12/11/23: A Look At The Week Ahead
We take a look at the week ahead in the Monday edition
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes a preview of the final busy fight week of 2023, plus a few other news notes at the end.
Just a reminder that the Knockdown Daily newsletter will be off on Tuesday and will return on Wednesday. Let’s get started with today’s issue!
A Look At The Week Ahead
The preview for this week features five different promotions presenting their final shows of the year. Let’s get into the busy two days of MMA set for this weekend.
Friday
CFFC 128: Watley vs. Gjetja
UFC Fight Pass will present a tripleheader of notable regional MMA cards on Friday evening. While two of the cards are on the West Coast and will start later in the night, CFFC 128 from the Hard Rock in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA will begin at around 9 p.m EST.
Robert Watley will attempt to defend his CFFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of CFFC 128 when he faces Armando Gjetja.
Watley entered CFFC earlier this year after a strong run in LFA and a three-fight PFL stint. He won the lightweight title in a majority decision result against Robert Watley in his promotional debut. He now returns and puts his belt on the line against Gjetja, who will coincidentally be making his CFFC debut this time around. Gjetja is coming into CFFC after a strong run in Ring of Combat, attaining six consecutive wins in just over a year’s time.
A new heavyweight champ will be crowned in the co-main event, as former CFFC amateur titleholder Luke Fernandez will take on Peter New. Fernandez is a veteran of CFFC, having spent eight fights in the promotion through his amateur and pro careers.
Here’s a full rundown of the CFFC 128 lineup:
Main Card (9:00PM EST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 12: Robert Watley (13-3) vs. Armando Gjetja (8-3) (CFFC Lightweight Championship)
Bout 11: Luke Fernandez (2-0) vs. Peter New (4-2) (Vacant CFFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 10: Sean Felton (5-4-1) vs. Robert Varricchio (4-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Eric Nolan (4-2) vs. Alonzo Turner (3-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Wendel Araujo (7-4) vs. Vilson Ndregjoni (8-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Michael Billups (5-2-2) vs. Thomas Picciano (4-1) (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 6: Phumi Nkuta (6-0) vs. Hunter Starner (2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Keith Speed (5-6) vs. Anthony Dilemme (4-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Jahrael Cromartie (0-0) vs. Nick Galanti (0-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Frank Wells (4-3) vs. Robert Wusstig (8-15) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Jerry Lleshi (1-1) vs. Mardin Velasquez (0-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Manny Morales (3-1) vs. Rogelio Melgoza (5-5) (Welterweight)
LFA 173: Fernando vs. Bekoev
LFA, one of the more active promotions in MMA, will wrap up its year with event number 25 of 2023. The last certainly isn’t the least for them this year. Making their debut in what many would consider the “Fight Capital” of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, LFA will put on two title fight bouts this Friday.
LFA’s middleweight belts will be unified in the main event of the evening, as interim titleholder Azamat Bekoev and regular champion Lucas Fernando will meet in a five-round bout. Fernando became champion in March, stopping Jansey Silva in the fourth round of a bout.
The division then went on a slight pause, Fernando was booked to appear on the latest season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” In between this time, Bekoev earned the interim title in June of this year with a split decision victory over Dylan Budka. Now that Fernando lost his “Contender Series” bout and is back on the LFA roster, he will try to win in a second consecutive title appearance.
A new interim champ at strawweight will also be crowned in the co-main event when Natasha Kuziutina faces Giovanna Canuto. Kuziutina is an experienced judoka player who earned a bronze medal during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the sport. After picking up four wins and one loss in her rookie year as an MMA pro, she will compete for an LFA belt this weekend. She faces Canuto, who has slowly pieced together four wins in LFA since her 2021 pro debut. She will be returning in this fight, as her last appearance dates back to September 2022.
Here’s how the full LFA 173 lineup looks currently:
Main Card (10:00PM EST / 7:00PM PST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 10: Azamat Bekoev (16-3) vs. Lucas Fernando (9-2) (LFA Middleweight Championship)
Bout 9: Natasha Kuziutina (4-1) vs. Giovanna Canuto (4-0) (Vacant Interim LFA Strawweight Championship)
Bout 8: Aireon Tavarres (5-0) vs. Mitch Ramirez (7-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Sarek Shields (5-1) vs. Alfonso Leyva (6-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Jordan Harris (3-0) vs. Aupuni Pagaoa (4-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: Oseyiomon Oiyemhonlan (2-1) vs. Trent Miller (4-0) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Ronny Hauser (3-2) vs. Eduardo Penha (3-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Tyler Jones (1-0) vs. Ilay Barzilay (3-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Pat Jones (0-0) vs. Shane Shapiro (1-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Taha Bendaoud (3-0) vs. Shad Walters (1-0) (Bantamweight)
Cage Warriors 165: San Diego
Cage Warriors will make their fourth and last trip of the year to San Diego, California, USA on Friday evening. Headlining a card from the Sycuan Casino Resort will be UFC alum Trevin Jones and Cage Warriors vet Roberto Hernandez.]
