7/22/25: A Look At The Week Ahead
A preview of this week's top MMA events
Welcome to a Tuesday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today, we’re going to go over all of the top MMA events taking place in the coming days! We have two main cards to discuss, plus half a dozen other smaller shows from all around the world to chat about.
There’s some interesting stuff happening all around the world in the coming days, here’s your curated look at it all!
A Look At The Week Ahead
Saturday
UFC on ABC 9: Whittaker vs. de Ridder
A trio of “Fight Night” cards will be presented over the next three weeks, and easily the best of the group will be taking place first.
Saturday’s UFC event, a lineup from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—where the promotion receives eight-figure paychecks to appear twice per year—has a strong main card full of many notable matchups. To be honest, if we took the main event of last weekend’s pay-per-view card out of the equation (Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway), this would’ve been the better of the two shows.
The main event of the night will see Reinier de Ridder look to join the title contender conversation at middleweight by getting past former 185-pound champ Robert Whittaker.
De Ridder has put together a busy rookie year in the UFC, having already obtained three stoppage wins since joining the roster last November. While the Dutch talent was already a known figure before joining the promotion last year, having previously gone on a run of four consecutive title wins in ONE Championship from 2020 to 2022, he has made a name for himself against UFC talent with impressive performances in recent months.
After debuting against Gerald Meerschaert last year, not his finest outing, de Ridder turned around with a pair of quick wins in the first half of 2025: Submitting Kevin Holland in the first round back at UFC 311, then stopping the hype train of undefeated prospect Bo Nickal with a brutal second-round finish in May.
De Ridder has already beaten a few notable figures in the class, but getting a win this weekend against Whittaker would throw him into the division’s top five contenders, putting him next to names like Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. However, getting past Australia’s Whittaker shouldn’t be an easy task.
Despite being over five years removed from his last title reign, Whittaker has remained one of the middleweight division’s best talents. He has turned back surging names like Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori, and his only losses in more recent years have come against some of the division’s best (current champ Dricus Du Plessis and next title challenger Khamzat Chimaev are his two most recent defeats).
Since de Ridder has already proven he isn’t some unstoppable force—losing to Anatoly Malykhin twice near the tail-end of his ONE run—a question since the start of his UFC campaign has been where his ceiling in the division would be. This weekend is the perfect test to see if he is among the upper echelon at 185, putting him likely just one or two wins at most away from a title shot, or if he still has some work to do.
The co-main event of Saturday’s show has the similar theme of a former champ versus a fast-rising contender, as Russia’s Petr Yan will meet Marcus McGhee. America’s McGhee has gone undefeated since joining the UFC roster, most recently taking down Jonathan Martinez to earn his fourth straight win in the promotion. Ranked 13th, he could move up as many as 10 spots after beating third-place Yan.
Former bantamweight king Yan is coming off possibly his best year since dropping the undisputed title in 2021, beating Song Yadong at UFC 299 before winning a five-rounder over Deiveson Figueiredo.
There are many other interesting storylines lower on the card: Middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov and flyweight talent Asu Almabayev will both try to come back from their first-ever UFC losses. Uzbekistan’s Bogdan Guskov will look to continue his impressive run with a fourth straight finish win when he meets vet Nikita Krylov.
And Marcus Buchecha, a decorated grappler who dipped his toes in the world of MMA through a brief ONE Championship stint, will try to break into the heavyweight rankings upon UFC debut when he faces Martin Buday.
Saturday’s mid-day presentation has a pair of really great step-up bouts at the top of the lineup, and notable happenings throughout the undercard. It’s not the best card of the year, but it’s certainly much more interesting than the APEX presentations set for the coming weeks.
Here’s what to expect:
Main Card (3:00PM EDT / 11:00PM GST) (ABC / ESPN+)
Bout 12: Robert Whittaker (26-8) vs. Reinier de Ridder (20-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: Petr Yan (18-5) vs. Marcus McGhee (10-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Shara Magomedov (15-1) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Asu Almabayev (21-3) vs. Jose Ochoa (8-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Nikita Krylov (30-10) vs. Bogdan Guskov (17-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Preliminary Card (12:00PM EDT / 8:00PM GST) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 7: Bryce Mitchell (17-3) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (18-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Muslim Salikhov (21-5) vs. Carlos Leal (22-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Da’Mon Blackshear (17-7-1) vs. Davey Grant (14-7) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Amanda Ribas (12-6) vs. Tabatha Ricci (11-3) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Ibo Aslan (14-2) vs. Billy Elekana (7-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Mohammad Yahya (12-5) vs. Steven Nguyen (9-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Martin Buday (15-2) vs. Marcus Buchecha (5-1) (Heavyweight)
Sunday
Super RIZIN 4
The second-biggest event on RIZIN’s annual schedule, “Super RIZIN,” will go down this Sunday.
