6/20/25: Activists Push Back on UFC's Azerbaijan Trip
Also: The latest on Ben Askren, "The Ultimate Fighter," and much more
Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Before we begin a weekend full of big fights at both the regional and major levels of MMA, we have a quick recap of the week’s top stories for you. Three main headlines, plus an endless flow of smaller news pieces in the notes section. Lots to cover, so let’s begin.
Azerbaijan Is Using UFC To Sportswash ‘Genocidal’ Actions, Says Armenian Advocacy Group
A U.S.-based advocacy group strongly believes that the biggest battle at UFC’s “Fight Night” card this weekend is taking place outside of the cage.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has pushed back against UFC’s choice to host an event in Baku, Azerbaijan this weekend, claiming that the event is helping “whitewash” the country’s history of “war crimes, ethnic cleansing and ongoing human rights violations,” per a press release issued Tuesday.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in a 37-year dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an area that has historically been inhabited by ethnic Armenians. A nearly 25-year stalemate ended in 2020 when a second war in the region broke out, resulting in at least 185 civilian deaths before a ceasefire agreement was signed near the end of the year.
Azerbaijan had another offensive in the region two years ago, a one-day battle that gave them control of the land. The development resulted in 100,000 ethnic Armenians—nearly all in the area—fleeing the region, and essential supplies like food and medication were blocked from entering by Azerbaijan, per a 2024 Human Rights Watch report. Nearly 300 of those who attempted to escape the region died in the process, over 200 of whom were caught up in a fuel depot explosion.
A joint statement from 34 countries on the United Nations Human Rights Council urged Azerbaijan to provide conditions that would allow a “voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return” for those who lived in the region, and stressed that their “cultural and religious heritage should also be guaranteed and protected.”
Azerbaijan’s actions have led to allegations of ethnic cleansing, causing severe concern recently regarding UFC’s choice to stage an event in the country.
“For many Armenians and human rights defenders, UFC’s Baku battle may not be remembered as a celebration of sport, but rather as a missed opportunity to hold a genocidal regime accountable,” said ANCA’s Executive Director, Aram Hamparian. “Azerbaijan may succeed in bringing the UFC to Baku—but it cannot punch its way out of the truth.”
UFC’s event this weekend is in collaboration with Baku City Circuit, the organizers of the country’s annual Formula 1 race. It’s likely that the event is being hosted in exchange for a site fee payment, similar to many other events that the promotion has staged in recent years, although no details around such an arrangement are known currently.
UFC is no stranger to being accused of “sportswashing” through their events. Before a trip to Baku, UFC recently presented a pair of events in Saudi Arabia, a country that has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into showing its influence in golf, boxing, MMA, e-sports, tennis, and other competitions. Many have argued that this has been done in part to hide the country’s history of human rights violations.
Stateside, the promotion has taken credit for its flattering presentation of Donald Trump throughout his successful bid to return to the White House in 2024.
While ANCA recognizes that it’s too late for UFC to turn back from hosting an event in Azerbaijan this weekend, a petition on their site is calling for the promotion’s CEO, Dana White, to denounce the country’s actions.
“As CEO, you should have – as a matter of honor – rejected Baku as a venue,” the petition says. “Thankfully, you still have the opportunity to use your voice – your global platform – to condemn Aliyev’s genocide of indigenous Armenians and call out his violent oppression of domestic political dissenters.”
Ben Askren Being Assessed For Lung Transplant Amid Pneumonia Battle
MMA veteran and decorated wrestler Ben Askren remains on a ventilator as doctors assess whether he can have a lung transplant.
The combat sports world has been worried about Askren’s health ever since his wife, Amy Askren, posted a little over a week ago that he had been hospitalized with a “severe” case of pneumonia and was left “unable to respond to anything.”
Amy has since provided a new update on Askren’s health, mentioning that he is still in the hospital.
“Ben is still on a ventilator and ecmo to support him while he heals,” Amy shared in a Facebook post. “There are good days and bad, but on the good, they have been able to wean his sedation enough for him to open his eyes and squeeze hands. His body can’t handle coming off sedation too much yet. I’m still praying for a miracle with his current lungs, but they are currently starting the evaluation process for lung transplant.”
Askren parlayed his collegiate wrestling accomplishments into a lengthy and successful MMA career, putting together multi-fight title runs in Bellator and ONE Championship. He retired from the sport in 2019 after a three-fight UFC campaign.
