10/19/23: Jennifer Maia, John Makdessi Among UFC Departures
The recent wave of UFC cuts lead the MMA headlines for Thursday
Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Knockdown Daily. We have a few stories for you here today, plus a small notes section.
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Eight More Fighters Reportedly Off UFC Roster
The remaining names mentioned in a recent rumored wave of UFC layoffs have been confirmed by a recent report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
John Makdessi, Andre Fialho, Hannah Goldy, AJ Fletcher, Kamuela Kirk, Tucker Lutz, and Shane Young are no longer on the UFC roster, as first noticed by UFC Roster Watch on Tuesday. A separate report from MMA Fighting also revealed that Jennifer Maia has also left the UFC roster after the end of her latest UFC contract.
Maia fought 12 times from 2018 to 2023, including a 2020 title shot against then-UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko. Her last appearance saw her two-fight winning streak come to an end with a decision defeat to Viviane Araujo.
Makdessi is the most experienced name to leave the roster recently. He fought a total of 20 times in the UFC from 2010 to 2023. Makdessi is departing the UFC after losing three of his past five fights, including a decision defeat last month to Jamie Mullarkey — a fight that many thought Makdessi won.
Welterweight Fialho is departing the roster after a busy seven fights in under two years. He suffered four consecutive losses in recent months, all via finish.
Young, a City Kickboxing talent, is departing the UFC after suffering four consecutive losses in recent years. His last appearance was at UFC 293, where he was submitted in 59 seconds by Gabriel Miranda.
Fletcher suffered his third loss through four appearances in September, getting caught in a rear naked choke against Bryan Battle. Fletcher entered the UFC roster in 2021, scoring a flying knee finish on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Lutz suffered three consecutive UFC losses, resulting in his recent departure. His last defeat was a July decision loss to Melsik Baghdasaryan.
Goldy joined the UFC roster in 2019 through “Dana White’s Contender Series.” She is departing the UFC roster after suffering one win through five appearances in the promotion.
Kirk had the shortest run of all departing UFC fighters. He entered the UFC roster in 2021, debuting with a win over Makwan Amirkhani. He then suffered defeats to Damon Jackson and Esteban Ribovics.
On Tuesday, Knockdown News was able to verify through social media posts that Carl Deaton III and JP Buys were removed from the UFC roster as part of this wave of releases.
Conor McGregor Avoids Sexual Assault Charge For June Incident In Miami
Prosecutors have decided against handing out sexual assault charges to Conor McGregor following an interaction he had with a woman during an NBA game in Miami, Florida in June.
A document obtained by TMZ shows that the prosecution for the case saw “insufficient evidence” and “contradicting and/or no corroborating witnesses” to prove that McGregor committed sexual assault.
After McGregor, 35, appeared at the Kaseya Center for an NBA Finals game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, a woman who was seen with him at the game submitted a sexual assault report to Miami police. McGregor put out a statement at the time, denying the allegation.
The allegation outlined that McGregor assaulted a woman when they entered a stall in the men’s washroom together inside the Kaseya Center.
After prosecutors interviewed an attendant of the washroom, a friend of the accuser, and reviewed a statement made by the accuser to police that night, they decided to not go forward with charges.
“In light of the above facts and circumstances, the State would not be able to satisfy its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors said.
For further details, Matt Murphy of BBC News wrote a report on the recent decision from prosecutors.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Mike Perry Headlines Bare-Knuckle Card Featuring Seven Former UFC Talents
Bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC announced a series of bouts for their December 6th show, including numerous former UFC talents.
Both returning to bare-knuckle action, former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez will face Mike Perry in the main event of BKFC 56 from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Alvarez won his bare-knuckle debut in April, scoring a split decision win over Chad Mendes. It was his first appearance after wrapping up a four-fight run with ONE Championship.
Perry, a 15-fight UFC vet, has yet to lose through three bare-knuckle boxing appearances. His last outing was in April when he stopped Luke Rockhold in the second round.
In the co-main event, heavyweight Todd Duffee will appear under bare-knuckle rules for the first time when he faces Ben Rothwell.
Duffee fought in the UFC six times, earning three wins. He is getting booked for BKFC after travel issues forced him off a RIZIN card from September.
Rothwell, a fighter who competed 17 times in the UFC, has finished both of his opponents since moving over to BKFC.
Lower on the card, UFC talents Jimmie Rivera and Jeremy Stephens will be matched up as well. And making her sixth bare-knuckle boxing appearance, Bec Rawlings will fight Christine Ferea.
More details can be read in MMA Fighting’s report here.
Notes On: UFC & KSW
Two more fights have joined UFC 296, which is looking to be a strong end-of-year pay-per-view lineup from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 16th.
Coming off a decision victory over Trevin Jones in March, Cody Garbrandt (13-5) will meet Brian Kelleher (24-14), who will attempt to avoid slipping into a three-fight losing streak. Damon Martin of MMA Fighting confirmed the matchup first.
Josh Emmett (18-4) and Giga Chikadze (15-3) will collide. Chikadze bounced back from his sole UFC defeat in August, beating Alex Caceres via decision. Emmett will be attempting to come back after losing five-round bouts to Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria.
KSW announced earlier this week that they will head to the Czech Republic for KSW 91 on February 17th, 2024 at the Home Credit Arena in Liberec.