Hernandez has built up his profile in Cage Warriors since last year, earning six victories under their banner. He’s now up against Jones, who won his first appearance since a five-fight UFC stint in September, battling to a split decision over Wilson Reis at Cage Warriors 159.
Cage Warriors has cultivated somewhat of a roster in the U.S., as many names on Friday’s card have appeared on some of the previous cards that they have held in the country. Notable names lower in the lineup include former Bellator talent Ricky Bandjeas, “Road To UFC” alum Ronal Siahaan, veteran Reis, and more.
Here are all of the fights that we know are booked for Cage Warriors 165. Worth noting that the bout order and which fights will be on the prelims aren’t known yet.
Main Card (9:30PM EST / 6:30PM PST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 12: Roberto Hernandez (8-1) vs. Trevin Jones (14-10) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Wilson Reis (27-13) vs. Ricky Bandejas (15-7) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Anthony Orozco (1-0) vs. Benjamin Orozco (2-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Sean Rose (1-2) vs. Diego Vazquez (2-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Bobby Winther (1-0) vs. Anthony Zaragosa (1-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Ronal Siahaan (7-1) vs. Andrew Johnson-Cabrera (5-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Enrique Montalvo (0-1) vs. Manuel Medina (2-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: James Settle (4-5) vs. Johnny Gill (1-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Xavier Vines (1-1) vs. Miguel Peimbert (2-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Eperaim Ginting (6-1) vs. Shawn Johnson (4-6) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Chasen Blair (3-1) vs. Ahmad Hassanzada (9-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Brandon Carrillo (3-1) vs. Corvan Allen (2-2) (Bantamweight)
Saturday
KSW 89: Bartosinski vs. Parnasse
Just hours before UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year, KSW will present a stacked lineup from Gliwice, Poland.
Two highly decorated talents are expected to meet in the KSW 89 main event. After winning titles at featherweight and lightweight, Salahdine Parnasse will make the incredibly ambitious move up to welterweight to challenge undefeated talent Adrian Bartosinski.
Parnasse has lost just one fight in his 11-bout KSW run, and that sole defeat was avenged shortly after. This weekend will be his eighth appearance in a KSW title fight and will give him a chance to become a triple champion, something that is almost unheard of in the sport.
Barosinski is a dangerous talent and one that Parnasse certainly can’t underestimate. The undefeated Polish fighter has finished all of his opponents since entering the promotion in 2021. He earned the 170-pound title in April, putting away Artur Szczepaniak in the second minute with strikes.
The co-main event of KSW 89 will see Pawel Pawlak attempt to defend his KSW Middleweight Championship for the first time when he faces Michal Materla.
Materla is an extremely experienced KSW talent, having competed in the promotion since 2006. It’s been more than a decade since the start of his first middleweight title run, which spanned from 2012 to 2015. This will be his second time trying to reclaim the title since then (the first was a 2019 loss to Scott Askham). He is in this championship position after a highly successful start to the year, finishing both Kendall Grove and Radoslaw Paczuski with strikes.
Pawlak won the belt at KSW 83 in June, stopping Tomasz Romanowski in the fifth round with strikes. The bout was his fourth consecutive win in the promotion.
KSW 89 is arguably one of their strongest cards of the year, up there with “Colosseum 2,” which took place in June. Here are all of the fights that have been booked for it:
Main Card (1:00PM EST / 7:00PM CET) (KSW PPV)
Bout 10: Adrian Bartosinski (14-0) vs. Salahdine Parnasse (18-1) (KSW Welterweight Championship)
Bout 9: Pawel Pawlak (22-4-1) vs. Michal Materla (33-9) (KSW Middleweight Championship)
Bout 8: Tomasz Romanowski (18-9) vs. Damian Janikowski (9-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 7: Marcin Held (28-9) vs. Raul Tutarauli (32-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Szymon Bajor (24-10) vs. Viktor Pesta (19-8) (Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Andrzej Grzebyk (20-6) vs. Madars Fleminas (12-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 4: Lukasz Charzewski (12-1) vs. Ahmed Vila (11-4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Sebastian Rajewski (12-8) vs. Wilson Varela (10-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Emilia Czerwinski (2-1) (Natalia Baczynska-Krawlec (7-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Wojciech Kazieczko (3-1) vs. Michal Domin (5-3) (Featherweight)
UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington
UFC’s busy 2023 schedule will come to a close with a pay-per-view card from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The promotion’s welterweight and flyweight divisions will be on display as they close out the year.
UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards will put his title on the line in Saturday’s main event, fighting Colby Covington in a five-round bout. This matchup will be Edwards’ first time appearing in a title fight since wrapping up his two-fight rivalry with previous champion Kamaru Usman. Edwards’ title run is just part of a stellar multi-year run as a pro, stringing together 11 wins since 2016.