The 40-year-old has remained active in wrestling in recent years, running camps in his home state of Wisconsin. He was expected to compete as part of the upcoming Real American Freestyle Wrestling brand, which is set to launch this summer.
While this month has been so uncertain for the Askren family, Amy said she has felt grateful for the support that has come together for Ben since word first got out about his illness.
“Thank you for every message and all of the support,” she said. “Despite this awful situation, I’m feeling so blessed by the community we’re surrounded by. Give your loved ones a hug today and make sure you’re prepared [for] situations like this. Ben is the healthiest guy I know and I never could have expected this.”
Jeff Creighton Gets Past Bloody Andreeas Binder Following Weight Cut Drama on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
This week’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter” was full of drama from start to finish.
From issues on the scales to a close two-round war, Tuesday’s episode of the UFC reality TV series was arguably the most riveting episode the show has produced in quite some time.
As teased in the trailer for this week’s program, Levels Fight League Champion Andreeas Binder struggled to make weight for his welterweight quarter-final against American regional prospect Jeff Creighton.
After Binder failed to reach the non-championship welterweight limit by five pounds—an amount that could’ve disqualified him from competing—coach Chael Sonnen offered a lifeline. Sonnen was willing to pay opponent Creighton $1,000 per pound that Binder missed for the bout, $5,000 in total, if he accepted the fight despite the miss.
Creighton put out a counter-offer of 2,500 per pound, in total $12,500. Sonnen agreed, and the fight was finalized.
The good news for Creighton only continued once he got inside the cage with Binder, as a gritty two-round performance advanced him to the semi-finals.
After opening up the forehead of Binder with a nasty elbow late in the first round, Creighton had an incredibly dominant second frame. Creighton had Binder consuming ground and pound and also defending submission attempts throughout the second round as the Irish talent continued to spill blood from his head.
Binder survived the numerous rear naked choke attempts and hard shots from Creighton, but had the mat looking like a bloody crime scene once the clock expired.
To his credit, Binder outlanded Creighton during the early minutes of the fight with solid boxing. In fact, his early success was so effective that coach Sonnen believed the Irish talent won the round, and advised him in between frames that he just needed to prevail in the second round to bank a victory.
It was assumed by both teams after the second that an overtime third round would be needed to break a tie on scorecards. However, two of the three judges saw the fight go the way of Creighton after 10 minutes, advancing him into the semi-finals.
Creighton, who hasn’t lost since 2021 as a pro, joins Ukraine’s Daniil Donchenko in the semi-final round of the welterweight bracket.
The third flyweight quarter-finals will be held next week when Uzbekistan’s Furkatbek Yokubov and undefeated Kazakhstani fighter Alibi Idiris meet.
Yokubov has a record of 14 wins through 18 bouts, including a regional title win in Belarus last year and a wheel kick victory on an LFA card in November. Idiris has been a force in the notable Kazakhstan-based promotion Naiza FC, having put together a flawless 10-fight record under their banner since his 2019 pro debut.
Notes On: UFC, PFL, ONE Championship, OKTAGON, Cage Warriors, LFA & More
Today’s Events
PFL and LFA are the two main cards to keep an eye on tonight. PFL undoubtedly has the better lineup with tournament action at 155, 135 and 125, but LFA has a pair of really interesting prospects in action between Bea Mesquita (4-0) in the title fight and Phumi Nkuta (9-0) in the co-main spot. I’ll have the latest on both shows in tomorrow’s newsletter.
UFC
A few changes have been made for UFC 317, which is set for a little over a week from now in Vegas:
A fight between former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa (14-4) and Roman Kopylov (14-3) has reportedly been moved to UFC 318 on July 19th, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. Between losing this matchup and missing out on a Manel Kape fight, this card has taken a few blows in recent days.
Returning for the first time since his undefeated record was snapped, Payton Talbott (9-1) will go up against former OKTAGON champ Felipe Lima (14-1), per FrontKick. This is honestly a tough matchup for Talbott, who struggled earlier this year when he met Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311. He gained a significant following before then, putting together a trio of dominating stoppage wins in the UFC and earning some interest from fans due to his intriguing outside-of-the-cage personality. Lima, a Brazilian talent who now trains out of the prominent Allstars gym in Sweden, has beaten Miles Johnson and Muhammad Naimov since moving from OKTAGON to the UFC roster last summer.
