7/6/24: Alibeg Rasulov Misses Out on Interim ONE Title Due To Weight Miss
Also: A preview of tonight's Masvidal vs. Diaz boxing match, plus other MMA updates
Welcome to a Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily! It’s been a pretty quiet week in the sport, but we have put together a big newsletter to catch you up on everything that has happened. We have a report on last night’s ONE card, previews of the top two events we’re watching today, plus a ton of updates in the notes section. Let’s begin!
Alibeg Rasulov Remains Undefeated With Win Over Ok Rae Yoon But Misses Out on Title Opportunity
A hard-fought five-round performance from Alibeg Rasulov on Friday night kept his flawless MMA record intact, although weight issues earlier in the week prevented him from grabbing an interim title in the process.
Rasulov missed weight for his interim title fight against former champ Ok Rae Yoon on Thursday, changing the impact of the headlining bout at ONE Fight Night 24 in Bangkok, Thailand. While Rasulov remained eligible to compete and earn a win, he became ineligible to capture an interim belt following the weigh-in problems.
The outcome this weekend blurs the line for who should challenge undisputed champ Christian Lee next. The 170-pound division king has a strong contender in front of him in Rasulov, although a weight miss stopped him from earning an interim champ that would almost guarantee a clash between the two.
Rasulov walked away with a unanimous decision win on Friday after a close and competitive fight in the clinch with Ok. The contenders fought at a close distance for a large portion of the fight, trading short blows for prolonged periods of time. These exchanges never caused a massive, damaging moment in the fight, although it gave the more successful Rasulov an edge and allowed him to gain a lead which earned him a comfortable decision victory.
This weekend was a big spotlight for promotional newcomer Rasulov. While he was originally first booked to face Ok in a three-round bout, the fight was elevated to the main event and given an interim championship stipulation after the show lost a Muay Thai main event between Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen.
Rasulov came into this weekend with a flawless record of 13 wins, including many performances on the Russian regional scene. Friday marked his first-ever five-round fight and a win over one of the most experienced names he has faced thus far. Following his win, he called out Lee for a shot despite missing out on the interim title chance.
Friday gave Ok an opportunity to set up a potential trilogy fight against Lee. The Korean talent met the champ in a pair of title fights in recent years, allowing him to have a brief run with the title beginning in 2021. He is now coming off a loss for the second time in his ONE career.
The co-main event of ONE Fight Night 24 saw Nico Carrillo continue his finish streak, putting away Muay Thai veteran Saemapetch Fairtex in the second round with a trio of hard boxing combinations. The 25-year-old Scottish talent has now prevailed in four of his ONE appearances since early 2023.
Here are the quick results from Thailand:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 7:00AM ICT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 11: Alibeg Rasulov def. Ok Rae Yoon via Decision, Unanimous (ONE MMA Interim Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Bout 10: Nico Carrillo def. Saemapetch Fairtex via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:03) (Muay Thai)
Bout 9: Tye Ruotolo def. Joze Chen via Decision, Unanimous (Grappling)
Bout 8: Kirill Grishenko def. Kang Ji Won via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Bampara Kouyate def. Luke Lessei via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:08) (Muay Thai)
Bout 6: Tatsumitsu Wada def. Xie Wei via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Black Panther def. Ali Saldoev via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:23) (Muay Thai)
Bout 4: Hiroba Minowa def. Jeremy Miado via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Ellis Barboza def. Aliff Sor Dechapan via Decision, Split
Bout 2: Oumar Kane def. Mamadou Kamara via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:08) (Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Alexey Balyko def. Stefan Korodi via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:42) (Muay Thai)
LFA To Unify Flyweight Titles With Eduardo Chapolin vs. Igor Siqueira
LFA will unify its flyweight champs when a pair of solid Brazilian prospects face off later this year.
Flyweight titleholder Eduardo Chapolin and interim champ Igor Siqueira are set to meet in the main event of LFA 190 on August 16th, per a recent announcement by the promotion. The five-round fight will headline a card from The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, California, USA.
Chapolin became undisputed LFA Flyweight Champion last November when he dethroned Cody Davis with a fourth-round stoppage. Following that win, the promotion attempted to have him return earlier this year and defend his title for the first time. He was matched against Eimar Hernandez, an undefeated seven-fight American prospect who had strung together a series of wins in Urjiah Faber’s A1 Combat promotion.