Covington will be challenging for a main title for the third time in his career. He is back in the championship picture after a few years that have not seen him produce many big results. His last fight was a 2022 win over Jorge Masvidal, who took his fourth straight loss and retired after that appearance. In 2021, he lost a bout to then-champion Kamaru Usman, who also beat him in late 2019.
Covington’s second most recent victory came in 2020 against Tyron Woodley, who similar to Masvidal, suffered his third straight loss. He would depart MMA the next year and go on to lose two boxing matches against Jake Paul. On paper, it looks as if Covington has a ceiling in the division that limits him from winning a title. However, UFC saw reason to test that limit, causing the main event for this weekend to be booked.
Alexandre Pantoja will attempt to defend his UFC Flyweight Championship for the first time in the co-main event spot, taking on Brandon Royval in a rematch.
Pantoja earned the belt in July off Brandon Moreno, beating him in a tight split decision. This victory was the culmination of a run that included victories over Manel Kape and Alex Perez. It also included a 2021 victory against Royval, who will try to avenge that loss this weekend.
For years, Royval has hovered around the title picture but never done enough to actually get a title shot. The biggest example of this is from 2020, when he lost a title eliminator to Moreno due to a shoulder injury in the first round. But now, after scoring three straight since early 2022, Royval is finally in a main event spot.
As is usually the case with PPV UFC cards, there are numerous notable names lower on the card as well. Undefeated talents Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry are scheduled to appear on the main card, as is rising lightweight Paddy Pimblett. Lower in the lineup, former champ Cody Garbrandt will return to action as well.
Here’s how the full bout order stands at the moment:
Main Card (10:00PM EST / 7:00PM PST) (PPV)
Bout 14: Leon Edwards (21-3) vs. Colby Covington (17-3) (UFC Welterweight Championship)
Bout 13: Alexandre Pantoja (26-5) vs. Brandon Royval (15-6) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 12: Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) vs. Stephen Thompson (17-6-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 11: Tony Ferguson (25-9) vs. Paddy Pimblett (20-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Vicente Luque (22-9-1) vs. Ian Machado Garry (13-0) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EST / 5:00PM PST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 9: Josh Emmett (18-4) vs. Bryce Mitchell (16-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Irene Aldana (14-7) vs. Karol Rosa (17-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Cody Garbrandt (13-5) vs. Brian Kelleher (24-14) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Casey O’Neill (9-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (16-8) (Flyweight)
Early Prelims (6:00PM EST / 3:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1) vs. Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Tagir Ulanbekov (14-2) vs. Cody Durden (16-4-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Andre Fili (22-10) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Shamil Gaziev (11-0) vs. Martin Buday (13-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Randy Brown (17-5) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-4) (Welterweight)
Notes On: UFC & Cage Warriors
Appearing for the first time since losing in a return title fight against Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo (16-3) has been booked for a high-profile bantamweight bout against Merab Dvalishvili (16-4) for UFC 298 on February 17th. Dvalishvili will be fighting to earn his 10th consecutive UFC victory. Previous wins include performances over Jose Aldo and Petr Yan.
Two more fights have joined UFC’s February 3rd event, which will take place from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Renato Moicano (17-5-1) has revealed that he will face Drew Dober (27-12). Moicano has been out of competition for more than a year, with his last fight being a first-round finish over Brad Riddell in November 2022. Dober is also coming off a win, albeit in a more recent October victory against Ricky Glenn.
Undefeated flyweight Azat Maksum (17-0) will get his second UFC assignment when he faces Nate Maness (15-3), per Marcel Dorff. Maksum won his UFC debut with a split decision win over Tyson Nam in July. Maness snapped a two-fight skid in October with a victory against Mateus Mendonca.
The first fight for a March 16th UFC event has been revealed. The management team of both Ode Osbourne (12-6) and Jafel Filho (15-3) has announced that they will meet in a flyweight matchup on that date. Filho earned his first UFC win over the summer with a submission against Daniel Barezs. Osbourne will be fighting to get back into the win column.
Cage Warriors has announced seven events for their 2024 schedule.
February 23rd: Cage Warriors 166 will take place at the Sycuan Casino Resort in San Diego, California.
March 15th: Cage Warriors 167 will be held at The BEC Arena in Manchester, England. This event will be part of the Cage Warriors “Unplugged” series, which takes place in front of a limited audience.
March 16th: In the second leg of a back-to-back weekend, Cage Warriors 168 will be at The BEC Arena in Manchester, England.
March 30th: A busy month for the promotion will wrap up with Cage Warriors 169 from Indigo at The O2 in London, England.
April 13th: Cage Warriors will hit the road in April, starting with Cage Warriors 170 from The RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin, Ireland.
April 20th: One week later, Cage Warriors 171 will be at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
May 25th: The final event announced recently was Cage Warriors 172, which has been booked for the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England.