3/13/24: Mark Coleman Hospitalized After Saving Parents From House Fire
Also: PFL reveals full lineups for first half of 2024 regular season
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is a catch-up on MMA headlines from the past 48 hours. There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s waste no time.
MMA Legend Mark Coleman Hospitalized After Rescuing Parents From House Fire
Mark Coleman, UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion, was hospitalized Tuesday after saving his parents from a house fire in Fremont, Ohio, USA.
Coleman, 59, was airlifted to a nearby hospital in Toledo early Tuesday morning after carrying his parents out of a burning building, per a post from his daughter.
According to a post from Morgan Coleman, one of Mark’s daughters, the UFC legend went back into the house to save his dog, Hammer, after previously getting his parents out of the house. He was unable to save the dog and had to be brought to a hospital due to damage he suffered during the incident. The severity of Coleman’s current condition is not known at the moment.
“Our father has always been our hero and means the world to us,” said Morgan Coleman in an Instagram post. “He is and always will be a fighter … Please continue to pray for him and our family during this extremely difficult time. We will miss our sweet Hammer so deeply.”
While nobody was identified in the report, local news station WTOL confirmed with the Ballville Volunteer Fire Department Chief about a house fire where all family members escaped, one family member had to be airlifted to a hospital, and a dog passed away.
Coleman joined the UFC roster in 1996, winning a one-night tournament at UFC 10 including victories over Don Frye and Gary Goodridge. He won another tourmament later that year at UFC 11.
Coleman became the first-ever heavyweight champion in the promotion’s history in 1997, submitting Dan Severn to earn the belt. He would also go on to compete in Pride FC, where he won the 2000 Openweight Grand Prix. He rejoined the UFC roster in 2009 and retired a few years after a 2010 loss to Randy Couture.
Coleman became the fifth-ever entrant into the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Pioneer Wing” in 2008.
PFL Reveals Full Lineups For First Half of 2024 Season
PFL announced the first three lineups for their 2024 regular season on Monday, with the show including a heavy integration of the Bellator roster.
38 of the 72 fighters competing in the PFL regular season will represent Bellator when the promotion starts their year with a trio of events next month. The list of Bellator talents making the crossover includes numerous former title challengers and a current champ in Liz Carmouche.
Delija To Face Bellator’s Moldavsky, Carmouche, and Velasquez Set For Trilogy
PFL’s regular season will begin on April 4th with fights in the promotion’s biggest and smallest weight classes: Heavyweights will be featured alongside the debuting flyweight tournament from San Antonio, Texas, USA.
2022 PFL Heavyweight Champion Ante Delija will return in the main event, taking on former Bellator light heavyweight title challenger Valentin Moldavsky. Delija is coming back after having a quiet 2023, competing just once.
Missing from the heavyweight field in April notably is Renan Ferreira, who has opted out of the 2024 season. His reasoning for not competing this year is the possibility that he could face former UFC champ Francis Ngannou in a special MMA in the coming months. Ferreira earned first dibs on an MMA bout against Ngannou in February, beating Ryan Bader in just seconds.
A trilogy fight between Bellator champ Carmouche and former title challenger Juliana Velasquez will take place in the top flyweight fight in April. The duo notably met twice in 2022 for Bellator’s flyweight title.
Carmouche dethroned Velasquez two years back, giving the then-undefeated champ her first loss with a fourth-round finish. However, due to the fight being argued by some as an early stoppage, they rematched later that year. Carmouche came out on top again that time, submitting Velasquez in the second round with an armbar.
This fight will be Velasquez’s first appearance since taking those losses to Carmouche in 2022. Carmouche is coming off a 2023 that saw her defend her belt twice via finish.
Davis To Meet Returning Wilkinson, Returning Champ Kasanganay To Meet Polizzi
Two divisions that have existed since the beginning of PFL in 2018 — light heavyweight and lightweight — will compete when the promotion returns to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on April 12th.
Former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Phil Davis will kick off his first-ever PFL season in the main event when he faces Rob Wilkinson.
