4/21/25: A Look At The Week Ahead
Plus some other headlines from the weekend
Welcome to a Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s newsletter is a busy one as we get our week started. We have a preview of the week for MMA, including a rundown of the biggest events on what is expected to be a very busy Saturday. But first, we have some final stories from the weekend.
Quick heads up: Expect the next newsletter either on Wednesday or Thursday, providing a mid-week recap of the top headlines from the sport.
And one more quick thing before we get started: If you appreciate the coverage, please consider sharing it with a friend. A quick recommendation goes a long way.
Alright, let’s begin.
News
Ahmad Hassanzada Dropped From UFC Debut, Released By Promotion Following Lewd Act With Minor Charges
An expected debut at this Saturday’s UFC card has been scrapped after a fighter was booked on disturbing felony charges last weekend.
Lightweight fighter Ahmad Hassanzada was arrested on Saturday with felony charges of “lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14” and “Lewd act on child victim 14 or 15” by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, per recent reports from MMA Junkie and AgFight.
Local news outlet KCRA noted that Hassanzada turned himself in after a warrant for his arrest was posted. The ongoing investigation relates to crimes that were alleged to have started last year. Local police haven’t revealed much more information due to the “sensitive nature” of the case, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The 28-year-old is being held on a bail of $400,000 and is expected to have his first court hearing on Tuesday. UFC has not only dropped him from this weekend’s show but also released him from the promotion altogether following the arrest.
Hassanzada was scheduled to make his first-ever UFC appearance this weekend in Kansas City against Evan Elder. A UFC press release, which didn’t specify that Hassanzada had withdrawn due to an arrest, stated that he has been replaced by promotional newcomer Gauge Young.
Hassanzada secured a UFC deal last September following a third-round submission win on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He had impressed on the U.S. regionals in the years before then, attaining wins in promotions like LFA and Cage Warriors.
The lightweight fighter has spent recent years residing in Sacramento to train out of the prolific Team Alpha Male gym.
Anthony Guarascio Stops Bailey Schoenfelder Early To Claim CFFC Heavyweight Title
In his longest appearance yet as a pro fighter—92 seconds—Anthony Guarascio captured his first-ever MMA title.
Guarascio kept his streak of all-action wins going in the main event of CFFC 141 on Saturday night, dethroning Bailey Schoenfelder to become the promotion’s new heavyweight champ. “The Daywalker’s” big win emerged in front of home-state supporters in the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, USA.
The first minute of the fight saw Guarascio pressuring Schoenfelder on the feet, backing him up with powerful hooks to the head. While Guarascio wasn’t wildly chasing a finish, it was clear early on why all of his wins have emerged so early.
Then, just after the 90-second mark in their fight, a lead left hand followed by an overhand right from Guarascio sent Schoenfelder tumbling to the mat, and caused referee Andrew Glenn to step in and stop the fight.
Guarascio, who has four finish wins since his 2023 pro debut and has won all of them within two minutes, now has his first title on the regional circuit. The fight was a massive step-up in competition for him, going from facing relatively inexperienced pros to squaring off against a talent who had previously been considered for a UFC opportunity.
Following his win, Guarascio pitched himself as the next heavyweight in line for a shot at the major leagues in MMA.
“We should skip the ‘Contender Series’ and go straight to the UFC … I’m tired of sitting around,” Guarascio said in his post-fight interview. “It’s time to get on the big screen. It’s time to get where I belong.”
The fight was another tough setback for Schoenfelder, a Kill Cliff FC fighter who, less than a year ago, was considered a major prospect in the weight class. Schoenfelder became CFFC Heavyweight Champion last year with a finish win over Greg Velasco, adding another victory to an undefeated record which had previous wins in Bellator and the LFA.
With five wins to his name, Schoenfelder received the call to compete on “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year. However, his shot at a potential UFC spot didn’t work out: He was submitted in just 73 seconds by Danylo Voeivodkin.
The 27-year-old now has to try and rebound from back-to-back quick losses before considering any bigger tests in the sport.
