3/24/24: Rose Namajunas Earns First Flyweight Victory
Also: A bounce-back performance for RIZIN Lightweight Champion Roberto Satoshi Souza
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue has reports from all around the MMA world: Stories from Las Vegas, Japan, Brazil, and Germany are all in today’s newsletter. Let’s begin!
Rose Namajunas Earns First Flyweight Win
Two-time former UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas picked up her first win at flyweight on Saturday night, defeating Amanda Ribas in a five-round main event matchup.
Namajunas earned a unanimous decision win against Ribas, using a mixture of striking and ground control to pick up most rounds. Her win headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The flyweights engaged in close stand-up exchanges, with Namajunas out-landing Ribas in most rounds. Namajunas often punctuated close striking exchanges on the feet with dominant control time on the ground.
Namajunas earned ground control in the first, second and fourth rounds of the fight, allowing her more than six minutes in total to land shots from top position. Arguably the best round for Ribas was the third, where she similarly got Namajunas to the canvas and let go of punches.
The five-round performance earned Namajunas her first victory at 125 pounds. She lost her debut in the division to rising contender Manon Fiorot last September.
A win over Ribas means that Namajunas will likely be in the official UFC rankings by next week. Ribas entered Saturday in the eighth spot of the flyweight rankings.
Namajunas mentioned her intention to face a high-ranked name next, listing a trio of talents who are in the division’s top five.
“I’m going to be watching that Manon [Fiorot], Erin Blanchfield fight,” said Namajunas, referring to next weekend’s headliner in her post-fight interview. “I wanted to fight either one of those [women] for this fight, but I lost against Manon. So, if I could get a rematch if she wins or, either her or, I know Maycee Barber looked incredible as well, so maybe one of those girls.”
Ribas entered this weekend with the momentum of a victory down at strawweight against Luana Pinheiro from late last year. Her previous flyweight appearance was a stoppage loss to the aforementioned Barber in June 2023.
The co-main event of the card saw rising heavyweight Karl Wiliams earn his third consecutive UFC win, facing Justin Tafa. Justin was filling in for his brother, Junior Tafa, who withdrew from this weekend’s card after losing a short-notice bout in January.
A headline-making moment took place on the preliminary portion of the night, as Igor Severino was disqualified from his UFC debut against Andre Lima due to biting his opponent in the arm during the second round. UFC CEO Dana White has already said that Severino will be dropped from the promotion’s roster, per a report from Kevin Iole.
Here are the results from UFC’s latest card:
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 13: Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Karl Williams def. Justin Tafa via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Edmen Shahbazyan def. AJ Dobson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:43)
Bout 10: Payton Talbott def. Cameron Saaiman via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:21)
Bout 9: Youssef Zalal def. Billy Quarantillo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:50)
Bout 8: Fernando Padilla def. Luis Pajuelo via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:45)
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Trey Ogden def. Kurt Holobaugh via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Julian Erosa def. Ricardo Ramos via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:15)
Bout 5: Miles Johns def. Cody Gibson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Jarno Errens def. Steven Nguyen via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Darya Zheleznyakova def. Montserrat Rendon via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Andre Lima def. Igor Severino via DQ, Biting (RD 2, 2:52)
Bout 1: Mick Parkin def. Mohammed Usman via Decision, Unanimous
Roberto Satoshi Souza Stops K-Taro Nakamura Early With Flurry Of Strikes
RIZIN Lightweight Champion Roberto Satoshi Souza bounced back from a loss on Saturday night with a quick performance, putting away experienced talent K-Taro Nakamura in less than two minutes with strikes.
Souza’s victory headlined RIZIN LANDMARK 9, which took place at the Kobe World Hall in Kobe, Japan.
Souza, best known for his grappling skills, showcased his striking abilities in the non-title fight main event. He dropped Nakamura just over a minute into the fight with a head kick, beginning a lengthy series of events that led to the finish. Souza then unloaded with a flurry of punches and soccer kicks to a grounded Nakamura.
In a showcase of his toughness, Nakamura was able to endure the series of shots from Souza and return to his feet. But Souza continued to come forward with blows in a stand-up exchange, causing the referee to intervene and stop the bout.
