2/17/24: Jonathan Haggerty Stages Comeback To Defend ONE Championship Belt
Also: A preview of today's UFC and KSW cards.
Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue has a report on last night’s ONE Championship card, a preview of today’s big UFC and KSW lineups, plus some other news in the notes section. Let’s begin!
Jonathan Haggerty Comes Back From Early Knockdown To Stop Felipe Lobo
Jonathan Haggerty successfully defended his ONE Championship Muay Thai 145-pound belt in a short but hectic performance against Felipe Lobo, stopping the contender in the third round with a right hand.
Haggerty’s win headlined ONE Fight Night 19, which took place this weekend at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The card featured a mix of Muay Thai and MMA bouts throughout the night.
Haggerty had to make somewhat of a comeback against Lobo to maintain his two-belt status in ONE Championship. Aggressive combinations from Lobo caused trouble for Haggerty in the first round, resulting in him getting knocked down against the ropes with just a few seconds to go in the frame.
Haggerty provided a strong response in the second round, coming out and immediately throwing his own quick combinations, mixing elbows in with punches. The brief lead that Lobo developed was erased, as a left hook from Haggerty sent the challenger to the canvas.
Lobo remained in the fight after the knockdown, unleashing flurries later in the round to keep Haggerty on his toes. Haggerty closed out the show 45 seconds into the third round, landing a right cross that brought Lobo to the mat once again. The referee decided to end the fight after this knockdown.
Haggerty was putting his Muay Thai belt in ONE on the line for the first time this weekend. He picked up the 145-pound title last year, ending the multi-year reign of Nong-O Gaiyanghadao with a first-round finish.
Lobo was challenging for a belt in ONE for the second time. He previously failed to dethrone Nong-O during his lengthy title run, getting stopped in a March 2022 fight.
Lobo was given a shot against Haggerty this weekend after scoring a finish win against Saemapetch Fairtex in 2023.
Following his victory on Friday, Haggerty called for a fight against ONE Championship’s 145-pound MMA champ, Fabricio de Andrade. Haggerty beat de Andrade in a fight last year to claim the promotion’s vacant kickboxing title in the weight class. Haggerty has never competed in MMA before.
“Andrade, when you’re ready, I’m ready to throw a triangle [choke] or two onto you,” Haggerty said in his post-fight interview.
In the top MMA bout of the night, Lito Adiwang used his striking skills to overcome a tough Danial Williams on scorecards. Adiwang has now picked up three consecutive wins since 2023. Between MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, Williams has lost his past four fights.
The co-main event saw Saemapetch Fairtex earn a quick Muay Thai victory, putting away Mohamed Younes Rabah in just over 90 seconds with strikes.
Here are the quick results for ONE Fight Night 19:
Main Card (8:00PM EST / 8:00AM ICT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 9: Jonathan Haggerty def. Felipe Lobo via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:45) (ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 8: Saemapetch Fairtex def. Mohamed Younes Rabah via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:33) (Muay Thai)
Bout 7: Lito Adiwang def. Danial Williams via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Nauzet Trujillo def. Liam Nolan via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai)
Bout 5: Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Abraao Amorim via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 4:57)
Bout 4: Luke Lessei def. Eddie Abasolo via Decision, Split (Muay Thai)
Bout 3: Martyna Kierczynska def. Nat Jaroonsak via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:24) (Muay Thai)
Bout 2: Mansur Malachiev def. Yosuke Saruta via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Thongpoon Petchportoror def. Timur Chuikov via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:37) (Muay Thai)
Alexander Volkanovski Tries To Bounce Back From Rough 2023 Against Elite Contender Ilia Topuria
Alexander Volkanovski has the chance to get back to his winning ways and continue his dominant featherweight title run this Saturday, although it won’t be an easy task. He’ll be taking on undefeated 145-pound contender Ilia Topuria in the main event spot of UFC 298 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA.
At featherweight, Volkanovski’s dominance has been a constant since 2019. He has put his belt on the line five times since initially earning it, prevailing in every instance. This includes a pair of wins against Max Holloway, a victory against interim champ Yair Rodriguez, and a 2021 performance over Brian Ortega.
While Volkanovski has been the most dominant featherweight name since Jose Aldo’s record-setting 1,800-day run, he is also coming off arguably the most tumultuous year of his career yet.
Volkanovski failed to become a two-division champion twice last year, taking on incumbent titleholder Islam Makhachev. Their first meeting came in February 2023, when a close five-round decision result went the way of Makhachev.