Earlier in the night, former CFFC champ Blake Smith continued his current winning streak with a first-round finish against Enkhtur Bayartsogt. Also, in her first appearance since suffering a 10-second loss, bantamweight prospect Emily Martins scored a 91-second submission victory.
Here are the quick results from CFFC 141:
Main Card (7:30PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 13: Anthony Guarascio def. Bailey Schoenfelder via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:32) (CFFC Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 12: William Rentz def. Shane Mistretta via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:30)
Bout 11: Blake Smith def. Enkhtur Bayartsogt via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:37)
Bout 10: Emily Martins def. Nikola Kacperska via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:31)
Bout 9: Jimmy Hinel def. Tyree Sutton via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 4:25)
Bout 8: Vitor Resende def. Jashua Marsh via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:01)
Preliminary Card
Bout 7: Lucas Cortes def. Phillip Jackson via Submission, Inverted Triangle Armbar (RD 1, 0:44)
Bout 6: Mihai Culai def. Corey Samuels via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:58)
Bout 5: Alessio Ksouri def. Avry Mutschler via Decision, Split
Bout 4: Brayton Young def. Blake Menard via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 3: Jesse DeJong def. Tyler Conant via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 2: Emilio Barco def. Jose Norat via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Evan Spencer def. Ray Bolden via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 0:20) (Amateur)
A Look At The Week Ahead
Saturday
OKTAGON 70: Kristofic vs. Humburger
OKTAGON has loaded up their return to the KV Arena in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic this weekend.
Saturday’s lineup at OKTAGON 70 features half of the Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Grand Prix’s opening round fights, plus a title fight at strawweight buried on the undercard.
This weekend is the biggest yet for OKTAGON’s year-long Tipsport Gamechanger tournament, which is taking place at middleweight. While half of the Round of 16 has taken place in recent months—with the advancing fighters being Matej Penaz, Kerim Engizek, Mick Stanton and Mark Hulme—the other half of the 300,000 Euro grand prize bracket will be determined on Saturday’s card.
The main event of the night will see the Czech Republic’s own Dominik Humburger try to start his tournament run against Samuel Kristofic, a former OKTAGON champ. Other tournament matchups on the card will feature ex-UFC talent Krzysztof Jokto, OKTAGON Welterweight Champion Ion Surdu, and former champ Piotr Wawrzyniak.
Earlier in the night, OKTAGON Strawweight Champion Mallory Martin will put her title on the line against France’s Eva Dourthe.
Past UFC talent Martin put an end to Katharina Dalisda’s lengthy win streak last October, going five rounds to defeat her in a five-round title fight. Going from the hunter to the hunted, Martin will face Dourthe, who is returning to OKTAGON with a second chance to grab gold at strawweight. She previously came up short last year against Dalisda, losing in a decision.
Here’s everything to expect at OKTAGON 70:
Main Card (12:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CEST) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 11: Samuel Kristofic (17-6) vs. Dominik Humburger (9-2) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Tournament Opening Round)
Bout 10: Vlasto Cepo (12-3) vs. Erhan Kartal (12-2) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Tournament Opening Round)
Bout 9: Ion Surdu (16-6) vs. Krzysztof Jokto (25-6) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Tournament Opening Round)
Bout 8: Piotr Wawrzyniak (13-6) vs. Marek Mazuch (9-2) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Tournament Opening Round)
Bout 7: Andrej Kalasnik (12-5) vs. Mate Kertesz (15-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Daniel Skvor (8-4) vs. Marc Doussis (9-4) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Mallory Martin (10-6) vs. Eva Dourthe (8-6) (OKTAGON Strawweight Championship)
Bout 4: Radek Rousal (3-2) vs. Karol Kutyla (8-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Katharina Dalisda (11-4) vs. Elin Oberg (5-3) (Strawweight)
Bout 2: Lukasz Siwiec (9-4) vs. Hojat Khajevand (8-4) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Reserve Fight)
Bout 1: Mateusz Strzelczyk (14-14-1) vs. Mateusz Duczmal (3-1) (Lightweight)
KSW 105: Bartosinski vs. Grzebyk
Perhaps the biggest card out of all the European offerings this week is KSW’s show at the PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland.