Souza was returning after taking a stoppage loss against former Bellator champ Patricky Pitbull last July. He has held the RIZIN Lightweight Championship since 2021, having defended the belt twice overcoming Tofiq Musayev inside the Tokyo Dome.
Nakamura, an 11-fight UFC vet, was riding the momentum of a stoppage win over veteran Strasser Kiichi from 2023. He has earned two wins through four RIZIN appearances since departing the UFC roster in 2019.
Many other RIZIN talents also returned to the win column earlier in the night. Super atomweight star RENA had a hard-fought decision victory over Korean standout Shim Yu-ri, and bantamweight contender Naoki Inoue put on a controlling performance versus veteran Shoko Sato. Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek also picked up a finish win in a kickboxing bout, beating former K-1 talent Minoru Kimura with a second round stoppage.
Here are the quick results for RIZIN LANDMARK 9:
Main Card (1:00AM EDT / 2:00PM JST) (RIZIN Live)
Bout 14: Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Keita Nakamura via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:43)
Bout 13: Koji Takeda def. Kyohei Hagiwara via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Naoki Inoue def. Shoko Sato via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: RENA def. Shim Yu-ri via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Yuya “Monkey” Shibata def. Person Yamamoto via Submission, Kneebar (RD 1, 1:45)
Bout 9: Kintaro def. Daiki Lightyear via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Takakenshin def. Cody Jerabek via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:58)
Bout 7: Yuta Kubo def. Ryogo Takahashi via Decision, Split
Bout 6: Buakaw Banchamek def. Minoru Kimura via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:10) (Kickboxing)
Bout 5: Yuya def. Masaya Jaki via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:25) (Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Yusaku Nakamura def. Arman Ashimov via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Yuto Uemura def. Aoi Noda via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:35) (Kickboxing)
Bout 2: Shun Matsuyama def. Shin Sakurai via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:55) (Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Daichi Akahira def. Yuki via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
Vanilto Antunes Dethrones LFA Welterweight Champion Geraldo Neto With First-Round Finish
Vanilto Antunes scored an upset win to become LFA Welterweight Champion, stopping defending titleholder Geraldo Neto in the first round with strikes.
Antunes’ win headlined LFA 179, which took place Saturday at the Arena 1 Parque Olimpico in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Antunes gained a lead against Neto in the opening minute of the fight with ground and pound. Neto slipped and fell after attempting a takedown, allowing Antunes to land punches from top position.
A finishing sequence emerged just a few moments after the fight returned to the feet. Antunes clipped Neto with a right cross, causing him to crash down to the canvas. Antunes followed him to the ground, landing a long series of ground and pound shots from the position until the referee finally stopped the bout.
Antunes, a decade-long veteran of the Brazilian regional scene, was making his LFA debut on a two-fight winning streak. He has been a finisher throughout his career, with just a few of his 16 wins coming via decision.
Antunes called for a shot on the UFC roster afterward.
“I’m a belt hunter,” Antunes said via an interpreter in his post-fight interview. “I live to hunt belts. I’m here, I have this belt. Who else do I have to knock out? Dana White, Sean Shelby, just give me my shot.”
Neto was aiming to defend his LFA title for the first time this weekend. He captured the title last September, going five rounds against Magnus Conrado to win on scorecards. A six-fight streak of victories was broken with his appearance on Saturday night.
Former title challenger Jose Delano scored a first-round finish in the co-main event, submitting Alan Villalba with a rear naked choke. The 27-year-old has now won five of his six fights in the LFA.
Here are the quick results from LFA 179:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 5:00PM BRT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 10: Vanilton Antunes def. Geraldo Neto via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:41) (LFA Welterweight Championship)
Bout 9: Jose Delano def. Alan Villalba via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:55)
Bout 8: Felipe Oliveira def. Caio Machado via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Michael Oliveira def. Dallys Moraes Gama via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:47)
Bout 6: Joao Pedro Saldanha def. Erick Viscondi via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:08)
Bout 5: Richard Martins def. Augusto Matias via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:11)
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 2:00PM BRT) (LFA Youtube)
Bout 4: Mateus Soares def. Alexandre Junior via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:59)
Bout 3: Luiz Felipe Herculano def. Werick Douglas via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:16)
Bout 2: Lucas Camacho def. Carlos Sena via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:51)
Bout 1: Joao Moraes def. Esteferson da Silva via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:43)
Christian Jungwirth Impresses In Front of Stuttgart Supporters At OKTAGON 55
Christian Jungwirth had an impressive performance in front of his Stuttgart, Germany home crowd supporters, going five rounds against Robert Pukac for a unanimous decision result.
