3/3/24: Jairzinho Rozenstruik Hands Shamil Gaziev First Loss
Also: Patrik Kincl defends OKTAGON belt for the third time
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is quite a busy one! We’re covering news from UFC and OKTAGON events, covering a couple of retirements, plus a big win for Junior dos Santos. Let’s get started.
Shamil Gaziev Gets Outlasted By Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Suffers First Pro Loss
A big step-up opportunity proved to be too much for Shamil Gaziev on Saturday night, as the heavyweight prospect lost a main event fight to heavyweight gatekeeper Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The victory for ranked heavyweight Rozenstruik headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
An exhausted Gaziev was taken out of the fight in-between the fourth and fifth rounds after mentioning trouble with his vision. The finish came after a slow but successful four-round performance for Rozenstruik.
The fight started with a back-and-forth pace on the feet in the opening round. Fatigue started to become a significant factor for Gaziev in the second, as he started to look tired with his mouth wide open. Gaziev continued to advance on Rozenstruik in these rounds, but had a low output and consumed a high volume of punches.
It was unclear what specifically caused vision issues for Gaziev before the fifth round, although a statement published on Saturday night by the heavyweight said that he suffered eye damage in the second round.
Saturday was a big opportunity for Gaziev, allowing him to potentially break into the heavyweight division’s top 15 rankings after just two UFC fights. He won his promotional debut just three months ago, stopping Martin Buday in the second round at UFC 296. And three months before then, he ran through Greg Velasco to secure a contract with the promotion on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Saturday was the first pro loss for Gaziev since his 2020 pro debut.
The win on Saturday puts Rozenstruik back into the win column after a 2023 loss to Jailton Almeida, and at the very least should guarantee the security of his 12th-place spot in the standings for some time.
A pair of pivotal matchups between ranked flyweights took place on the main card as well. Muhammad Mokaev remained undefeated, earning a unanimous decision win in a competitive three-round fight against Alex Perez, who was able to strike with the rising contender and put up a fight against Mokaev’s takedown-heavy gameplan. Earlier in the lineup, Steve Erceg picked up his third UFC win by scoring a walk-off knockout against Matt Schnell.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s card:
Main Card (4:00PM EST / 1:00PM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 11: Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Shamil Gaziev via TKO, Retirement (RD 4, 5:00)
Bout 10: Vitor Petrino def. Tyson Pedro via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Muhammad Mokaev def. Alex Perez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Bekzat Almakhan via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Steve Erceg def. Matt Schnell via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:26)
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EST / 11:30AM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 6: Eryk Anders def. Jamie Pickett via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Vinicius Oliveira def. Bernado Sopaj via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:41)
Bout 4: Aiemann Zahabi def. Javid Basharat via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Claudio Ribeiro via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:57)
Bout 2: Ludovit Klein def. AJ Cunningham via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:36)
Bout 1: Loik Radzhabov def. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:49)
Patrik Kincl Defends OKTAGON Middleweight Title With Sudden Third Round Submission
Patrik Kincl came back from a worrying start to his title fight this weekend, finding a submission against Piotr Wawrzyniak in the third round to defend his OKTAGON Middleweight Championship for the third time.
Kincl’s victory headlined OKTAGON 54, which took place Saturday from the Ostravar Arena in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Incumbent champ Kincl had some trouble against interim titleholder Wawrzyniak in the early rounds of their fight. Wawrzyniak showcased an aggressive stand-up gameplan in the first two rounds, which Kincl seemingly didn’t have much of a response to.
An opening in the third round allowed Kincl to put an end to the fight and pick up the victory. Kincl swept out of a bottom position while on the ground, getting on top of Wawrzyniak in full mount. From this spot he applied an arm triangle choke, forcing a tap from Wawrzyniak.
Kincl has now defended his title a trio of times since initially gaining the belt in early 2022. Previous wins as champion include performances against Alex Lohore and Karlos Vemola.
Wawrzyniak came into this weekend with an impressive winning streak. He earned an interim OKTAGON belt late last year, stopping Vlasto Cepo with ground and pound to set up a fight against Kincl. Before that win, Wawrzyniak dominated in Polish regional promotion Babilon MMA.