KSW 105 features a major title clash at welterweight, plus a freakshow heavyweight fight which is sure to garner some mainstream MMA attention.
Let’s focus on the more serious of the two fights, first: In the main event, KSW Welterweight Champion Adrian Bartosinski will look to continue his dominant reign when he faces Andrzej Grzebyk for the second time.
Bartosinski has been a defending champ in KSW for nearly two years. In 2023, he became the sole fighter to hand Salahdine Parnasse a loss that he has yet to avenge, shutting down his triple-champ aspirations with a five-round decision. Then last year, he caught Igor Michaliszyn with a third-round kneebar to extend his reign.
When looking at the title reign of Bartosinski, his career has been flawless. However, there’s more to the story than just that. This Saturday also sees him come back from his first-ever loss as a pro. Bartosinski suffered a massive upset defeat at KSW’s 100th numbered event last November, losing up at middleweight against the legendary Mamed Khalidov.
Looking to extend Bartosinski’s recent misfortune will be Grzebyk. The 34-year-old Polish fighter has a 2022 submission loss to Bartosinski, but has earned a second crack at him after piecing together four consecutive wins in the division, including a pair of first-round finishes.
Before the main event, a circus act will go down at heavyweight. KSW veteran Mariusz Puzianowski, a weightlifter who parlayed his athletic success into a multi-decade career with KSW, appearing more than two-dozen times over the years, will face fellow Strongman and pro MMA newcomer Eddie Hall.
While Hall has slight combat sports experience, having previously fought in an exhibition boxing match and doing a two-versus-one MMA fight once, this is his first-ever official pro MMA appearance. The allure of two massive men colliding under MMA rules is sure to bring in many viewers, as has historically been the case for fights featuring Pudzianowski against other goliaths.
There are some other interesting matchups lower on the card. Biggest of all is a clash between former boxer Artur Szpilka and ex-GLORY Kickboxer Errol Zimmerman, who are trying to turn their previous combat sports success into an MMA run.
Here’s how the show looks:
Main Card (1:00PM EDT / 7:00PM CEST) (KSW PPV)
Bout 9: Adrian Bartosinski (16-1) vs. Andrzej Grzebyk (22-6) (KSW Welterweight Championship)
Bout 8: Mariusz Pudzianowski (17-9) vs. Eddie Hall (0-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Artur Szpilak (3-1) vs. Errol Zimmerman (1-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Igor Michaliszyn (12-3) vs. Artur Szczepaniak (12-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Madars Fleminas (13-6) vs. Kacper Koziorzebski (11-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 4: Szymon Bajor (25-11) vs. Augusto Sakai (16-6-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Laura Grzyb (0-0) vs. Gabriela Hristea (1-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Marcin Krakowiak (13-5) vs. Adam Niedzwiedz (9-4-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Michal Turynski (1-0) vs. Denis Gorniak (5-2) (Heavyweight)
Cage Warriors 188: Sheehan vs. Burlinson
After a weekend in Scotland, Cage Warriors will make the trip over to The RDS in Dublin, Ireland, for a title fight doubleheader on Saturday evening.
Championships at 170 and 205 pounds will be on the line this weekend at Cage Warriors 188.
The main event spotlight will go to James Sheehan, who will be looking to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time when he takes on Justin Burlinson.
After nine fights in Cage Warriors, Sheehan finally captured his first title when he submitted Daniel Konrad in the fourth round of a competitive fight last April. He was able to endure an aggressive gameplan from Konrad, counter-striking on the feet before closing out the bout with his grappling skills.
After more than a year away, mainly due to a fight against former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitor Giannis Bachar falling through, Sheehan is back this weekend. He’s facing Burlinson, a 27-year-old who is looking for his first regional gold.
