6/28/24: Riyadh Season To Be Title Sponsor For UFC Noche Event

Also: Uriah Hall to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in boxing match

Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. We have a few news stories for you today, plus a preview of tonight’s top MMA events and a rundown of some smaller developments happening in the sport through our notes section. Lots always happening in the scene, and we have it all here for you! Let’s begin.

Saudi Arabia Tourism Campaign ‘Riyadh Season’ Announced As Title Sponsor For UFC Noche

Just a few days after UFC hosted its first-ever card in Saudi Arabia, another sign of strong ties between the country and MMA’s top promoter were on display through an announcement.

The campaign for tourism in Saudi Arabia’s capital—Riyadh—has been named a title sponsor for an upcoming UFC card.

“Riyadh Season UFC Noche,” as it is now known, will take place on September 14th from The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, per a recent announcement. The new title takes a Saudi Arabian campaign, “Riyadh Season,” and adds it to the title of a special UFC show returning for its sophomore year.

Riyadh Season first started in 2019 as a way for the country to attract tourists. The campaign features many high-profile entertainment and sporting events, all strung together across numerous months.

Among the entertainment in the latest “Season” was an event last weekend by UFC, headlined by a first-round finish win by Robert Whittaker. The country paid $20 million for the card per TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, a figure significantly higher than what most top live gates from the promotion earn.

Dealings with Saudi Arabia have become common over the past few years in sports, as the flush-for-cash country has been willing to overpay leagues and promoters to take visit them. But along with the events has come the criticism of “sportswashing,” a claim which argues sports and entertainment are complicit in helping a country better its rocky international reputation.

While “Riyadh Season” has been used in the past as a highight events within Saudi Arabia, the country is now labelling shows elsewhere with the title as well. “Riyadh Season” boxing cards are expected to take place in Los Angeles, California and London, England in the coming months, including a card featuring former heavyweight world champ Anthony Joshua.

UFC Noche debuted last year as a way for the promotion to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. It was headlined by a flyweight title bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, which ended in a controversial draw. The duo have been in talks to rematch at the September card later this year.

The upcoming Noche card is expected to receive extra buzz due to it being the promotion’s debut in Vegas’ “Sphere” venue. The location has become popular internationally due to its unique spherical setup and utilization of LED screens.

Uriah Hall Booked Against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. For July 20th Boxing Match

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is still expected to face an MMA fighter this year, just not the one he was initially paired against.

After he was briefly lined up to face Darren Till, Cesar Chavez Jr. is now expected to meet Uriah Hall later this year. The duo will fight in a six-round pro bout on July 20th, boxing on the undercard of a match between Jake Paul and Mike Perry.

Cesar Chavez Jr. was originally expected to meet pro boxing newcomer Till next month. However, due to a bout between the aforementioned Paul and Mike Tyson being delayed to later this year, the matchup seemingly fell by the wayside.

Hall will be making his second boxing appearance when he competes in just a few weeks at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA. After ending his 19-fight UFC run with a loss to Andre Muniz in 2022, the 39-year-old made his boxing debut later that year. He won his first appearance in the sport just under two years ago, overcoming former NFL player Le’Veon Bell in a four-round decision.

He’ll now take on Cesar Chavez Jr., a former WBC champion who has appeared in lower-profile bouts over the past few years. He notably lost to former Hall opponent Anderson Silva in 2021, dropping a split decision after eight rounds of action.

Cage Warriors Reveals Matchups For One-Night ‘Prize Fighter’ Tournament

European promotion Cage Warriors will hand out $50,000 to a bantamweight who is able to run their one-night gauntlet next month.

The Prize Fighter Tournament, which will make its debut at the promotion’s July 20th show in London, England, will see 135-pound talents fight through a four-man tournament to win an enticing grand prize. Cage Warriors hopes to host the tournaments across four different weight classes in the future, with next month’s bantamweight bracket being the first in that series.

Official opening-round matchups for the tournament were recently revealed.

In the first semi-final, Shirzad Qadrian and Weslley Maia meet in a rematch. The duo previously fought just under a year ago at Cage Warriors 157, with Maia winning via decision in that instance and ending Qadrian’s undefeated run. Qadrian has since scored back-to-back finish wins, and Maia has won a high-profile win over prospect Lewis McGrillen-Evans in the PFL.

The other semi-final matchup will see Aidan Stephen take on Alexander Loof. Nine-fight promotional vet Stephen is coming off a pair of wins since 2021, including a recent victory over Gianluca Scottoli. Loof was unsuccessful in his sole prior Cage Warriors bout, losing to Luke Riley in 2023. However, he returns to the promotion after scoring a win in his home country of Sweden just a few weeks back.

The tournament will also have a reserve bout between Alessandro Giordano and Michele Martignoni. In the all-Italian fight, Giordano will try to keep building momentum following a finish win over Sam Kelly in March. Martignoni will be aiming for his second win since dropping the Cage Warriors Flyweight Championship last year.

