5/15/24: Tatsuro Taira vs. Alex Perez Set For June 15th UFC Main Event
Also: Maycee Barber, Rose Namajunas to headline July UFC card
Welcome to a Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily! We have numerous updates today regarding big fights and events on the MMA schedule that have just been reported over the past 48 hours. Here’s your catch-up on the latest news from around the sport.
UFC Shuffles Flyweight Matchups, Books Tatsuro Taira vs. Alex Perez For June 15th Main Event
An unexpected change to UFC’s schedule for flyweight fights has given undefeated contender Tatsuro Taira his first-ever main event appearance in the promotion.
Taira, who was originally expected to compete on the undercard of UFC 302, is now booked to headline a June 15th “Fight Night” against Alex Perez, as first reported by Marcel Dorff.
The opponents that Taira and Perez were previously booked to face—Joshua Van and Tagir Ulanbekov—have reportedly been paired up and will also compete during the mid-June card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The reason for UFC’s change of plans for the 125-pound fighters isn’t known at the moment.
The new headlining matchup is a significant step up in challenge for Taira, who has attained five wins since entering the UFC roster in 2022. The 24-year-old last appeared in late 2023, putting away Carlos Hernandez with strikes. He’ll now go up against Perez, a former title challenger who snapped a losing streak last month with a main event finish win against Matheus Nicolau. Perez’s win ended a multi-year run of losses and kept him among the top-ranked names at 125 pounds.
Taira will be competing in a five-round bout for the first time since joining the UFC roster. He has never gone deeper than three rounds in a pro fight, finishing his sole prior five-round regional fight in the first round.
Van no longer finds himself in a clash between undefeated flyweights, but certainly still has an important fight set for next month. Ulanbekov currently sits 12th in the flyweight standings, meaning a successful performance for Van would break him into the division’s standings for the first time.
The former Fury FC Champion has yet to lose since entering the UFC roster just over a year ago. He picked up his third win in the promotion early this year, catching Felipe Bunes with strikes in the second round to earn a stoppage.
Ulanbekov will enter UFC’s mid-June card with the goal of scoring his third consecutive win. He has walked away with finish victories in his past two outings, submitting Cody Durden and Nate Maness. Through five UFC bouts, Ulanbekov’s sole loss came against veteran talent Tim Elliott.
Report: Flyweights Maycee Barber, Rose Namajunas Paired Up For July 13th UFC Headliner
Maycee Barber will attempt to keep her UFC winning streak at flyweight rolling when she faces former 115-pound champ Rose Namajunas on July 13th. The fight, which was first revealed by Ariel Helwani, will reportedly take place in Denver, Colorado, USA, marking the promotion’s first appearance in the city since 2018.
Barber has been steadily climbing up the 125-pound rankings over the past three years. She has overcome notable names in recent months, beating former title challenger Katlyn Cerminara and stopping Brazilian contender Amanda Ribas over the past year, earning her a spot at 15th in the division’s rankings.
A win against Namajunas in the five-round ruleset of a UFC main event would easily be Barber’s biggest win since entering the roster in 2018.
Namajunas is coming off her first win since moving up to flyweight. The two-time strawweight champ lost her debut in the 125-pound division last year to Manon Fiorot but bounced back in March with a five-round unanimous decision victory over Amanda Ribas.
UFC Announces Return To Paris For September 28th
One of the fastest-growing international markets in MMA, France, will receive another UFC event later this year.
UFC will host a “Fight Night” card on September 28th from the Accor Arena in Paris, per an announcement made Tuesday.
The event will be UFC’s third appearance in the country since MMA was legalized in 2020.
Heavyweight Ciryl Gane has been the focus of the previous trips that UFC has made to the country. He headlined the promotion’s French debut in 2022, stopping Tai Tuivasa in the third round of a hectic bout. He was also in the main event spot of a card last September, putting away Serghei Spivac with punches.
The newly-announced UFC card keeps France as a hot market for MMA this year. Bellator is scheduled to hold a pair of events in the country in 2024, starting with a card this Friday featuring French MMA star Cedric Doumbe.
Earlier this year, events from KSW and PFL Europe also touched down in Paris.
Augusto Sakai To Challenge KSW Heavyweight Champion Phil De Fries At June 7th Show
August Sakai’s first appearance since departing the UFC roster will be against one of the most successful active KSW fighters.
Sakai will challenge KSW Heavyweight Champion Phil De Fries at the promotion’s June 7th card, as announced last weekend. Their five-round title fight will go down in the co-main event of a card from Olsztyn, Poland.