While the leading Japanese MMA promotion’s New Year’s Eve event remains their most prominent yearly tradition, “Super RIZIN” has also become a significant part of their year since first being introduced in 2022.
“Super RIZIN” is the promotion’s marquee summer card, always taking place from the legendary Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It has delivered many high-profile MMA fights over the years, while also mixing in exhibitions including prominent names like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the types of appearances that, before just a few years ago, would be reserved strictly for December 31st.
For the fourth consecutive year, RIZIN will call on Japanese MMA fighter turned mainstream celebrity Mikuru Asakura to compete in the main event, meeting fellow former champ Kleber Koike in a three-round contest at featherweight.
Asakura’s celebrity status in Japan has made him arguably RIZIN’s biggest star in recent years. Being a big name on social media and the host of popular combat sports reality show “Breaking Down” elevated Asakura from a notable figure in MMA to a name who has introduced many to the sport. In fact, the Asakura’s relevance in the promotion has made him the main event act for every single “Super RIZIN” card thus far.
In 2022, he headlined the first-ever “Super RIZIN” card in a boxing match against Mayweather. A year later, he challenged Azerbaijan’s Vugar Karamov for a vacant title. And in 2024, in one of the biggest cards the promotion has put on to date, Asakura faced kickboxer Ren Hiramoto in a grudge match.
In all three appearances, Asakura lost. There’s arguably no better testament to his success as a star in the country than the fact that he has maintained headliner status over many other prominent Japanese acts despite not having the best success rate.
After struggling in recent years, Asakura currently has the momentum of a doctor stoppage win against past champ Chihiro Suzuki from May, one of the bigger victories on his record.
Seeking his first “Super RIZIN” win, Asakura will be trying to avenge one of his five career losses when he fights Koike. He previously met a rising Koike back in 2021, when the Bonzai Jiu Jitsu Gym talent was in his rookie year with the promotion. Asakura suffered a second-round triangle choke submission loss, making making him one of the five names Koike beat en route to a title victory by 2022.
Koike, another one of RIZIN’s bigger names, is stepping into a massive spot for the third time in under a year. On New Year’s Eve, he kicked off his second-ever reign with the featherweight title in a three-round instant classic against Chihiro Suzuki. His reign was short-lived, however, as he dropped the belt in a 62-second finish loss to Razhabali Shaydullaev at RIZIN’s second-ever Tokyo Dome show just two months back.
While the headlining fight doesn’t have a title attached it, it’s not hard to see why it’s headlining over more than a dozen other booked options. Asakura is a superstar who thousands will pay to see live, and the recent ups and downs of Koike’s career have made him one of the promotion’s most intriguing characters.
If the main event doesn’t interest you, there’s tons more to highlight on this show.
The co-main event will see incumbent RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Naoki Inoue look to prevail in his third title fight within 12 months when he faces Ryuya Fukuda. 33-year-old Fukuda has made noise in regional promotion DEEP Impact while also periodically picking up wins in RIZIN, earning him a record of 12 victories in his last 13 fights since just 2022, including appearances against notable talents like former RIZIN champ Juntaro Ushiku and Kenta Takizawa.
Earlier in the night, RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa will defend her title for the first time in nearly two years when she takes on Shin Yu-jin. Izawa has been a dominant force in the class, running through the division and leaving her few good options for matchups. Shin, a Korean prospect who has shown promise since her 2019 pro debut, will look to shock the world with an upset win.
Arguably the most interesting part of the undercard is the RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix, which has a unique opening round setup. 10 fighters will compete as part of the first round, an unusual number for a bracket-style tournament. Here’s why: After five fighters prevail, fans will vote who in the group will advance through to a quarter-final round. The odd man out, likely the person who puts on the least entertaining performance, will remain a reserve for the semi-finals.
The tournament has a stellar list of competitors, including 2021 featherweight grand prix winner Hiromasa Ougikubo, former title challenger Yuki Motoya, flashy finisher Takaki Soya, ex-UFC talent Jose Torres, and recent Kyoji Horiguchi opponent Nkazimulo Zulu.
There’s other interesting appearances up and down this lengthy lineup: Patricky Pitbull returning to RIZIN for the first time in two years, rising Kazakhstani fighter Karshyga Dautbek meeting 19-year-old prospect Kyoma Akimoto, the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix continuing on with semi-final action, and much more.
