11/18/24: A Look At The Week Ahead
Plus a glimpse into the start of UFC's 2025, and results from Sunday's RIZIN card.
Welcome to a Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue has the usual preview of the week, plus a couple of news stories to tackle as the week gets started. It’s another super jam-packed read for you!
Just before we get started, a couple of housekeeping notes:
The newsletter will not publish on Tuesday, but instead will return later this week with a catch-up of the latest headlines.
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News
Returns To Los Angeles, Riyadh Among Events In First-Quarter 2025 UFC Schedule
UFC recently unveiled its full schedule for the first quarter of 2025, unveiling its plan to host 11 shows and hit five different arenas in the coming months.
While some parts of UFC’s lineup to begin 2025 was already announced – like a February pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia and a return to The O2 in London, England – some recently rumored shows were also confirmed as part of the recent schedule.
UFC will notably return to Los Angeles, California for the first time in over six years, hosting a PPV from the recently opened Intuit Dome.
While UFC frequently visits the state of California, including a trip they made to Anaheim earlier this year, the promotion hasn’t specifically gone to its most populous city in the area since UFC 227 in 2018. Their upcoming visit comes just a few months after Intuit Dome, a 18,000-capacity arena mainly used for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, opened.
Just two weeks after that show, UFC will make its second-ever stop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of a multi-year agreement with the country’s tourism board. While their previous visit took place in the 30,000-seat Kingdom Arena, the upcoming show is expected to go down in the smaller 8,000-capacity location titled “The Venue.”
It was also announced that UFC 313 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in March. Along with their “International Fight Week” and December PPV shows in Vegas, a stop in “Sin City” around mid-March to early April has been common on the promotion’s schedule for years.
In a testament to how UFC’s “APEX” studio location remains a key fixture to their programming nearly five years after they first leaned on the location to tape shows amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue will be utilized at least four times to start the year.
Among the 11 scheduled shows, two UFC cards will have their locations revealed at a later date. Here’s how the promotion will begin 2025:
1/18/25 – UFC Fight Night – UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1/18/25 – UFC 311 – Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, California, USA
2/1/25 – UFC Fight Night – The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2/8/25 – UFC 312 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
2/15/25 – UFC Fight Night – UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
2/22/25 – UFC Fight Night – Location TBC
3/1/25 – UFC Fight Night – UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
3/8/25 – UFC 313 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
3/15/25 – UFC Fight Night – UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
3/22/25 – UFC Fight Night – The O2, London, England
3/29/25 – UFC Fight Night – Location TBC
Former RIZIN Champs Vugar Karamov & Ayaka Hamasaki Win In Returns At LANDMARK 10
A pair of past RIZIN champions returned to the win column as part of the promotion’s “LANDMARK 10” card from Nagoya, Japan on Sunday night.
Ex-RIZIN Featherweight Champion Vugar Karamov scored a statement win in his return to the cage this week, putting away veteran Kazumasa Majima less than a full minute into their fight.
A hard right hook from Karamov floored Majima just past the 15-second mark of the main event, allowing the Azerbaijani talent to start teeing off with ground and pound shots. He unloaded with a series of punches and elbows to a shelled-up Majima on the ground, forcing an end to the bout after just 28 seconds.
Karamov was returning after being on the wrong side of a quick fight in his prior assignment. The 32-year-old had his short reign as RIZIN Featherweight Champion brought to a sudden end last November, getting finished in just 78 seconds by Chihiro Suzuki.
Prior to his loss against Suzuki last year – Karamov’s first time being stopped in his decade-long career – he had an impressive run in the Japanese promotion. Past wins included a rear naked choke against former UFC talent Yoshinori Horie, and a first-round submission over Mikuru Asakura to capture the vacant featherweight title.
Following his lightning-speed victory on Sunday, Karamov focused on his path toward a second title reign. He eyed potentially facing the winner of an upcoming title fight between incumbent champ Suzuki and former titleholder Kleber Koike, which will go down next month.
“The winner of Suzuki and Kleber on New Year’s Eve, let’s go,” Karamov said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “I want back what’s mine.”
Majima had the chance to score his biggest RIZIN win yet this weekend. The experienced talent has fought in the promotion since 2020, providing mixed results against featherweights of varying success levels. He came into Sunday’s main event following a submission win at Super RIZIN 3, beating Suguru Nii.
One of the most decorated atomweights in the world returned earlier in the evening.