Jungwirth out-landed Pukac and used grappling to pick up rounds, earning him a win in the main event of OKTAGON 55.
The gameplan from Jungwirth was pressure-heavy, constantly advancing on Pukac with punches and takedown attempts. He started to focus on his striking skills more in the third round of the fight, likely not coincidentally when damage from shots by Pukac caused him to start bleeding.
Jungwirth continued to have the better stand-up performance compared to Pukac into the late rounds.
The fight put Jungwirth back into the win column after suffering a pair of losses in OKTAGON last year. He now has another win on his record and a strong performance in the promotion’s Stuttgart debut.
Pukac was aiming to avenge a previous loss against Jungwirth. He was unsuccessful against him in 2022, getting stopped after two rounds of action. The defeat on Saturday has continued recent troubles for Pukac, having lost six of his last seven fights.
Alexander Poppeck returned from a failed title push in the co-main event, stopping UFC alum Jeremy Kimball in the co-main event. Here are the quick results from OKTAGON 55:
Main Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CET) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 12: Christian Jungwirth def. Robert Pukac via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Alexander Poppeck def. Jeremy Kimball via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:30)
Bout 10: Mate Kertesz def. Niklas Stolze via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:42)
Bout 9: Jamie Cordero def. Dominic Schober via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Sebastian Herzberg def. Ruben Wolf via TKO, Injury (RD 1, 5:00)
Bout 7: Arijan Topallaj def. Karol Rysavy via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:36)
Bout 6: Wahid Najand def. Jakub Bakhnik via Decision, Split
Bout 5: Jorick Montagnac def. Sebastian Heil via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Michael Deiga-Scheck def. Nikolas Serbezis via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:53)
Bout 3: Lucia Szabova def. Roza Gumienna via Submission, Armbar (RD 3, 4:38)
Bout 2: Ion Taburceanu def. Nenad Avramovic via TKO, Retirement (RD 2, 5:00)
Bout 1: Jacinta Austin def. Karolina Wojcik via Decision, Unanimous
Notes On: UFC, RIZIN, OKTAGON & LFA
UFC
A recent announcement from the UFC confirmed seven more matchups for an April 27th “Fight Night” card from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Bogdan Guskov (15-3) will receive the co-main event spotlight against Ryan Spann (21-9) at light heavyweight. Guskov earned his first UFC victory in February, stopping Zac Pauga in the first round with punches. He’ll now meet Spann, an 11-fight UFC vet who is looking to snap a two-fight skid that he suffered in 2023.
Rising lightweight Mateusz Rebecki (19-1) will face Joel Alvarez (20-3). Rebecki has yet to lose since joining the UFC last year, with a first-round submission against Roosevelt Roberts recently marking his third victory in the promotion. Alvarez, a talent who has been around the top of the lightweight division for a couple of years now, is coming off a darce choke submission against Marc Diakiese.
Veteran Tim Means (33-15-1) will return against Uros Medic (9-2). Means broke the first three-fight skid of his career last September, putting away Andre Fialho with strikes. Medic suffered his second-ever pro loss late last year due to a submission from Myktybek Orolbai.
Former GLORY Kickboxing talent Jhonata Diniz (6-0) will make his UFC debut against Austen Lane (12-4). Diniz earned a UFC contract last year, stopping Eduardo Neves in the first round on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Lane has had a rough go at the UFC so far: An accidental eye poke to opponent Justin Tafa caused his debut to end in a no contest after 29 seconds. They rematched three months later, with Lane getting stopped in 82 seconds that time.
