scheduled for UFC 79 on Dec. 29, it now appears that the fight, which will most likely be a heavyweight title eliminator, will be pushed back to UFC 80 in early 2008.

The winner of this classic striker versus grappler confrontation is poised for a title shot against Randy Couture (Pictures), perhaps on Super Bowl weekend if Kongo and Nogueira battle in 2007.

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