Wilkinson is coming back to the PFL after an unproductive 2023. The 2022 champion was removed from the season last year after failing a drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. His sole fight — a decision win over Thiago Santos — was overturned to a no contest. He’ll look to get past that rough year with a win next month.
Davis, a UFC vet, fought in Bellator 15 times from 2015 to 2023. He had a brief title reign beginning in 2016, dethroning Liam McGeary on scorecards at Bellator 163. He dropped the belt a year later, losing a split decision to Ryan Bader.
Impa Kasanganay will try to go back-to-back in the light heavyweight season, starting with his appearance next month against Alex Polizzi.
Kasanganay picked up an impressive five wins last year, leading him to a PFL title by late November. He will be making somewhat of a quick turnaround on this card, competing just under two months after losing to Johnny Eblen at the special “PFL vs. Bellator” card.
Polizzi is entering PFL following a seven-fight Bellator run. He has struggled over the past couple of years, losing fights to Karl Moore and Yoel Romero.
2022 PFL Welterweight Champion and 2023 finalist Sadibou Sy will also make his light heavyweight debut on the main card, facing Josh Silveira.
Former Champ Loughnane Returns To Featherweight, Koreshkov Makes PFL Debut
The first half of PFL’s season will come to an end on April 19th when welterweights and featherweights fight in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Long-time Bellator fighter Andrey Koreshkov will headline the evening, taking on undefeated Magomed Umalatov in a welterweight contest.
Koreshkov spent more than a decade on the Bellator roster, attaining 16 wins during his time there. The former champ is entering this PFL season on a five-fight winning streak.
Umalatov has put together an impressive 16-fight undefeated record since turning pro in 2015. He entered into his first PFL season last year and picked up two wins, but withdrew before his semi-final playoff fight against Magomed Magomedkerimov.
2022 champ Brendan Loughnane will be on the hunt for his second championship this year, beginning his campaign against Pedro Carvalho in the co-main event.
Loughnane earned a PFL title just over a year ago, stopping Bubba Jenkins in the finals of the 2022 season. His 2023 run was cut short in June when Jesus Pinedo stopped him in 94 seconds with strikes.
Carvalho has struggled in recent years on the Bellator roster, having won just two of his last five fights. His last appearance was a first-round finish loss to Aaron Pico last September.
After PFL holds three events in April, another trio of cards will take place later in the year as part of the regular season. All fighters on the roster will compete again on those shows, determining who in each division will advance into a four-man playoff bracket.
Unlike years before, PFL has introduced “alternate” fights for tournaments. Some matchups at the bottom of cards will include fighters who are not part of the standings but could be slotted in if another talent has to depart the season.
Here is how all of the upcoming PFL cards look:
PFL Regular Season 2024 #1 - 4/4/24 - San Antonio, Texas, USA
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 9:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Ante Delija (24-5) vs. Valentin Moldavsky (12-3) (Heavyweight)
Bout 12: Denis Goltsov (32-8) vs. Linton Vassell (24-8) (Heavyweight)
Bout 11: Liz Carmouche (20-7) vs. Juliana Velasquez (12-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Tyrell Fortune (13-2) vs. Daniel James (14-7-1) (Heavyweight)
Early Card (6:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 9: Dakota Ditcheva (10-0) vs. Lisa Mauldin (6-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Bruno Cappelozza (15-7) vs. Sergey Bilostenniy (11-3) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Taila Santos (19-3) vs. Denise Kielholtz (8-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Steve Mowry (10-1-1) vs. Oleg Popov (16-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Kana Watanabe (12-2-1) vs. Shanna Young (9-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Chelsea Hackett (4-1-1) vs. Jena Bishop (6-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Jordan Heiderman (7-1) vs. Marcelo Golm (10-4) (Heavyweight Alternate)
Bout 2: Kaytlin Neil (7-5) vs. Sumino Inaba (6-1) (Flyweight Alternate)
