2/21/24: PFL Reveals First Three Dates of 2024 Regular Season
Also: Patricio Pitbull receives a short-notice opponent for this weekend
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue doesn’t include any big UFC stories, but there are some major developments happening around the MMA world that we’ll discuss. In today’s issue: A sneak peak at PFL’s 2024 season, a sudden change to this weekend’s “PFL vs. Bellator” card, and a title fight departing ONE 166. Let’s get started.
PFL Announces First Leg of Dates For 2024 Season
PFL has announced the details for the first leg of their 2024 regular season, along with the a few names that will be competing in the tour.
The promotion has booked three different events in April, providing the chance for all fighters in their six season divisions to compete for the first time. The three upcoming dates are the first portion of PFL’s year-long season format. After these cards take place, another three regular season events will take place later in the year. Following those shows, three playoff events and a grand finals card will also be hosted by the rpomotion.
PFL Kicks Off Season With Return To San Antonio
The 2024 PFL Regular Season is scheduled to begin on April 4th from the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The men’s heavyweight class will return on the card, along with the debuting women’s flyweight division. While heavyweight has been a PFL division since they started running a season format in 2018, this year will mark PFL’s first year with a women’s flyweight roster as well.
The flyweight class is scheduled to feature Bellator Flyweight Champion Liz Carmouche, who will be competing under the PFL banner for the first time. Also scheduled for the flyweight division is undefeated 25-year-old Dakota Ditcheva, who is moving up to the main PFL roster after winning their European 125-pound tournament last year.
Former Bellator interim heavyweight champ Valentin Moldavsky has been announced for the heavyweight bracket. His last fight was a decision win over prospect Steve Mowry last year. Ante Delija, who won the 2022 PFL heavyweight tournament, was also announced to compete in his fourth PFL season for the promotion.
PFL previously held a playoff event at the Boeing Center in August of last year. The location is a somewhat small venue, with a capacity of just over 3,000.
The promotion’s season first card of the year notably takes place on a Thursday, as will their third event of the month.
Lightweights, Light Heavyweights Battle Before UFC 300
Just a little over a week later, PFL will head to The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada for a card on April 12th. The event, which takes place just a day before UFC 300 from the T-Mobile Arena, will include men’s light heavyweight and lightweight talents.
Last year’s light heavyweight PFL champion Impa Kasanganay will attempt to go back-to-back, starting with a fight on this card. The Las Vegas spotlight will also be on UFC and Bellator vet Phil Davis, as the former light heavyweight champion will be in action. 2023 PFL Europe Light Heavyweight Champion Jakob Nedoh has been announced to compete as well.
2023 lightweight finalist Clay Collard will enter his fourth PFL season, starting with an appearance in April. This makes him double booked on the PFL schedule, as he’s expected to meet AJ McKee Jr. on a “PFL vs. Bellator” show this weekend.
Former Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricky Pitbull is has been booked to start his first PFL campaign as part of this mid-April lineup.
PFL held a trio of regular season events at The Theater at Virgin Hotels last year. Their visit to Las Vegas in 2023 notoriously resulted in numerous fighters failing drug tests issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, causing a total of nine fighters to suffer fines and suspensions.
PFL Ends Their April In Chicago
The month-long stretch of events from PFL is expected to wrap up on April 19th, when they head to the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The men’s welterweight and featherweight divisions will appear on the card.
A pair of notable Russian talents will be competing in the welterweight tournament. 20-fight Bellator vet and former welterweight champ Andrey Koreshkov was announced to make his PFL debut at the event. Koreshkov is riding a five-fight winning streak as he joins the season. Also entering appearing will be Magomed Umalatov, who has earned five wins in the PFL since 2021.
Undefeated Timur Khizriev will be coming over from Bellator to compete in the featherweight division. The 28-year-old has a flawless record of 14 wins, including a trio of Bellator victories. Defending champ Jesus Pinedo, who was recently pulled from PFL’s event this weekend in Saudi Arabia, has been booked to appear as well.
The event marks PFL’s first appearance in Chicago since their debut season six years ago. The Wintrust Arena has become a frequent venue for PFL-owned promotion Bellator in recent years, with three different cards being held there over the past two years.
Patricio Pitbull Matched Against Gabriel Braga, Will Remain on ‘PFL vs. Bellator’ Card
An adjustment to Saturday’s “PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS” card means that Bellator Featherweight Champion Patricio Pitbull will be able to stay in the lineup.
After Pitbull lost his previous matchup for this weekend, the promotion has targeted a short-notice fight between him and 2023 PFL featherweight finalist Gabriel Braga. News of the matchup — which is joining a show from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — was reported by AgFight earlier this week.