Ayaka Hamasaki, former two-time RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion and the record-holder for the longest reign in the promotion’s 108-pound division history appeared for the first time in more than two years with a victory over Korea’s Shim Yu-ri.
A slick grappling sequence from Hamasaki early in the second round earned her a kimura submission, marking her first victory since 2022.
The former champ brought the fight to the ground with a judo throw, then started to look for an arm of Shim’s on her back. Hamasaki moved into top control while beginning to apply a kimura to Shim, cranking back the Korean talent’s arm. Shim tapped shortly after Hamasaki swept up into a top position, calling an end to the bout.
The decorated atomweight was engaged in a close battle prior to the finish. Hamasaki got Shim to the mat and moved into full mount early in the fight, but faced adversity in stand-up exchanges. Shim’s boxing in particular worked in the first round, with straight punches connecting cleanly on Hamasaki. In a battle of styles, it was Hamasaki who eventually prevailed.
Hamasaki took a break from competition after losing in the semi-final round of RIZIN’s 2022 Super Atomweight Grand Prix, dropping a decision to Park Si-woo. The 42-year-old is the most decorated women’s talent to grace the RIZIN ring, having previously held the promotion’s super atomweight title for a combined 1,417 days in the past. Past performances included wins over notable talents like Kanna Asakura, Jinh Yu Frey and Miyuu Yamamoto.
Earlier in her career, Hamasaki earned titles in U.S. regional promotion Invicta FC and trailblazing Japanese women’s MMA brand Jewels.
Shim, a former Road FC Atomweight Champion, was making her second RIZIN appearance of the year. She previously went the distance against RENA, not being favored on scorecards in that fight.
Here are the quick results from RIZIN’s latest show:
Bout 16: Vugar Karamov def. Kazumasa Majima via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:28)
Bout 15: Ayaka Hamasaki def. Shim Yu-ri via Submission, Kimura (RD 2, 1:15)
Bout 14: Ryusei Ashizawa def. Shoji Maruyama via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:05)
Bout 13: Tsuyoshi Sudario def. Hisaki Kato via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:11)
Bout 12: Kyouma Akimoto def. Hiroaki Suzuki via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Kim Kyung-pyo def. Daigo Kuramoto via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:59)
Bout 10: Yuki Ito def. Lee Jung-hyun via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:59)
Bout 9: Hiroya def. Yuya Shibata via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Tony Laramie def. Yutaro Muramoto via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Magerram Gasanzade def. Rikuto Shirakawa via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Alan Yamaniha def. Seigo Yamamoto via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:07)
Bout 5: Alibek Gadzhammatov def. Daichi Kitakata via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:20)
Bout 4: Taito Kubota def. Junya Hibino via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:26)
Bout 3: Masashi Inada def. Katsuyoshi Sasaki via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 1:38)
Bout 2: Sho Hiramatsu def. Daisuke Tatsumi via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:53)
Bout 1: Jin def. Toshizo via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
A Look At The Week Ahead
Friday
LFA 197: Kuziutina vs. Guimaraes
The U.S. and Brazilian sides of LFA’s business don’t usually cross paths. When a card takes place in California, New York, Arizona, South Dakota, or any of the other American stops that LFA frequents, it’s mainly local talents in action. And when the promotion touches down in Brazil, it’s always the country’s best prospects facing off against each other.
But this weekend is not like most for the LFA. Natasha Kuziutina, a Russian-based fighter who trains out of American Top Team in Florida, will bring her interim strawweight title over to Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday night to meet Yasmin Guimaraes in a five-round headliner.
35-year-old Kuziutina has been on a highly impressive run on the regional scene in recent years. This weekend is her chance to win a third title fight within 12 months, showing her dominance in the LFA despite being just an interim champ. Previous title fights saw her snap the undefeated record of GiGi Canuto in late 2023, and then beat former Bellator talent Bruna Ellen on scorecards in August.
Now returning to the same country where she captured Bronze for Russia in women’s judo at the 2016 Olympic games, Kuziutina will look to put together another big performance. If she can keep her run going, it would be hard to imagine that a larger promotion wouldn’t be interested in meeting with her soon.
Guimaraes enters this weekend with an fair amount of momentum in the strawweight division. The 28-year-old has strung together five wins since 2022, including a pair of victories over undefeated prospects in Polish promotion KSW last year. She’s coming off a successful LFA debut from six months back, getting past Naizi Cantanhede in a decision outcome. After a strong run around the globe, Guimaraes will step into the biggest opportunity yet in her career when she meets Kuziutina on Saturday.
