2/23/24: PFL Says Francis Ngannou Will Face Winner of Champion vs. Champion Fight

Also: RIZIN announces new streaming service

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue has two main MMA stories for you, plus a preview of three events taking place over the next 24 hours. Let’s begin.

PFL Says Francis Ngannou Will Face Winner of Saturday’s Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout

Nothing is set in stone, but there does seem to be a plan for Francis Ngannou’s eventual return to MMA.

PFL said Thursday that the winner of this weekend’s heavyweight main event between Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira will earn a match against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ngannou.

Bader and Ferreria are facing off as part of a “Champion vs. Champion” themed card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Ferreira won the 2023 PFL Heavyweight Championship with a stoppage over Denis Goltsov in the finals, and Bader has held Bellator’s heavyweight belt since early 2019.

Ngannou signed with the PFL in mid-2023, marking his first MMA contract since departing the UFC roster. His deal with the promotion allows him to pursue boxing matches as well.

The 37-year-old has made the most of his freedom to compete in boxing so far. He fought in an incredibly high-profile bout against heavyweight champ Tyson Fury last year, losing a split decision but shocking the world by scoring an early knockdown.

Ngannou is expected to return to the ring next month to face former boxing world champ Anthony Joshua. By the time he returns to MMA competition, he will be ending an absence from the sport that has lasted longer than two years.

RIZIN Debuts Streaming Services Focused on International Fans

Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN has launched a streaming service that aims to provide an “easier than ever” experience for their international fans.

RIZIN.tv was unveiled on Thursday, days after a prototype of the site was discovered online.

RIZIN.tv will provide the international broadcast feed for this weekend’s RIZIN LANDMARK 8 card with a price of $19.99 USD.

The promotion plans to offer a monthly subscription plan beginning in March. The subscription will provide a “full digital archive” of RIZIN events, plus extra content put together by the promotion. RIZIN has not announced a price for the upcoming membership tier.

RIZIN.tv is similar to the RIZIN 100 Club, which offers an event archive and Japanese original content for the monthly fee of 880 Japanese yen, which roughly translates to $6 USD.

Two LFA Champs To Be Crowned In Niagara Falls

LFA’s current lineup of champions — nine in total — will receive two additions when the promotion heads to Niagara Falls, New York, USA on Friday evening. A pair of vacant belts are expected to be on the line at LFA 177 from the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino.

An interim champ at welterweight will be crowned in the main event of LFA 177 when Devin Smyth and Shamidkhan Magomedov collide. The titleholder will sit alongside the regular welterweight champ Geraldo Neto, who earned his belt last September with a win over Magnus Conrado.

Smyth is a comeback story of sorts, getting a title shot after making a return to the sport last year. The 28-year-old was away from competition for three years after suffering a pair of rough losses from 2019 to 2020. The first of those defeats saw Smyth miss out on a chance to join the UFC roster, losing a unanimous decision to Brok Weaver on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He then fought 11 months later, getting stopped in that instance with strikes by Maycon Mendonca at LFA 90.

Smyth came back from those losses in emphatic fashion last fall, putting away Jonathan Piersma in just 51 seconds with a spinning back kick. He’ll now challenge for his first LFA belt in Friday’s main event.

Magomedov is earning an LFA title fight after a strong run on the regional scene. He earned two wins after joining the LFA roster last year, submitting Kohlman Scribner and beating Bakhromjon Mashrapov on scorecards. A year before then, he scored a pair of wins in Russian promotion Eagle FC. Similar to Smyth, the 29-year-old will be experiencing his first five-round fight this weekend.

LFA hopes to crown their fifth-ever flyweight champ when undefeated talents Shannon Clark and Thaiany Lopes fight. The 125-pound division is currently without a title, as Sabina Mazo vacated her belt last year ahead of a move up to bantamweight.

Clark’s four-fight undefeated run as a pro started on the Canadian regional scene in 2022. After picking up four stoppage wins, she joined the LFA roster last year. Her most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Nejra Repp at LFA 170. Clark has handed the first loss to her last two opponents. She’ll have to do that again to earn a title this weekend.

Lopes is coming over to LFA after finding nothing but success on the Brazilian regional scene. She has scored five victories since 2019, with four of those wins coming via stoppage in the first or second rounds.

A total of nine fights are set for LFA 177. A welterweight fight between Mirafzal Akhtamov and Diego Bianchini was removed from the card on Thursday, as an illness to Akhtamov has forced him out of the lineup. The card still features numerous prospects, including undefeated names like Luke Roberts, Joe Taylor, Sierra Dinwoodie, and Luis Francischinelli.

