3/30/24: John Dodson Retains BKFC Title Following Unanimous Draw

Also: Results from LFA, and a preview of today's UFC and Cage Warriors cards

Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily. As promised, there’s a lot to discuss in today’s issue. We have results from LFA and John Dodson’s BKFC return, plus a preview of tonight’s top shows and a recent UFC suspension. Let’s dive in.

UFC Vet John Dodson Retains BKFC Flyweight Title With Draw Against Dagoberto Aguero

Former UFC title challenger John Dodson is still a champion in the bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC, although his winning streak has been broken.

Dodson settled with a unanimous draw after five rounds against boxer Dagoberto Aguero on Friday night, earning the result after enduring a pair of flash knockdowns and rallying back to tie up the scorecards. The fight headlined BKFC 59, which took place at the Tingley Coliseum in Dodson’s hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

For the first three rounds, the story of the fight was knockdowns.

Dodson got ahead of Aguero in the opening round, landing a left hand that sent him to the canvas. Aguero argued he slipped, although the referee wasn’t convinced.

Aguero responded in the next round with a knockdown of his own, connecting with a counter left that brought Dodson to a knee briefly. He then gained the lead for the first time in the fight during the third round, getting Dodson down once again, that time with a right cross.

While none of the knockdowns were massive blows that came close to ending the fight, they played an important role in the scoring of the bout. BKFC follows traditional boxing scoring, which gives a competitor a 10-8 score if they earn a knockdown and win the round.

Open scoring showed that Aguero was up 28-26 after the third round. With two rounds to go, this left a few options on the table for Dodson to remain champ: He could earn a stoppage, win two rounds without a knockdown to force a tie, or take both rounds and earn a knockdown to walk away with a victory.

Dodson ended up winning both the fourth and fifth rounds on scorecards, keeping his champion status alive but not providing a satisfying victory. He had a solid fourth round, rocking Aguero briefly with a left hand. The fifth round was the closest frame of the fight, with no real defining moment emerging for either boxer.

Dodson, a 39-year-old fighter who exited the UFC roster in 2020, had three wins in BKFC before this weekend. He became the promotion’s inaugural 125-pound champ last August, overcoming JR Ridge. Friday was the first time that Dodson fought for longer than one round in a bare-knuckle boxing match.

Aguero, a fighter with the experience of 17 pro bouts in gloved boxing, earned the title shot after defeating Chance Wilson last year. After the fight, he called for a rematch with Dodson in Miami, Florida. Dodson was willing to meet him in another title clash.

“I would be down to take this fight wherever he wants to,” Dodson said in his post-fight interview.

Lance Lawrence Overcomes Tough Landry Ward In Three-Round War At LFA 180

Sharp boxing from Lance Lawrence allowed him to earn the decision nod in a hard-fought three-round war against Landry Ward. Lawrence came close to finishing Ward early in the fight but instead had to endure a tough 15 minutes against an opponent that was seemingly gaining momentum in the closing minutes of the bout.

Lawrence’s win headlined LFA 180, which took place on Friday night from the Broadbent Arena in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

It became clear early in the fight that a pathway to victory for Lawrence would be through his accurate and damaging punches. He scored a hard knockdown in the first minute of the bout, landing with an overhand right. Another hard two-punch combo got through with 90 seconds left in the opening round.

Lawrence had Ward fighting to stay in the bout again in the second round, flooring him once again with a right hand. Lawrence followed Ward to the canvas after this moment, connecting with ground and pound but not doing enough to end the bout. The damage was visible on Ward after this moment, sporting a nearly entirely bloody face.

Despite Lawrence having a clear advantage in the fight after 10 minutes, Ward started to become a bigger threat than ever. Leg kicks that he landed throughout the fight were adding up on Lawrence, visibly giving him trouble. Aware of this, Ward continued to frequently throw leg kicks.

Ward started to connect with punches of his own later in the fight, backing up a tired and hurt Lawrence. However, it ended up being too little too late for Ward, as the fight ran out of time and Lawrence walked away with a comfortable decision win.

Lawrence admitted afterward that the kicks from Ward gave him trouble.

“He tore my leg up,” Lawrence said in his post-fight interview. “I just said I gotta get through it, you know? Mind over matter.”

Lawrence, a fighter who had a large amount of support in the audience due to his Kentucky residence, is now on a two-fight winning streak for the first time in years. The 30-year-old featherweight struggled for a significant amount of time beginning in 2019 when he suffered his first pro loss on the UFC program “Dana White’s Contender Series.”