A lengthy lineup of Brazilian prospects will appear at the Ginasio do Povilho before the main event, showcasing some of the region’s future stars. Notable appearances set for this weekend include quick finisher Samuel Dias, explosive undefeated welterweight Michael Oliveira, and former Bellator talent Jose Augusto.
Here’s how the show looks:
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 9:00PM BRT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 15: Natasha Kuziutina (6-1) vs. Yasmin Guimaraes (8-1) (Interim LFA Strawweight Championship)
Bout 14: Samuel Dias (10-2) vs. Samuel Silva (12-4-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 13: Felipe Oliveira (10-3) vs. Marcio Barbosa (15-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 12: Vinicius Pires (9-1) vs. Jhon Rodriguez Tacha (12-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Edivan Santos (17-5) vs. Jose Augusto (9-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Luann Sardinha (8-0) vs. Marcelo Marques (10-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Michael Oliveira (7-0) vs. Aldo Pereira (11-7-2) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 8: Richard Martins (8-1) vs. Lucas Batista (7-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Juan Pablo Vieira (7-0) vs. Maycon Kevin (5-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Reginaldo Junior (8-1) vs. Dallys Moraes Gama (7-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Janaina Silva (5-1) vs. Aieza Bertolso (4-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 4: Ryan Gandra (6-1) vs. Vladimir Calvo (4-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Nicoly Pedroza (5-0) vs. Thalita Diniz (5-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Beatriz Consuli (4-0) vs. Thaiany Lopes (5-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Ana Clara Santos (0-0) vs. Maria Vaz (0-0) (Strawweight)
Saturday
UFC on ESPN+ 106: Yan vs. Figueiredo
UFC is heading overseas this weekend, serving a market which has seen few events from them in recent years.
This weekend is the first Macau card in over a decade—returning to the Chinese Special Administrative Region after many years away—as well as the promotion’s first show in East Asia since 2019. While the promotion has notably made a few trips to the Southeast Asian state of Singapore as well as many shows in Abu Dhabi over the past few years, Saturday is the closest show that the 1.4 billion citizens in China and the 700,000 Macau residents have experienced in a long time.
In the new Galaxy Arena, the live Macau crowd will get a pretty great welcome back card by the top fight promotion. After an evening of matchups showcasing the best talents representing Vietnam, Mongolia, South Korea, and of course China, the evening will end with a high-level clash in the bantamweight division between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo.
The main event sees a pair of former champs look to further their next run toward a title opportunity. While it’s highly likely that either will be next in line for a shot—with second-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov the widely considered frontrunner for a championship bout—they sit third and fifth in the standings, not putting them far off from a chance at the belt in the future.
Figueiredo only joined the bantamweight division just under a year ago, making the move after being the center of attention at flyweight for years. The flashy Brazilian fighter competed in six consecutive 125-pound title fights from 2020 to 2023, gaining the belt twice and having a four-chapter rivalry with Brandon Moreno along the way. After losing to Moreno for the second time in early 2023, Figueiredo decided to change things up with a division move.
Figueiredo’s campaign at 135 has gone well thus far. Beating a trio of high-profile contenders—overcoming the highly tested Rob Font on scorecards, submitting former champ Cody Garbrandt and going five rounds against recent title challenger Marlon Vera—has quickly made him one of the fastest rising names in the division. However, he must pass more tough tests before he can ever attempt to become a two-division champion. If he can win this weekend, he will undoubtedly have one of the second-best résumé in the class.
For Yan, this weekend gives him a chance to put together his first winning streak in years.
To say Yan simply had a three-fight run of losses in recent years ignores the incredibly important context of who he faced. As he exited the 135-pound division’s title mix, he took decision losses to a trio of names who have held a UFC title recently, meaning he only fought the best of the best. In 2022, he dropped rematch to Aljamain Sterling via split decision. Later that year he lost another split decision to Sean O’Malley, who went on to dethrone Sterling. And after that loss he dropped a fight to Merab Dvalishvili, who is now the current bantamweight champ.
The fact that Yan was going the distance and at times producing close results against the division’s toughest names was a testament to his skill. However, it was important for him to eventually turn things around and start getting wins. Luckily he stopped the bleeding at UFC 299 earlier this year, winning a three-round decision to eighth-ranked Song Yadong. He’ll try to keep that momentum going this weekend.
