2/14/25: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy Targeted For April
Also: PFL unveils 2025 featherweight lineup, "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 33 roster unveiled
Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue includes a quick news catchup as we head into the weekend: We have a potential new UFC main event to discuss, fighters joining PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter,” plus lots more in the notebook. Let’s begin!
UFC Aiming To Book Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy For April 5th
A pivotal featherweight clash could soon join UFC’s schedule.
The promotion is looking to book a meeting between undefeated contender Lerone Murphy and former interim title challenger Josh Emmett for their April 5th card, per a recent report from Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
If finalized, the fight will headline a card expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The booking would be a return for Emmett, who has been out of the cage for a little over a year. The eighth-ranked featherweight last appeared at UFC 296 in late 2023, when he delivered a scary first-round knockout win against Bryce Mitchell.
The victory put Emmett back on track after losing in a pair of high-profile fights in the division, dropping a five-round matchup to now-champion Ilia Topuria and losing an interim title opportunity against Yair Rodriguez.
A long run of consistent results before those losses made Emmett one of the more respected contenders in the division. He went on a stretch of five consecutive wins from 2019 to 2022, getting past names like Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar along the way.
The tests keep getting bigger for Murphy, and his next appearance could offer a first chance at breaking into featherweight’s top 10.
The Manchester-based 33-year-old has yet to lose through 15 pro fights and seven UFC appearances, a campaign that has earned him an 11th-place spot in the incredibly competitive featherweight class.
Murphy is coming off his biggest year yet as a pro, pulling off a pair of major wins against notable opponents. In May, he went five rounds for the first time in his career to overcome Edson Barboza in a dominant performance.
He then came back as part of UFC 308 in October, beating Dan Ige on scorecards to get past another valued gatekeeper in the class. He now is likely to meet a fighter who is just a few fights removed from a title shot and back on the rise.
Here’s how UFC’s April 5th card, which we’re still a little under two months away from, looks:
Bout 9: Josh Emmett (19-4) vs. Lerone Murphy (15-0-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Kennedy Nzechukwu (14-5) vs. Martin Buday (14-2) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Luis Gurule (10-0) vs. Ode Osbourne (12-8) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Rhys McKee (13-6-1) vs. Daniel Frunza (9-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Dione Barbosa (7-3) vs. Diana Belbita (15-9) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Vanessa Demopoulos (11-6) vs. Talita Alencar (5-1-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Robert Valentin (10-4) vs. Torrez Finney (10-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Cortavious Romious (9-3) vs. Lee Chang-ho (10-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Joanderson Brito (17-4-1) vs. Pat Sabatini (19-5) (Featherweight)
PFL Reveals Full Featherweight Roster For 2025 World Tournament
The featherweight bracket for PFL’s 2025 World Tournament is set.
Eight fighters will appear on April 3rd to kick off a single-elimination bracket at 145 pounds, with the field including a pair of past PFL champions.
While matchups aren’t confirmed, we know that Jeremy Kennedy, Gabriel Braga, Movlid Khaybulaev, Nathan Kelly, Yves Landu, Kim Tae-kyun, Adam Borics, and Jesus Pinedo will be in action.
Much like the recent welterweight lineup revealed by PFL, the latest roster is without 2024 champ Timur Khizriev. It’s unclear whether the exclusion of last year’s champs will be a widespread move across all eight of their brackets.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the roster:
Movlid Khaybulaev: 2021 PFL Champion Khaybulaev will return with the hopes of earning a second title at featherweight. After a flawless debut season saw him beat veterans like Brendan Loughnane and Chris Wade en route to a title, his 2023 campaign was cut short due to an injury that forced him out of the playoffs. Khaybulaev is undefeated through nearly two dozen pro fights.
Jesus Pinedo: After spending all of 2024 out of action, 2023 champ Pinedo will return in the upcoming bracket. Pinedo had an explosive first year in the PFL, earning a trio of finishes—culminating with a grand final stoppage against Gabriel Braga—to become champ.
Gabriel Braga: While he had strong runs in the 2023 and 2024 PFL seasons—making it to the finals two years back and getting eliminated in the semi-finals just a few months ago—Braga will search for the long-awaited tournament win when he appears this year.