A pair of huge fights are set for UFC’s July 26th card in Abu Dhabi:
Bellator vet Aaron Pico (13-4) will get thrown into the deep end at featherweight upon UFC debut, meeting fourth-ranked contender Movsar Evloev (19-0) in the co-main event of the night. 28-year-old Pico proved to be one of Bellator’s top contenders in recent years, winning nine of his past 10 bouts as a pro. He’ll now try to be the first to beat Evloev, who has gotten past names like Diego Lopes and Aljamain Sterling, making him one of the more compelling contenders in the division.
After a submission loss to Jean Silva in April, grappler Bryce Mitchell (17-3) will head down to bantamweight for the first time in over a decade and face Said Nurmagomedov (18-4). While once considered a top contender at 145 pounds, a few losses over the years have knocked Mitchell out of that group. Now appearing at 135 for the first time since his amateur career, Mitchell looks to beat Russia’s Nurmagomedov, who is trying to come back after a decision loss to Vinicius Oliveira.
Two more fights added to UFC’s August 2nd card:
Solid lightweight pairing between Chris Duncan (13-2) and Mateusz Rebecki (20-2) joined the card, Matthew Wells and Nolan King of MMA Junkie recently confirmed. Duncan has won four of his five UFC appearances, including a recent submission against Jordan Vucenic. Poland’s Rebecki bounced back from his sole UFC loss in October with a “Fight of the Night” win over Myktykbek Orolbai - it was a split decision but Rebecki was the clear winner.
Kevin Vallejos (15-1) and Danny Silva (10-1) have both posted that they’ll be meeting on this card. Argentina’s Vallejos had a big UFC debut win in March, stopping veteran Choi Seung-woo in just over three minutes with strikes. The 23-year-old now looks to get past Silva, who has quietly earned a pair of wins since joining the promotion last year.
Two-time “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Brad Katona (14-5) is reportedly off the UFC roster for a second time, as confirmed by MMA Fighting. Katona went just one-for-four after winning “TUF” season 31 in 2023. He had some tough assignments in recent months, facing undefeated Jean Matsumoto and then rising bantamweight prospect Bekzat Almakhan.
The Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission disclosed the payouts for last weekend’s UFC card, and the pay is about what you’d expect. Kamaru Usman walked away with $300,000, and Joaquin Buckley earned $150,000 - both were paid a flat fee instead of the usual show/win structure. Rose Namajunas was the biggest earner of the night, as she was on a $250k to show and $250k to win pay structure, and won. Other notable earners include Michael Chiesa ($300k) and Alonzo Menifield ($250k). Rodolfo Bellato was the lowest earner, making just $12k. Entry-level UFC fighters were making that same figure 10 years ago. Adjusting for inflation, that means entry-level fighters are actually earning roughly 30 percent less than what they made a decade ago…
Tabloid papers reported that Conor McGregor punched a man in an Ibiza nightclub. It’s nearly impossible to make out whether the man in the video is, in fact, McGregor. But if it quacks like a duck…
PFL
A prelim bout between Matheus Mattos (14-4-1) and Lazaro Dayron (8-0-1) is off today’s PFL card.
ONE Championship
ONE 115-pound Muay Thai champ Allycia Hellen Rodrigues will headline the promotion’s July 11th Prime Video card against Johanna Persson. This is a keep-active fight for Rodrigues, who was expected to fight Shir Cohen earlier this month before the title bout fell through once again. Persson has scored some wins around the European scene, including a victory last year against former ONE talent Anne Line Hogstad.
Numerous MMA matchups were added to ONE Fight Night 34 on August 1st:
In a rematch from 2023, Garry Tonon (9-1) will meet Shamil Gasanov (15-1) at lightweight. Tonon scored a second-round kneebar submission against Gasanov in 2023, somewhat of an upset result that handed the Russian his first pro defeat. Tonon has since also submitted former ONE champ Martin Nguyen last year. Gasanov has regained momentum since his 2023 loss, heading into this bout after four consecutive wins in the promotion.
Two heavyweight fights on this card. Undefeated Ben Tynan (5-0) will return against Kirill Grishenko (7-2). Tynan won his ONE debut in 2023 against Kang Ji Won. His second fight for the promotion, a 2024 finish against Duke Dider, was overturned due to a drug test. Coming back after more than a year away he looks to get past Grishenko, who stopped Mauro Cerilli in just one round with leg kicks in February.
