Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes the first Look At The Week Ahead for 2024, previewing the top MMA cards over the next few days. We also have a few other small news stories to get to afterward as well.
Just a quick reminder that the Knockdown Daily newsletter will be off Tuesday, and will return Wednesday.
Let’s get started!
A Look At The Week Ahead
Friday
ONE FIght Night 18: Gasanov vs. Oh
ONE Championship is starting their 2024 with a low-key card on Amazon Prime Video. “Fight Night 18” this weekend doesn’t have any title fights or any major matchups. Instead, it’s just a showcase of nine different ONE Championship bouts between three different combat sports from the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
It wasn’t always the plan to have no major fights on Friday’s ONE Championship card. However, after kickboxing champ Superlek Kiatmoo9 was shifted to ONE’s Japan card later this month and his fight against Elias Mahmoudi subsequently fell off Friday’s lineup, the lineup officially lost its sole championship bout.
A fight that was booked before that change — a lightweight MMA bout between Shamil Gasanov and Oh Ho Taek — was elevated to main event status. And on late Sunday night, the remaining half of the card that had yet to be announced was revealed by the promotion. Here’s how the bout order looks currently:
Main Card (8:00PM EST / 8:00AM ICT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 9: Shamil Gasanov (13-1) vs. Oh Ho Taek (9-3-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 8: Suablack Tor Pran49 vs. Stefan Korodi (Featherweight Muay Thai)
Bout 7: Kwon Won Il (13-4) vs. Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg (7-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 6: Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong vs. Shakir Al-Tekreeti (Welterweight Muay Thai)
Bout 5: Artem Belakh (10-3) vs. Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu (10-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Liam Nolan vs. Ali Aliev (Welterweight Muay Thai)
Bout 3: Kang Ji Won (6-2) vs. Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif (3-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Beybulat Isaev vs. Yuri Farcas (225 lbs Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Mark Abelardo (22-10) vs. Ibrahim Dauev (8-1) (Featherweight)
LFA 174: Jones vs. Gennrich
Easily the most active major regional promotion in the U.S. — LFA — will kick off their 2024 on Friday evening with a card from the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA.
LFA Lightweight Champion Jacobi Jones will attempt to defend his belt for the first time in the main event of LFA 174, taking on fellow prospect Kegan Gennrich.
Jones earned his belt in May of last year, scoring a second-round stoppage over Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani. The victory was his sixth inside the LFA cage since 2021. While he lost a “Dana White’s Contender Series” bout to Daniel James Allen in the Fall, Jones is now returning to his home promotion with the hopes of winning a five-round bout.
Gennrich is getting a title shot after putting together a five-fight winning streak, including four in the LFA cage. His last victory was a submission win against Donald Bush via arm triangle choke.
The co-main event of LFA 174 includes a strong matchup between two bantamweight prospects. Undefeated Quang Le will try to score his seventh pro win when he faces Cody Peterson. Le has built up his career in LFA, turning pro under their banner in 2021 and scoring six wins with them thus far. He now faces a talent who is returning to MMA for the first time since 2019, with his most recent combat sports appearances coming in pro boxing.
Here’s the lineup for LFA 174:
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 11: Jacobi Jones (6-2) vs. Kegan Gennrich (7-2) (LFA Lightweight Championship)
Bout 10: Quang Le (6-0) vs. Cody Peterson (6-1) (Catchweight 140 lbs)
Bout 9: Steven Asplund (1-0) vs. Billy Ray Valdez (2-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Coty Milhausen (3-2) vs. Kelton Sneve (1-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Dylan Smerillo (0-0) vs. Taner Trembley (0-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 6: Wes Schultz (4-1) vs. Maurice Morris (6-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Kendra McIntyre (2-0) vs. Jayde Sheeley (1-1) (Strawweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Mervin Miller (4-0) vs. Kory Moegenburg (3-6) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Cheyanne Bowers (2-1) vs. Whittany Pyles (4-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Ezayah Gomez Oropeza (1-0) vs. Jesse Midas (1-0) (Amateur Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Xavier Rosenbloom (2-1) vs. Dalan Jones (1-0) (Amateur Featherweight)
Saturday
UFC on ESPN+ 92: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2
After their first meeting ended in controversy, Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker will write their second chapter in the main event spotlight. The light heavyweights will headline UFC’s first card of the year, which will take place at their UFC APEX TV studio from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Ankalaev and Walker first met at UFC 294 in October of last year. Their initial clash ended in the first round due to Walker consuming an illegal knee to the head. A doctor called the fight off after this moment, a decision that Walker and many viewers thought was premature.
The ranked light heavyweights will now appear in a five-round UFC fight for the third time in both of their careers respectively. Before the no contest result, Walker was on the best winning streak since his opening streak of wins in the UFC from 2018 to 2019. He has won three consecutive fights, including a first-round stoppage of Paul Craig.
Ankalaev will be searching for his first win in over a year. Before his Walker fight, he competed to a draw in late 2022 against Jan Blachowicz for UFC’s then-vacant light heavyweight belt. He’ll try to start his next campaign towards a title fight on Saturday.
Ranked flyweights will compete in the co-main event when Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape face off. Nicolau will be trying to bounce back from a recent loss to Brandon Royval, who went on to challenge flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja. Kape will look for an impressive fifth-straight win in the division.