Pitbull was initially booked to face Jesus Pinedo as part of the champion versus champion portion of the card. While the new matchup for Pitbull won’t have that same theme of colliding titleholders, it will keep him on the pay-per-view lineup.
Both fighters will be trying to get back into the win column. Pitbull failed to earn capture the Bellator bantamweight title last year in a bout against Sergio Pettis, and then lost a fight to Chihiro Suzuki on a RIZIN card. Braga had his 12-fight undefeated record snapped last year when he lost in the 2023 PFL grand finals to Pinedo.
Braga was already booked for Saturday, initially facing Bellator’s Aaron Pico lower on the card. Pico won’t be without an opponent despite this change, as he is now being lined up to face Henry Corrales. Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie confirmed this matchup on Tuesday.
Coralles last appeared at Bellator 300 in October 2023, getting his three-fight winning streak broken by UFC alum Kai Kamaka III. He’ll now look to bounce back against 16-fight Bellator vet Pico, who scored two victories last year.
Here’s an updated look at this weekend’s collaborative card between PFL and Bellator:
Bout 12: Renan Ferreira (12-3) vs. Ryan Bader (31-7) (Champion vs. Champion Heavyweight Bout)
Bout 11: Impa Kasanganay (15-3) vs. Johnny Eblen (Champion vs. Champion Middleweight Bout)
Bout 10: Patricio Pitbull (35-7) vs. Gabriel Alves Braga (12-1) (PFL vs. Bellator Featherweight Bout)
Bout 9: Ray Cooper III (25-9-1) vs. Jason Jackson (17-4) (PFL vs. Bellator Catchweight 182 lbs)
Bout 8: Bruno Cappelozza (15-6) vs. Vadim Nemkov (17-2) (PFL vs. Bellator Heavyweight Bout)
Bout 7: Thiago Santos (22-11) vs. Yoel Romero (15-7) (PFL vs. Bellator Light Heavyweight Bout)
Bout 6: Clay Collard (24-11) vs. AJ McKee Jr. (21-1) (PFL vs. Bellator Lightweight Bout)
Bout 5: Aaron Pico (12-4) vs. Henry Corrales (21-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Claressa Shields (1-1) vs. Kelsey DeSantis (1-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Abdullah Al-Qahtani (7-1) vs. Edukondala Rao (4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Biaggio Ali Walsh (0-0) vs. Chris Morris (0-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Malik Basahel (14-2-1) vs. Vinicus Pereira (3-0) (Amateur Flyweight)
Stamp Fairtex vs. Denice Zamboanga Off ONE 166, Moved To June
ONE Championship’s debut card in Lusail, Qatar has lost one of its four MMA title fights.
ONE MMA Atomweight Champion Stamp Fairtex is no longer expected to fight Denice Zamboanga on March 1st, per a report from James Goyder of he South China Morning Post. The 115-pound talents were expected to appear at ONE 166 from the Lusail Sports Arena.
Their matchup has been reportedly been moved to June, although the exact date it will take place isn’t known currently. The South China Morning Post wrote that the reason for this delay was so that the fighters can be in an “original docuseries production.”
Stamp was scheduled to defend her belt for the first time at ONE 166. She earned the title in September of last year, picking up a third-round stoppage against Ham Seo Hee to earn the vacant championship. Prior to that victory, she had attained a strong MMA record of 10 wins and two losses in the promotion. Earlier fights in Stamp’s ONE career include title fights in their kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions.
Zamboanga will have to wait a little longer for her first-ever title fight in ONE Championship. She has fought in the Singapore-based promotion since 2019, earning five wins through seven fights. She is being given a title opportunity after overcoming Lin Heqin and Julie Mezabarba in recent fights.
ONE 166 has also lost a grappling bout between Tye Ruotolo and Izaak Michell. Their matchup is now expected to go down in April.
Reinier de Ridder will attempt to defend his middleweight (205 lbs) ONE belt in the main event of ONE 166 against Anatoly Malykhin. The fight will be a rematch from late 2022, when Malykhin stopped de Ridder in the first round with strikes.
Lower on the pay-per-view lineup, ONE MMA Strawweight Champion (125 lbs) Jarred Brooks will try to defend his title against former champ Joshua Pacio.
Notes On: UFC, Bellator, PFL Europe, OKTAGON, ONE Championship & Cage Warriors
UFC
A pair of fights have reportedly left UFC’s March 2nd event:
Josefine Knutsson (7-0) has withdrawn from her strawweight fight against UFC newcomer Julia Polastri (12-3) due to a back injury, per Swedish combat sports news outlet Frontkick. Polastri has already found a new matchup, being paired against Stephanie Lucaino (5-1-1) at the promotion’s March 23rd show. Luciano was originally scheduled to face Shauna Bannon (5-1) on that same card. AgFight reported the change for the strawweights.