Given that Yan lost to current champ Dvalishvili quite decisively last year, it’s hard to discuss title implications if he wins on Saturday night. But here’s the truth: If successful, he will maintain his highly prestigeous rank in the division and will have recorded wins over three of the top-10 names below him in the standings. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Before the main event, many of the promotion’s top Chinese names will be in action. Yan Xiaonan will appear for the first time since an unsuccessful strawweight title shot when she faces Tabatha Ricci in the co-main event. Ricci has the chance to make a huge jump in the 115-pound standings if she can pull off a win, currently eight spots behind second-place Yan.
Earlier in the card, undefeated flyweight prospect Wang Cong will make her second UFC appearance. After beating Victoria Leonardo earlier this year in just 62 seconds, the former kickboxing opponent of Valentina Shevchenko will be a massive favorite against Brazil’s Gabriella Fernandes. Other Chinese talents include light heavyweight finisher Zhang Mingyang, and 10-bout UFC vet Song Kenan.
Saturday’s prelims will feature the finals of “Road To UFC,” an Asia-focused tournament which provides bracket winners a spot on the promotion’s roster. Fights at bantamweight, flyweight, and for the first time in the show’s history, strawweight, will go down this weekend. The card was notably also expected to receive a featherweight grand final bout between Zhu Kangjie and Xie Bin, although recent social media posts from Xie noted that the fight has been postponed due to an injury on Zhu’s side.
This weekend’s UFC card is further east than any show the promotion has put on in years, and thus will air earlier in the U.S. than any event the brand has presented in a long time. The prelims will begin as early as 3 a.m. ET, with the main card beginning shortly thereafter.
Here’s the full lineup:
Main Card (6:00AM EST / 7:00PM CST) (ESPN+)
Bout 13: Petr Yan (17-5) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 12: Yan Xiaonan (18-4) vs. Tabatha Ricci (11-2) (Strawweight)
Bout 11: Ozzy Diaz (9-2) vs. Zhang Mingyang (17-6) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Song Kenan (22-8) vs. Muslim Salikhov (20-5) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Wang Cong (6-0) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (9-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Volkan Oezdemir (20-7) vs. Carlos Ulberg (10-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Preliminary Card (3:00AM EST / 4:00PM CST) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Carlos Hernandez (9-4) vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (8-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Feng Xiaocan (10-2) vs. Shi Ming (16-5) (Road To UFC Strawweight Final)
Bout 5: Kiru Sahota (12-2) vs. Choi Dong-hoon (8-0) (Road To UFC Flyweight Final)
Bout 4: You Su-young (13-3) vs. Balgyn Jenisuly (19-5) (Road To UFC Bantamweight Final)
Bout 3: Lone’er Kavanagh (7-0) vs. Jose Ochoa (7-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Xiao Long (26-9) vs. Quang Le (8-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Maheshate (10-3) vs. Nikolas Motta (14-5) (Lightweight)
Cage Warriors 181: Hardwick vs. Lopes
Cage Warriors is going out with a bang for their final European show of 2024.
Heading back to the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England, the promotion will present a triple-header of title fights on Saturday evening.
The main event of the night will see featherweight champ Harry Hardwick look to defend his title for the first time in a fight against Brazilian prospect Keweny Lopes.
Hardwick became champ in May, stopping short-notice opponent Orlando Wilson Prins in the second round of a fight with strikes. The title opportunity emerged after a lengthy run of wins on the regional scene, beating undefeated Vitor Estevam and getting by highly experienced Steve Aimable in the years leading up to the shot.
The champ has been paired against Lopes, a Brazilian prospect who is taking a trip over the pond with lots of hype. The 29-year-old Nova Uniao talent has gone undefeated since 2017, going on a run of 11 consecutive victories. Among his wins was a regional French title victory against Mathias Poiron earlier this year, a 94-second stoppage victory in the main event of an LFA card, and numerous appearances in notable Brazilan promotion Shooto Brasil.
A win for either fighter in Saturday’s headliner will add to what is already an stellar record for a prospect, making them ripe for a call-up to a larger promotion.
In the co-main event spot, Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion Shajidul Haque will face Nicolas Leblond.
Haque has held the promotion’s 125-pound division belt since late 2022, when he knocked out Sam Creasey in the third round with an overhand right. He has since returned to defend his title once, going the distance against Michele Martignoni in 2023 to win via unanimous decsion.