Six Lightweights Move On In Tipsport Gamechanger Grand Prix
Three quarters of the opening round bouts for OKTAGON’s Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix took place on Saturday’s undercard from Ostrava. Ronald Paradeiser, Mochamed Machaev, Daniel Torres, Mateusz Legierski, Acoidan Duque and Predrag Bogdanovic all punched their tickets into the tournament’s quarter-finals with wins this weekend.
OKTAGON Lightweight Champion Paradeiser had an uncomfortably close fight against Attila Korkmaz, getting a close split decision victory after three rounds. Paradeiser had the edge in the mainly stand-up battle, out-landing Korkmaz overall. Open scoring showed the fans how even the fight was even in the final minutes, as two judges had the bout tied heading into round three.
Machaev put away former UFC fighter Makwan Amirkhani, stopping the tired and hurt fighter early in the third round with a clean lead jab. Amirkhani had moments of success with his wrestling, although he struggled to match Machaev’s striking, suffered significant swelling around his left eye early in the bout, and had a significant drop-off with his cardio in the second frame.
Former KSW champ Torres was dominant against tough OKTAGON vet Vladimir Lengal, chopping down his legs and putting together combinations of punches to earn a decision win. While the fight went the distance, there was a couple of moments that looked like it could provide a finish for Torres.
Legierski won in his second fight against Matous Kohout, scoring two early knockdowns and then later finishing the bout in the opening round with a rear naked choke. Legierski previously fought Kohout in 2022, similarly submitting him with a rear naked choke in that instance as well.
PFL and Bellator vet Duque had a close victory over Mohamed Grabinski, winning with a narrow split decision in the end. Duque has now picked up three consecutive wins. Bogdanovic handed Hafeni Nafuka his first pro loss in the first tournament bout of the night, taking all three rounds on scorecards to win quite decisively.
The Tipsport Gamechanger Grand Prix’s opening round will continue later this year, with a prize pool of 1,000,000 euro being handed out overall.
OKTAGON 54 lost two fights in the final 24 hours leading up to the event. On Friday, a backstage brawl between the team of Sahil Siraj and fighter Akonne Wanliss occurred. Due to Wanliss “not feeling 100%” after the incident, his Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round bout against Siraj was moved to the promotion’s April 20th card in Birmingham, England.
Luke Neale was also pulled from his prelim fight against Radek Rousal due to illness.
Here are the quick results from OKTAGON 54:
Main Card (12:00PM EST / 6:00PM CET) (DAZN / OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 9: Patrik Kincl def. Piotr Wawrzyniak via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 3, 1:50) (OKTAGON Middleweight Championship)
Bout 8: Ronald Paradeiser def. Attila Korkmaz via Decision, Split (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 7: Mochamed Machaev def. Makwan Amirkhani via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:06) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 6: Daniel Torres def. Vladimir Lengal via Decision, Unanimous (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 5: Mateusz Legierski def. Matous Kohout via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:38) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 4: Acoidan Duque def. Mohamed Grabinski via Decision, Split (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 3: Predrag Bogdanovic def. Hafeni Nafuka via Decision, Unanimous (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 2: Lukasz Rajewski def. Jason Ponet via Decision, Split (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout)
Bout 1: Milos Janicic def. Ebrahim Hosseinpour via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:23) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout)
Tyson Pedro, Jamie Pickett Retire Following Losses At UFC ‘Fight Night’
A pair of UFC talents announced their retirements from MMA on Saturday night.
Tyson Pedro called an end to his career after suffering a loss to Vitor Petrino on a UFC “Fight Night” co-main event spot.
“It’s always been my intention to show my daughter that as long as you work your ass off and grind towards what you love, you can do anything you can dream of,” said Pedro following his loss on Saturday. “I think my dream has just changed at this point so, that’s it for me with UFC. Thank you to all the fans from the bottom of my heart. I don’t think it’s goodbye, just see you later.”
Pedro later mentioned at a press conference that his decision to step away from the sport was mostly motivated by his intention to make more time for his family. The Australian fighter had been spending fight camps in New Zealand, training with the prolific City Kickboxing gym.