Adam Borics: Borics is a former Bellator prospect looking for his first major run in the PFL. While he appeared as part of the 2024 season and started off strong with a win over Enrique Barzola, his year was cut short after withdrawing from a June appearance against Brett Johns.
Jeremy Kennedy: Kennedy is an experienced featherweight with past appearances in UFC and Bellator. He’s coming back after a pair of losses last year, coming up unsuccessful against Bellator champ Patricio Pitbull then losing a non-tournament fight to Gabriel Braga.
Nathan Kelly: A prospect who has developed within PFL’s system for years via non-tournament appearances. Kelly is coming back after taking his first loss through seven PFL/Bellator fights, getting submitted in January by Akhmed Magomedov.
Yves Landu: French MMA vet Landu will try to keep his recent momentum going in America. Landu has strung together five Bellator wins since 2022, his longest pro win streak in over a decade.
Kim Tae-kyun: In what looks like the sole new acquisition in the featherweight roster this year, Korea’s Kim comes over after going on a run of five wins and one loss between appearances in Brave CF and UAE Warriors. After fighting in Korea, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Kazakhstan, Kim will make his U.S. debut soon.
Full Flyweight, Welterweight Lineups Unveiled For ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Season 33
We now know the full lineup for Season 33 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Former UFC fighters Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier will coach teams of flyweights and welterweights competing for a UFC contracts in the upcoming season, with the first episode premiering on May 27th.
This week we were given a first-time look at the fighters who will appear as part of the upcoming reality TV episodes.
The highly international flyweight roster includes stand-out 125-pound names from all around the globe. Among those selected for the bracket are LFA Flyweight Champion Eduardo Chapolin, former Naiza FC Champion Alibi Idiris, 2022 “Dana White’s Contender Series” alum Roybert Echeverria, and flashy finisher Furkatbek Yokubov.
Also featured in the lineup is Joseph Morales, who notably had a three-fight UFC stint from 2017 to 2018 before parting ways with the promotion. The Team Alpha Male fighter has since rebuilt himself on the regionals, having gone on a three-fight winning streak beginning in 2021 and capturing a title in Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat.
Here’s the full roster for flyweight:
Alibi Idiris (10-0), Arshiyan Memon (7-0), Eduardo Chapolin (13-2), Furkatbek Yokubov (15-4), Imanol Rodriguez (5-0), Joseph Morales (12-2), Roybert Echeverria (10-2), Tumelo Manyamala (6-1)
The welterweight bracket is similarly a solid collection of regional champs. Among those featured in the lineup are former Combate Global and Urijah Faber A1 Combat champion Alex Sanchez, Levels Fight League Champion Andreeas Binder, past ONE fighter and Naiza FC champ Daniil Donchencko, plus Samourai and BFL Canadian regional champ Rodrigo Sezinando.
A stand-out name in the lineup is Matt Dixon, a fighter who appeared in the 2020 season of “Dana White’s Contender Series” who, more than four years later, is receiving another direct pathway to a potential UFC contract.
Here are all of the welterweights expected to compete in the upcoming season.
Alex Sanchez (15-3), Andreeas Binder (10-2), Daniil Donchenko (11-2), Diego Bianchini (9-1), Jeff Creighton (11-2-1), Richard Martins (9-1), Rodrigo Sezinando (8-1), Matt Dixon (11-1)
Notes On: UFC & ONE Championship
UFC
UFC’s return to Seattle, Washington on February 22nd has taken a rough series of hits this week. Three fights have been removed from the card, with lower-quality pairings taking their place.
30-fight UFC vet Edson Barboza (24-12) and Steve Garcia (17-5) are no longer expected to meet later this month. Barboza was set for his first appearance since losing a five-rounder to Lerone Murphy last year, and Garcia was aiming to score an impressive sixth consecutive UFC win.
A fight between ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes (18-5) and UFC newcomer Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1) has been moved to UFC 313 on March 8th. The fight is Blaydes’ first appearance since losing an interim title fight against Tom Aspinall in July.
