5/20/24: A Look At The Week Ahead
Also: A report on Sunday's 'Road To UFC' card and 10 takeaways from the weekend.
Welcome to a Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue is quite a busy one. We have the usual preview of the week and 10 takeaways from last weekend for you. But first, we have to discuss the results from Sunday’s “Road To UFC” event.
Before we get started, just a quick reminder that the newsletter doesn’t publish on Tuesdays. We’ll be back Wednesday with the latest news from the MMA world.
This week was a super busy one in MMA, and we at Knockdown Daily wrote about five different shows while covering other stories surrounding the sport. If you appreciate the work and know someone else who might enjoy it, please consider sharing! Okay, let’s get into the latest.
Semi-Final Matchups Set For ‘Road To UFC’ Season 3 Following Weekend In Shanghai
The opening round of “Road To UFC’s” third season wrapped up on Sunday night, presenting quarter-final bouts at bantamweight and flyweight from the Performance Institute in Shanghai, China.
Talents from around Asia—including a few representing China, Japan and India—picked up wins to advance into the semi-finals of a tournament with the grand prize of a UFC contract. Here’s what went down:
China, Japan & Korea Represented In Bantamweight Semi-Finals
The bantamweight tournament has fighters from three different countries in the semi-finals after the results from Sunday.
Balgyn Jenisuly scored one of the few finish wins of the weekend in Sunday’s main event, putting Li Yunfeng to sleep in the second round with a rear naked choke. Prior to the finish, he had numerous minutes of control on the back of Li. This year is Jenisuly’s second run at the “Road To UFC” tournament, coming back after getting eliminated in the opening round by Shuya Kamikubo last year.
Bantamweight King of Pancrase Tokitaka Nakanishi advanced with a decision victory over Kim Kyu-sung, mainly finding success with control time on the ground through three rounds.
Daermisi Zhawupasi overcame the dominant striking of Ren Ozaki, using his wrestling to pick up rounds against the Japanese talent and walk away with a unanimous scorecard nod. Zhawupasi is appearing in the “Road To UFC” series for a second time, returning after being eliminated in the semi-finals last year. Ozaki suffered his first pro loss in the appearance on Sunday.
You Su-young picked up a unanimous decision win against Shohei Nose, ending the Japanese talent’s third “Road To UFC” run early. Nose, a semi-finalist in the 2022-23 season, has been eliminated in the opening round in the past two seasons.
India’s Singh Sahota, Bisht Among Successful Flyweights
At flyweight, fighters representing India, Korea and the Philippines advanced to the semi-finals this weekend.
In what was arguably one of the closest matchups from the past two days in China, Kiru Singh Sahota snuck by Yin Shuai with a split decision victory. Both flyweights had their moments on the feet and earned control in clinches, and the back-and-forth nature of the rounds made them hard to score. Singh Sahota, a former Cage Warriors fighter who is representing England and India, now has 11 wins since his 2018 debut.
Angad Bisht used his effective ground and pound to put away John Dave Almanza in the first round, landing punches from a crucifix position and full guard to earn a finish in the opening round. Dave Almanza came into this weekend as the youngest fighter in the tournament, boasting an undefeated six-win record from regional fights in the Philippines.
Choi Dong-hoon kept his undefeated record intact on Sunday, although it wasn’t easy against Jiniushiyue. Choi earned a split decision after three rounds that was mostly on the feet, scoring him win number seven in his career. The fight was a rough loss for Jiniushiyue, who was returning after losing in the grand final of the previous season.
The sole remaining fighter from the Philippines in this season’s “Road To UFC” tournaments, Ruel Panales, received a bye earlier this week after opponent Toki Matsui missed weight by six pounds. The Brave CF and UAE Warriors vet will face Singh Sahota in the next round.
Here are the quick results from Sunday’s card in China:
Episode 4 (8:00AM EDT / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Balgyn Jenisuly def. Li Yunfeng via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:25) (Bantamweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 8: Kiru Singh Sahota def. Yin Shuai via Decision, Split (Flyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 7: Tokitaka Nakanishi def. Kim Kyu-sung (Bantamweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 6: Yan Qihui def. Lisa Kyriacou via Decision, Split
Episode 3 (6:00AM EDT / 6:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Daermisi Zhawupasi def. Ren Ozaki via Decision, Unanimous (Bantamweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 4: Angad Bisht def. John Dave Almanza via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:39) (Flyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 3: You Su-young def. Shohei Nose via Decision, Unanimous (Bantamweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 2: Choi Dong-hoon def. Jiniushiyue via Decision, Split (Flyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 1: Ki Won-bin def. Tatsuya Saika via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:51)
A Look At The Week Ahead
Cage Warriors 172
With UFC, PFL, Bellator, KSW and many other major promotions all taking the week off, the sole major MMA event taking place this week will be an event from the European promotion Cage Warriors. The promotion won’t be competing for eyeballs against many of the sport’s big players when they head to the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England on Saturday night.
