4/27/24: Mitch McKee Remains Undefeated With Shutout Win Over Jose Hernandez
Also: Alan Dominguez retains LUX Welterweight Championship with impressive win
Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily! We have two event reports for you today, looking at some of the most notable regional developments from Friday. We also have a preview of tonight’s UFC card, plus some other news from the MMA world. Let’s get started.
Mitch McKee Remains Undefeated With Shutout Win Over Jose Hernandez
Mitch McKee kept his undefeated record intact in the LFA 182 main event, showcasing a well-rounded game against Jose Hernandez to earn a unanimous decision victory.
McKee presented dominance on the ground and success on the feet, allowing him to cruise to a scorecard win at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.
The first round was incredibly one-sided, as McKee took Hernandez down early and got on his back. He was able to flatten Hernandez out while on top, allowing McKee to search for rear naked choke attempts and land punches.
While the wrestling and grappling of McKee proved to be his biggest strength, he also had success on the feet. McKee’s striking never put Hernandez in big trouble, although he had moments of brilliance that made sure he had the edge no matter where the fight went.
“Since I have that wrestling background, the more I can level change the better,” McKee said in his post-fight interview. “It makes me unpredictable, whether I’m going to shoot, whether I’m going to strike.”
McKee now has a perfect record of six wins since his late 2021 debut. Apart from an appearance in Bellator, McKee has slowly built up wins strictly in the LFA. Friday was his second time headlining a card by the promotion, with his previous outing seeing him overcome Sean McPadden in his home state of Minnesota.
After his win on Friday night, McKee called for a fight against incumbent LFA Bantamweight Champion John Sweeney. He told Sweeney to fight him anytime, anyplace, or drop his belt so he could pursue it.
Sweeney earned his belt in June last year after defeating Allan Begosso. He hasn’t appeared in competition since then.
Hernandez was coming back to LFA after earning a win on the regional scene late last year. His previous appearance in the promotion saw him drop a decision to ONE Championship alum Tial Thang in April 2023.
The card lost one matchup on Friday morning, as seven-fight LFA vet Haris Talundzic withdrew from his bout against Keyth Dawson. “All I’ve been told is he came down sick last night and went to the hospital,” Dawson said in an Instagram post.
There were a series of finishes earlier on the LFA 182 card, including a highlight-reel head kick knockout win for Kendra McIntyre that made rounds on social media. Here are all of the quick results:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 11: Mitchell McKee def. Jose Hernandez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Khaseyn Shaykhaev def. Michel Lima via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Nikita Kulshin def. Cedric Gunnison via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Nate Smith def. Christian Ynastrilla via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:34)
Bout 7: Michael Blockhus def. Jonathan Griffin via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:13)
Bout 6: Kendra McIntyre def. Katarina Legorreta via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:00)
Featured Prelims (LFA Youtube)
Bout 5: Cheyanne Bowers def. Naomie Young via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:36)
Bout 4: James Martin def. M,A, Yah II via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 3, 2:01)
Bout 3: Shad Walters def. Nicholas Gjelaj via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:11)
Preliminary Card
Bout 2: Jeff Nielsen def. Zeb Vincent via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:17)
Bout 1: Tavlin Hunt def. Sean Krebbs via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 1:33) (Amateur)
Alan Dominguez Puts Together Four-Round Clinic, Survives Late Comeback Against PFL Vet Nayib Lopez To Retain LUX Title
Alan Dominguez scored a massive win on Friday night, overcoming former PFL talent Nayib Lopez to defend his LUX Welterweight Championship for the first time.
Dominguez had a dominant performance against a tough Lopez, coming close to scoring a finish in numerous instances but eventually settling with a unanimous decision victory. His victory came in front of a live crowd in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in the LUX Fight League 42 main event.
Ground control was a crucial part of Dominguez’s game, earning takedowns in each round and putting Lopez in trouble with submissions. He tried for a rear naked choke numerous times in the fight but never applied it cleanly enough to force a finish. The dominance of Dominguez stopped Lopez from doing much, making it easy to determine who won in certain rounds.
Lopez’s most dominant round came late, as he put together ground and pound that a tired Dominguez seemingly had no response to. It provided a tense moment, where some wondered if Lopez could secure a finish and steal the fight. But Dominguez survived the onslaught and used his lead on scorecards to earn a comfortable victory.
Friday was Dominguez’s first appearance since capturing the welterweight title last fall, overcoming Antonio Saurez in a five-round unanimous decision. He is now on a three-fight winning streak for the first time in his career, which has mostly taken place in the LUX Fight League.
Lopez was considered a big challenge for Dominguez heading into this weekend, with oddsmakers even putting the challenger as a slight favorite. Lopez was returning after taking his first pro loss in the PFL last year, dropping a decision to Russian contender Magomed Umalatov.
Before then, Lopez had an undefeated record of 16 wins, including a middleweight title fight in LUX and a PFL win over Shane Mitchell.
After the fight, Dominguez proposed to partner and fellow fighter Saray Orozco, who was originally expected to fight lower on the card. Orozco said yes.
In the co-main event, LUX Bantamweight Champion Juan Diaz overcame Abraham Nava in a non-title fight. Diaz was originally scheduled to defend his belt against Andre Barquero. After Barquero withdrew from the fight, Diaz remained on the card in a catchweight 140-pound fight against short-notice opponent Nava.
