5 Upcoming MMA Fights We Wish Were In The Big Leagues

By Jay Anderson /

4. Mike Ricci vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Mike "The Martian" Ricci was runner up on season 16 of The Ultimate Fighter, losing to Colton Smith in the finals in a fight that he really should have won. Smith never won another fight in the UFC and was cut earlier this year; Ricci went 1-2 in the promotion before being cut himself. The good news is, once outside the UFC, the former Bellator prospect who trains with Rory MacDonald got a fresh start, and picked up wins over two fighters with solid UFC credentials in Jorge Gurgel and George Sotiropoulos. The 10-4 Canadian fighter now faces Japan's Yoshiyuki Yoshida (17-6), a former UFC fighter who struggled in the promotion but is on a six fight win streak. Why do we care? Both of these fighters are probably worthy of a second chance in the UFC, and they'll be fighting for the vacant Titan FC lightweight championship on Halloween.