5/4/24: Smilla Sundell Stops Natalya Diachkova, Loses Belt Due To Weight Miss

Also: A report on LFA 183 and a preview of tonight's UFC 301 card

Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily! We have a lot to discuss today. We have reports on last night’s ONE Championship and LFA cards, plus previews of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view and some afternoon action from Germany as well. Friday was a travel day for me and unfortunately, that meant I didn’t have time to get to every news story that I hoped to tackle in today’s issue. However, what I couldn’t get into this post will be tackled tomorrow along with the Saturday event reports! Alright, let’s get into what is new.

Smilla Sundell Loses ONE Championship Title, Maintains Winning Streak

Smilla Sundell kept her ONE Championship campaign undefeated on Friday evening but left the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand without the 125-pound division Muay Thai belt that she held for more than a year.

A one-and-a-half-pound weight miss for Sundell on Thursday meant that she had to drop her Muay Thai title, ending her more than 700-day reign in the division. Drama on the scales earlier this week caused a stipulation that Sundell could earn a win at ONE Fight Night 22, but it was only opponent Natalya Diachkova who could walk away with the belt, if victorious.

Sundell scored a sudden second-round finish win against Diachkova, finding an opening after struggling for the first few minutes of the bout. A left hook to the body hurt Diachkova late in the second round, causing her to cover up near the ropes. Sundell continued to unload with strikes against a near-defenseless Diachkova until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

While Sundell added a third finish win to her career in ONE, it didn’t come without struggles. Diachkova had her number at the start of the fight, putting together punches that put her ahead early against the now-former champ. Sundell admitted afterward that the shots from Diachkova gave her trouble.

“I saw double first round and second round. And you can see I can’t really see from this eye,” Sundell said, pointing to one of her eyes during a post-fight interview. “I know I cannot lose. I really like to win, and that’s what I did.

While Sundell is no longer a titleholder—ending the first and only reign for the 125-pound Muay Thai division—a win on Friday kept her in the title picture with her next step.

Sundell initially earned her Muay Thai belt in 2022 with a victory over Jackie Buntan. She defended the title for the first time last fall, overcoming Allycia Rodrigues with a third-round finish. If she didn’t run into weight issues, Sundell could have become the fifth active Muay Thai champ in ONE to defend their belt once or more (the current list includes Regian Eersel, Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and Allycia Rodrigues).

Diachkova came into this weekend with a strong record of four victories in ONE’s “Friday Fights” series. This streak included three wins via first-round finish, all just over the past year.

Undefeated MMA lightweight prospect Akbar Abdullaev picked up a big win in Friday’s co-main event, putting Halil Amir away in the second round with a left hook. Abdullaev now has 11 pro wins, including three via finish in ONE Championship.

Lower on the lineup, ONE veteran Reece McLaren scored split decision over Hu Yong for his 10th win in the promotion. Strawweight talent Chihiro Sawada also picked up her eighth victory as a pro, overcoming Noelle Grandjean in a unanimous decision outcome.

Here are the quick results from Thailand:

Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 7:00AM ICT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 11: Smilla Sundell def. Natalya Dyachkova via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:59) (ONE Muay Thai Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 10: Akbar Abdullaev def. Halil Amir via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:52)
Bout 9: Dmitry Menshikov def. Sinsamut Klinmee via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:33) (Muay Thai)
Bout 8: Maurice Abevi def. Zhang Lipeng via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Wei Rui def. Hiroki Akimoto via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
Bout 6: Reece McLaren def. Hu Yong via Decision, Split
Bout 5: Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong def. Bogdan Shumarov via Decision, Split (Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Chihiro Sawada def. Noelle Grandjean via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Zakaria El Jamari def. Thongpoon Petchportoror via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai)
Bout 2: Bianca Basilio def. Nanami Ichikawa via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 0:35) (Grappling)
Bout 1: Sean Climaco def. Josue Cruz via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:06) (Muay Thai)

Strawweight Prospect Yasmin Guimaraes Earns Decision Nod In LFA 183 Main Event

Former KSW fighter Yasmin Guimaraes put together an impressive three-round performance on Friday night to earn a unanimous decision nod and hand Naizi Cantanhede her first pro loss.

Guimaraes’ strawweight win headlined LFA 183 from the Complexo Ribalta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Guimaraes showcased her abilities in many different positions, finding success on the feet, on the ground and in the clinch.

She earned numerous takedowns in the fight, using these positions to score with ground and pound shots. Guimaraes would remain active in clinches and used exiting the positions as a chance to unload combinations. She notably connected with a knee to the head and a pair of punches when leaving a clinch in the first round. In stand-up positions, her work came off as measured but effective, landing against an advancing Cantanhede.