Bout 1: Lucas Brennan (9-0) vs. Dimitre Ivy (12-7) (Featherweight)
PFL Regular Season 2024 #2 - 4/12/24 - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 6:00PM PDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Phil Davis (24-7) vs. Rob Wilkinson (17-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 12: Impa Kasanganay (15-4) vs. Alex Polizzi (10-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 11: Clay Collard (24-12) vs. Patricky Pitbull (25-12) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Mads Burnell (18-5) vs. Michael Dufort (12-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Sadibou Sy (16-7-2) vs. Josh Silveira (12-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Antonio Carlos Junior (15-5) vs. Simon Biyong (9-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Early Card (6:00PM EDT / 3:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (21-7-1) vs. Jakob Nedoh (8-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Bruno Miranda (16-4) vs. Brent Primus (12-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Gadzhi Rabadanov (20-4-2) vs. Solomon Renfro (11-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Jay Jay Wilson (10-1) vs. Adam Piccolotti (14-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Elvin Espinoza (9-0) vs. TBD (Lightweight Alternate)
Bout 2: Tom Breese (18-4) vs. TBD (Light Heavyweight Alternate)
Bout 1: Marcelo Nunes (10-2) vs. Giacomo Lemos (8-0) (Heavyweight)
PFL Regular Season 2024 #3 - 4/19/24 - Chicago, Illinois, USA
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 9:00PM CDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 14: Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) vs. Magomed Umalatov (14-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 13: Brendan Loughnane (27-5) vs. Pedro Carvalho (13-8) (Featherweight)
Bout 12: Logan Storley (15-2) vs. Shamil Musaev (16-0-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 11: Gabriel Alves Braga (12-1) vs. Justin Gonzales (14-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Goiti Yamauchi (28-6) vs. Neiman Gracie (12-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Bubba Jenkins (21-7) vs. Kai Kamaka III (12-5-1) (Featherweight)
Early Card (6:30PM EDT / 5:30PM CDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 8: Adam Borics (18-2) vs. Enrique Barzola (20-7-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Timur Khizriev (14-0) vs. Brett Johns (20-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 6: Laureano Staropoli (13-5) vs. Murad Ramazanov (11-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Don Madge (10-4-1) vs. Kyle Crutchmer (10-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 4: Zach Juusola (14-9) vs. Luca Poclit (10-1) (Welterweight Alternate)
Bout 3: Tyler Diamond (12-3) vs. Otto Rodrigues (14-1) (Featherweight Alternate)
Bout 2: Romain Debienne (10-4) vs. TBD (Welterweight Non-Tournament)
Bout 1: Jordan Oliver (1-0) vs. TBD (Featherweight Non-Tournament)
UFC Announces Return To St. Louis For May 11th
The UFC cage will land in St. Louis, Missouri, USA for the first time in years.
The promotion will head to the Enterprise Center on May 11th for a “Fight Night” card, per an announcement made earlier this week.
The event, which doesn’t have a headlining act publicly announced yet, will be UFC’s first appearance in St. Louis since early 2018.
UFC made its St. Louis debut six years ago, hosting a card headlined by a featherweight fight between Jeremy Stephens and Choi Doo-ho. The promotion most recently visited the state of Missouri in April of last year, with Max Holloway defeating Arnold Allen in the main event of that “Fight Night” show.
Undefeated Welterweight Champ Adrian Bartosinski To Rematch Andrzej Grzebyk At KSW 94
A third major fight has joined KSW 94.
Adrian Bartosinski will look to keep his reign as KSW Welterweight Champion alive when he faces Andrzej Grzebyk on May 11th from the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, per an announcement made by the promotion this week.
Bartosinski earned his title last year at KSW 81, stopping Artur Szczepaniak in the first round with strikes. He then defended the title in December, shutting down Salahdine Parnasse’s three-division champion hopes with a one-sided, five-round unanimous decision victory.
The 15-fight undefeated talent will now attempt to get past a former opponent for his second victory as champ.