Sakai’s upcoming KSW fight comes after the end of a nine-fight UFC campaign. He had a strong start in the top MMA promotion, attaining four consecutive wins after earning his spot in the heavyweight division with a win on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Sakai fell into a losing streak once the promotion started putting him against some of the higher-ranked names at heavyweight. He suffered four consecutive finish losses from 2020 to 2022, including a pair of main event appearances. He was able to end this decline before leaving the roster recently, overcoming Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision early last year.
Sakai will certainly get a tough assignment once again when he heads over to Poland in a few weeks.
De Fries will be trying for his 10th consecutive win as heavyweight champion in KSW, which is more title defences than what the six other active KSW champions have combined. The British fighter has held his KSW belt since 2018 and has scored a finish win in nearly all of his victories.
De Fries earned a pair of wins last year, stopping fellow UFC alum Todd Duffee in the first round and securing an early rear naked choke submission against former FEN Heavyweight Champion Szymon Bajor.
KSW 95 is currently scheduled to be headlined by bantamweight champ Jakub Wiklacz and long-time rival Sebastian Przybysz. The duo will be meeting for the fifth time in their careers, coming together once again after their previous meeting produced an unsatisfying draw result.
PFL Reveals Locations For Playoff Semi-Final Events
A trio of events for PFL’s playoff schedule have been revealed.
While details about the grand finals—where the promotion will crown six world champions—haven’t been revealed, details on where the three semi-final round playoff events will take place were announced by the promotion this week.
PFL’s fights will take place over the course of August, heading to three different locations around the U.S.
The tour will kick off on August 2nd from the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The event will be PFL’s first-ever trip to Nashville, and their return to the state of Tennessee for the first time since WSOF (PFL’s previous brand) touched down in Memphis more than eight years ago.
Nashville will see the women’s flyweight and men’s heavyweight divisions compete in bracket action, determining who will reach the finals later in the year.
Two weeks later, PFL will head over to the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida for a show featuring their light heavyweight and lightweight divisions.
The Hard Rock was a frequent event for PFL during their 2021 season, hosting all playoff events in the venue. While the promotion diversifying its schedule in 2024 means no more multi-event stints in the same location, Florida will still get fights this upcoming playoffs.
The third semi-final event will be at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. on August 23rd, with welterweights and featherweights fighting for their ticket to the finals. The Anthem was where PFL held its finals last year, and this year will still play a big part in the promotion’s postseason.
The entrants for PFL’s playoffs will be determined over the course of June when the promotion holds their final three regular season events.
Notes On: UFC, Bellator & Cage Warriors
UFC
Plans have changed and Oumar Sy (9-0) has received a second replacement matchup for this weekend’s UFC card. While he was originally scheduled to face short-notice opponent Antonio Trocoli (12-3), he’s now expected to face Tuco Tokkos (10-3), as first reported by Al Zullino. The reason for Trocoli’s departure from the card isn’t known at the moment. Apart from a 2022 loss on “Road To UFC,” Tokkos has put together six wins on the regional scene as of late. The Bellator alum’s last outing was an injury win over Myron Dennis. Sy, a three-fight KSW alum, is making his UFC debut with an undefeated record of nine wins.
A new matchup between undefeated flyweights has found its way onto UFC 302 on June 1st. Andre Lima (8-0), coming off a viral UFC debut win that came via disqualification due to him being bit on the arm, has been given a new opponent. First being targeted to face Korean prospect Park Hyun-sung (9-0), he’ll now go up against Mongolian UFC newcomer Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (8-0). He’s returning after earning a pair of non-tournament wins from the last season of “Road To UFC,” including a 62-second finish of Peter Danesoe.
A heavyweight clash between Andrei Arlovski (24-23) and Martin Buday (13-2) has been moved from UFC’s June 15th show to UFC 303 on June 29th, per a recent social media post from Buday. If the bout lasts three or more minutes, Arlovski will surpass Diego Sanchez for eighth place in most total fight time in UFC history.
A whopping six fights have been reported recently for UFC’s July 20th “Fight Night” event:
Choi Doo-ho (14-4-1) will try for his first win since 2016 when he faces Bill Algeo (18-8), as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Choi has suffered three losses and one draw in recent years, leaving him due for a win. He’ll be making a return of sorts with the bout, as his last fight dates back to early 2023. Algeo will be trying to come back after suffering a first-round loss to Kyle Nelson last month.