Ward was coming off a split decision defeat against Alfred Walker from LFA 169 last year. He has now taken a consecutive pair of losses for the first time in his pro career.

Lawrence and Ward weren’t originally supposed to share the main event spotlight of Friday’s card. The featherweights were elevated to headlining status on Wednesday after a flyweight bout between Kevin Fernandez and Igor Siqueira was removed from the card.

Richie Miranda kept his success in the LFA cage going in Friday’s co-main event spot, fighting for a unanimous decision win against Kegan Agnew. Here’s a look at the results from Kentucky:

Main Card (9:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 13: Lance Lawrence def. Landry Ward via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Richie Miranda def. Kegan Agnew via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Victor Valenzuela def. Dustin Parrish via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:43)
Bout 10: Kibedy Gordon def. Angelo Robles via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Alik Lorenz def. Ben Parrish via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:15)
Bout 8: Joshua Perreira def. Jesse Martinelli via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:43)
Live Preliminary Card (7:30PM EDT) (Youtube)
Bout 7: Chelsea Conner def. Alandria Rosales via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Ethan Burmingham def. Justin Thompson via TKO, Injury (RD 1, 1:38)
Bout 5: Nejra Repp def. Whittany Pyles via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:27)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Ben Fowler def. Trae Cusac via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:38)
Bout 3: Emilio Vallecillo def. Taylor Meister via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Blake Alvey def. Hayden Russell via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:34) (Amateur)
Bout 1: Charlie Cleveland def. Alexander Collett via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:53) (Amateur)

Khusein Askhabov Handed Two-Year CSAD Suspension

Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), the UFC drug testing program that replaced the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) at the beginning of 2024, announced this week that Khusein Askhabov was given a two-year suspension due to a recent drug test.

A test administered on Askhabov last month detected metabolites of the anabolic steroid Methandienone. Anabolic steroids are on the publicly accessible CSAD prohibited list.

Askhabov’s suspension started on February 28th, meaning he won’t be able to compete in the UFC cage until early 2026.

Askhabov made his UFC debut in early 2023, losing a unanimous decision to Jamall Emmers. He has attempted to return since then, although three different bookings fell through later that year. 

The CASD has only handed out a few sanctions since beginning earlier this year. Last week, it was announced that heavyweight Walt Harris will serve a four-year suspension after failing a pair of drug tests.

Previews

Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot Set For High-Stakes Flyweight Bout At UFC Atlantic City

One of the biggest fights to make in the flyweight division will go down when UFC returns to the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA on Saturday night.

In a clash between two of the top contenders at 125 pounds, Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot will compete for a maximum of five rounds. The fight could determine who is next for a title shot after incumbent titleholder Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko rematch later this year.

There are an uncanny number of similarities in the careers of Blanchfield and Fiorot. They both joined the UFC in 2021 and have gone undefeated through six fights since then. Their quality wins have come against two different groups: They have both emerged victorious over former flyweight title challengers, as Blanchfield beat Taila Santos and Fiorot overcame both Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia. They have also both defeated former strawweight champs, as Blanchfield beat Jessica Andrade and Fiorot overcame Rose Namajunas in her flyweight debut last year.

They both have many similarities, but things will change this weekend. After Saturday—unless a draw emerges, a result that the last flyweight title fight reminded us does exist and could happen, even if unlikely—there will be a distinguishable big win on one of their records, potentially putting them next in line for the belt at 125 pounds.

The only issue coming out of this weekend could be how long the winner might have to wait. Grasso and Shevchenko are coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” which will begin airing in June. This means they will likely face off sometime in the third or fourth quarter of the year, potentially stopping another contender from challenging for months.

Even though it’s a little unclear whether a win on Saturday will directly lead to a title fight sometime soon, Fiorot and Blachfield facing off is still a massive matchup. It’s undoubtedly the biggest non-title fight that can be made at 125 pounds, and it will eliminate someone from the running for a shot at the champ.

Saturday’s main card includes numerous notable matchups. Veteran Vicente Luque will appear in the co-main event spot against Joaquin Buckley, who has picked up a pair of wins since moving down to welterweight last year.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman will also appear on the main card against Bruno Silva. Weidman—who will be fighting to end a two-fight skid that includes a nasty broken leg in 2021—will return to the state where he started his MMA career more than a decade-and-a-half ago.

Saturday will mark the first time UFC has hosted a show at the Boardwalk Hall in nearly six years. The promotion’s previous appearance at the historic venue was for a 2018 “Fight Night” card headlined by Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza.