The event will be just the fourth trip to Newcastle from Cage Warriors. They ended an almost decade-long absence from the borough last November with a card in the same venue as this weekend. Now just half a year later, they’re already back.
Cage Warriors will crown its newest featherweight champion in the main event when Harry Hardwick and Orlando Wilson Prins face off. The promotion’s previous champion at 145 pounds, Paul Hughes, vacated his belt last year to move up a weight class. He went on to win a fight at lightweight before departing the promotion and joining the PFL roster just recently.
Hardwick comes into this weekend with a solid track record in Cage Warriors. The Bellator alum has picked up four victories in the promotion since 2021, including a successful outing against long-time promotional vet Steve Aimable. His last victory, a second-round rear naked choke submission, came against then-undefeated Brazilian Vitor Estevam.
Wilson Prins enters with a smaller record with less overall success in Cage Warriors but is riding the momentum of a strong 2023. After dropping his first two bouts in the promotion, he came back last year with a split decision victory over Antonio Sheldon and a first-round finish victory over Bailey Gilbert.
The plan wasn’t originally for Wilson Prins to challenge for a belt against Hardwick. Wilson Prins was previously booked to face Milad Ahady lower on the card in a three-round bout. But after Zafar Mohsen had visa issues that forced him out of a title bout against Hardwick, Wilson Prins received the short-notice call last week to step up for a title fight.
Saturday’s show in Newcastle is busy, with 15 fights in total booked. On the main card, rising bantamweight prospect Kennedy Freeman will look for her fifth win when she takes on Gisele Libanio. Chasen Blair, a former University of North Carolina wrestler, will try to follow up on his first-round finish win from three months back when he takes on Arturs Leisans. The co-main event will also feature a solid matchup between lightweight prospects, as England’s James Power goes up against Polish higher Daniel Kolasinski. Both fighters have taken just one loss since debuting, with Power earning three Cage Warriors victories in the past.
Here’s the complete bout order:
Main Card (3:30PM EDT / 8:30PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 15: Harry Hardwick (10-3-1) vs. Orlando Wilson Prins (5-2) (Vacant Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Bout 14: James Power (6-1) vs. Daniel Kolasinski (5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 13: Kennedy Freeman (4-0) vs. Gisele Libanio (2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 12: Leon Hill (6-2) vs. Tommy Hawthorn (5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 11: Chasen Blair (4-2) vs. Arturs Leisans (9-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Josh Abraham (7-4) vs. Aiden Lee (11-8) (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (12:30PM EDT / 5:30PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Bailey Gilbert (8-6) vs. Marko Sarasjarvi (3-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Joao Dos Santos (1-1) vs. Jack Humphries (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Joe Ambler (1-1) vs. Michael Tchamou (3-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Joe Fields (1-0) vs. Tom Wright (1-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Albert Serpeti (1-3) vs. Charles Joyner (2-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Nik Bagley (4-1) vs. Nick Beukema (2-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Jackson Clarke (0-0) vs. Faudel Bentayeb (4-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Prince McLean (9-10) vs. Francesco Mazzeo (3-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Jordan O’Neill (2-0) vs. Thodoris Serdes (4-2) (Middleweight)
What Else?
There are a few major events this weekend, but there’s always more to talk about. Here are some smaller stories that we’ll check in with later this week.
Sanchez Returns: Former Bellator title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez will return on Friday night in the main event of Anthony Pettis FC in Milwaukee, taking on Peter Petties. Sanchez returned to the regional scene for the first time in a decade last month, ending a lengthy run in Bellator. After winning in his return against RIZIN alum Daniel Salas, Sanchez is back this weekend with the hopes of earning another win.