Guimaraes has now earned eight wins since debuting in 2022. She fought twice in notable Polish promotion KSW last year, ending the undefeated runs of Emilia Czerwinska and Adrianna Kreft.

She has now also concluded the flawless run of Cantanhede, who came into this weekend with a record of seven wins. This run had an LFA victory earlier this year against Lany Silva and a 2018 win against now-UFC fighter Rayanne Amanda.

When asked about what’s next in her career, Guimaraes seemed open to whatever option presents itself next.

“It’s one step at a time,” said Guimaraes in her post-fight interview, through an interpreter. “I’m ready for anything. Let’s see what happens. I’ll get together with my coaches [and discuss]. Whatever has to happen will happen.”

Former LFA Middleweight Champion Lucas Fernando had a successful return in Friday’s co-main event, earning a unanimous decision win over Joao Paulo Silva. Fernando was coming back after a rough 2023, losing to Cesar Almeida on “Dana White’s Contender Series” and then dropping his LFA belt to Azamat Bekoev.

Here are the quick results from Friday’s show in Brazil:

Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BRT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 12: Yasmin Guimaraes def. Naizi Cantanhede via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Lucas Fernando def. Joao Paulo Silva via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Vinicius Pires def. Marlon Basilio via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:30)
Bout 9: Gabriel Costa def. Cristiano Franca via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 3:10)
Bout 8: Marcelo Marques def. Gustavo Henrique via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 2:46)
Bout 7: Talisson Teixeira def. Matheus Fonseca via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:55)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 5:00PM BRT) (Youtube)
Bout 6: Natalia Alves def. Adriele Castro via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Lincon Santos def. Renildo Monteiro via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:59)
Bout 4: Joao Lucas da Costa def. Kaua Fernandes via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Gabriela Fujimoto def. Claudia Alves via Decision, Majority
Bout 2: Beatriz Consuli def. Patricia Batista via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Leidiane Fernandes def. Djulia Ariana via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:46)

Previews

Alexandre Pantoja Set For Homecoming A Decade In The Making At UFC 301

It will be a long overdue homecoming for Alexandre Pantoja on Saturday night. The UFC Flyweight Champion—one of two current champs who represent Brazil—will be competing in his home country for the first time in over a decade.

Pantoja, who headlines UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro against Steve Erceg, last fought in the country 11 years ago. On a Shooto Brasil card, one of his last appearances before joining Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Pantoja overcame Lincon de Sa on scorecards.

Quite a lot has changed for Pantoja since then. He has climbed up the flyweight ladder in the UFC for years, eventually getting into the title picture after wins over Brandon Royval and Alex Perez. He ended the long-lasting saga of Brandon Moreno in the flyweight title picture in July of last year, overcoming the former champ with a split decision result.

Pantoja has since defended his belt once, meeting Royval for the second time last year. They went five rounds that time around, with Pantoja putting together a dominant and thorough performance that showed his deserving spot as champ. That’s just the cliff notes of how much Pantoja’s career has changed since he last fought in front of a crowd in Brazil.

Pantoja will now take on Erceg, a slight underdog who has gone under the radar of many due to low-key card placement and the small number of fights that it took for him to reach a shot against the division’s king.

Erceg made his promotional debut less than a year ago, stepping in on short notice to take on David Dvorak at UFC 289. Despite being counted out by sportsbooks, Erceg worked his way to a decision win and a performance bonus that night. Later that year, he showed the win wasn’t a fluke by beating respectable flyweight prospect Alessandro Costa as well. This weekend’s fight is coming just two months after Erceg’s most recent win, a second-round walk-off victory over Matt Schnell.

Erceg’s previous wins have come either on pay-per-view prelims or UFC APEX “Fight Night” cards. Because of this, his sudden elevation to a main event booking has put more eyes on him than ever. A win this weekend will certainly put him on the map for those who aren’t paying attention to the work he has already done. But he’ll have to get past a champion who is on an impressive hot streak and will have the support of his home country fueling him in person for the first time in ages.

Arguably stealing some of the spotlight from Saturday’s main event is the return of Jose Aldo. The former UFC champion will end his MMA retirement this weekend with a bout against ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez.

After a loss to Merab Dvalishvili ended his three-fight winning streak last year, Aldo walked away from the sport. However, he didn’t take time away from fighting at all, having competed in three different boxing matches in the meantime. Now less than 10 months after he said he was done, he’s back and has another big opponent in front of him.

Martinez is certainly not an easy first assignment back. The 13-fight UFC vet is on the best promotional run of his career thus far, having strung together six wins since 2021. He has recently overcome names like Adrian Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov, and Cub Swanson. He has the chance to add a legend to that list this weekend, if he can emerge with a win in the co-main event.