Previews

PFL Ends 2024 Regular Season In Sioux Falls

PFL’s 2024 regular season will conclude on Friday evening when they host welterweight and featherweight fights from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.

The event will give fighters from 145 and 170-pound divisions a chance to score points and advance into the four-man playoff brackets, which are set to kick off in August. Three points are earned for a win in fights, with up to three more being awarded if the victorious fighter is able to finish their performance early.

Top featherweight Brendan Loughnane will compete in the main event against Justin Gonzales. After scoring six points with an 86-second win earlier this season, Loughnane likely clinches a playoff spot with a win of any kind this weekend. Gonzales will be fighting for his first win since 2022, having piled up a trio of losses near the end of his Bellator run and into his PFL career.

A slight change was made to the featherweight standings earlier this week, making Loughnane the sole top fighter in the division. After Gabriel Alves Braga missed weight in his fight against Bubba Jenkins, he was deducted one point in the season. This bumped him down to five points overall, keeping him in pretty solid standing in the rankings.

South Dakota’s own Logan Storley will get the co-main event spotlight of the night, meeting Luca Poclit in a welterweight regular season bout. The fight will be high-stakes for both fighters, as they enter this weekend without any points to their name. Storley lost his first regular season bout to Shamil Musaev, getting stopped in the second round. Poclit didn’t appear earlier this year and is only getting placed on this card after ex-UFC fighter Laureano Staropoli exited the lineup earlier this week.

Top-ranked welterweights Don Madge and Murad Ramazanov will appear as part of the prelims on Friday night. Ramazanov is in a high-level clash between undefeated Russians, meeting 18-fight unbeaten talent Shamil Musaev. Madge will meet Bellator vet Neiman Gracie in the second bout of the night.

Here’s a look at Friday’s PFL lineup, plus a reminder of the current standings before the regular season has its last fights this weekend:

Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 9:00PM CDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 11: Brendan Loughnane (28-5) vs. Justin Gonzales (14-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Logan Storley (15-3) vs. Luca Poclit (10-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Magomed Umalatov (15-0) vs. Brennan Ward (17-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Gabriel Alves Braga (13-1) vs. Bubba Jenkins (21-8) (Featherweight)
Preliminary Card (6:30PM EDT / 5:30PM CDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Lorenz Larkin (25-8) vs. Alan Dominguez (11-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Murad Ramazanov (12-0) vs. Shamil Musaev (17-0-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Timur Khizriev (15-0) vs. Enrique Barzola (20-8-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Goiti Yamauchi (29-6) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (27-5) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Kai Kamaka III (13-5-1) vs. Pedro Carvalho (13-9) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Don Madge (11-4-1) vs. Neiman Gracie (12-5) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Tyler Diamond (13-3) vs. Brett Johns (20-4) (Featherweight)

Welterweight Standings

1. Don Madge (6)

2. Murad Ramazanov (6)

3. Shamil Musaev (5)

4. Magomed Umalatov (3)

5. Goiti Yamauchi (3)

6. Neiman Gracie (0)

7. Andrey Koreshkov (0)

8. Logan Storley (0)

9. Brennan Ward (0)

10. Laureano Staropoli (-1)*

Featherweight Standings

1. Brendan Loughnane (6)

2. Gabriel Alves Braga (5)

3. Timur Khizriev (3)

4. Adam Borics (3)*

5. Kai Kamaka III (3)

6. Bubba Jenkins (0)

7. Enrique Barzola (0)

8. Brett Johns (0)

9. Justin Gonzales (0)

10. Pedro Carvalho (0)

Invicta FC Ends Absence With Bantamweight Title Fight

For months, the question of “What’s happening with Invicta FC?” had no real solid answer. The women’s MMA promotion—which has been instrumental in the rise of many notable talents in the sport over the past decade—went more than six months without an event on their schedule, causing many to worry about their future.

But that worrying came to an end when the promotion announced their return, which is expected to take place this evening in Kansas City, Kansas, USA. After months out of the spotlight, they’ll be back this weekend with Invicta FC 55.

Returning Invicta FC vets will get the main event spotlight this weekend. Aiming to defend her bantamweight title for the first time, Talita Bernardo will take on Olga Rubin in the headlining spot.

Former UFC fighter Bernardo has made a home for herself in Invicta FC as of late. She earned a title shot after back-to-back submission wins in 2022, putting away Katharina Lehner and Yana Gadelha. In early 2023 she went five rounds against Taneisha Tennant, earning her a unanimous decision victory to dethrone the former champ and earn the belt.

Now more than a year later, she returns to put the title on the line for the first time.

Rubin, a fighter who has competed on six Bellator shows previously, is getting her second chance at an Invicta FC title. She previously fought against past champ Tennant in 2022 but wasn’t favored in a split decision outcome. After scoring back-to-back wins last year, she is back in the high-stakes spot on the return show for the promotion.