Burlinson’s career has seen ups and downs, missing out on a UFC shot in 2021 following a loss on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” and suffering a stoppage loss in 2022. But he comes into this weekend following back-to-back submission wins in Cage Warriors.
Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Champion James Webb will appear in the co-main spot against John Allan.
Webb, who represents England but trains out of the Dublin-based Team KF Gym, kicked off his reign last November when he stopped Andy Clamp in the third round of a title fight. The bout saw Webb return to a championship spot five years after his first-ever Cage Warriors title reign back in 2019.
Brazil’s Allan is a former UFC fighter who has seen some success on the regionals as of late. The 32-year-old has won five of his last six since 2022, with all wins coming via stoppage. While recent victories have been impressive, a win over Webb this weekend would be a bigger feather in his cap than other performances as of late.
There are tons of Irish prospects who will be on display this weekend. Saturday’s card includes Paddy McCorry, a competitor on last year’s season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” who returned to the regional scene in November with a 46-second win.
Here’s a look at everything we’re expecting for this weekend. Quick note: The official bout order isn’t set. Some of these matchups will take place as part of a prelims set for a 1 p.m. ET start.
Main Card (3:00PM EDT / 8:00PM IST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 15: James Sheehan (8-3) vs. Justin Burlinson (9-2) (Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship)
Bout 14: James Webb (11-5-1) vs. John Allan (18-9) (Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 13: Paddy McCorry (5-1) vs. ˝hassan Abdenabi (4-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 12: Maximus Lally (3-0) vs. Alexis Tsarmantidis (4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Solomon Simon (5-0) vs. Cristian Iorga (7-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Matthew Elliott (4-2) vs. Kenny Mokhonoana (5-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Scott Harvey (4-0) vs. Leon Armes (3-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Ciaran Brady (3-0) vs. Giovanni Fernandez (3-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Conor McCarthy (3-0) vs. Sulo Hila (5-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Alexander O’Sullivan (2-0) vs. Daire Toman (4-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Keith Keogh (1-0) vs. Joe Doyle (0-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Adam Darby (3-1) vs. Tomasz Langowski (6-5) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Chasen Blair (6-3) vs. Diego Visanzay (5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Eimear Darcy (2-0) vs. Daniela Sanches (1-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Jamie Abbott-Bissett (1-0) vs. Charlie Falco (6-4) (Flyweight)
UFC on ESPN 66: Machado Garry vs. Prates
For the past year, the Fighting Nerds Gym out of Sao Paulo, Brazil has been the talk of the town.
Out of the many spectacular names who are represented by them—fast-rising middleweight contender Caio Borralho, knockout artist Jean Silva, strawweight prospect Karine Silva—the most exciting name of the pack arguably has been Carlos Prates.
His rookie year in the UFC was nothing short of spectacular. In less than 12 months, he went from a promotional newcomer to a must-see contender in the welterweight division. He demolished four consecutive names in performance bonus-earning fashion each time.
Prates became the first person to stop Chinese veteran Li Jingliang. Also, a little over a year after his “Dana White’s Contender Series” performance, which earned him a UFC contract, he won a main event clash against Neil Magny via first-round stoppage.
Each Prates fight week has been highly anticipated so far, but this one feels different. Headlining a show from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA against Ian Machado Garry, Prates is no longer the massive favorite that he was in his last appearances (ballooning as high as -800 in his meeting against Magny last year).
Instead, oddsmakers see the fight as a possible coinflip result, as two of the more promising contenders in the 170-pound division will be facing off. This is not another showcase for Prates.
Machado Garry didn’t have the overnight success in the UFC that Prates has seen. Instead, he slowly moved up the ranks for years, becoming one of the division’s biggest names by late 2024, when he had put together eight consecutive wins in the UFC.
By late 2024, Machado Garry was possibly one fight away from a title shot when he was shuffled into a matchup against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Since the Kazakhstani fighter was being positioned for a fight with incumbent titleholder Belal Muhammad around that time, a win from Machado Garry would’ve likely stolen the opportunity for him.