Appearing for the first time since his winning streak was broken, Park Jun-yong (17-6) will take on Brad Tavares (20-9), per a post from Park’s management team. Park recently dropped a split decision to Andre Muniz, ending a four-fight run of wins at middleweight. Tavares, who will be making his 25th UFC appearance, is coming back after getting finished by Gregory Rodrigues in February.
Former title challenger Amanda Lemos (14-3-1) is expected to face Virna Jandiroba (20-3), per MMA Melotto. Lemos fought for the first time since losing a title shot to Zhang Weili, beating Mackenzie Dern at UFC 298 earlier this year. Jandiroba is on her best UFC run yet currently, having scored three victories since 2022. The most recent win was a decision over Loopy Godinez in March.
Veterans Brian Kelleher (24-15) and Cody Gibson (19-10) will collide at bantamweight, per posts on social media from both fighters. Kelleher will be fighting to snap a three-fight skid of first-round finish losses, including a late 2023 defeat to Cody Garbrandt. Gibson is hunting for his first UFC win since rejoining the roster last year through “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Rising bantamweight Luana Carolina (10-4) is expected to face Lucie Pudilova (14-9), per a report by AgFight. Carolina has scored a pair of victories over the past year, while Pudilova is trying to avoid her third straight loss.
In a clash between flyweights on their way up the division, Tracy Cortez (11-1) and Miranda Maverick (13-5) will fight, as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Cortez has yet to lose through five UFC appearances, with previous wins coming against Melissa Gatto and Jasmine Jasudavicius. Maverick has struggled against higher-ranked flyweight contenders like Maycee Barber or Erin Blanchfield but has won four of her last five fights since 2022.
Molly McCann (14-6) will return against Bruna Brasil (9-4-1) at UFC 304 on July 27th in Manchester, England, per AgFight. McCann ended a two-fight skid in February with a quick win, catching Diana Belbita in the first round with an armbar. Brasil took a loss earlier this year, dropping a decision to striking specialist Loma Lookboonmee.
Bellator
Bellator Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader will spend three months in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to participate in the shooting of the feature film “The Smashing Machine.” The movie, which features Dwayne Johnson and is directed by “Uncut Gems” collaborator Benny Safdie, follows the career of former Pride FC fighter Mark Kerr. “Putting the MMA game on pause for a bit as I head to Vancouver for about 3 months,” he wrote on Instagram. “Excited to be a part of an amazing project.”
Cage Warriors
Six more fights have been announced for Cage Warriors 172 on May 25th from Newcastle, England.
Josh Abraham (7-4) has been given a new opponent after Chris Price (5-1) pulled out of their lightweight bout. He is now expected to meet Aiden Lee (11-8), who is coming back to Cage Warriors for the first time since 2018. He had an unsuccessful 2023, losing back-to-back fights on the regional scene. Abraham, a fighter who has failed to earn a win in Cage Warriors through three appearances in the past, is coming back to the promotion after a 23-second victory on a regional card last year.
Kennedy Freeman (4-0) will face Gisele Libanio (2-1) in a bantamweight fight. Freeman returned after years outside of the cage just a few months back, stopping Annabruna Rados in the first round to earn her fourth win. Libanio is coming over to Cage Warriors after earning a pair of wins in Brazil over the past year. The upcoming bout will be her first against a talent with pro wins on their record.
Undefeated Italian prospect Francesco Mazzeo (3-0) will try for his fourth win when he faces American talent Prince McLean (9-10). Mazzeo is returning after earning two wins in 2023, albeit one via injury and the other through his opponent being disqualified. McLean has lost his past two MMA bouts and is coming back after a 19-second defeat in bare-knuckle MMA.
After earning two wins in his rookie year as a pro, Jordan O’Neill (2-0) will make his Cage Warriors debut against Thodoris Serdes (4-2). O’Neill was originally booked to debut in the promotion last month against Francesco Mazzeo, although that fight fell through. Serdes, a fighter from Greece, has won his past two bouts in under a minute each.
Charles Joyner (2-1) will make his Cage Warriors debut against Albert Serpeti (1-3). Joyner earned a first-round finish on the regional scene last year, bouncing back from his first pro loss. Serpeti has lost his past three on the Italian regional scene.
Tom Creasey (5-2) and Raz Bring (7-4-1) will try to get back into the win column when they meet at Cage Warriors London on July 20th. Creasey lost in a majority decision two months back against Amir Malekpour. Bring has gone winless over the past two years, with his last defeat being a first-round stoppage against Michele Martignoni.