Veterans Jim Miller — who will be trying to earn a win before attempting a quick turnaround to appear on UFC 300 in April — and Andrei Arlovski are also set to appear lower on the card. Here’s how the full lineup looks:
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 4:00PM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 12: Magomed Ankalaev (18-1-1) vs. Johnny Walker (21-7) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 11: Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1) vs. Manel Kape (19-6) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Jim Miller (36-17) vs. Gabriel Benitez (23-10) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Ricky Simon (20-4) vs. Mario Bautista (13-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Phil Hawes (12-5) vs. Brunno Ferreira (10-1) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EST / 1:00PM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Andrei Arlovski (34-22) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (10-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Matthew Semelsberger (11-6) vs. Preston Parsons (10-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Marcus McGhee (8-1) vs. Gaston Bolanos (7-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Farid Basharat (11-0) vs. Taylor Lapilus (19-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Westin Wilson (16-8) vs. Jean Silva (11-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Tom Nolan (6-0) vs. Nikolas Motta (13-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Felipe Bunes (13-6) vs. Joshua Van (9-1) (Flyweight)
News
Two High-Stakes Lightweight Bouts Announced For Upcoming UFC PPVs
A pair of notable lightweight matchups have joined UFC’s pay-per-view schedule for the coming months. UFC CEO Dana White took to social media on late Sunday night to announce two fights that will be joining the promotion’s 2024 schedule.
White first revealed that Benoit Saint-Denis will face Dustin Poirier in a five-round co-main event as part of UFC 299 on March 9th from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, USA.
Saint-Denis has put together an impressive five-fight winning streak since mid-2022, with all of his victories coming via finish. His last win came at UFC 295 in the Fall, when he stopped Matt Frevola in just 91 seconds with a head kick.
Poirier, a former lightweight title challenger, will be looking to bounce back from a stoppage loss he suffered last year against Justin Gaethje. This fight is easily the biggest challenge for Saint-Denis yet, as Poirier has been in the title picture for years, competing for the belt in 2019 and 2021.
Saint-Denis and Poirier are joining a stacked lineup that is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. Lower on the card, talents like Jack Della Maddalena, Jailton Almeida, Petr Yan and Michael Page are all expected to compete.
White also announced that Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan will meet at UFC 300, which will take place April 13th from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Oliveira last fought in June 2023, when he picked up a first-round stoppage victory over Beneil Dariush. That victory put him back into the win column after taking a 2022 loss to Islam Makhachev, which was his first defeat since 2017.
Oliveira was expected to rematch UFC Lightweight Champion Makhachev last year. However, after suffering an injury during his training camp, Oliveira was pulled from his title fight. He’s now booked to appear in a non-title matchup against another tough, ranked opponent.
Tsarukyan has been on the rise at lightweight for years. He went on a five-fight winning streak from 2019 to 2022, with that run being snapped by a controversial decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He has regained momentum since that defeat, earning a trio of victories including 2023 victories over Joaquim Silva and Dariush.
The main event of UFC 300 is not known at the moment. Former champs Jiri Prochazka and Aljamain Sterling have been announced for bouts lower on the card.
Javier Garcia vs. Elijah Johns 2 Booked For LFA 176
LFA Featherweight Champion Javier Garcia and Elijah Johns will meet in a rematch next month. The duo will compete in the main event for the second time on February 9th, as they will headline LFA 176 from the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Garcia earned the LFA featherweight title in July of 2022, stopping him late in the second round with an arm triangle choke. However, the submission finish was controversial, as the referee stopped the bout despite no proof of a tap-out submission from Johns.
Prior to his championship win last year, Garcia had a record of four wins and two losses in LFA. He previously challenged for the 145-pound belt in 2021, losing a unanimous decision Bruno Souza, who went on to join the UFC roster.
Johns is similarly an LFA vet, having won seven fights through 10 appearances. He had a two-fight winning streak from 2022 before challenging for a belt last year.
A total of six bouts have been booked for LFA 176 thus far. Lower on the card, five-fight undefeated flyweight prospect An Tuan Ho will return against Miguel Sanson. Ho has gained a reputation for being a finisher, including a 14-second victory in 2022.
Undefeated lightweight talent Princeton Jackson will also return to LFA lower on the card, facing Robson Junior. Jackson was successful in his LFA debut last year, submitting Chris Brant in the first round.
Here are all of the fights that have been announced for LFA 176 thus far:
Bout 6: Javier Garcia (11-5) vs. Elijah Johns (9-3) (LFA Featherweight Championship)
Bout 5: An Tuan Ho (5-0) vs. Miguel Sanson (4-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Princeton Jackson (3-0) vs. Robson Junior (4-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Chance Ikei (1-0) vs. Keynan Davis (1-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Leslie Hernandez (2-1) vs. Brittany Camozzi (1-2) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Brendan Olivas (1-0) vs. Nicholas Gjelaj (0-0) (Flyweight)
Notes On: UFC
Steven Nguyen (9-1) will make his UFC debut on March 23rd against Jarno Errens (13-5-1), per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport. Nguyen earned a UFC contract last year with his third appearance on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” stopping AJ Cunningham in the second round with strikes. He now faces Errens, who will be fighting for his first UFC win in three appearances.
Two fights have joined UFC’s March 30th “Fight Night” card.
Appearing for the first time since suffering a leg injury against Brad Tavares, former champ Chris Weidman (15-7) will meet Bruno Silva (23-10) at middleweight, per MMA Melotto. Weidman is currently on a two-fight losing streak, with his last victory dating back to 2020. Silva has lost four of his last five.
Appearing for the first time since scoring a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Connor Matthews (7-1) will face Dennis Buzukja (11-4), as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Matthews beat Jair Farias via decision in October, earning his seventh win since turning pro in 2019. Buzukja is winless in the UFC through two bouts. His last appearance was a 49-second loss to Jamall Emmers.