By Sijin Kurian
One of the biggest Fury events to date will take place this weekend as Fury Fighting
Championship 46 takes place live at the Bayou City Event Center in Houston, TX this Sunday, May 16 th! Not only will there be THREE titles on the line, but the UFC president himself, Dana White, will be in attendance as he looks for the next crop of UFC fighters. Broadcast on UFC Fight Pass, the main card will feature a total of 9 fights!
The main event will be for the Fury Welterweight Title as Nikolay Verretinikov (8-3) takes on UFC veteran and former Fury Welterweight Champ, Anthony Ivy (8-4). Born in Kazakhstan, Nikolay had a rocky start to his professional career. After winning his first fight, he lost his next three. Instead of quitting, Nikolay made the move to the US and settled in the Houston area. He would go on to find his groove and win his next seven fights, with four of those victories having been inside the Fury cage. A Wushu and Sanda trained fighter, five of Nikolay’s wins have come by TKO. In the cage with him will be
the former champ Ivy, who relinquished his title to go to the UFC. Now he’s back to reclaim his title and get another shot at the big show. Before getting the call up to the UFC, Ivy rode a five-fight win streak, which not only saw him win the Fury title, but also defend it twice. Whether he wins or loses, Ivy always brings the fight as he has only went to the scorecards once in his professional career, and twice has he gone past the second round.
The co-main event sees Fury Bantamweight Champ Leomana Martinez (7-2) take on Jose Johnson (12-6). A devastating striker, Leomana has violently stopped opponents in all seven of his wins. He defended his title for the second time in March after falling short on the Contender Series. He’s out to prove that his last fight in front of Dana White was a fluke. Challenging him for his title is another devastating striker, Jose Johnson. A winner of six of his last seven fights, Johnson has a highlight reel of knockout victories,
including a Fight Pass Finish of the Year. Both of these fighters will bring fireworks.
The first title fight of the night will be Fury Featherweight Champion Cameron Graves (9-3) defending his title against Fernando Padilla (13-4). Graves is a well-rounded fighter with dangerous submissions and KO power, as evidenced by his headkick knockout victory at Fury FC 45. His opponent, Padilla, has a wealth of experience and trains out of one of the top gyms in the country, Team Oyama. Also a well-rounded fighter, Padilla has been able to finish opponents on the ground and standing. This should be an exciting fight!
Also on the card, dangerous striker and slick submission artist (who is coming off a victory by flying triangle) Josh Altum (4-1) takes on undefeated fighter Theo Rlayang (5-0). Both of these featherweight fighters are known for finishing opponents.
Former Fury Flyweight champion and two-time Contender Series veteran Jacob Silva (6-5) takes on Rashaad Robinson (3-2). Robinson is as game as any fighter, as he is taking on the former champ on short notice. Silva looks to rebound after losing his title in what is arguably the best fight in Fury FC history to CJ Vergara. Silva is always in an exciting fight, and Robinson is as scrappy as they come.
A veteran of the Houston MMA scene, Alex Black (11-5) comes out of retirement to take on Air Force Intelligence Officer Alec Williams (6-2). Both fighters have strong grappling backgrounds with excellent submissions, and have fought high-level competition.
Lightweight Kolton Englund (7-3) keeps overcoming adversity, whether it be cancer or losing his mother at the end of last year. The former Fury Lightweight Champion looks to overcome another hurdle on Sunday as he tries to get his UFC shot. His opponent, Army veteran and Minneapolis fire captain Kenn Glenn (9-5), pulled off an upset at Fury FC 45 when he submitted Bellator veteran Will Morris.
Former Flyweight Title Challenger Shawn Solis (5-3) takes on Paris Moran (3-1). Shawn brings excellent counter punching and wrestling along with a great pace that’s hard for opponents to keep up with. Paris has a decorated Sanda career, being a multiple time national champion and a world medalist in the sport. He will look to keep Shawn at bay with his strikes, while Shawn will look to pressure and wear Paris down.
Opening the main card will be Cameron Smotherman (2-0) and Carlos Jimenez (Debut) in a bantamweight bout. Cameron will be having his third fight in three months, and looks to continue his winning streak. An aggressive striker, Cameron will use his recent activity to push the pace over Jimenez whose last fight was almost nine years ago. Undefeated as an amateur, Jimenez captured Fury’s amateur bantamweight championship. He will look to his experience to deal with speed and aggression of Cameron.
A full list of the main card and prelims are down below. Catch Fury Fighting Championship 46 live at the Bayou City Event Center in Houston, TX on May 16 th or on UFC Fight Pass!
Main Card (Live on UFC Fight Pass 4:30 PM CT)
Main Event: 170 lb Title - Nikolay Verretinikov (8-3) vs Anthony Ivy (8-4)
135 lb Title - Leomana Martinez (7-2) vs Jose Johnson (12-6)
145 lb Title - Cameron Graves (9-3) vs Fernando Padilla (13-4)
145 - Josh Altum (4-1) vs Theo Rlayang (5-0)
125 - Jacob Silva (6-5) vs Rashaad Robinson (3-2)
155 - Alex Black (11-5) vs Alec Williams (6-2)
155 - Kolton Englund (7-3) vs Kenn Glenn (9-5)
125 - Shawn Solis (5-3) vs Paris Moran (3-1)
135 - Cameron Smotherman (2-0) vs Carlos Jimenez (Debut)
Preliminary Card (Live on Facebook 2:30 PM CT)
265 – Jeremy Hardy (6-4) vs Juan Adams (5-3)
155 – Jared Foust (2-1) vs Aaron Reeves (6-3)
145 – Andrew Slater (Debut) vs Justice Torres (Debut)
205 – Ty Flores (7-3) vs Larry Crowe (10-7)
170 – Morgan Oriahi (2-1) vs Mikey Patterson (1-0)
145 – Michael Aswell, Jr. (Debut) vs Jordan Plutin (0-2)
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