However, Chapolin eventually had to withdraw from the show, causing a change of plans. Hernandez was kept on the card and instead booked in an interim title fight against Siqueira.
The fight was a second chance for Siqueira, who had lost a fight to Davis in 2023 for the vacant belt. He made the most of that opportunity, running through Hernandez for a 67-second upset finish win to grab the title. After reaching interim champ status, he will soon fight to be called “undisputed.”
Along with the main event fight, LFA announced two other bouts for the card, which are outlined in today’s notes section. Here’s how the show looks currently:
Bout 3: Eduardo Chapolin (12-2) vs. Igor Siqueira (10-2) (LFA Flyweight Championship)
Bout 2: Ashley Yoder (8-9) vs. Gloria de Paula (6-6) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Luis Francischinelli (3-0) vs. Victor Kuiks (5-2) (Welterweight)
Previews
Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal Meet In Rematch Under Boxing Rules
A UFC rivalry will hit the boxing ring tonight.
Just a little less than five years after they first met, Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will face off in a 10-round boxing bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA.
In late 2019, Masvidal and Diaz were paired up in a high-profile headliner at UFC’s annual card in Madison Square Garden. The duo were placed in a rare pay-per-view main event that came without a major title attached to it, sort of.
While the match didn’t have a major UFC belt on the line, the promotion instead debuted their “BMF” title for the bout. The title, which has now been seen a couple more times in UFC programming, has been used to signify a booking between two fan-friendly fighters who are known for entertaining performances. The title has since also been carried by Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, a pair of fighters known for their knockout abilities.
The first fight between Diaz and Masvidal arguably didn’t need a title to promote it. The bout came just four months following Masvidal’s highly viral five-second flying knee knockout of Ben Askren, a win that greatly elevated the long-time MMA fighter’s fame overnight. And Diaz, who was appearing for just the second time since his 2016 pair of matches against Conor McGregor, was an easy name to promote.
The fight provided an unsatisfying finish, as a cut on Diaz’s head forced a doctor stoppage after the end of the third round.
Fast-forward to 2024, the second meeting between Masvidal and Diaz comes at a very different time for the fighters.
Diaz will be making his second boxing appearance since departing the UFC roster in 2022. His previous fight was a decision loss to Jake Paul last year, becoming the latest of many MMA names to face the influencer-turned-boxer. Masvidal will be appearing in combat sports for the first time since taking his fourth consecutive loss and subsequently announcing a retirement from MMA last year. Both fighters find themselves in somewhat new chapters of their careers this weekend, both still freshly removed from their time in the UFC. Either Diaz will emerge with his first-ever boxing victory, or Masvidal will win in his first fight since walking away from the largest chapter in his career.
Diaz and Masvidal are still two big names in MMA. However, Saturday night will be an interesting test to show the level of drawing power Diaz and Masvidal can garner outside of the UFC machine, both in the buzz they can generate online and in-person ticket sales. The show—which was initially booked to go head-to-head with UFC 302—was wisely moved to this weekend so as to not compete with any major shows in MMA.
Another notable MMA figure will appear earlier in the evening, as former UFC champ Anthony Pettis will take on Chris Avila in a six-round fight. Pettis, who PFL is currently teasing as the next opponent for Cedric Doumbe, is coming off a year that saw him appear in a boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. and a Karate Combat fight across from rival Benson Henderson. Avila, a former Bellator fighter in his own right, is searching for his sixth consecutive win in boxing since 2021.
You can see the full lineup for the card here. Knockdown News will have a report on the show in the Sunday edition.
Latin America Put To The Test Against Brazil At LFA 187
A conglomerate of Latin American countries—including Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Cuba—will look to make a splash this weekend when they face prospects from across Brazil at LFA 187.
Saturday’s LFA card features the theme of “Brazil vs. Latin America.” The show places one of the most dominant countries in MMA, and easily the most successful in Latin America, against some of the rising fighters to come out of other parts of the region. Brazilian fighters will have a home-court advantage this weekend, as the card is booked to take place in Cajamar, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Former PFL fighter Carlos Leal will meet Venezuelan fighter Manuel Mena in the main event. Leal is coming back to the LFA after competing in the 2022 and 2023 PFL seasons, culminating in a push toward the welterweight semi-finals in the latter of the two years. He’s now returning to LFA, the promotion where he picked up a belt and springboarded his career in 2021.