Here are the quick results from Friday’s card in Mexico:
Main Card (11:00PM EDT / 9:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 11: Alan Dominguez def. Nayib Lopez via Decision, Unanimous (LUX Fight League Welterweight Championship)
Bout 10: Juan Diaz def. Abraham Nava via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Brahyan Zurcher def. Angel Rodriguez via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:34)
Bout 8: Jose Roura def. Mauricio Nievas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Hugo Flores def. Roman Cordova via Submission, Armbar (RD 3, 4:59)
Bout 6: Andrea Vazquez def. Leticia Baltazar via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:00)
LUX Challenger 042
Bout 5: Axel Osuna def. Ricardo Hussein via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Irvin Amaya def. Rafael Saenz via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:54)
Bout 3: Jesus Siller def. Luis Cabrera via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Fernanda Larios def. Damara Vargas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Sergio Barajas def. Daniel Luna via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:03)
Preview
Ranked Flyweights Matheus Nicolau, Alex Perez Look To Start New Campaign Towards Title Shot At UFC APEX
A pair of ranked flyweights will attempt to get back into the win column tonight. Appearing for the first time since coming up unsucessful in a title eliminator bout last year, Matheus Nicolau will take on Alex Perez from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Nicolau had a six-fight winning streak brought to an end in 2023 when Brandon Royval stopped him in the first round with strikes. Royval went on to challenge UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja in his very next fight, showing how close Nicolau was to a championship opportunity before that loss.
Before that defeat, Nicolau had overcome Matt Schnell and David Dvorak and had put together four wins in the division since returning to the UFC brand in 2021. After getting his momentum stopped for the first time in years, Nicolau will try to earn a win this weekend.
Nicolau was originally scheduled to have a much bigger fight this weekend, being put up against high-ranked Manel Kape in a rematch from 2021. While Nicolau prevailed in their meeting more than three years ago, Kape has gone on a winning streak in recent years and is placed just one spot below Nicolau on the standings, making it a high-profile fight for his return.
After Kape withdrew from the fight, Nicolau was given eighth-ranked Perez. While Perez is also a ranked flyweight and is a notable talent to defeat, he is certainly a step down in comparison to a Kape matchup.
This fight will give Perez a chance to earn his first victory in years. The long time since Perez’s last win can be explained by high-level matchups and tons of cancelled bouts.
Perez’s current losing streak kicked off in 2020 when then-UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo stopped him in the first round via submission. He would then lose to current champ Pantoja and undefeated prospect Muhammad Mokaev, putting him into the three-fight skid that he currently finds himself in.
In between those fights, many opportunities have fallen through for Perez. Fight database Tapology lists that nine different bouts have been scrapped for him since his Figueiredo fight, in-part explaining why he has only fought three times over four years.
Similar to the main event, a large portion of Saturday’s card has the overarching theme of athletes trying to bounce back. On the prelims, six different fighters will be trying for their first UFC win after losing in previous appearances.
Ryan Spann will try to snap a two-fight skid in the co-main event when he meets Bogdan Guskov. The fight will be a test for Guskov, who is coming off a first-round finish win but has yet to beat any big names in the light heavyweight division.
In what is one of the more quality matchups of the night, rising flyweights Karine Silva and Ariane Lipski will meet. Both fighters are currently on winning streaks, with Silva having finished all three of her previous UFC opponents in the first round.
While Saturday’s UFC card is low-key—as it takes place at the small UFC APEX venue and doesn’t have many high-profile names—it will get the spotlight of airing on ESPN’s main channel. Here’s how the full lineup looks:
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1) vs. Alex Perez (24-8) (Flyweight)
Bout 12: Ryan Spann (21-9) vs. Bogdan Guskov (15-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 11: Karine Silva (17-4) vs. Ariane Lipski (17-8) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Jhonata Diniz (6-0) vs. Austin Lane (12-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Jonathan Pearce (14-5) vs. David Onama (11-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Tim Means (33-15-1) vs. Uros Medic (9-2) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 7: Rani Yahya (28-11-1) vs. Victor Henry (23-6) (Bantamweioght)
Bout 6: Austin Hubbard (15-7) vs. Michal Figlak (8-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Don’Tale Mayes (10-6) vs. Caio Machado (8-2-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Ketlen Souza (13-4) vs. Marnic Mann (6-2) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: James Llontop (14-2) vs. Chris Padilla (13-6) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Ivana Petrovic (6-1) vs. Liang Na (19-7) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Maheshate (9-3) vs. Gabriel Benitez (23-11) (Lightweight)
Notes On: UFC, ONE Championship & LFA
UFC
Hailey Cowan (7-3) has reportedly withdrawn from her May 18th UFC bout against Tamires Vidal (7-2) after suffering a broken leg, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Replacing her is Melissa Gatto (8-2-2), who will be trying to snap a two-fight losing streak.
Returning for the first time since winning his UFC debut, Vinicius Oliveira (20-3) will face Ricky Simon (20-5) at UFC 303 on June 29th, per AgFight. Oliveira scored a flying knee finish in his promotional debut, defeating short-notice opponent Bernardo Sopaj last month. Simon has struggled over the past year, suffering a main event loss to Song Yadong and dropping a decision to Mario Bautista.
ONE Championship
ONE Fight Night 23 will take place on July 5th from Bangkok, Thailand, per a recent announcement. The promotion’s first-ever 125-pound kickboxing champ will be crowned in the main event when Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen face off. It was also announced that Ok Rae Yoon (17-4) will take on undefeated talent Alibeg Rasulov (13-0). Ok earned his first win since dropping a title fight to Christian Lee just over a year ago, beating Lowen Tynanes on scorecards. Rasulov is coming into ONE after attaining a pro record of 13 wins, including 10 via stoppage.
LFA
LFA has announced a pair of events for June.
The promotion will return to the Horseshoe Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, USA for LFA 185 on June 7th. LFA has visited Hammond twice over the past couple of years.
LFA 186 will be hosted at the Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado on June 22nd. The card will notably be on a Saturday, likely taking place after UFC’s card from Saudi Arabia airs earlier in the day. LFA made their debut in Denver two years ago with LFA 133.