The full bout order can be seen below:

Main Card (9:00PM EST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Devin Smyth (10-3) vs. Shamidkhan Magomedov (7-1) (Vacant Interim LFA Welterweight Championship)
Bout 8: Shannon Clark (4-0) vs. Thaiany Lopes (5-0) (Vacant LFA Flyweight Championship)
Bout 7: Joe Taylor (5-0) vs. Gabriel Thimoteo (5-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Sierra Dinwoodie (2-0) vs. Hope Chase (3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Liam Anderson (5-2) vs. Maurice Morris (6-4) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Luke Roberts (3-0-1) vs. Farman Hasanov (1-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Luis Francischinelli (1-0) vs. Ken Burrs (0-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Levan Khabalaev (2-0) vs. Mykolva Plazynskyi (2-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Corey Norman (0-0) vs. Darryl Booker (0-0) (Light Heavyweight)

Wilson Reis Returns To Featherweight, Mason Jones Searches For Third Straight Win At Cage Warriors 166

Cage Warriors will head back to San Diego, California, USA for a 10-fight card this Friday, featuring a pair of UFC vets and numerous local prospects.

While Cage Warriors is a European promotion, they have created a second home of sorts on the American West Coast since 2021, frequently hosting events in California. Friday will be the second leg of back-to-back American shows from the promotion when counting their last card of 2023.

UFC, Bellator vet, and former EliteXC Champion Wilson Reis is scheduled to headline the night against Toby Misech. Reis had a three-fight winning streak in Cage Warriors snapped last September, dropping a split decision to Trevin Jones. This weekend will be his return to featherweight, competing in the weight class for just the second time since 2011.

Misech will be hunting for his first Cage Warriors win when he faces Reis this weekend. He suffered a finish loss in his promotional debut last year, getting stopped by Roberto Hernandez.

Former Cage Warriors Champion Mason Jones will appear in the co-main event against Bryce Logan.

Jones came back to Cage Warriors last year after a four-fight run in the UFC. The end of his first campaign with the European promotion was highly successful, picking up titles at welterweight and lightweight in 2020. He has only won since his return, beating Alexandre Ribeiro and Yann Liasse last year. After appearing on European Cage Warriors shows previously, he’ll cross over to the U.S. for a fight against former LFA champ Logan.

Logan is making his first appearance since a four-fight run in Bellator. Logan struggled during this stint, suffering a trio of losses to start. He finished his Bellator campaign on a high note despite those losses, beating Peter Queally via stoppage.

A catchweight fight between Chace Eskam and Ilias Faquiri was removed from the prelims Thursday, per an announcement made by the promotion. Eskam had to exit the lineup due to medical reasons.

Here is the full bout order for Friday’s show:

Main Card (11:00PM EST / 8:00PM PST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 10: Wilson Reis (27-13) vs. Toby Misech (12-8) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Mason Jones (13-2) vs. Bryce Logan (13-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 8: Chasen Blair (3-2) vs. Orlando Sanders (3-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Bobby Winther (2-0) vs. Devin Goodale (4-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Xavier Vines (2-1) vs. Corvan Allen (3-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Anthony Orozco (2-0) vs. Craig Willingham (0-1) (Catchweight 175 lbs)
Preliminary Card (9:15PM EST / 6:15PM PST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 4: Elijah Harris (4-4) vs. Giovanni Sarran (8-5) (Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Miguel Peimbert (2-4) vs. Carlos Elizarraraz (2-3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Diego Vazquez (2-1) vs. Sean Rose (1-2) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Devon Simons (0-0) vs. Chadricc Kindle (0-0) (Heavyweight)

RIZIN Kicks Off 2024 With Saga Debut

RIZIN will open its 2024 schedule this weekend, heading to the Saga prefecture in Japan for the first time in the promotion’s history.

RIZIN LANDMARK 8 will continue the promotion’s series of events inside a cage instead of a ring, with 14 bouts booked to go down. The card will begin late on Friday night for viewers in the U.S. and will continue into early Saturday morning.

A pair of rising names at lightweight are expected to face off in the headlining fight when Luiz Gustavo and Yoshinori Horie meet.

Gustavo has been on the RIZIN roster since 2018. While he fought four times up until 2019 — including appearances in the promotion’s first and only Lightweight Grand Prix — the COVID-19 pandemic stopped him from traveling to Japan for a couple of years. Gustavo eventually returned in 2022 and has only picked up wins since then.