Many notable women’s MMA talents will appear lower on the card. Appearing for the first time since her UFC run, Kay Hansen will take on Columbian prospect Sayury Canon in the co-main event. Prior to her career in the UFC, Hansen fought nine times in Invicta FC from 2017 to 2020. This weekend, she’ll try to start the second chapter of her career in the same place where she initially took off.

The card will also feature atomweight talent Saori Oshima, who will face Andressa Romero. Oshima is coming over to Invicta FC after establishing herself in Japan’s scene, capturing a belt in the notable regional promotion DEEP Jewels and going undefeated through four RIZIN fights.

Along with the return for Invicta FC was a new TV deal, landing five events on the CBS Sports Network in 2024. Per a conversation Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp had with me for a LowKickMMA story, the deal includes a “possibility” to further host shows on the U.S. TV channel next year as well.

Here’s the full lineup:

Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 7:00PM CDT) (CBS Sports Network)
Bout 7: Talita Bernardo (10-4) vs. Olga Rubin (9-3) (Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 6: Kay Hansen (7-6) vs. Sayury Canon (3-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 5: Saori Oshima (14-4) vs. Andressa Romero (6-4-1) (Atomweight)
Bout 4: Taylor Guardado (4-2) vs. Yoko Higashi (8-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Elisandra Ferreira (6-2) vs. Katie Saull (6-6) (Atomweight)
Bout 2: Zoe Nowicki (0-0) vs. Josiane Oliveira (0-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Fallon Johnson (0-0) vs. Violeta Mendoza (1-0) (Flyweight)

Notes On: UFC, Boxing & ONE Championship

UFC

• The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame took place on Thursday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Here’s a quick refresher on who got inducted:

  • Pioneer Wing: Dominant Pride FC talents Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio Rua.

  • Modern Wing: Former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and former UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzeczyk.

  • Fight Wing: The UFC 117 meeting between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

  • Forrest Griffin Community Award: UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush for his philanthropy through the Shlama Foundation and the Promise Child Ministries.

• A few changes have been made to UFC’s July 13th card, which will take place from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, USA:

  • A matchup between Mike Malott (10-2-1) and Gilbert Urbina (7-3) has been pulled from the card. In a post recently uploaded to social media, Malott explained that Urbina suffered an injury, but that he also had to withdraw from the show after getting hurt. “I had every intention of pulling through and going to this fight anyway … It is what it is,” he said.

  • Marquel Mederos (9-1) has withdrawn from a fight against Nazim Sadykhov (9-1-1), as first reported by Octagon Update. UFC is reportedly searching for a new matchup for Sadykhov, who is coming off two wins and a draw from his rookie year in the UFC.

• After Tracy Cortez (11-1) was moved into the main event of UFC’s July 13th show, it left Miranda Maverick (13-5) without an opponent for the promotion’s card on the 20th. Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting can now confirm that replacing her will be Dione Barbosa (7-2), a rising flyweight coming off a successful promotional debut from earlier this year against Ernesta Kareckaite. Maverick is on the hunt for her third straight win after recently beating Andrea Lee and Priscila Cachoeira.

• Lightweights Viacheslav Borshchev (7-4-1) and James Llontop (14-3) will meet at UFC’s August 24th show, per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting. Llontop had a 12-fight winning streak broken in his UFC debut earlier this year, getting submitted in the first round by Chris Padilla. Borshchev will be trying to rebound after losing to Chase Hooper in May.

Boxing

• The July 6th pay-per-view boxing event between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will be available for purchase on UFC Fight Pass for the price of $49.99. The event’s promoter, Fanmio, also has a PPV option through their website for the same price, with the deal offering a free t-shirt as well.

ONE Championship

• Regulatory filings obtained by Deal Street Asia show that ONE Championship recorded $61.7 million in losses for 2022, Mars W. Mosqueda Jr. wrote. The report details that “At the end of the financial year, its cash and cash equivalents fell to $28.7 million from $164.8 million a year earlier.” You can read the full story here.

  • Kristie Neo, an ex-Deal Stret Asia reporter who has covered ONE extensively, wrote that ONE is running up against its expended financial runaway but is expecting another cash injection soon by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA): “Separately, several sources have been telling me that Chatri [Sityodtong] has been telling staff that a new cheque from QIA is imminent -- as soon as the next few weeks to a month,” she said via social media. “I would never put it out of possibility that QIA will re-invest.”

• Former titleholder Aung La N Sang (30-13) will compete at ONE Championship’s Denver, Colorado card on September 6th, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. La N Sang will meet Turkish light heavyweight Shamil Erdogan (9-0), who is coming off a successful promotion debut last year over Fan Rong. La N Sang has earned three wins since late 2022, beating a trio of veteran talents via stoppage.