Knockdown Daily 10/1/21: Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira Moved To November
An update on UFC's upcoming bantamweight main event leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. There’s a lot to cover today, including recent MMA news and a preview of today’s Bellator card.
News
Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira Re-Booked, Set For November 20th UFC Main Event
A five-round fight between Miesha Tate and Ketlen Vieira is back on UFC’s schedule, now expected to headline a November 20th “Fight Night” event. The new booking was announced by the promotion earlier this week.
Tate and Vieira were first set to headline a card on October 16th, although the matchup was postponed after Tate tested positive for COVID-19.
Tate, a former UFC Bantamweight Champion, made her return in July with a stoppage win over Marion Reneau. The bout was her first combat sports appearance since declaring retirement in 2016.
Vieira is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Yana Kunitskaya in February.
Dominique Wooding Stops Undefeated Nathan Fletcher In Third Round, Secures Cage Warriors Bantamweight Belt
Dominique Wooding showed his sharp striking skills on Thursday, finding an opening and stopping Nathan Fletcher in the third round of a bout to earn the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship.
The fight headlined Cage Warriors 127, which took place at the York Hall in London, England.
Wooding put an end to Fletcher’s wrestling-heavy performance with a damaging flurry of strikes.
Wooding hurt Fletcher late in the third round, countering a takedown attempt with a flying knee. After further hurting Fletcher with punches from a body lock position, Wooding separated, then landed a head kick and a combination of punches that scored a knockdown and caused an end to the fight.
Fletcher had a near three successful rounds of action before the finishing sequence, using takedowns to control Wooding for a large portion of the fight.
Wooding won his Cage Warriors debut in just June, needing just over a minute to stop Cameron Hardy with strikes. He joined the promotion after a three-fight stint in Bellator from 2019 to 2020.
Fletcher was being given a title shot after a flawless six-fight run in the promotion. Having made his debut in 2019, Fletcher finished all of his opponents, including three who had undefeated records going into their meeting.
A full report on Cage Warriors 127 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (3:15PM EDT / 8:15PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Ryan Shelley def. Liam Molloy via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:23)
Bout 2: Bakhtyaar Oryakhail def. Jack Clarke via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 1, 2:39)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 3: Kingsley Crawford def. Adam Wilson via Submission, Darce Choke (RD 3, 2:43)
Bout 4: Oban Elliott def. George McManus via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
Bout 5: Rory Evans def. Weslley Maia via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Josh Reed def. Kurban Khizriev via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:23)
Bout 7: Dominique Wooding def. Nathan Fletcher via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:21) (Vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship)
Former Bellator Champion Julia Budd Signs With PFL, To Make Debut Later This Month
Former Bellator Featherweight Champion Julia Budd has made the move to the PFL and plans to compete in their 2022 season format. News of Budd’s signing was unveiled by the promotion at a press conference Wednesday.
Budd is expected to make her PFL debut at the promotion’s grand finale 2021 event on October 27th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, USA.
Budd is booked to meet Kaitlin Young up at lightweight – the sole women’s division that the promotion hosts at the moment.
It is not known whether Budd will fight at lightweight or her usual featherweight when fighting in the 2022 regular season. A report from Marc Raimondi of ESPN says the promotion is undecided on whether they will open a 145-pound weight class.
Budd was Bellator’s 145-pound champ for over two years. She first earned the belt in late 2017, defeating Arlene Blencowe via split decision after a five-round battle. She went on to defend the belt twice before dropping it to former UFC champ Cris Cyborg in 2020.
Budd has picked up two wins since dropping her belt, having defeated Jessy Miele and Dayana Silva over the past year.
Young will be making her first appearance since competing in the 2021 PFL regular season. The veteran won and lost a fight in the year, finishing the season with three points.
Raquel Pennington vs. Julia Avila Booked For December 18th UFC Card
Bantamweights Raquel Pennington and Julia Avila are set to collide at UFC’s December 18th event. News of the new booking was first reported by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Pennington, a former title challenger, will be looking for her third consecutive victory. She most recently returned against Pannie Kianzad, defeating her via split decision in September.
The fight was Pennington’s first appearance since taking a six-month sanction by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Before then, she had scored a scorecard victory over Marion Reneau in 2020.
Avila returned to the win column in June of this year, stopping former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Julija Stoliarenko in the third round with a rear naked choke. The win moved Avila’s UFC record to two wins and one loss.
Both Coming Off First UFC Win, Manel Kape and Zhalgas Zhumagulov Matched For December 4th Card
Both coming off their first UFC win, Manel Kape and Zhalgas Zhumagulov have been paired for the promotion’s December 4th card. The matchup was confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee on Tuesday.