UFC didn’t bring out many other big guns to compete in a night where playoff basketball and a Canelo Alvarez boxing match will also fight for the attention spans of viewers. The entire card follows the expected “Brazil vs. The World” theme that UFC usually employs while in the country. Some notable bouts include appearances from undefeated light heavyweight Vitor Petrino, rising strawweight Iasmin Lucindo, a fight where Michel Pereira could earn his eighth consecutive win, and the return of 14th-ranked middleweight Caio Borralho.

Absent from Saturday’s card will be a featherweight fight between William Gomis and Jean Silva. Despite Gomis being able to make weight for their bout on Friday, complications with his cut forced him out of the lineup and subsequently knocked the card down to 13 fights in total. Here’s how the show looks now:

Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 11:00PM BRT) (PPV)
Bout 13: Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) vs. Steve Erceg (12-1) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 12: Jonathan Martinez (19-4) vs. Jose Aldo (31-8) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Anthony Smith (37-19) vs. Vitor Petrino (11-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Michel Pereira (30-11) vs. Ihor Potieria (21-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Paul Craig (17-7-1) vs. Caio Borralho (15-1) (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BRT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Joanderson Brito (16-3-1) vs. Jack Shore (17-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (16-7) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (15-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 6: Elves Brener (16-3) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (12-1-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Joaquim Silva (13-4) vs. Drakkar Klose (14-2-1) (Lightweight)
Early Prelims (6:00PM EDT / 7:00PM BRT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 4: Mauricio Ruffy (9-1) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (17-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Dione Barbosa (6-2) vs. Ernesta Kareckaite (5-0-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Ismael Bonfim (19-4) vs. Vinc Pichel (14-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Alessandro Costa (13-4) vs. Kevin Borjas (9-2) (Flyweight)

Frankfurt’s Christian Eckerlin Looks To Bounce Back From Loss, Losene Keita Returns At OKTAGON 57

Just a few hours before UFC 301 takes place in Brazil, European promotion OKTAGON will present a 12-fight card from Frankfurt, Germany. The city’s own Christian Eckerlin will receive the main event spotlight, taking on Miroslav Broz at a catchweight of 176 pounds.

Eckerlin had his eight-fight winning streak brought to an end last November, as veteran Leandro Silva beat him via unanimous decision. This put an end to a run which had a pair of OKTAGON victories, a KSW win, and a title run on the German regional scene. He has grown both in notoriety and success since his previous loss, so showing that his 2023 defeat to Silva was just a slight bump in the road is important this weekend.

Broz, a 10-fight OKTAGON veteran, is heading into Saturday with the hopes of building upon a successful past few years. He has picked up seven wins and one draw since 2021, and is getting a main event booking just three months after beating Tom Crosby at OKTAGON 53. He won’t be a fan favorite when he faces Frankfurt’s own, but Broz has momentum on his side.

OKTAGON Featherweight Champion Losene Keita will return in the co-main event spot, taking on Agy Sardari as part of the Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix. The winner will get booked to face Predrag Bogdanovic in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Bratislava, Slovakia on July 20th.

Keita regained champion status late last year, scoring a second-round finish against Niko Samsonidse to capture the vacant title. He’ll now move up a weight class to battle in OKTAGON’s lengthy single-elimination bracket. Sardari is a promotional newcomer who enters with the experience of a past title reign in Cage Warriors and a win in notable French promotion Ares FC from last year.

OKTAGON 57 is full of matchups involving German talents, including undefeated Max Holzer, PFL Europe alum Farbod Nezhad, and others.

Here’s the full bout order:

Main Card (12:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CEST) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 12: Christian Eckerlin (15-6) vs. Miroslav Broz (17-3-1) (Catchweight 176 lbs)
Bout 11: Losene Keita (12-1) vs. Agy Sardari (17-4) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 10: Pavol Langer (12-10) vs. Marc Doussis (9-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Mate Sanikidze (11-2) vs. Farbod Nezhad (11-3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Louis Glismann (11-3) vs. Lukasz Siwiec (9-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Matous Kohout (9-7) vs. Islam Khapilaev (9-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Max Holzer (7-0) vs. Eemil Kurhela (7-1) (Catchweight 150 lbs)
Bout 5: Beno Adamia (10-8-2) vs. Stipe Brcic (11-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Mallory Martin (8-6) vs. Anita Bekus (7-4) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Endrit Brajshori (3-1) vs. Tayo Odunjo (6-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Haifa Reso (0-0) vs. Erika Tomm (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Sandra Peterhoff (0-0) vs. Laura Kirtzel (0-0) (Bantamweight)