An injury suffered during training camp to middleweight Marcelo “War Machine” Barreira (17-4) has forced the popular Brazilian fighter to withdraw from the Road to M-1: USA 2main event against Dakota Cochrane, on Thursday night, April 4 in Pipa Event Center at Quechan Casino Resort, located in Winterhaven, California, which is on the Arizona border.
The heavy-handed Cochrane (31-12), fighting out of Omaha, NE, will now face Barreira’s capable replacement, fellow Brazilian fighter Joilton “Peregrino” Santos (28-7, 1 NC), in the 5 X 5 headline event.
Road to M-1: USA 2 willstream live on UFC FIGHT PASS in the inaugural event of a new agreement between M-1 Global USA and FIGHT PASS.
A possible M-1 Global promotional contract could be on the line in some of these fights, much like it was last August in Nashville, Tennessee, at Road to M-1: USA 1.
The 32-year-old Cochrane has fought in numerous promotions, including Bellator, and last November he knocked out former UFC welterweight champion Jonny Hendricks in the second round of their bare-knuckles fight.
Santos is equally adept striking or on the ground having stopped 11 opponents by submission and eight by knockout with nine wins by decision. He is riding a six-fight win streak. Last May, he lost a unanimous decision at M-1 Challenge 92 to vaunted Russian striker Danila Prikaza (11-2-1), who takes on undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (10-0) for the vacant M-1 Challenge welterweight title this Saturday in Kazakhstan at M-1 Challenge 101.
The co-featured event pits California lightweight Jamall “Prettyboy” Emmers (13-4) against another tough Brazilian, Caio “Lionheart” Machado (11-5), who now lives in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Veteran American MMA fighter Travis “Diesel” Wiuff (75-22, 1 NC) faces Josue “Mr. Incredible” Lugo, Jr. (8-3, 1 NC) in a heavyweight match. Wiuff has been a pro MMA fighter since 2001 and he has fought in the UFC, PRIDE and Bellator. Upset-minded Lugo is stepping up in class to fight Wiuff.
Arizona featherweight Andres “The Punisher” Ponce (3-5-1) battles Solon “Solo” Staley (9-5), of Columbia, SC, and Norwegian strawweight Caline Haga (10-16), fighting out of Albuquerque, NM, faces Tennessean Jennifer “Savage” Clausius (0-1) in a special female match.
Iowa heavyweight Travis “The Ironman” Fulton (254-54-10, 1 NC), all-time record holder for most sanctioned professional MMA fights, meets another seasoned veteran, Shannon “The Cannon” Ritch (57-84), of Arizona.
Also fighting on the undercard is Mexican featherweight Joe Gustina (7-4) vs. Ronee “The Strong Heart Kid” Dizon, of Phoenix (AZ); Cuban-born Enso Perez vs. Nick Alwag in a battle of pro-debuting flyweights, and pro-debuting middleweight Deon Clash vs. Jose “Chepe” Galaviz (1-1) for Arizona bragging rights.