11/1/23: Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan To Headline December Card
A lightweight main event set for next month leads the MMA headlines for Wednesday
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily. We have a trio of stories for you, plus the usual notes section. Let’s begin.
Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan To Headline UFC Austin on December 2nd
A pair of big lightweight fights have been announced for UFC’s December 2nd show from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, USA. Ranked contenders Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan are expected to collide in the main event, per an announcement made by the promotion on Tuesday.
It was rumored for weeks that Dariush and Tsarukyan were expected to meet at some point at the end of this year. The now-revealed matchup will give Dariush a chance to bounce back from his sole loss since 2018, which was a first-round finish loss against former UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira in June.
Prior to that defeat, Dariush had an eight-fight winning streak going and was rapidly approaching a title shot. He still sits high up in the division, currently placed fourth at lightweight.
Tsarukyan is lower in the division but has a chance to springboard up a few spots with a win on Saturday. The 27-year-old is on a two-fight winning streak, having beaten Damir Ismagulov and Joaquim Silva over the past year. His last defeat — his sole main event appearance since joining the UFC — was a unanimous decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot last year.
UFC also announced a co-main event bout between Dan Hooker and Bobby Green.
Green is coming off an upset win from last month, scoring a 33-second finish win against Grant Dawson. That was his second victory of the year, with the first being a submission against Tony Ferguson.
Hooker will be on the hunt for his third consecutive win after overcoming Jalin Turner and Claudio Puelles recently.
As part of UFC’s announcement on Tuesday, two other fights that weren’t previously reported were revealed.
Six-fight undefeated talent Zachary Reese will make his UFC debut against Cody Brundage. Reese earned a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in August, submitting Eli Aronov in just over a minute with an armbar. It continued his pro career-long streak of first-round victories. Brundage will be trying to even his UFC record, which currently sits at three wins and four losses.
Also, the UFC debut of Rodolfo Bellato will come against Ihor Potieria at light heavyweight. Bellato, a former LFA titleholder, won last month on “Dana White’s Contender Series” with a second-round finish against Murtaza Talha. He’ll now face Potieria, who is coming off a loss to Carlos Ulberg from May.
Here’s the full lineup for UFC’s December 2nd card:
Bout 13: Beneil Dariush (22-5-1) vs. Arman Tsaruykyan (20-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 12: Dan Hooker (23-12) vs. Bobby Green (31-14-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 11: Miesha Tate (19-9) vs. Julia Avila (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Rob Font (20-7) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (21-3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 9: Sean Brady (15-1) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (18-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Jamey-Lyn Horth (6-0) vs. Veronica Hardy (7-4-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Khalil Rountree Jr. (12-5) vs. Azamat Murzakanov (13-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Clay Guida (38-23) vs. Joaquim Silva (12-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Joe Solecki (13-3) vs. Drakkar Klose (13-2-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Wellington Turman (18-7) vs. Jared Gooden (22-9) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Steve Garcia (14-5) vs. Melquizael Costa (20-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Cody Brundage (9-5) vs. Zachary Reese (6-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Ihor Potieria (20-4) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (11-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Derrick Lewis Arrested, Charged With Reckless Driving More Than A Week Before
Just a few days before he’s expected to appear in a five-round main event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis was arrested in Houston, Texas, USA, and charged with reckless driving.
Lewis, 38, was arrested Wednesday of last week after driving nearly three times over the speed limit, per a report posted by Mycah Hatfield of local Texas news outlet ABC 13. Court records obtained by ABC 13 allege that Lewis was driving 136 miles per hour (mph) in an area that had a limit of 50 mph.
Lewis was released from bail the same day as his arrest after paying a $100 personal recognizance bond.
On Saturday, Lewis is expected to face Jailton Almeida in the main event of a UFC “Fight Night” card.
Blood Diamond Departs UFC Roster
Mike Mathetha, also known by the alias Blood Diamond, is no longer on the UFC roster.
Mathetha, a City Kickboxing talent who competes as a welterweight, confirmed his release from the UFC roster in a recent social media post.
“I am where I’m meant to be,” said Mathetha on Instagram. “This is my journey. I’m gonna celebrate, you do what you wanna do.”
Diamond joined the UFC roster in early 2022, fighting on the undercard of teammate Israel Adesanya’s second title fight against Robert Whittaker. He had a short and unsuccessful debut, getting submitted in the first round by Jeremiah Wells.
Mathetha suffered a second loss later that year, dropping a unanimous decision to Orion Cosce at UFC 277.
After a year outside of the cage, Mathetha’s return didn’t yield a different result. He went three rounds against Charles Radtke, losing via decision in September. That defeat evened his pro-MMA record to three wins and three losses.
Notes On: UFC, ONE Championship & Cage Warriors
Undefeated flyweight Tatsuro Taira (14-0) has received his next assignment, per Marcel Dorff. Looking for his fifth win since joining the UFC roster in May of 2022, Taira is expected to face Carlos Hernandez (9-2) at UFC’s December 9th show. Hernandez is coming off a technical decision victory against Denys Bondar from earlier this year.
ONE Championship has announced two MMA bouts for their Friday Fights 39 show, which will take place later this week from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Appearing in ONE for the second time, Lucas Gabriel (7-1) will go up against Kurbanali Isabekov (9-1) at welterweight. Gabriel won his promotional debut in May, beating Ibragim Shaymanov via unanimous decision.
Undefeated Moises Ilogon (2-0) will look for his first ONE win when he faces Cho Joon Gun (3-2-1). Cho lost his ONE debut last month, suffering a submission defeat to Ismail Khan.
Two fights have joined Cage Warriors 164 from November 25th in Newcastle, England.
Decky McAleenan (8-5-1) has been pulled from his featherweight fight against Bailey Gilbert (8-5), per promotion officials. Replacing him will be Orlando Prins (4-2), who earned his first Cage Warriors win earlier this year against Antonio Sheldon.
Leon Armes (0-0) will make his pro debut at featherweight after scoring three wins as an amateur, meeting Anthony Laurent (1-1), who will be attempting to bounce back from his first defeat.
Heavyweights Sean Rose (1-2) and Diego Vazquez (1-1) have been matched up for Cage Warriors 165, which will take place on December 15th from San Diego, California.