10 November Tussles Worth Watching

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 inside 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 number three 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 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.