Both flyweights are being matched after a very similar start in their promotional run.
Zhumagulov dropped his first two appearances under the UFC banner, losing a decision to Raulian Paiva and Amir Albazi. However, he ended the losing streak in July with a first-round submission win against Jerome Rivera.
Just a month later, Kape scored a first-round flying knee stoppage win against Ode Osbourne. That win concluded a two-fight UFC skid for the former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion, putting him into the win column for the first time since signing with the promotion a year back.
UFC Flyweight Rogerio Bontorin Handed Three-Month USADA Suspension
Rogerio Bontorin has been given a three-month U.S. Anti-Doping Agency sanction following a long appeal process that greatly shortened his sentence.
Bontorin tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide as part of an out-of-competition test in early May, per a press release sent out by USADA on Wednesday.
Bontorin’s suspension, which could have been up to two years, was shortened due to the appeal process he engaged in. Bontorin was able to prove that hydrochlorothiazide was in a supplement he was taking despite that supplement being approved by the program.
The appeal process made USADA determine that Bontorin was eligible for a shortened sentence due to the circumstances of his positive test for the diuretic.
“Compounded medications and supplements are more likely to be contaminated because they are mixed by hand, and there is limited regulatory oversight,” said USADA in a statement.
The suspension started in May, meaning it has already expired and Bontorin is eligible to compete again.
Bontorin went public about his positive test in June, revealing that he planned to appeal the suspension.
He has been part of the UFC roster in 2019 and has a promotional record of three wins and two losses.
RIZIN Unveils Seven Fights For October 24th Card
Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN unveiled seven bouts for their October 24th RIZIN 31 card Thursday. The new pairings include former RIZIN Atomweight Champion Kanna Asakura, along with the return of other JMMA veterans Daisuke Nakamura, Yusaku Nakamura, Takahiro Ashida, and more.
The show has a heavy focus on the featherweight division, with four bouts from that weight class being announced. Not only that, but the promotion announced their plans to book RIZIN Featherweight Champion Yutaka Saito on the card - although it isn’t known yet who he will face.
The matchups join a card that is expected to take place at the Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan.
A full breakdown of the lineup can be read here.
Here’s what was announced:
Bout 7: Seiichiro Ito (13-4-2) vs. Kunta Hashimoto (7-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Rikuto Shirakawa (10-8-1) vs. Takuya Yamamoto (7-1-1) (146 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Daichi Abe (9-4) vs. Akira (15-8-4) (157 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Masanori Kanehara (27-14-5) vs. Takahiro Ashida (24-10-2) (146 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Daisuke Nakamura (30-20-1) vs. Suguru Nii (12-10) (146 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Yusaku Nakamura (16-8-1) vs. Yuki Ito (8-2) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Kanna Asakura (18-5) vs. Saori Oshima (6-2) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Preview
Bellator 267: Lima vs. MVP 2
Friday night’s Bellator card is important for the main event fighters and also the promotion itself.
Michael Page will get a chance to avenge his sole pro loss on Friday night, fighting Douglas Lima in the main event of Bellator 267. Page has fought hard to get to this spot, having earned five wins since 2019.
Lima will be fighting for the first time since losing his welterweight belt to Yaroslav Amosov.
For Bellator, the fight will be their appearance at the SSE Arena in London, England, since 2019.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM BST) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Khurshed Kakhorov (7-0) vs. Jair Junior (6-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Chiara Penco (5-3) vs. Katharina Dalisda (5-2) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Fabacary Diatta (7-0) vs. Nathan Rose (7-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Jack Grant (17-7) vs. Nathan Jones (13-10) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Elina Kallionidou (7-4) vs. Petra Castkova (4-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Kane Mousah (13-3) vs. Davy Gallon (18-7-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Lewis Long (18-6) vs. Michael Dubois (11-7) (Welterweight)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST) (Showtime)
Bout 8: Yves Landu (16-8) vs. Tim Wilde (13-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Luke Trainer (4-0) vs. Yannick Bahati (9-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Robert Whiteford (16-4) vs. Andrew Fisher (18-8-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Leah McCourt (5-1) vs. Jessica Borga (3-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 12: Douglas Lima (32-9) vs. Michael Page (19-1) (Welterweight)
Stay Connected
Twitter: @JackWannan - Follow the site: @KnockdownNews
Reading this update on a browser? Sign up for free with your email to get the newsletter sent to you right as it drops!