Grzebyk lost a fight to Bartosinski in early 2022, getting caught in a kneebar for a submission finish in the second round. A three-fight winning streak over the past couple of years has not only earned Grzebyk a second shot at Bartosinski but also a chance at the division’s title.
Grzebyk’s last appearance was a decision victory over Cage Warriors veteran Madars Fleminas late last year. Previous performances include a win over Brian Hooi and an early stoppage over Oton Jasse.
KSW previously announced a pair of major pairings for their May 11th card. A clash of Polish combat sports stars will headline the card, as ex-GLORY Kickboxing fighter Arkadiusz Wrzosek will face former heavyweight boxing contender Artur Szpilka. In an interim featherweight title fight, Polish talents Robert Ruchala and Patryk Kaczmarczyk will face off.
Notes On: UFC, RIZIN, Cage Warriors & KSW
UFC
Billy Quarantillo (18-5) has received a new short-notice opponent for his UFC booking on March 23rd. Quarantillo is now expected to face Youssef Zalal (13-5-1), as first reported by MagicM MMA and recently announced by both fighters on social media. Zalal is rejoining the UFC roster after putting together three MMA wins on the regional scene. The 27-year-old fighter previously was on the UFC roster from 2020 to 2022, attaining a three-fight winning streak before losing a trio of bouts and fighting to a draw against Da’Mon Blackshear, ending his run with the promotion. Quarantillo, who was originally booked to face Gabriel Miranda, is coming off a decision victory against Damon Jackson from last August.
Cody Gibson (19-9) has also been given a new matchup for the March 23rd UFC “Fight Night.” While he was originally booked to face Davey Grant (13-7), he’s now scheduled to fight Miles Johns (13-2), per Marcel Dorff. Gibson is returning for the first time since losing in the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” to Brad Katona. Johns’ last fight, a bout that was originally a decision win over Dan Argueta, was reversed to a no-contest due to a drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Nate Landwehr (17-5) has been matched against Jamall Emmers (20-7) for UFC’s March 30th card from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. We noted in a newsletter last week that Landwehr needed a new opponent after Pat Sabatini withdrew from a booking. Emmers scored a quick win late last year, beating Dennis Buzukja in just 49 seconds with strikes. Landwehr had a three-fight winning streak broken last year with a decision defeat to Dan Ige.
Three fights have been booked for UFC’s April 6th show, including two replacement fights.
Lucas Rocha (17-1) has a new matchup for his UFC debut. While he was first booked to face Jose Johnson (16-8), Marcel Dorff is reporting that he will now meet Joshua Van (10-1) at flyweight. Rocha earned a UFC contract last year with a finish win over Davi Bittencourt on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Van is a tough first UFC assignment for Rocha, having earned three victories in his rookie year with the promotion thus far.
After Cesar Almeida (4-0) lost his original matchup for this card, he is now being placed in an all-”Contender Series” fight. Almeida will no longer face LFA vet Josh Fremd (11-5) and will now instead meet fellow UFC newcomer Dylan Budka (7-2), per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Almeida, a former GLORY Kickboxing talent, won a UFC contract in August last year with a victory against Lucas Fernando. Budka beat Chad Hanekom on the “Contender Series” to earn a UFC contract as well.
Jean Matsumoto (14-0) will make his UFC debut against former LFA champ Dan Argueta (9-1). Matsumoto moved his undefeated record to 14 wins last September when he beat Kasey Tanner on “Dana White’s Contender Series” to score a UFC contract. Argueta, a former LFA champ, is looking for his first win in over a year. His last two fights have been no contest results: A fight against Ronnie Lawrence was ruled a premature stoppage, and a loss to Miles Johns was overturned due to a drug test on Johns.
Undefeated light heavyweight contender Vitor Petrino (11-0) will face a veteran in his next matchup, meeting Anthony Smith (37-19) at UFC 301 on May 4th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Petrino has earned four wins since joining the UFC roster, including a pair of finishes. Smith, a former title challenger, is coming off a finish loss against Khalil Rountree from late last year. Laerte Viana was the first to confirm the matchup.
