Knockdown Daily 10/22/21: Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori Main Event Moved To Light Heavyweight Limit
A change in weight class for this weekend's UFC middleweight bout leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. It’s another busy day, as we bring you the latest on this weekend’s UFC main event, a preview of tonight’s LFA event, and more.
News
Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori Main Event Moved To Light Heavyweight Limit
UFC’s October 23rd main event has received a change in its weight class. A five-round fight between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori has been moved from the 186-pound middleweight limit to the 206-pound light heavyweight class, per a report from Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.
It was first reported Thursday afternoon that the fight would be moved to a catchweight of 195-pounds, with a later report mentioning that the limit would go up another 10 pounds to the light heavyweight division.
The change in weight class comes after Costa admitted Wednesday that he won’t be able to make the 186-pound limit for a middleweight contest. He claimed earlier in the week that he weighed 25 pounds over the limit – an amount he would not be able to cut in time for Friday’s weigh-ins.
The new weight limit is set for a fight that is scheduled to happen in the main event of Saturday’s card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Costa will reportedly lose 20 percent of his fight purse due to the weight class change.
Weight-cutting for Costa has never been an issue before, as he has made the middleweight limit in all six of his previous UFC appearances.
The fight on Saturday will be both fighters’ first appearance since losing a fight to UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.
Florida Court Accepts Irwin Rivera’s Plea of Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity For Attempted Murder, Grants Conditional Release
UFC fighter Irwin Rivera has been released from custody for the first time since early 2021. The bantamweight was granted a conditional release this week after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity for two counts of attempted murder.
Details on Rivera’s recent release were revealed in court documents obtained by Marc Raimondi and Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN.
Rivera was arrested in January and charged with two counts of attempted murder. An incident report filed by the Boynton Beach Police Department in Florida, USA, described that he attacked his two sisters while they were asleep, causing them to receive numerous stab wounds.
Rivera allegedly encountered police later that night, claiming that he killed his sisters after a “higher power” told him to do so.
Doctors testified in court that Rivera has bipolar disorder with psychosis, and that the incident months ago was an episode because of this.
Dr. Sheila Rapa claimed that under medication recently prescribed to him, Rivera shouldn’t be a threat to the public or himself. The doctor also said there is “no problem” with Rivera competing in MMA again.
The expert said Rivera wasn’t aware of his mental health issues before the incident in January.
“He lacked the ability of insight to tell reality from fantasy or right from wrong,” said Dr. Rapa in documents.
Terms of Rivera’s release include that he must remain under his prescribed medication and receive care from a psychiatrist.
Rivera will live with his brother and parents, who will monitor him.
Veterans Clay Guida and Leonardo Santos Matched For December 4th UFC Card
It will be a clash of veterans when Clay Guida and Leonardo Santos meet at UFC’s December 4th event. News of the matchup was confirmed by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting earlier this week.
Santos will be returning after taking his first UFC loss earlier this year. A promotional winning streak of six consecutive fights for Santos was stopped by Grant Dawson in March, as the rising lightweight prospect stopped him late in the third round with strikes.
Santos has been part of the UFC roster for a long time, having competed under their banner since 2013.
Guida, a UFC vet of over 30 fights, will be looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss that he took against Mark O. Madsen earlier this year.
UFC Looking To Book Raoni Barcelos vs. Trevin Jones For December 18th UFC Card
UFC is aiming to match bantamweights Raoni Barcelos and Trevin Jones for their December 18th event. The new matchup was first reported by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
Should the matchup be finalized, it will join a UFC “Fight Night” card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment.
Barcelos had an extensive winning streak broken earlier this year, losing a majority decision to Timur Valiev. Before then, Barcelos had attained a strong five-fight series of wins in the UFC cage.
Jones is also coming off his first UFC loss. He was submitted in August by former CFFC Bantamweight Champion Saidyokub Kakhramonov, who caught him in the final minute of action with a guillotine choke.
Jones had two UFC fights before then. While both originally ended via finish in his favor, one of them was later overturned due to a drug test that detected cannabis in his system.
Jones’ sole official UFC win was a finish win over Mario Bautista from March.
Nevada Athletic Commission Hands Ryan Benoit Suspension, Overturns ‘Contender Series’ Win For Josh Quinlan
The Nevada Athletic Commission announced two sanctions to UFC fighters at a meeting Wednesday. The changes include two suspensions, with one of them causing a fight result to be overturned.
Benoit Given Nine-Month Suspension For Sleep Apnea Medication
Ryan Benoit was given a nine-month suspension for a drug test registered for his fight in July against Zarrukh Adashev. The drug test found modafinil, a sleep apnea medication, in his system during the fight week, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
Benoit’s suspension will sideline him from competing in the state of Nevada until April 1st, 2022. He also suffered a fine for his drug test, owing the commission just under $3,500.
Benoit’s fight against Adashev from July won’t be overturned, as the fight was a unanimous decision victory for Adashev.
Quinlan’s ‘Contender Series’ Win Overturned Due To Drug Test
Josh Quinlan’s 47-second stoppage win over Logan Urban on “Dana White’s Contender Series” from early September has been overturned to a no contest due to a drug test that detected banned substance drostanolone, as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
The drug test has also resulted in a nine-month suspension for Quinlan, stopping him from competing in the state until June 7th, 2022. He was ordered to pay the commission less than $800 due to it.
Quinlan’s win earned him a UFC contract on the “Contender Series” show. It’s unknown at the moment if this sanction will affect his status with the promotion.
Preview
LFA 116: Fremd vs. Valente
Notable U.S. MMA promotion LFA will return on Friday night with a prospect-heavy lineup from the Dobson Arena in Vail, Colorado, USA. In the main event, Josh Fremd will look to return to the win column when facing rising middleweight Renato Valente.
The card also includes names like “Contender Series” alum Pauline Macias, former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant Dan Argueta, undefeated welterweight Haris Talundzic, and more.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Here’s the lineup:
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Bryant Ireland (0-0) vs. David Evenson (0-0) (Amateur Catchweight 165 lbs)
Bout 2: DeMarcus Patterson (0-0) vs. Luis Gurule (0-0) (Amateur Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Gabe Parrot (0-1) vs. Isaiah Diggs (3-0) (Amateur Featherweight)
Bout 4: Jota Ninomiya (3-2) vs. Jovan Gasper (5-3) (Amateur Featherweight)
Bout 5: Kelsey Arnesen (0-1) vs. Brittany Camozzi (0-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 6: Jena Bishop (0-0) vs. Helen Lucero (1-2) (Flyweight)
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 8:00PM MDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 7: Josiah Reyes (2-0) vs. Llorrvic Acevedo (1-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Logan Paxton (1-0) vs. Jacobi Jones (2-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Brock Smith (4-1) vs. Haris Talundzic (3-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 10: Marnic Mann (3-0) vs. Pauline Macias (4-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 11: Michael Stack (5-1) vs. Jackson Filho (4-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 12: Dan Argueta (5-0) vs. Rodney Mondala (6-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 13: Josh Fremd (7-2) vs. Renato Valente (8-4) (Middleweight)
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