An injury has also forced Brendon Marotte (8-2) out of his fight against Mohammad Yahya (12-4), as first mentioned by Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Both fighters were looking to bounce back from a loss.
A light heavyweight fight between Alonzo Menifield (15-3-1) and Carlos Ulberg (9-1) that was first scheduled for UFC’s March 30th card has reportedly been kicked ahead to the promotion’s May 11th show, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. This further delays Ulberg’s return, which has been rescheduled two times since January. In the first instance, an injury stopped him from facing Dominick Reyes at UFC 297.
UFC announced Tuesday that featherweights Nate Landwehr (17-5) and Pat Sabatini (18-5) have been paired up for their March 30th card at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Landwehr had a three-fight winning streak snapped last year with a loss to Dan Ige. Sabatini is also coming off a defeat, taking a 90-second loss to Diego Lopes at UFC 295.
Michael Chandler appeared at WWE’s Monday Night RAW program this week to cut a promo on Conor McGregor. You can see the full clip here.
Bellator
Bellator 302 has lost its co-main event bout, as an injury has forced Leah McCourt (8-3) to withdraw from her featherweight bout against Sinead Kavanagh (9-6). In a statement posted by McCourt, the 31-year-old says she suffered a broken rib and torn oblique. Her fight was scheduled to take place on March 22nd at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland.
PFL Europe
Undefeated Scottish lightweight Mark Ewen (5-0) will face Andreeas Binder (8-2) at PFL Europe’s first event of the year from Paris, France on March 7th. Ewen scored a stoppage win in his last appearance, finishing Noah Gugnon with strikes at Bellator 299. Binder was originally scheduled to make his PFL Europe debut late last year. He’s entering the promotion on a three-fight winning streak.
OKTAGON
A pair of reserve bouts will take place as part of OKTAGON’s 16-man lightweight grand prix, which kicks off at their March 2nd card in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
One-time KSW alum Milos Janicic (16-3) will try to pick up his sixth consecutive MMA win when he faces Ebrahim Hosseinpour (8-7). Hosseinpour has fought four times in OKTAGON, winning twice.
PFL 2021 welterweight season competitor Jason Ponet (14-16-1) will make his OKTAGON debut against Lukasz Rajewski (12-9). Ponet has picked up four wins and two losses on the regional scene since his brief PFL run. Rajewski is coming over to OKTAGON after a six-fight stint in KSW.
In a non-tournament fight, featherweights Radek Rousal (2-0) and Luke Neale (3-1) have been added to the card as well. Both of Rousal’s previous pro wins have come in OKTAGON. All three of Neale’s wins have been earned via finish since his 2022 debut.
ONE Championship
Two MMA bouts will take place this weekend as part of ONE Championship’s “Friday Fights 53” card from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Both returning to ONE Championship after winning in their previous appearances, Chayan Oorzhak (7-2) and Babar Ali (7-2) are booked to face off at bantamweight. Oorzhak has put together a pair of finish wins in ONE since June of last year. Ali won his first ONE bout just three months ago, beating Fritz Biagtan on scorecards.
A couple months after he won his ONE debut via finish, Nachin Sat (4-2) will go up against Tural Askarov (4-1). Sat beat Carlos Neyheban Alvarez in December 2023, putting him away in the second round with punches. Askarov picked up three finish wins on the regional scene last year.
Cage Warriors
Cage Warriors have added a catchweight bout at 175 pounds between Anthony Orozco (2-0) and Craig Willingham (0-1) to their card this Friday from San Diego, California, USA. Orozco has picked up two wins in Cage Warriors since his June 2023 debut.
A clash between a pair of undefeated middleweights has been announced for Cage Warriors 168 on March 16th from Manchester, England. After picking up four wins on the regional scene, Qendrim Pallata (4-0) will face Mario Mingaj (5-0). Mingaj has won four of his five fights via finish in the first or second rounds, including three in notable Italian promotion Venator FC.
Two more fights were added to Cage Warriors 171 on April 20th from the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
Scotland’s Keir Harvie (6-3-2) will return to Cage Warriors for the first time in years when he faces Kaique Modesto (6-4). Harvie has earned one win, two draws and two losses since his last Cage Warriors appearance. Modesto has lost three of his past five.
Coming off a successful promotional debut from last year, Ronal Siahaan (8-1) has been booked to face Igor Wojtas (10-9). Siahaan handed Andrew Johnson-Cabrera his first loss in December 2023.