More big boys: Both looking to regain some momentum, Ryugo Takeuchi (4-1) and Kang Ji Won (7-3) have been paired up. After some success on the Japanese regionals, Takeuchi was stopped by Paul Elliott in his ONE debut earlier this year. Korea’s Kang is coming back for the first time since a 2024 loss to Kirill Grishenko.
Undefeated Azerbaijani prospect Elbek Alyshov (8-0) will make his ONE debut against Jeremy Pacatiw (13-6). 26-year-old Alyshov has won most of his pro fights via submission since his 2017 pro debut, although pretty much all have come against fighters with a similarly low level of experience. Five-fight ONE alum Pacatiw, who is coming back after losing on scorecards to Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhu in March, is certainly a step-up test for him.
OKTAGON
OKTAGON announced that they’re hosting a card on August 9th, where all four Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Quarter-Final bouts will take place. Last weekend’s card was scheduled to present Kerim Engizek (22-4) vs. Mick Stanton (14-8) as well as Matej Penaz (10-1) vs. Piotr Wawrzyniak (14-6), but both fights fell off the card before it took place. They’re rebooked for this date as well as Dominik Humburger (10-2) vs. Mark Hulme (13-3) and Vlasto Cepo (13-3) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (26-6).
It was also announced that long-time OKTAGON prospect Lucia Szabova (9-0) will get her first-ever bantamweight title shot on that card, meeting Cecilie Bolander (4-1). Slovakia’s Szabova was scheduled to challenge for the belt late last year against Lucie Pudilova, although she had to withdraw from the fight due to injury. The Muay Thai striker with nine pro wins—all of which have come within the OKTAGON cage—now meets Bolander for a title shot instead. Bolander won a tight split decision over Pudilova late last year, avenging a defeat she took just a few months prior.
Cage Warriors
Ieuan Davies (6-0) has withdrawn from his June 28th interim Cage Warriors lightweight matchup against James Power (8-1), per the promotion. Replacing him will be Finland’s Omar Tugarev (7-0), who is coming over to the promotion after an impressive run shared between appearances in UAE Warriors and his home country’s CAGE promotion. All but one of the 23-year-old’s seven wins have come via stoppage. England’s Power will similarly be fighting for his first regional title in the upcoming bout.
LFA
A lineup has been released for LFA 213 on July 26th. The main event will see Chris Mecate (11-2) get somewhat of a quick turnaround and face Erick Visconde (15-3) in the main event. Mecate has won five in a row, most recently beating veteran Javier Reyes in May. Brazilian vet Visconde is searching for his third consecutive LFA win.
Some notable appearances lower on the card include: A return to the regional scene for Bellator vet Chris Gonzalez (8-3), who has spent his past 10 fights in the now PFL-owned brand. Former bantamweight title challenger Rafael do Nascimento (10-3) will try to follow up on his recent calf slicer win when he faces Arnold Jimenez (12-3). And after getting the nod in a back-and-forth war earlier this year, JMMA vet BeyNoah (4-3) will return to LFA for a match against Cedric Katambwa (4-1).
LFA has announced a pair of shows for August:
LFA 214 will take place on August 15th at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That’ll be going head-to-head with PFL’s “World Tournament” finals.
LFA 215 will go down on August 22nd at the… You ready for this? The Throwdown Cornhole Festival in Ventura, California. That’s a first.
Misc.
Truth be told, I always get a little nervous when Invicta FC goes quiet for a while. The promotion’s last event was a month back, and they don’t have their next show announced yet. I don’t have any details on what’s going on, if anything, but I just thought that was worth pointing out.
Ex-UFC talent Liang Na (21-8) picked up a big win on Tuesday, scoring a third-round kimura submission win against ONE vet Tiffany Teo (11-3) in China. Teo had a really strong start to the fight, controlling Na on the mat for most of the first and second rounds. But Na was able to catch Teo with the kimura as they went to the ground early in the third round, forcing a tap. Not the result I personally expected. The bout was Teo’s first appearance since a solid ONE run, but also notably also her first appearance after over two-and-a-half years out of competition. Na had a bit of a gimmie fight when she returned to the Chinese regional scene earlier this year — This was certainly not that. If you look at her record, this is arguably her best win in a long time.