Here’s a full look at this weekend’s UFC card, which will have the top half available on the main ESPN TV channel:

Main Card (10:00PM EDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 14: Erin Blanchfield (12-1) vs. Manon Fiorot (11-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 13: Vicente Luque (22-9-1) vs. Joaquin Buckley (17-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 12: Bruno Silva (23-10) vs. Chris Weidman (15-7) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: Nursulton Ruziboev (33-8-2) vs. Sedriques Dumas (9-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Bill Algeo (18-7) vs. Kyle Nelson (15-5-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Chidi Njokuani (22-10) vs. Rhys McKee (13-5-1) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Nate Landwehr (17-5) vs. Jamall Emmers (20-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Virna Jandiroba (19-3) vs. Loopy Godinez (12-3) (Strawweight)
Bout 6: Julio Arce (18-6) vs. Herbert Burns (11-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Connor Matthews (7-1) vs. Dennis Buzukja (11-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Ibo Aslan (12-1) vs. Anton Turkalj (8-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Melissa Gatto (8-2-2) vs. Victoria Dudakova (8-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Andre Petroski (10-2) vs. Jacob Malkoun (7-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Angel Pacheco (7-2) vs. Caolan Loughran (8-1) (Bantamweight)

Former Champ Jordan Vucenic Faces Simone D’Anna In Cage Warriors 169 Main Event

Cage Warriors might not have a title fight to present on Saturday, but they will have many high-level prospect clashes from The Indigo At The O2 in London, England on Saturday night.

Former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Jordan Vucenic will return in the main event of the card, facing Italian standout Simone D’Anna. Vucenic has been back on the rise since losing his 145-pound division belt to Paul Hughes in late 2022. The 28-year-old earned a pair of submission wins last year, beating Tiziano Ferranti and Brice Picaud.

He’ll now meet D’Anna, a former Bellator fighter who is on a three-fight winning streak. He won his Cage Warriors debut last October, overcoming Alberth Dias on scorecards. He’ll try to stop Vucenic’s roll in the main event on Saturday.

An incredibly strong clash of flyweight prospects will appear in the co-main event when Lone’er Kavanagh and Shawn Da Silva meet. 

Kavanagh has earned five wins since debuting in 2019, including a trio of victories in Cage Warriors. His last victory saw him hand Davide Scarano his first loss, putting him away in the third round with strikes.

Da Silva appeared twice in Cage Warriors last year, stopping Kiru Singh Sahota with strikes and earning a scorecard victory over former Cage Warriors title challenger Gerardo Fanny. He has the chance to earn yet another big win when he makes his seventh pro appearance this weekend.

Lower in the lineup, former UFC talent Darren Stewart will return against veteran Carlos Pereira. Stewart will be trying for his fifth consecutive win in the promotion since late 2022.

The original plan wasn’t for Cage Warriors 169 to be without a title fight. The promotion hoped to crown a new lightweight champ in the main event, putting U.S. prospect Lucas Clay against U.K. talent George Hardwick. However, once that fight was scrapped, the card was left without a five-round bout.

Friday’s Cage Warriors card is 14 fights in total. The show could have been as long as 16 bouts, although it was announced Friday that new opponents for Rhi Rhi Hudson and Joe Middleton couldn’t be found in time for the event. Hudson and Middleton lost their matchups recently, although the promotion was hoping to find new short-notice assignments for them.

Here is how Cage Warriors 169 looks:

Main Card (5:00PM EDT / 9:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: Jordan Vucenic (11-2) vs. Simone D’Anna (10-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 13: Lone’er Kavanagh (5-0) vs. Shawn Da Silva (6-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 12: Will Currie (11-3) vs. Leon Aliu (11-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: Darren Stewart (16-9) vs. Carlos Pereira (39-12-1) (Catchweight 195 lbs)
Bout 10: Jamie Richardson (11-9) vs. Olli Santalahti (13-6) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card (2:00PM EDT / 6:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Thomas Paull (11-5) vs. Dimitry Solimeis (6-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Jimmy Quinn (1-1) vs. Yohan Salvador (4-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Mitchell Goode (0-0) vs. Angus Hewett (1-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Aaron Johnson (7-4) vs. Ermil Xhaferi (4-1-1) (Catchweight 160 lbs)
Bout 5: Tom Creasey (5-1) vs. Amir Malekpour (6-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Tommy Brunning (0-0) vs. Cesari Simon Kevin (1-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Tariq Pell (3-0) vs. Shaun Fraser (1-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Joshua Onwordi (4-4) vs. Mariusz Mikolajewski (0-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Jawany Scott (3-1) vs. Jean Matos (2-0) (Flyweight)