Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes two news pieces for you, and a preview of the upcoming week in MMA (spoiler: there isn’t that much to preview, actually).
Just a reminder that the newsletter is off Tuesday and will return Wednesday.
Let’s get started!
ONE Championship Plans New Focus on MMA, ‘North of 60’ Events For 2024
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong has promised more inclusion of MMA in their 2024 schedule, along with an ambitious plan for the months ahead.
In an interview with Nicolas Atkin for the South China Morning Post, Chatri said that the promotion plans to host “north of 60 events” next year, including dates in the U.S., Qatar, Japan and Philippines.
ONE Championship promotes matches in many different combat sports. This includes MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and even grappling. In 2023, ONE Championship’s programming took a noticeable focus on Thailand and the sport of Muay Thai. This was mainly due to the promotion’s weekly “Friday Fights” series, which took place in Bangkok and mainly consisted of Muay Thai bouts.
Chatri believes that after a year of running the “Friday Fights” series, it has become established enough that they can go back to their focus on MMA, the combat sport they have mostly targeted in the past.
“The focus will be sharply back onto mixed martial arts,” he told SCMP.
The announcement for ONE’s 2024 schedule is something that Chatri says will be announced soon. However, some details about the future are already public. Their debut in Doha, Qatar — which was originally planned for December 1st of this year — will now be on March 1st.
Atkin of SCMP has recently reported the promotion’s plan to have two-division champion Christian Lee return in February. Lee’s last appearance was in November 2022, when he scored a stoppage win against Kiamrian Abbasov.
It was also reported that a rematch between ONE 125-pound champ Jarred Brooks against former titleholder Joshua Pacio will be early next year. Brooks dethroned Pacio late last year in a five-round unanimous decision result.
ONE’s new focus next year with a stacked calendar comes just a week after a report from DealStreetAsia stated the promotion is attempting a new funding round after going through two rounds of layoffs. The report also said that ONE Championship only has a financial runway that lasts until the third quarter of 2024.
Two New Champions Crowned At Cage Warriors 164
Cage Warriors crowned two new champions on Saturday evening. Running their last European card of the year, Cage Warriors 164 from Newcastle, England, the promotion saw Liam Gittins and Dario Bellandi earn gold in their respective weight classes.
Gittins prevailed in the main event, winning a unanimous decision over Reece McEwan to earn the promotion’s bantamweight title. The belt was vacant heading into the weekend, as previous titleholder Caolan Loughran relinquished it after signing with the UFC.
Gittins achieved the peak of Cage Warriors success years into his campaign with the promotion. He struggled when he first joined in 2019, winning just three of his first seven fights for the promotion. But he gained more stability in recent years, and entered Saturday on a three-fight winning streak.
Bellandi dethroned Mick Stanton in the co-main event, getting the nod in a unanimous decision to become the new middleweight champ. Stanton was looking to win a title fight for the third time this year. But it was Bellandi, who picked up his fourth consecutive win, that prevailed instead.
It was announced Saturday that a prelim fight between bantamweights Aidan Stephen and Daan Duijs wouldn’t go forward. Per a post on social media, illness to Duijs forced him out of the bout.
Earlier on the night, Perry Andre Goodwin retired from MMA after suffering a loss to Chris Bungard. Also, former UFC fighter Darren Stewart picked up a quick win over Antonio Zovak.
Here are the quick results:
Main Card (4:00PM EST / 9:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: Liam Gittins def. Reece McEwan via Decision, Unanimous (Vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 13: Dario Bellandi def. Mick Stanton via Decision, Unanimous (Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship)
Bout 12: Chris Bungard def. Perry Andre Goodwin via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 3:44)
Bout 11: Darren Stewart def. Antonio Zovak via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:43)
Bout 10: Milad Ahady def. Ville Mankinen via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (12:30PM EST / 5:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Kennedy Freeman def. Annabruna Rados via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:29)
Bout 8: Orlando Wilson Prins def. Bailey Gilbert via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:48)
Bout 7: Naglis Kanisauskas def. Chris Douglass via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:51)
Bout 6: Leon Armes def. Cesari Simon Kevin via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 1:26)
Bout 5: Julien Pierre Lopez def. Reza Arianto via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:54)
Bout 4: Carlos Graca de. Michael Tchamou via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:38)
Bout 3: Amir Malekpour def. Dylan Hazan via Submission, Arm-In Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:27)
Bout 2: Yohan Salvador def. Yoga Prabowo via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Cornellius Aritonang def. Matthieu Moya via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:12)
A Look At The Week Ahead
Saturday
UFC on ESPN 52: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan
This week is a very quiet one in MMA, as just one major card is taking place. On Saturday, UFC will head to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, USA for a fairly solid “Fight Night” card. In the main event spot, Beneil Dariush will attempt to bounce back from his high-profile loss to Charles Oliveira when he takes on ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan.
There are numerous notable fights lower on this lineup as well, making it stronger than many of the “Fight Night” lineups seen earlier this year. On the main card, former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo will take on Rob Font. Returning after taking his sole pro loss, Sean Brady will meet Kelvin Gastelum.
Here’s how the full lineup looks:
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 6:00PM CST) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Beneil Dariush (22-5-1) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (20-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 12: Jalin Turner (13-7) vs. Bobby Green (31-14-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 11: Rob Font (20-7) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (21-3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Sean Brady (15-1) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (18-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Punahele Soriano (9-3) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (14-5) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EST / 5:00PM CST) (ESPN+)
Bout 8: Clay Guida (38-23) vs. Joaquim Silva (12-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Miesha Tate (19-9) vs. Julia Avila (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Cody Brundage (9-5) vs. Zach Reese (6-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Joe Solecki (13-3) vs. Drakkar Klose (13-2-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Steve Garcia (14-5) vs. Melquizael Costa (20-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Ihor Potieria (20-4) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (11-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Wellington Turman (18-7) vs. Jared Gooden (22-9) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Jamey-Lyn Horth (6-0) vs. Veronica Hardy (7-4-1) (Flyweight)
Note On: UFC
Bantamweights Kyler Phillips (11-2) and Pedro Munhoz (20-8) have been paired up for UFC 299 on March 9th, per Phillips’ management team. Munhoz will attempt to bounce back from a loss he took against Marlon Vera in August. Phillips will be trying for his third consecutive win.