Giannetti Looks For More Gold: “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 27 finalist Joe Giannetti will look to regain the Cage Titans Lightweight Championship when he faces Jacob Bohn this Saturday in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Giannetti has been in Cage Titans’ title picture since 2022 and is trying for a second run with the lightweight belt after Michael Dufort ended his previous reign last year. He briefly picked up a welterweight title in late 2023, earning the belt with a head kick finish against Pat Casey.
DEEP Jewels Presents Pair of Title Fights: Japanese women’s MMA promotion DEEP Jewels will return on Sunday from the New Pier Hall in Tokyo with two championship bouts. Saori Oshima will attempt to defend her minimumweight belt for the second time in the main event, facing rising talent Aya Murakami. Oshima is coming back to DEEP Jewels after scoring a submission victory in RIZIN earlier this year, catching Claire Lopez with an armbar. Korean RIZIN stand-out Park Si-woo will look to gain an interim strawweight title when she faces Machi Fukuda in the co-main spot.
Notable MMA Talents Around Combat Sports: A few events will take place this week featuring MMA fighters in other forms of combat sports. The weekend will start with a Fury Professional Grappling card in Philadelphia on Friday night with matchups featuring UFC talents Eryk Anders, Pat Sabatini and Andre Petroski. On Saturday, Uriah Faber will meet Jeff Glover in a combat jiu-jitsu match in Visalia, California. The bout will headline a show from a promotion that Faber owns, A1 Combat. A boxing event hosted by DAZN on Saturday in Houston, Texas will see UFC vet Paige VanZant make her boxing debut against Elle Brooke, a figure who has appeared on influencer boxing cards since 2022. Lower in the evening, ONE Championship alum Bi Nguyen will also be in action.
10 Takeaways From The Weekend
On Lerone Murphy’s rise, “Road To UFC” stand-outs, a changing of the guard for gloves, and more.
Lerone Murphy joins the rankings but has a long way to go. Saturday night was a massive outing for Lerone Murphy, earning him a win against a respected opponent—Edson Barboza—and putting him into the featherweight rankings. While his previous performances were solid as well, none came against as big of an opponent or under the main event spotlight. While the victory this weekend did a lot for his campaign up the 145-pound standings, it’s worth remembering that he still has a long way to go. Featherweight is a deep division with many guys in the top 10 who are working their way toward a potential title fight. Someone like Movsar Evloev, for example, has more UFC fights under his belt and certainly many more high-level matchups than Murphy. Yet, he’s fifth and likely needs another victory before he gets a title fight. All of this to say, we’re still quite a while away from having discussions about how Murphy could do against the division’s best. Someday? Maybe. Today, tomorrow, or even a year from now? Probably not.
What is there to take from Adrian Yanez’s win? Adrian Yanez gained a ton of popularity from 2020 to 2022 for his impressive striking performances while rising up the bantamweight division. But after a pair of tough losses last year, both via finish, he was due for a victory. Luckily for him, he got it just a few days back with a quick performance against Vinicius Salvador. Yanez got back into the win column, but honestly, I’m not sure what the win actually tells us. Salvador was, on paper at least, a significantly less skilled talent. He was winless through his first two UFC fights and was coming up to bantamweight after fighting down at 125 pounds. On a losing streak, he got put against a guy who struggled against elite bantamweight instead of entry-level UFC talent. Sportsbooks putting him at a +300 underdog felt a little too charitable to him when considering all of these factors. Yanez scoring a win is good for him, although it ultimately doesn’t show how he can perform against anyone even close to his skill level.
Angela Hill continues to improve. Fighting more than a decade after her first-ever UFC appearance, Angela Hill proved on Saturday night that she is still growing as a fighter. While the 39-year-old is best known for her striking skills, she broke out a guillotine choke on Luana Pinheiro to score her first-ever submission this time around. Hill has been known to broaden her grappling skills in recent years and mix up her game plan, but doing so in the ending sequence of a fight was a first for her this weekend. With 25 UFC bouts, Hill has career longevity that few can relate to. It’s likely not a coincidence that she’s also someone who continues to improve and change how she fights.
Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov was more interesting than expected. Many doubted that the Bellator Bantamweight Championship fight between Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov would be good. Mix made quick work of Magomedov just over a year ago, making it somewhat questionable that they were facing off again so soon. But Magomedov provided loads of trouble for Mix, giving him one of the hardest fights of his career. Heading into Friday, I had no clue we would be debating scorecards by the end of the night. A tough outing for Mix, but he remained champ.