Pedro, 32, joined the UFC roster in 2016 after attaining four wins on the Australian regional scene. He attained six UFC wins through 11 appearances in the promotion, with all of his victories coming via finish in the first round.
Jamie Pickett retired following his loss to Eryk Anders in the prelims.
Pickett fought hard to join the UFC roster, appearing on “Dana White’s Contender Series” three times before finally earning a contract with the promotion in 2020. He struggled greatly while in the UFC, with his promotional run ending after five consecutive losses.
“I got a six year old. I got kids that count on me,” Pickett said during a post-fight press conference. “My little girls. I want to be a positive role model in their lives. I want to help them, guide them through life. I can't do it if I'm messed up from fighting … My body’s just not holding up.”
Junior Dos Santos Stops Alan Belcher To Claim Bare-Knuckle MMA Title
Former UFC heavyweight title holder Junior dos Santos can call himself a champ once again. Dos Santos picked up a second-round finish against Alan Belcher on Saturday night, earning him a belt in the bare-knuckle MMA promotion Gamebred from the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Dos Santos scored a second-round stoppage against Belcher, putting an end to a bloody battle for the promotion’s heavyweight belt. The finishing sequence was sudden, with dos Santos capitalizing on level change late in the second frame. The experienced Brazilian fighter floored Belcher with a left hook as they returned to their feet following a grappling exchange. Dos Santos then went back to the ground, landing punches to a covered-up Belcher until the fight was stopped.
Both heavyweights were cut open early in the fight, causing a large pool of blood to develop on the canvas during a grappling exchange on the ground. Despite emerging victorious, dos Santos exited the bout with some visible damage — including a visible alteration in the shape of his nose bridge — representing that the contest certainly wasn’t a one-way fight.
Dos Santos won his bare-knuckle MMA debut last year, going three rounds against Fabrício Werdum for a decision nod. That win snapped a five-fight losing streak for him, which included the end of his UFC run and a fight against Yorgan De Castro in Eagle FC.
Belcher, who had been extensively competing in bare-knuckle boxing since 2021, also was making his second-ever bare-knuckle MMA appearance. He overcame heavyweight veteran Roy Nelson as part of a Gamebred card in 2023.
A total of 10 former UFC fighters competed as part of Saturday's Gamebred event. In the co-main event, Chase Sherman put away Alex Nicholson in the first round with punches. Here’s a quick look at Saturday’s results:
Bout 8: Junior dos Santos def. Alan Belcher via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:39) (Vacant Gamebred FC Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 7: Chase Sherman def. Alex Nicholson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:57)
Bout 6: Handesson Ferreira def. Karl Roberson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: TJ Brown def. Joshua Weems via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 0:22)
Bout 4: Jesse Ronson def. Anthony Njokuani via Submission, Kimura (RD 1, 2:46)
Bout 3: Brandon Jenkins def. Tyler Hill via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:12)
Bout 2: Anvar Boynazarov def. Marlon Gonzales via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:13)
Bout 1: Joe Penafiel def. Charles Bennett via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:49)
Harry Hardwick, Zafar Mohsen To Compete For Cage Warriors Featherweight Title In Newcastle
Cage Warriors will crown a new featherweight champ when they head to Newcastle, England later this year.
Harry Hardwick and Zafar Mohsen will fight for the vacant 145-pound division title at Cage Warriors 172 on May 25th from the Vertu Motors Arena. The fight will decide the next king in the weight class after former titleholder Paul Hughes vacated his belt for a move up to lightweight.
The fight will be Hardwick’s first title shot after five fights in Cage Warriors. He joined the promotion in 2021, coming in after a pair of Bellator appearances and five wins on the regional scene.
Hardwick has been near perfect in his Cage Warriors run, earning four wins and one draw. His last appearance saw him hand Vitor Estevam his first pro defeat, submitting him in the second round with a rear naked choke.
Mohsen is receiving the big title fight opportunity after putting together a streak of wins in the German regional scene. The 29-year-old has earned a trio of finishes over the past year, including a quick victory from just last month.
The winner in May will join a lineage of featherweight champs that has many prominent names in MMA. Previous Cage Warriors Featherweight Champions include Conor McGregor, Paddy Pimblett, Mads Burnell, and Morgan Charriere.