But Machado Garry came up short in the appearance, losing via unanimous decision at UFC 310 and ending his 15-fight undefeated record.
This weekend gives Machado Garry the chance to bounce back with a respectable win, taking out the 13th-ranked contender and holding onto his #7 spot. However, fighting down in the rankings, he also risks the reality of moving further away from a title opportunity than he has been in years.
This weekend’s card is in front of a live arena of fans, so UFC has put a little more effort into the matchmaking than the average APEX show. In the co-main event, former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will have his retirement fight against Zhang Mingyang, a Chinese prospect who has impressed in his past UFC showings. Oddsmakers predict it could be a rough goodbye for Smith, who is viewed as a large underdog.
Lower in the lineup, names that stick out include: Featherweight contender Giga Chikadze, flashy middleweight striker Michel Pereira, and returning flyweight Matt Schnell.
Here’s the full show:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 14: Ian Machado Garry (15-1) vs. Carlos Prates (21-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 13: Anthony Smith (37-21) vs. Zhang Mingyang (18-6) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 12: Giga Chikadze (15-4) vs. David Onama (13-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Michel Pereira (31-12) vs. Abus Magomedov (27-6-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Randy Brown (19-6) vs. Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) vs. Andre Muniz (24-6) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Matt Schnell (16-9) vs. Jimmy Flick (17-8) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Evan Elder (9-2) vs. Gauge Young (9-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Chris Gutierrez (21-5-2) vs. John Castaneda (21-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Da’Mon Blackshear (16-7-1) vs. Alatengheili (17-9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Cameron Saaiman (9-2) vs. Malcolm Wellmaker (8-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Jaquelone Amorim (9-1) vs. Polyana Viana (13-7) (Strawweight)
Bout 2: Timmy Cuamba (8-3) vs. Roberto Romero (8-4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Chelsea Chandler (6-3) vs. Joselyne Edwards (14-6) (Bantamweight)
A few other events to keep an eye on this week…
It’s always fight week in Vegas. This Friday, Tuff-N-Uff will head to the Palms Casino for a card with tons of notable names. In the main event, Cuba’s Ernesto Rodriguez (9-1) will wager his seven-fight winning streak against Mahmoud Sebie (5-2), a former PFL prospect who is returning to the U.S. scene following a trio of lightning-fast wins in Brave CF. The show will also feature ex-UFC names Daniel Lacerda (12-6), Kai Kamaka III (14-6-1) and Joshua Weems (12-4), who are trying to rehab their records after recently departing major MMA deals. Kamaka III, an ex-UFC and PFL fighter, is making his first appearance since getting out of a deal with the GFL. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
Pancrase has a load of major fights set to go down this Saturday in Tokyo. Title fights at lightweight and bantamweight will take place, with defending champs (and recent “Road To UFC” competitors) Tatsuya Saika (12-5) and Tokitaka Nakanishi (12-4) in action. The promotion will also crown a new welterweight champ when Shogo Sato (5-0) and Kota Shirakawa (6-6) face off. Earlier in the night, a name to look out for is Reo Yamaguchi (3-1), a 25-year-old who put together an impressive 16-5 amateur record before turning pro in 2023. (Watch: TIGET)
Former UFC and PFL fighter Chris Camozzi has found success in bare-knuckle boxing in recent years, and looks to continue that good fortune this weekend when he puts his BKFC Cruiserweight Championship on the line against Andrea Bicchi in the main event of a show in Italy.
And now, a check-in on boxing: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England will play host to a middleweight grudge match on Saturday when Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3) takes on Conor Benn (23-0). After months of going back and forth, including a face-to-face in recent months that saw Eubank Jr throw an egg at Benn, the two will finally face off in front of a stadium audience. While the fight isn’t for any major title, it’s honestly a solid matchup, grudge match aside: Eubank Jr. is a tested world-title level boxer, and Benn is an up-and-comer from England who has shown promise for years. (Watch: DAZN)