Cedric Doumbe continues his rise to super-stardom. No debris, splinters, or miscommunication with referees will stop Cedric Doumbe’s rise in the MMA world. After a controversial first MMA loss two months back, Doumbe came back last weekend and put away Bellator’s Jaleel Willis in the first round to get back into the win column and earn win number six as a pro. It’s very clear why Doumbe is already so popular: Not only is he brutally talented with his striking, providing nasty highlight-reel finishes, but he also has a charisma that makes him incredibly likable. In a nod to his foot splinter loss from March, he entered on Friday with a vacuum. How can you hate someone who does that? Doumbe is expected to face Anthony Pettis next, a fighter who has struggled in recent years but still carries lots of popularity due to his name. I like Doumbe’s odds there, but we’ll have to wait and see. Let me conclude by saying that if you aren’t following Doumbe’s current run, you’re missing out on one of the biggest stars in the sport. While not challenging for any big belts or in major fights, he’s selling out arenas and garnering attention from celebrities in ways that only a select few can do in the sport.
Wang Cong is going to be a problem. A tough flyweight challenger is emerging out of China. While most fighters on “Road To UFC” have to get through an eight-person tournament to earn a contract with the promotion, it took just one fight for Wang Cong. After a three-minute showing against Paula Luna which culminated with a guillotine choke submission, Wang was signed onto the UFC roster this week. Wang enters the promotion with stellar experience: a career representing China in Sanda, a kickboxing run which includes a win over former UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko, and a flawless MMA record of five wins, with a past victory over Wu Yanan. It wouldn’t be surprising if Wang could make waves in UFC’s flyweight division, which per Roster Watch has only 40 fighters at the moment. Keep your eyes out for when she’ll be debuting.
One to watch at strawweight. Keeping on “Road To UFC” for a little, there are a couple of details about the event that I want to mention. After the quarter-finals, one particular fighter in the strawweight bracket sticks out to me: Feng Xiaocan. The Chinese prospect has a solid record of nine wins and two losses and is only 22. She ran through Kiran Singh in the first round of the 115-pound fighter tournament, stopping her with strikes in just over two minutes. She’ll now rematch Miki Motono, a regional champ from Japan that she beat on a card late last year as well. Feng has the potential to go all the way, I think. And if she doesn’t, at 22 years old she has loads of time to get back to that position.
Fight of the week: An obvious answer and a deep cut. I think it could be interesting to make “Fight of the Week” a fixture in this 10 takeaways column. I’ll debut it this week by giving you two answers: An obvious one, and then a more deeper cut. Okay, if you are like me or anyone else in the combat sports world, your fight of the week has to be the 12-round instant classic that saw Oleksandr Usyk overcome Tyson Fury and be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion. It was an incredible performance from Usyk and a stellar comeback after losing some of the early rounds. But since this is an MMA newsletter and I try to keep the reporting/general beat of the articles focused on the sport, here’s our other fight of the week. From the second day of “Road To UFC” bouts, the two-round war between Ki Won-bin and Tatsuya Saika gets the fight of the week today. The matchup was a back-and-forth battle, with both lighting each other up with strikes before Ki closed the show just a minute into the second round. An all-action bout from start to finish and one of the bigger performances to come out of the events in Shanghai, China this week. A solid runner-up goes to the five-round clash between Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov.
PFL MENA could learn from “Road To UFC.” Okay, not to continue arguing a point, but this was on my mind. You might remember a week back when PFL MENA had a fight where one fighter picked up a win, but the other actually moved on in the tournament in what they were calling a “draw.” I tried to explain it more in last week’s 10 takeaways, but no promise that you will actually understand the method behind their madness by the end of it. This week’s UFC tournament in China showed how it is done. “Road To UFC” has a zero-tolerance policy around missing weight for their bracket fights. Don’t come in under the limit? Don’t fight in the bracket, simple as. It’s simple to understand and explain. Why do it any other way?
Goodbye, old UFC gloves. Saturday night marked the last event before UFC debuts their new “3EIGHT/5EIGHT” gloves. The gloves aim to protect the hands of fighters, moving from a design that had just a single block of padding to a multi-layered scheme. Of course, the biggest question will be if they will provide fewer eye pokes, which have plagued the promotion for years. A new design for the promotion’s gloves seems long overdue. However, the jury is out on if the new gear is a significant step forward in not protecting not just the hands, but also the eyes of fighters.