Tatsuro Taira (15-0) will try to continue his rise up the flyweight rankings when he meets Tim Elliott (20-13-1) at UFC’s May 18th card, per Marcel Dorff. Taira has climbed up to the 13th spot in the promotion’s 125-pound standings, having earned five victories since joining the UFC in 2022. His last win, a late 2022 appearance, saw him stop Carlos Hernandez with strikes. Elliott, a UFC vet of 20 bouts, submitted Sumudaerji late last year with an arm triangle choke. The veteran talent is easily the biggest matchup for the undefeated Taira thus far.
RIZIN
Seven fights were announced for RIZIN 46 on Tuesday. Before this week, just a featherweight title fight between Chihiro Suzuki and Masanori Kanehara was publicly known for the April 29th card from Tokyo, Japan. Here are the new additions:
After scoring a finish win against kickboxer Ryusei Ashizawa on New Year’s Eve, Shinobu Ota (5-3) has been booked against former featherweight champ Juntaro Ushiku (21-8). The first win for Ushiku since his 2022 title reign came to an end emerged last September, beating Kyohei Hagiwara on scorecards.
After winning an eight-man tournament in Korea’s Road FC promotion, Kim Soo-chul (21-7-1) will return to RIZIN to face Taichi Nakajima (17-12-1). Kim notably scored a big win in his RIZIN debut two years back, beating Hiromasa Ougikubo. Nakajima is riding the momentum of his first promotional victory, a decision over Ryo Okada last year.
Appearing for the first time since losing a bantamweight title fight against Kyoji Horiguchi on New Year’s Eve, Makoto Shinryu (16-2-1) will fight Lee Jung-hyun (4-1). Lee, a Road To UFC vet, picked up his fourth MMA win just a few months back.
Bantamweight prospect Yang Ji-yong (8-1) will appear in RIZIN for the first time in over a year when he faces Kazuma Kuramoto (10-4). Yang had a brief two-fight stint in RIZIN during 2022, beating Shoji Maruyama and Uoi Fullswing. He had a busy 2023 on Korea’s regional scene, earning four wins and one loss. Kuramoto will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak.
Russia’s Viktor Kolesnik (25-6-1) will return to RIZIN for a fight against Yoshiki Nakahara (18-6). Kolesnik has beaten Atsushi Kishimoto and Ryo Takagi since joining RIZIN last May. Nakahara has earned three wins and one loss since departing the ONE Championship roster and signing with RIZIN.
After winning on RIZIN’s Azerbaijan card last year, Ilkhon Nazimov (10-3) will make the trip over to Japan for a fight against Sora Yamamoto (16-9-2). The fight will give Yamamoto a chance to snap a three-fight skid.
Both trying to get back into the win column, featherweights Taisei Nishitani (6-6) and Ryo Takagi (6-2) will face off.
Cage Warriors
Two fights have left this weekend’s Cage Warriors doubleheader lineup:
A lightweight fight between Tommy Hawthorn (5-1) and Simone Patrizi (6-2) has been removed from Friday’s Cage Warriors card. Hawthorn announced the fight’s departure on social media this week, and the bout has been removed from the promotion’s schedule. Hawthorn says he is now targeting a fight at Cage Warriors 171 on April 20th in Glasgow, Scotland.
Tom Wright (1-1) announced that his fight on Saturday against Orion Lombardi (4-4) is off as well. Similar to the lightweight bout on Friday, the matchup between Wright and Lombardi was removed from the Cage Warriors lineup.
KSW
KSW vet Ramzan Jembiev (5-2) will look to return to the win column when he meets El Hadji Ndiaye (5-2) at the promotion’s Paris, France card on April 6th. Jembiev had his five-fight winning streak — which included two KSW wins — broken in January with a 47-second submission loss to Isai Ramos. Ndiaye broke a two-fight skid in his most recent Cage Warriors fight, beating Marin Vetrila on scorecards.