Mena put together a dozen pro wins against low-level regional names for years but has yet to break through against more experienced talent. This was illustrated last year when he took back-to-back losses against Javier Basurto and Luan Santiago, a pair of fighters with more than 20 wins to their names. While coming off a pair of recent losses, Mena has the chance to finally beat a more experienced fighter this weekend and give his career some new momentum.
LFA cards always deliver a solid selection of prospects. On the Brazilian side, names like undefeated featherweight Pedro Doreto and Chute Boxing stand-out Apollo Gomes look to be intriguing talents. Other Latin American fighters like Argentinian regional champ Ignacio Fernandez and Cuban prospect Vladimir Calvo stick out as well.
Here’s the full lineup:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BRT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 15: Carlos Leal (20-5) vs. Manuel Mena (12-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 14: Marcos Degli (10-3) vs. Ignacio Fernandez (8-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 13: Samuel Dias (9-2) vs. Renzo Cortti (9-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 12: Apollo Gomes (9-1) vs. Lionel Abojer (10-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Pedro Doreto (5-0) vs. Leandro Solano (3-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Aieza Bertolso (3-0) vs. Alejandra Fernandez (1-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 9: Inglesson de Lara (8-1) vs. Lucas Miletich (8-1) (Featherweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 8: Hugo Paiva (8-2) vs. Rodrigo Roldan (6-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Leandro Mesquita (1-0) vs. Vladimir Calvo (3-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Eduardo Dutra (1-0) vs. Abraham Racho (3-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Joao Moraes (2-0) vs. Navir Gonzalez (0-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Lany Silva (4-1) vs. Pamela Mara (6-3-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Guilherme Uriel (4-1) vs. Weslley Alec (2-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Fabrizia Ketlinn (1-1) vs. Nawira Ferreira (2-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Alexandre Duarte (0-0) vs. Matheus Felipe (0-0) (Lightweight)
Notes On: UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship, OKTAGON, Cage Warriors & LFA
UFC
Viviane Araujo (12-6) has reportedly withdrawn from her fight against Jasmine Jasudavicius (10-3) at UFC’s July 13th show due to undisclosed reasons, per a report from Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Replacing her will be two-division CFFC champ Fatima Kline (6-0), who will be making her UFC debut. Kline was originally expected to appear on this year’s season of “Dana White’s Contender Series,” but has since been fast-tracked to the promotion after they became in need of a new flyweight fighter on this weekend’s card. Kline has won titles in the 115 and 125-pound weight classes in CFFC, headlining a pair of cards from in promotion after a run in Invicta FC. Jasudavicius is coming back after a submission win over Priscila Cachoeira earlier this year.
Jean Silva (13-2) will make a surprising two-week turnaround to face Drew Dober (27-13) at UFC’s July 13th show. Silva scored a finish win against Charles Jourdain at UFC 302 last weekend, earning him a second victory since joining the promotion in January. Dober was originally scheduled to face Mike Davis this weekend but was in search of a new opponent after Davis suffered an injury in training. His last fight was in February when he lost a decision to Renato Moicano.
A heavyweight clash between Mohammed Usman (10-3) and Thomas Petersen (8-2) has been added to UFC’s July 20th show. Usman had his three-fight UFC winning streak brought to an end in March with a decision loss to undefeated Mick Parkin. Former LFA champ Petersen is returning after losing his promotional debut to Jamal Pogues in February.
Lightweights Joel Alvarez (20-3) and Elves Brener (16-4) have been matched up for the promotion’s August 3rd card. Brener had his three-fight winning streak in the promotion broken two months ago with a decision to Myktybek Orolbai. Alvarez will try to continue gaining momentum after dropping a pivotal 2022 fight to Arman Tsarukyan. He first bounced back from that appearance last year with a submission against Marc Diakiese. After a pair of bookings fell through earlier this year, he’ll try to return next month.