After more than a year out of the cage, Haque will take on a French prospect who has been on the rise in Cage Warriors for the past year. Leblond has strung together five wins since early 2023, including a run of four finishes in a 13-month period. While he has impressed against talents with decent records in recent years, this weekend is a massive step-up for him. Appearing in his first-ever five-round fight, he’ll meet a talent who has taken out a pair of solid prospects in recent years.
A fight between Haque and Leblond was initially scheduled to take place in July, but had to be re-booked after the champ suffered an injury. This week, it will finally come to fruition.
The third title fight will see Kennedy Freeman—the daughter of UFC pioneer Ian Freeman—battle for the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title against Mafalda Carmona.
Freeman made her return to competition just under a year ago, coming back to MMA following a trio of wins in her rookie year as a pro. She had impressive showings after joining the Cage Warriors banner in 2023, putting away Annabruna Rados and Gisele Libanio with strikes.
Now looking to gain the first title in her career, undefeated Freeman will fight Portuguese prospect Carmona. While a newcomer to Cage Warriors, Carmona enters with a strong four-fight winning streak including a May victory over Adrianna Kreft in KSW.
Here’s a look at the final Cage Warriors card in Europe this year. It’s worth noting that some of these fights will air as part of the show’s prelims, which will take place three hours before the main card begins. The official bout order will be confirmed by the promotion later this week:
Main Card (3:30PM EST / 8:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 12: Harry Hardwick (11-3-1) vs. Keweny Lopes (11-1-1) (Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Bout 11: Shajidul Haque (16-5) vs. Nicolas Leblond (11-4) (Cage Warriors Flyweight Championship)
Bout 10: Kennedy Freeman (5-0) vs. Mafalda Carmona (7-2) (Vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 9: Justin Burlinson (8-2) vs. Theodor Berggren (6-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: James Power (7-1) vs. Dumitru Girlean (8-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Aiden Lee (12-8) vs. Daniel Konrad (6-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Josh Abraham (7-5) vs. Tommy Hawthorn (5-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Leon Armes (2-0) vs. Hossein Mousavi (2-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Bailey Gilbert (8-6) vs. Alberth Dias (6-5) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Charles Joyner (4-1) vs. Yannick Bahati (9-7) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Michael Tchamou (5-4) vs. Furqan Cheema (3-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: James Dixon (4-2) vs. Qendrim Pallata (4-1) (Middleweight)
Some other events to keep an eye out for this week…
Undefeated Ares FC Middleweight Champion Virgil Augen (7-0) will receive his first test as champ this weekend, going up against Brazil’s Moacir Rocha (14-7-1) in a five-round tilt. After building up his record in French-based Ares FC with four wins, Augen captured the promotion’s vacant 185-pound title earlier this year with a submission win over Vlad Gutu. Former Carlos Prates opponent Rocha is competing outside of Brazil for the first time this weekend, looking to use his experience advantage over Augen to win a title. Lower on the card, former UFC talent Zarah Fairn (6-7) will look to snap a five-fight winning streak in featherweight action. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
Croatian prospects will be on display in this weekend when FNC presents a card from Zagreb. Among the two title fights of the evening is a matchup that sees incumbent 205-pound champ Matej Batinic (20-5) take on Krzysztof Jotko (24-6) in his first regional appearance since a lengthy UFC career and brief PFL run.
The globe-trotting Brave CF will make its debut in Vienna, Austria this Saturday, with one of the country’s own competing in the headlining spot. At the rarely showcased “Super Middleweight” class of 175 pounds, 27-year-old Muslim Danaev (7-0) will take on former PFL Europe competitor Chequina Noso Pedro (9-4) in the main event. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
Polish MMA brand FEN will crown a new lightweight champion when Damian Rzepecki (7-0) and Marcin Jablonski (12-2) meet on Saturday night. Rzepecki has built up an undefeated seven-fight record since his late-2021 debut, finishing all of his past opponents either due to strikes or submission along the way. Jablonski enters the cage with a nine-fight winning streak, including appearances in notable brand Babilon MMA. The card will also feature a welterweight title clash between Mansur Abdurzakov (11-4) and Wawrczyniec Bartnik (9-4).
A quick check-in on the world of boxing: In a clash between undefeated welterweights, David Papot (29-0-1) will take on Canada’s Josh Wagner (18-0) on Friday night in Nantes, France. The fight sees both talents wager a minor belt in the process: Papot will bring his WBO Global Welterweight Championship to the table, and Wagner will put up his IBF International belt.