Searching for his first UFC win, Caio Machado (8-2-1) will face Don’Tale Mayes (10-6). Machado lost a decision to Mick Parkin in his debut late last year, ending a six-fight streak that he attained on the regional scene. Mayes is also coming off a loss, dropping a decision to Rodrigo Nascimento.
James Llontop (14-2) will get his first UFC experience when he takes on Gabe Green (11-5). Llontop earned a UFC contract last year with a victory against Malik Lewis on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Before then, he dominated the regional Peru promotion FFC. Green will be searching for a crucial victory, coming back after suffering a pair of defeats recently, including a 2022 fight to Ian Machado Garry.
Both on the hunt for their first UFC wins, Marnic Mann (6-2) and Ketlen Souza (13-4) will collide. Mann dropped her debut to former K-1 kickboxer Josefine Knutsson last September. Souza, a former Invicta FC Flyweight Champion, is coming back after getting submitted with a kneebar by Karine Silva last year.
Sean Woodson (11-1-1) will try to keep his climb up the featherweight standings alive when he takes on the experienced Alex Caceres (21-14) on May 11th, per Woodson’s management team. Woodson has won four of his last five, with the other result being a draw. He last appeared in January, beating Charles Jourdain in a split decision. Caceres’ last loss was a decision to 145-pound division contender Giga Chikadze.
Grant Dawson (20-2-1) will look to bounce back from his first UFC loss when he takes on Joe Solecki (13-4), per Dawson’s team. Dawson had his eight-fight run of UFC wins snapped in just 33 seconds last year, getting stopped by Bobby Green with strikes. He can get his momentum rolling again versus Solecki, who suffered a rare slam knockout loss to Drakkar Klose last year.
UFC will hold an event on June 15th and has its first fight booked, per James Lynch. Nate Maness (15-3) will take on Jimmy Flick (17-7) in a flyweight belt on that date. Flick earned his first victory since returning from retirement in January, breaking a two-fight skid with a comeback win over Malcolm Gordon. Maness similarly snapped a two-fight skid recently, finishing Mateus Mendonca in the first round with strikes last year.
RIZIN
A pair of fights were confirmed for RIZIN 46 on Saturday night. The bouts are joining a card that will take place from the Tokyo Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on May 6th:
Kickboxer YA-MAN (1-1) will return to MMA rules when he faces Hiroaki Suzuki (4-3). YA-MAN suffered his first loss in the sport on New Year’s Eve, dropping a decision to Ren Hiramoto. He’ll go from facing one kickboxer to another later this year. Suzuki is currently on the first two-fight winning streak of his career, finishing both Taisei Nishitani and Takahiro Ashida within a round over the past year.
BeyNoah (1-3) will make his return against Yusaku Inoue (11-4-1). BeyNoah is coming back for the first time since suffering a 45-second loss to Sho Patrick Usami in late 2022. He has been intensely training since then, spending time in U.S.-based gym AKA. Inoue won his RIZIN debut last November, beating Kohei Tokeshi in 71 seconds.
OKTAGON
OKTAGON has announced that they will head to a 55,000-capacity football stadium on October 12th. OKTAGON 62 will take place at the Frankfurt Football Stadium (Deutsche Bank Park) in Frankfurt, Germany. OKTAGON has already announced that they will head to the Eden Stadium in Prague on June 8th for a show as well, meaning they will host two separate stadium events this year.
LFA
LFA will return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in just a few weeks. LFA 183 will go down from Rio on May 3rd, per an announcement Saturday.
Two more fights were confirmed for Friday’s LFA 180 card from the Broadbent Arena in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Former Bellator talent Ben Parrish (6-4) will return to LFA against Alik Lorenz (3-1). Parrish snapped a thee-fight skid late last year, stopping winless fighter Logan Crosby in 22 seconds. Lorenz is coming off a strong first-round finish win from his LFA debut last year. He has been waiting for his second bout in the promotion for some time, as two different fights have fallen through since November.
Dustin Parrish (10-4-1) and Victor Valenzuela (10-3) will meet at welterweight. Parrish has won four of his last five in the first round. Valenzuela is on a four-fight winning streak, including a trio of appearances in Combate Global.