Competing for the first time in nearly two years, Li Jingliang (19-8) is booked to face Carlos Prates (19-6) at UFC 305 on August 17th in Australia. Li’s last fight was at UFC 279 in 2022 when he lost a short-notice fight to Daniel Rodriguez via split decision. He was set to return the following year against Michael Chiesa but had to withdraw during the lead-up due to a spine injury. Prates is a rising Brazilian prospect who has put together finish wins since he appeared on the regional scene in 2021. His second consecutive UFC victory came in June when he put away Charlie Radtke in the first round with strikes.
Two more fights have joined UFC’s “Noche” card on September 14th:
Rising strawweight Yazmine Jauregui (11-1) will face Ketlen Souza (14-4), as first reported by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes. Jauregui has won three of her four UFC bouts, including a fight against Sam Hughes in February. Souza, who will likely be the underdog in this fight, is coming off her first UFC win. She appeared in April to defeat Marnic Mann on scorecards.
Flyweights Edgar Chairez (11-5) and Kevin Borjas (9-3) will collide on the card, per Danny Segura. Chairez scored his first UFC win in February, catching Daniel Lacerda with a triangle choke. Borjas is still searching for his first UFC win, returning after losing to Alessandro Costa and Joshua Van.
Bellator
Some of the undercard bouts for Bellator’s September 14th show in London, England are getting rolled out:
15-fight UFC vet Marc Diakiese (17-7) will make his Bellator debut in a lightweight fight against Tim Wilde (17-5-1). Diakiese exited his lengthy UFC run with a win, beating Kaue Fernandes via split decision late last year. The upcoming bout will be his first non-UFC appearance since 2016. Wilde, an eight-fight Bellator talent, is returning after a run of five wins was stopped by Manoel Sousa in March.
Undefeated featherweight prospect Sara Collins (5-0) will make her third Bellator appearance when she meets Leah McCourt (8-3). Collins earned a pair of wins in the promotion last year, submitting Pam Sorenson and beating Sinead Kavanagh via split decision. McCourt, who will be making her landmark 10th Bellator appearance, is coming back after stopping UFC vet Sara McMann via stoppage last October.
ONE Championship
125-pound talent Keito Yamakita (9-1) will return against fellow Japanese fighter Yosuke Saruta (21-12-3) at ONE’s August 2nd card in Thailand. Yamakita bounced back from an unsuccessful promotional debut in March with a first-round submission win over Jeremy Miado in Qatar. Saruta has struggled to find his footing since losing a title shot to Joshua Pacio in 2021, having lost two more appearances since then.
OKTAGON
OKTAGON 65 will take place at the O2 Arena in Praha, Czech Republic.
Cage Warriors
Two more fights have joined Cage Warriors 174, which is booked to take place on July 20th in London:
Former featherweight champ Jordan Vucenic (12-2) is back in a 159-pound catchweight against Adrian Kepa (12-8). London’s Vucenic has earned four wins since dropping his belt to Paul Hughes in 2022. He headlined a London card in March, submitting Italian stand-out Simone D’Anna with a kimura choke. Polish fighter Kepa has been on a solid run in recent years, with four of his last five fights since 2022 resulting in a win.
After a rookie pro year with ups and downs, Jimmy Quinn (2-1) will meet Imad Bouamri (6-6) at bantamweight. Quinn had an explosive debut, beating Dan Kneil in just 10 seconds last year. However, four months later he suffered a submission loss to Tom Wright which evened his record up. He came back with a win in his next appearance, submitting Yohan Salvador in March. Spain’s Bouamri is returning for the first time in more than a year, with his last fight being a 59-second loss on a UAE Warriors card.
LFA
Along with the recently announced main event, two other fights have been booked for LFA 190 in late August:
Fellow former UFC fighters Ashley Yoder (8-9) and Gloria de Paula (6-6) will try to get back into the win column with a strawweight fight. Yoder is returning following the conclusion of her 11-fight UFC run, which came to an end after losing five of her last six. After a UFC campaign that lasted four bouts, de Paula had an unsuccessful return to the regionals in 2022 when she lost to Karolina Wojcik at Invicta FC 50.
Returning after a stellar rookie year as a pro, Luis Francischinelli (3-0) is booked to meet Victor Kuiks (5-2). Francischinelli scored a trio of first-round finishes over the past year, with his latest win lasting just 50 seconds. Kuiks is returning to LFA after losing his debut to Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani in May via decision.