Knockdown Daily 1/10/22: A Look At The Week Ahead
We take a look at the week ahead in the Monday edition
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Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s a big issue: along with news, we have a look at the week ahead and the recent JMMA Monday column. Here’s all you need to know from the world of MMA this morning:
News
Jairzinho Rozenstruick vs. Marcin Tybura Joins February 26th UFC Card
Heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruick and Marcin Tybura will attempt to get back into the win column when they meet at UFC’s February 26th “Fight Night” card. News of the fight was first confirmed by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport on Sunday.
Tybura had an extensive winning streak broken in his last appearance, as Alexander Volkov went three rounds against him for a unanimous decision victory in the Fall. Prior to then, he scored five consecutive wins between 2020 and 2021.
Rozenstruick has won two of his past five bouts, with the losses coming against some of the best names at heavyweight.
Rozenstruick last appeared in September, where he lost a unanimous decision to former title challenger Curtis Blaydes. Three months before then, Rozenstruick stopped Augusto Sakai in the first round of main event “Fight Night” card.
Anthony Pettis Set To Debut Showtime FC Promotion In February
Former UFC fighter and current PFL talent Anthony Pettis is set to debut his own MMA promotion next month, presenting the first Showtime FC event on February 11th.
The inaugural Showtime FC event will be headlined by former UFC fighter Jacob Kilburn and rising prospect Lucas Alexander, per an announcement made Sunday.
The card is set to take place at the Jenkins Arena in Lakeland, Florida, USA. It will be broadcasted through the online subscription service UFC Fight Pass, which currently hosts other promotions like LFA, CFFC and Titan FC, among others.
In the main event, Kilburn will be attempting to snap a three-fight skid that has developed from his UFC stint and a recent appearance in the PFL. Kilburn last appeared in August, when now-UFC fighter Brandon Jenkins caught him in the first round with a flying knee for the finish.
Alexander enters the weekend on a strong four-fight winning streak. He scored his second consecutive finish win in June 2021, finishing Ty Kalista on a Combat Night Pro card.
The new promotion sees Pettis take a backstage spot in the process of creating an MMA event. However, Showtime FC is no sign that Pettis plans to slow down with his fighting career. It was recently reported that he is expected to compete in the 2022 PFL Season as part of the lightweight division.
A Look At The Week Ahead
MMA is back. We have a busy week ahead that kicks off as early as Wednesday night. Here are all the big things that are set to happen over the next seven days in the sport.
Wednesday
Invicta FC 45: Zappitella vs. Delboni 2
All-women’s MMA promotion Invicta FC will return on Wednesday, presenting a card free to view on Youtube. In the main event, Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Alesha Zappitella will meet Jessica Delboni for the second time.
They first fought in 2021, where Zappitella walked away with a very close decision win. Delboni earned another title shot later in the year, winning a one-night, eight-woman tournament.
Location: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
Main Card (8:00PM EST / 7:00PM CST) (Youtube)
Bout 6: Alesha Zappitella (9-2) vs. Jessica Delboni (11-3) (Invicta FC Atomweight Championship)
Bout 5: Ramona Pascual (5-2) vs. Shamir Peshewa (2-0) (Catchweight 150 lbs)
Bout 4: Monica Franco (2-0) vs. Hailey Cowan (5-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Helen Peralta (4-2) vs. Elise Pone (1-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Katie Saull (3-5) vs. Tamika Jones (1-0) (Atomweight)
Bout 1: Maria Favela (2-1) vs. Sarah Kleczka (2-3) (Bantamweight)
Friday
ONE Championship: Heavy Hitters
ONE Championship will kick off their 2022 schedule on Friday morning, presenting “Heavy Hitters” from Singapore. The incredibly dominant title reign of Xiong Jing Nan will be put to the test in the main event, as grappling expert Ayaka Miura will meet her in a five-round bout.
The event sees the promotion shift back to doing longer cards, something they have rarely done since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they have recently been hosting five or six-fight events, then taping two other shows that would air delayed at a later date.