The 35-year-old Australian fighter received a sudden second chance at lightweight gold later that year, as Makahchev needed a short-notice opponent in October 2023 after Charles Oliveira withdrew from a title fight. Moving up with little time to prepare didn’t work for Volkanovski, as Makhachev put him away in just over three minutes with strikes. The fight was the first time in more than a decade that Volkanovski was stopped by an opponent.
After a tough 2023 that saw him lose more than the rest of his pro career altogether, Volkanovski has to set it all aside to face an incredibly tough challenger.
Topuria enters this weekend with a flawless 14-fight record including six in the UFC. He secured a title shot last year after going five rounds with former interim title challenger Josh Emmett, beating him on scorecards. He had strong performances before then as well, including a fight that saw him hand Bryce Mitchell his first loss.
Because he joined the UFC in 2020, Topuria is the first name to rise up to a title shot from start to finish amid Volkanovski’s era at the top. Previous opponents for Volkanovski (Holloway, Ortega, The Korean Zombie & Rodriguez) all had an extensive history in the promotion before his reign.
Oddsmakers consider the fight almost even, meaning that the match is a toss-up on paper. There’s certainly a solid chance of a new era beginning at 145 pounds this weekend, with Spain and Georgia’s Topuria on top. Or, Volkanovski could put together yet another masterful performance, putting him one step closer to becoming the most successful fighter in the division’s history.
There are many high-stakes matchups lower on the main card. The co-main event will see former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker take on Paulo Costa, who is returning for the first time in over a year.
Lower on the billing, Merab Dvalishvili will try to earn his 10th consecutive UFC victory when he meets former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. For Cejudo, the fight will be his first appearance after losing a narrow decision in a title fight against Aljamain Sterling.
For a very brief period of time on Friday, a heavyweight fight was out of the UFC 298 lineup. However, in a bizarre turn of events, a slightly different matchup replaced it shortly after. On Friday, news broke that Justin Tafa had to withdraw from his fight against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Just minutes later, word got out that the brother of Justin — fellow UFC fighter Junior Tafa — would take his place.
Tafa earned his first UFC win last summer, stopping Parker Porter in the first round. It is not known at the moment if his March 23rd fight against Karl Williams is off due to the change in this weekend’s lineup.
Here’s the bout order for UFC 298.
Main Card (10:00PM EST / 7:00PM PST) (PPV)
Bout 12: Alexander Volkanovski (26-3) vs. Ilia Topuria (14-0) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 11: Robert Whittaker (24-7) vs. Paulo Costa (14-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Geoff Neal (15-5) vs. Ian Machado Garry (13-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Merab Dvalishvili (16-4) vs. Henry Cejudo (16-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Anthony Hernandez (11-2) vs. Roman Kopylov (12-2) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EST / 5:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / ESPN)
Bout 7: Amanda Lemos (13-3-1) vs. Mackenzie Dern (13-4) (Strawweight)
Bout 6: Josh Quinlan (6-1) vs. Danny Barlow (7-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Rinya Nakamura (8-0) vs. Carlos Vera (11-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Zhang Mingyang (16-6) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (15-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Early Prelims (6:30PM EST / 3:30PM PST) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 3: Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1) vs. Junior Tafa (5-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Val Woodburn (7-1) vs. Oban Elliott (9-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Andrea Lee (13-8) vs. Miranda Maverick (12-5) (Flyweight)
KSW Searches For Interim Lightweight Champ In The Czech Republic
KSW will search for an interim lightweight champion when they return to the Home Credit Arena in Liberec, Czech Republic this Saturday afternoon.
Salahdine Parnasse currently holds the KSW Lightweight Championship, a belt that he has officially possessed since last year. However, since Parnasse is also a titleholder at featherweight — his home division — and has pursued fights at welterweight as well, he is not able to defend his belts as frequently as a regular champion would. Because of this, KSW has decided to crown an interim titleholder at lightweight this weekend, just as they did last year at the 145-pound weight class.
Czech Republic’s Leo Brichta will have the home-country advantage in Saturday’s KSW 91 main event when he takes on experienced talent Valeriu Mircea.
Brichta joined the KSW roster last year after attaining 10 wins through 13 pro fights. He previously fought in the notable European promotion OKTAGON, going on a five-fight winning streak with them at one point.
Brichta’s success has continued in KSW, beating both of his opponents thus far. After winning his promotional debut at KSW 83 “Colosseum 2,” which was held in front of a massive stadium of fans last summer, Brichta picked up a third-round stoppage victory against Roman Szymanski in October 2023.