Gustavo earned a pair of stoppage wins in 2022, finishing Yusuke Yachi and Juri Ohara. He scored another victory last year, overcoming Koji Takeda in what was his first-ever time going the distance as a pro. After 10 months off, he’ll return versus UFC alum Yoshinori Horie.

Horie has made RIZIN his home after previously frequenting Pancrase and having a one-fight stint in the UFC. He went on a three-fight winning streak in 2021 when first entering the promotion, including a win over Ulka Sasaki. That momentum was stopped in April of last year, as Vugar Karamov submitted him in the second round of a fight.

Horie has since bounced back with a victory over UFC and Bellator alum Spike Carlyle. He’ll be in search of his fifth RIZIN victory when appearing in the cage this weekend.

As mentioned in the Monday edition of the newsletter, this card has taken a few hits. Notably, former champs Ayaka Hamasaki and Vugar Karamov departed the lineup in recent weeks. The card still features some prominent RIZIN names: In the co-main event, Kazumasa Majima will look for his third promotional victory when facing multi-decade veteran Masakazu Imanari. Yusuke Yachi will also appear against Rikuto Shirakawa.

Here’s a look at the card:

Main Card (12:00PM EST / 2:00PM JST) (RIZIN.tv)
Bout 14: Luiz Gustavo (13-2) vs. Yoshinori Horie (13-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 13: Kazumasa Majima (16-4) vs. Masakazu Imanari (39-22-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 12: Yusuke Yachi (25-13) vs. Rikuto Shirakawa (11-9-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 11: Saori Oshima (12-4) vs. Clair Lopez (8-5) (Super Atomweight)
Bout 10: Takahiro Ashida (26-13-2) vs. Hiroaki Suzuki (3-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Daichi Abe (12-7) vs. Kota Ossman (4-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Kenta Takizawa (13-10) vs. Shohei Nose (11-4-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Yuki Ito (15-5) vs. Masatoshi Ueda (19-9-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Takumi Terada vs. Takekiyo Tominaga (Flyweight Kickboxing)
Opening Card (10:30PM EST / 12:30PM JST) (RIZIN.tv)
Bout 5: RYOGA (3-5) vs. Ryuhei Sakai (2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Taiki Yahiro (3-2) Vs. Yuto Araki (1-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Reito Bravely vs. Kyohei Furumura (Bantamweight Kickboxing)
Bout 2: Hannya Hashimoto vs. Rikito (Bantamwweight Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Keito Ishigo vs. Satoshi Katashima (Strawweight Kickboxing)

Notes On: UFC, Cage Warriors & PFL Europe

UFC

• A pair of fights have joined UFC’s May 18th card, Nolan King of MMA Junkie is reporting.

  • Luana Pinheiro (11-2) will try to come back from her first UFC loss when she faces Angela Hill (16-13). Pinheiro had her three-fight winning streak snapped last year, as Amanda Ribas stopped her in the third round with strikes. Hill got back in the win column with a decision win over Denise Gomes last year.

  • Bantamweights Tamires Vidal (7-2) and Hailey Cowan (7-3) are expected to face off. Vidal dropped a split decision to Montserrat Rendon in September of last year. Before then, she had a first-round UFC win over Ramona Pascual and six wins on the regional scene. Cowan lost her UFC debut to Jamey-Lyn Horth last year.

• Jared Gooden (23-9) will face Kevin Jousset (10-2) at UFC’s May 11th card, per Marcel Dorff. Gooden earned the first victory of his second UFC stint late last year, submitting Wellington Turman with a rear naked choke. Gooden returned to the UFC in 2023 after scoring four wins and one loss on the regional scene. Jousset has overcome Kiefer Crosbie and Song Kenan since joining the UFC roster last year.

Cage Warriors

• Lightweights Matthew Camilleri (6-2) and Nicolo Solinas (5-5) will meet at Cage Warriors 167: Unplugged on March 15th. Camilleri had a three-fight winning streak broken in his first promotional appearance, dropping a decision to Adam Shelley. Solinas has lost his past two fights via stoppage on the regional scene.

• Another Irish talent has joined Cage Warriors 170, which is booked for April 6th in Dublin, Ireland. Scott Harvey (3-0) will make his promotional debut against Italy’s Enrico Di Gangi (4-1). Harvey has picked up three wins since his early 2022 debut. Di Gangi prevailed over Alessandro Giordano to win his first Cage Warriors bout last year.

PFL Europe

• Younes Najid (6-5) will appear on the same evening as his already booked brother Yassin Najid (9-4) at PFL Europe’s March 7th show in Paris, France. Younes Najid will face Kevin Del (4-7-1) in a middleweight bout.