Knockdown Daily 10/21/21: Paulo Costa Claims He Can't Make Middleweight For This Weekend's UFC 'Fight Night'
A sudden dramatic twist to this weekend's UFC main event leads the MMA headlines for Thursday
Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Knockdown Daily. There’s a lot to cover in today’s issue, including news about this weekend’s UFC card and a new Bellator title fight.
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Paulo Costa Claims He Weighs Over 210 Pounds, Can’t Make Middleweight For Saturday’s UFC Main Event
Paulo Costa has admitted that he is not in shape for this weekend’s UFC main event against Marvin Vettori, putting the middleweight contest in jeopardy.
Costa claimed Wednesday that he currently weighs 211 pounds, which is 25 pounds over the non-championship middleweight limit that he is contracted to make Friday.
Because of this, Costa is hoping a deal can be reached in the coming days to move the fight to a different weight class.
“We need to find a catchweight to make. I don’t know exactly [which] yet,” said Costa at a UFC press scrum in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Costa is currently withholding why he is so over the weight limit, but he said Wednesday that he will tell people after the week concludes.
Vettori, the opponent for Costa, is aware of the current situation. Wanting to remain in Saturday’s lineup, he is willing to change the weight limit.
“The last thing I want is for the fight to be scratched. I’ll fight him at any weight. With that being said, he needs to suffer a little bit [with] making weight because all of us do that,” said Vettori to the media.
Costa has never missed weight through six previous UFC appearances. He made the championship limit of 185 pounds in his last fight, which is one pound lighter than what would be required to meet Friday.
Both fighters are looking to make their first appearance since losing a title fight.
Bellator Bantamweight Champion Sergio Pettis To Face Former Champ Kyoji Horiguchi At December 3rd Event
Kyoji Horiguchi will get the chance to re-gain the Bellator Bantamweight Championship on December 3rd, facing current champ Sergio Pettis at Bellator 272. The fight will headline a card that is set to happen at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
News of the bantamweight title fight was first reported by Luke Thomas of the Morning Kombat.
Horiguchi first gained the Bellator Bantamweight Championship in 2019, dethroning Darrion Caldwell via unanimous decision. His run with the belt was short-lived, as injury forced him to relinquish the title just later that year.
Horiguchi was also the RIZIN Bantamweight Champion at that time and had to lose that belt as well. He has since regained that championship, scoring a first-round stoppage win over Kai Asakura last year.
It was reported in September that Horiguchi had signed with Bellator. A statement put out by RIZIN mentioned that he would continue to be recognized as their bantamweight champion despite the move.
The fight gives Pettis a chance to defend his belt for the first time. He gained the title in May, going five rounds to dethrone Juan Archuleta via unanimous decision.
The fight was his third win since joining Bellator last year. Previous wins saw him submit Alfred Khashakyan and take a scorecard win over Ricky Bandejas.
A press release issued by Bellator on Wednesday revealed two other matchups that are set to happen in December. Here’s how the card looks so far:
Bout 3: Sergio Pettis (21-5) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (29-3) (Bellator Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 2: Josh Hill (20-4) vs. Jared Scoggins (10-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Keoni Diggs (9-1) vs. John de Jesus (14-9) (Featherweight)
Former LFA Champ Zviad Lazishvili To Make UFC Debut Against Jonathan Martinez At October 23rd Event
UFC’s October 23rd event has received another short-notice matchup, as promotional newcomer Zviad Lazishvili will step in and face Jonathan Martinez. The new matchup was first announced by mma.ideas on Instagram.
Martinez was originally scheduled to meet Aaron Phillips at bantamweight. It was reported last week that Phillips had to withdraw from his fight due to illness.
Lazishvili is entering the UFC with an undefeated record of 12 wins. He became the LFA Bantamweight Champion in his last appearance, submitting Ricky Steele within a round in September 2020.
Martinez had a two-fight losing streak earlier this year, getting stopped by Davey Grant in March.
UFC Releases Modestas Bukauskas After Four-Fight Run
Former Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Champion Modestas Bukauskas has reportedly been released from the UFC roster after four fights. His departure from the promotion was first reported by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
Bukauskas is parting ways with the promotion after posting one win and three losses.
He started his run last year with a win, getting a stoppage victory against Andreas Michailidis. Bukauskas has since fallen into a three-fight losing streak since October 2020.
He suffered a gruesome injury in his last fight, as an oblique kick from Khalil Rountree stopped him in September. Injuries from the fight, which occurred to his knee and nose, required surgery afterward.
Bukauskas has addressed his release via social media.
“Life really f****** sucks sometimes … I’ll be back,” said Bukauskas on an Instagram Story post.
Three Fights Join UFC’s January 15th Lineup
UFC’s rapidly growing January 15th card has gained three more bouts recently.
Explosive finishers will be paired at middleweight when Abdul Razak Alhassan and Joaquin Buckley meet in early 2022. The matchup was first confirmed by mma.ideas on Instagram.
Jennifer Maia has the chance to avenge a loss she took in 2019, as she will face Katlyn Chookagian in a rematch, per mma.ideas.
Former LFA Strawweight Champion Vanessa Demopoulos has the opportunity to score her first UFC win when facing Ashley Yoder. The flyweight matchup was confirmed this week by Jamal Boussenaf of MMA DNA.
More details on all three fights can be found here.
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