He’ll now face Mircea, an experienced Moldovan fighter who is also on a roll. Mircea, a former Bellator talent, has won a trio of outings in KSW. After dropping his debut to the aforementioned Szymanski, he went on a run to boost his record in the Polish-based promotion. He picked up a pair of first-round finishes, then avenged his loss to Szymanski.
Numerous Czech Republic fighters will appear on the KSW 91 undercard. Dominik Humburger will get the co-main event spot, trying to come back from his sole pro defeat against Poland’s Adrian Dudek.
Here’s a look at the card for KSW, which will take place just a few hours before UFC kicks off.
Main Card (1:00PM EST / 7:00PM CET) (KSW PPV)
Bout 9 Leo Brichta (12-3) vs. Valeriu Mircea (29-8-1) (Vacant Interim KSW Lightweight Championship)
Bout 8: Dominik Humburger (7-1) vs. Adrian Dudek (7-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 7: Matus Juracek (10-3) vs. Henry Fadipe (14-11-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Viktor Cervinsky (4-0) vs. Kacper Koziorzebski (9-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Lukasz Charzewski (12-2) vs. Michal Sobiech (5-1) (Catchweight 150 lbs)
Bout 4: Vasil Ducar (3-2) vs. Dawid Kasperski (0-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Josef Stummer (3-1) vs. Adrian Wieliczko (2-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Mariusz Joniak (11-5) vs. Tobiasz Le (4-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Petra Castkova (6-6) vs. Wiktoria Czyzewska (2-1) (Flyweight)
Notes On: UFC, ONE Championship, RIZIN & Cage Warriors
Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) has received a new opponent for his March 23rd UFC bout. While Shahbazyan was originally booked against Dusko Todorovic (12-4), he is now expected to meet AJ Dobson (7-2), per Dobson’s management team. Shahbazyan will be trying to get back into the win column after losing four of his last five. Dobson is getting a new booking after his fight against Tresean Gore was pulled from this weekend’s pay-per-view lineup. Dobson earned his first UFC win last year, beating Tafon Nchukwi on scorecards.
Two MMA bouts took place this weekend as part of ONE Championship’s “Friday Fights 52” card from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ilyas Eziev (5-1) handed Asset Anarbaev (7-1) his first pro loss, using his striking skills to earn a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
A long series of punches from Maxwell Djantou Nana (5-1) against Adnan Larry (2-2) caused their heavyweight fight to get stopped in-between the second and third rounds. Djantou Nana has finished his past five opponents.
Numerous changes were announced for RIZIN’s “LANDMARK 8” card on February 24th from Saga, Japan. In total, the card has lost four fights and gained three short-notice replacements.
Former RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion Ayaka Hamasaki (24-6) is out of her fight against Claire Lopez (8-5). The fight was scheduled to end the longest break in Hamasaki’s 30-fight MMA career. Lopez will now take on Saori Oshima (12-4), who will be returning to RIZIN after dropping her DEEP Jewels Atomweight Championship to Park Si-yoon last year.
Vugar Karamov (19-5) has withdrawn from his fight against Kazumasa Majima (16-4). Karamov had the chance to bounce back after dropping his featherweight title to Chihiro Suzuki in 2023. Veteran talent Masakazu Imanari (39-22-2) is now scheduled to step in and make his fourth RIZIN appearance.
Ryoga (3-5) has been given a new opponent for his appearance on the “Opening” portion of the card. After initially being matched against Teppei Mochida (3-5), Ryoga is now booked to face Ryohei Sakai (2-1).
A main card featherweight bout between Tural Ragimov (21-10) and Hanzo Tanaka (15-9) has also been removed from the card. A replacement has not been announced.
Cage Warriors 171 from the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland continues to grow. Two more fights have been added to the April 20th show:
Former UFC fighter Carlo Pedersoli (14-5) will return against Wallison Henrique (16-14). Pedersoli suffered his first Cage Warriors defeat last year, getting stopped by Giannis Bachar. Before then, he had a trio of wins on the regional scene. Henrique is also coming off a loss, getting stopped early by Will Currie three months back.
After being unsuccessful in previous Cage Warriors appearances, lightweights Michael Blair (2-2) and Dec Dean (1-2) have been matched up. Blair dropped his promotional debut last year to undefeated prospect Tariq Pell. Dean has been finished in the first round of both his prior Cage Warriors bouts.