Bantamweights Ketlen Vieira (14-4) and Macy Chiasson (10-1) are also off the card. Chiasson was set to come back after a big 2024, earning back-to-back wins within the distance. Vieira was appearing for the first time since her loss against Kayla Harrison.
In the first of two new fights set for the card, Alonzo Menifield (15-5-1) will take on undefeated promotional newcomer Julius Walker (6-0). Walker has attained an impressive record since turning pro just under two years ago, having won all of his bouts via finish in the first or second round. He recently got past former UFC talent Bevon Lewis as part of a title fight in Synergy FC. Menifield, who will be trying to break a two-fight skid, was originally set to face French prospect Oumar Sy.
Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2) will return against new UFC signing Eric McConico (9-2-1). Ruziboev had a lengthy win streak stopped last May when he dropped a decision to Joaquin Buckley. McConico, who was pulled from his weekend’s Tuff-N-Uff show to take the UFC opportunity, has strung together five wins on the regionals since 2022.
Two more fights have been recently announced for UFC’s Mexico City card on March 29th:
Manuel Torres (15-3) will try to bounce back from his first UFC loss when he meets promotional vet Drew Dober (27-14). While Torres has gained a reputation for quick finishes, he was on the receiving end of one when he met Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC 306. He’s now coming back against Dober, who will be trying to avoid the first three-fight skid in his more than 40-fight pro career.
Searching for his third UFC win, Ronaldo Rodriguez (17-2) will face off against Kevin Borjas (9-3). Rodriguez had a successful rookie year in the promotion, overcoming Ode Osbourne and Denys Bondar. Peru’s Borjas, on the other hand, has yet to earn a UFC victory through two appearances. With his back against the wall, he’ll try to turn things around in Mexico.
Three fights have been booked for a May 3rd UFC card:
A high-level clash will go down at strawweight when Marina Rodriguez (17-5-2) and Gillian Robertson (15-8) face off, per social media posts made by both fighters. Robertson is on her best run through 18 UFC appearances, having earned three victories since early 2024. Among recent wins was a victory over fellow vet Michelle Waterson-Gomez. Rodriguez has been largely unsuccessful recently, albeit against high-ranked names like Jessica Andrade, Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba.
Returning after an impressive UFC debut, Cameron Smotherman (12-4) will take on Serhiy Sidey (11-2), per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Smotherman entered the UFC on incredibly short notice last October to beat Jake Hadley via decision. The former Fury FC champ is now returning against Garrett Armfield, who secured his first promotional victory in November with a split decision over Garrett Armfield.
Trevor Peek (9-3) will head down to the featherweight limit for the first time in his career when he faces Lee Jeong-yeong (11-2), as first reported by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania. Peek suffered a pair of losses up at lightweight last year, dropping fights to Charlie Campbell and Yanal Ashmouz. 2022-23 “Road To UFC” winner Lee had a run of eight wins stopped in just 65 seconds when he fought Hyder Amil last summer.
The first bout for UFC’s return to Montreal on May 10th is set: Two-time “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Brad Katona (14-4) will have a home-country advantage when he faces Bekzat Almakhan (11-2), per Marcel Dorff. Katona, who is coming back after a decision loss in October against Jean Matsumoto, hasn’t come up with a win in his three past appearances on Canadian UFC cards. He has another tough assignment in Almakhan, who lost his UFC debut to recent bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov and had previously put together a lengthy run of wins on the regional scene.
ONE Championship
ONE has added a 115-pound kickboxing title fight between Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom and Kana Morimoto to their March 23rd show in Saitama, Japan. Phetjeeja has previously overcome a pair of notable kickboxers in her title run, beating Anissa Meksen and Janet Todd over the past year and some change. Kana, a former K-1 champ, is coming off a decision win over Moa Carlsson from last month.
Also: Adrian Lee (2-0), the brother of ONE fighters Angela, Christian and the late Victoria Lee, will appear for his third pro bout when he faces Shozo Isojima (5-0). Lee has impressed through past outings, submitting both prior opponents via rear naked choke within two rounds. Isojima has faced relatively low-level talents in Japanese regional promotion GLADIATOR since his 2023 pro debut.
ONE’s schedule is now listing a U.S. event for August 1st.