Here’s a look at what’s set to go down Sunday:
Main Card (12:00AM EDT / 1:00PM JST)
Bout 15: Kleber Koike (34-8-1) vs. Mikuru Asakura (18-5) (Featherweight)
Bout 14: Naoki Inoue (19-4) vs. Ryuya Fukuda (25-8-1) (RIZIN Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 13: Seika Izawa (15-0) vs. Shin Yu-jin (3-0) (RIZIN Super Atomweight Championship)
Bout 12: Karshyga Dautbek (18-3) vs. Kyoma Akimoto (8-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Patricky Pitbull (25-14) vs. Shunta Nomura (9-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Masanori Kanehara (31-15-5) vs. YA-MAN (1-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Moeri Suda (13-6) vs. Noel (2-1) (Super Atomweight)
Bout 8: Yang Ji-yong (10-3) vs. Tatsuya Ando (15-4-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Yuki Motoya (37-13) vs. Hiroya (11-13-1) (RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix First Round)
Bout 6: Jose Torres (13-4-1) vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo (27-8-2) (RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix First Round)
Bout 5: Yuki Ito (18-6) vs. Nkazimulo Zulu (16-7-1) (RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix First Round)
Bout 4: Alibek Gadzhammatov (5-0) vs. Takaki Soya (13-6-1) (RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix First Round)
Bout 3: Makoto Shinryu (19-4-1) vs. Erson Yamamoto (5-7) (RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix First Round)
Bout 2: Mikio Ueda (5-2) vs. Alexander Soldatkin (15-5) (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Final)
Bout 1: Jose Augusto (11-4) vs. Marek Samociuk (8-4) (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Final)
Here are a few other notable cards taking place this week:
The semi-final fights on this year’s season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will begin Tuesday with a clash between flyweights Alibi Idiris (10-0) and Roybert Echeverria (10-2). Idiris proved to have effective wrestling in his quarter-final fight, controlling Furkatbek Yokubov for a comfortable decision win. Echeverria had somewhat of a comeback performance in his first fight on the show, bouncing back from an early knockdown to drop then tap Tumelo Manyamala. (Watch: ESPN2 / ESPN+)
UAE Warriors has a doubleheader going on this weekend from Abu Dhabi, just days before UFC touches down for a card. On Wednesday, Ali AlQaisi (16-8) will try to earn his sixth-ever win in UAE Warriors title bouts when he takes on Sylvester Chipfumbu (11-6) at featherweight. Earlier on the card, former UFC talents Caio Machado (9-4-1), Kanako Murata (12-3), and Ronny Markes (25-10) will be in action as well. A day later, undefeated Khotam Boynazarov (10-0) will attempt to defend his welterweight title for the first time when he takes on James Llontop (16-5), who has won a pair of bouts since exiting the UFC roster last year. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
Venezuelan prospect Mauricio Partida (10-0) will battle it out for interim bantamweight gold in Mexico’s LUX Fight League promotion on Friday night, meeting Rodolfo Rubio (19-13-1) in a five-round contest. While Partida has looked good against 10 past opponents—finishing seven of them—he has never faced someone with the experience of Rubio, a 38-year-old who has fought as a pro since 2008. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
If you’re craving something to watch on Saturday night after UFC wraps up, LFA will have a decent lineup of prospects facing off at the famous Tachi Palace Casino and Resort in Lemoore, California. The main event will see Erick Visconde (15-3), who scored a highlight-reel, walk-off spinning elbow knockout for his second LFA win earlier this year, take on Chris Mecate (11-2), a prospect who is riding the momentum of a recent win over veteran Javier Reyes. Stand-out names lower in the lineup include returning ex-Bellator prospect Chris Gonzalez (8-3) and six-time RIZIN vet BeyNoah (4-3), who will be seeking his second win since going on excursion to train at American Kickboxing Academy in California. (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
Former Featherweight King of Pancrase Isao Kobayashi (27-6-2) will return to his home promotion following a one-off Bellator appearance in 2023, competing in the main event of the promotion’s show this Sunday in Tokyo. Kobayashi, a fighter who dominated the Pancrase featherweight division for years, is getting a tough return fight in Kyrgyzstan’s Kalybek Arzykul Uulu (11-1), a 23-year-old prospect who needed just 75 seconds to win his promotional debut in September. (Watch: Tiget.net)
In what is expected to be the final broadcast of Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, ending a deal which lasted nearly a decade, the promotion will present a pair of world title fights from the Madison Square Garden Theater on Saturday night. The top two matchups will see rising stars get their first-ever world title opportunities. In the main event, 22-year-old Xander Zayas (21-0) will look to claim the vacant WBO Super Welterweight Championship when he faces Mexico’s Jorge Garcia Perez (33-4). And in the co-main, Brooklyn’s own Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0) will appear as a gigantic -6000 favorite when he faces Mateus Heita (14-0) for the interim WBC Featherweight Championship. (Watch: ESPN)