Location: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Main Card (7:30AM EST / 8:30PM SGT) (Bleacher Report App / Youtube)
Bout 12: Xiong Jing Nan (16-2) vs. Ayaka Miura (11-3) (ONE MMA Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 11: Roman Kryklia vs. Murat Aygun (ONE Kickboxing Light Heavyweight Championship) (225 lbs)
Bout 10: Saemapetch Fairtex vs. Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 9: James Nakashima (12-2) vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev (19-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 8: Supergirl Jaroonsak Muaythai vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (125 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 7: Senzo Ikeda (12-6-1) vs. Jeremy Miado (10-4) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Lead Card (5:00AM EST / 6:00PM SGT) (Bleacher Report App / Youtube)
Bout 6: Elias Mahmoudi vs. Walter Goncalves (135 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 5: Beybulat Isaev vs. Giannis Stoforidis (225 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 4: Yushin Okami (37-14) vs. Leandro Ataides (11-5) (205 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Shuya Kamikubo (11-1-1) vs. Tory Worthen (7-2) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Tiffany Teo (9-2) vs. Meng Bo (17-5) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Robin Catalan (9-7) vs. Elipitua Siregar (4-1) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
LFA 121: McKenzie vs. Jones
LFA will kick off their busy first quarter with an event on Friday night. Riding a three-fight winning streak, Bellator alum Aaron McKenzie will return in the main event against Joshua Jones.
LFA already has big plans for the year. They’re set to hold another event next week in St. Louis, then present will three cards in February.
Location: The Factory in Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas, USA
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 10: Aaron McKenzie (10-2-1) vs. Joshua Jones (11-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Elijah Johns (7-2) vs. Brandon Phillips (8-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Isaiah Gutierrez (6-1) vs. Keeton Gorton (6-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Chris Brown (7-3) vs. Steve Jones (8-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Alden Coria (5-0) vs. Michael Cyr (3-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: John Pham (4-2) vs. Anvar Boynazarov (2-0) (Featherweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 4: Kevin Fernandez (2-0) vs. Jackson Dang (0-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Siteu Senghor (2-0) vs. Jakori Savage (0-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Caleb Jensen (0-0) vs. Harrison Layne (0-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Zumar Archer (0-0) vs. Akeem Lewis (2-0) (Middleweight)
Saturday
KSW 66: Ziolkowski vs. Mankowski
Two champions will appear on KSW’s card this weekend. The main event will see Marian Ziolkowski fight to defend his lightweight belt for the second time when facing Borys Mankowski.
Location: Szczecin, Poland
Main Card (1:00PM EST / 7:00PM CET) (KSWTV.com)
Bout 10: Marian Ziolkowski (23-8-1) vs. Borys Mankowski (22-8-1) (KSW Lightweight Championship)
Bout 9: Tomasz Narkun (18-4) vs. Ibragim Chuzhigaev (15-5) (KSW Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Michael Materla (30-8) vs. Jason Radcliffe (17-8) (Middleweight)
Bout 7: Tomasz Romanowski (14-8) vs. Krystian Kaszubowski (9-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Sebastian Rajewski (11-6) vs. Niklas Backstrom (11-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Wojciech Janusz (10-7) vs. Przemyslaw Dzwoniarek (3-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Lukasz Rajewski (11-6) vs. Donovan Desmae (14-7) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Gracjan Szadzinski (8-4) vs. Francesco Moricca (9-5-1) (Catchweight 161 lbs)
Bout 2: Kacper Koziorzebski (7-4) vs. Hubert Szymajda (9-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Patryk Surdyn (5-2) vs. David Martinik (5-3) (Bantamweight)
UFC on ESPN 32: Kattar vs. Chikadze
Capping off the first real week of MMA in 2022, UFC will start their schedule for the year.
Featherweight contender Giga Chikadze has yet to lose since joining the UFC roster. Searching for his second main event victory, Chikadze will face experienced fighter Calvin Kattar in the main event of Saturday’s show.
Location: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 4:00PM PST) (ESPN / TSN 5)
Bout 11: Calvin Kattar (22-5) vs. Giga Chikadze (14-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Katlyn Chookagian (16-4) vs. Jennifer Maia (19-7-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 9: Brandon Royval (12-6) vs. Rogerio Bontorin (17-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Chase Sherman (15-8) vs. Jake Collier (12-6) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Joanderson Brito (12-2-1) vs. Bill Algeo (14-6) (Featherweight)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EST / 1:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 6: Ramiz Brahimaj (9-3) vs. Court McGee (20-10) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: TJ Brown (15-8) vs. Gabriel Benitez (22-9) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Dakota Bush (8-3) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Brian Kelleher (23-12) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Vanessa Demopoulos (6-4) vs. Silvana Juarez (10-3) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Jamie Pickett (12-6) vs. Joseph Holmes (7-1) (Middleweight)
Column
JMMA Monday: Three Questions Heading Into 2022
For this week’s issue of JMMA Monday, I asked three questions that we might have heading into 2022. The three questions are: 1. What’s up with the RIZIN bantamweight picture? 2. Will Ayaka Hamasaki lose her RIZIN Super Atomweight Championship? and 3. Will 2022 be a loss of ground or a gain of ground for international viewing accessibility?
Thoughts on that, plus other notes from the week can be viewed in the article here.
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