Knockdown Daily 11/19/21: UFC Signs Undefeated Muhammad Mokaev
UFC's latest signing leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. This issue will discuss the top MMA stories from the past 24 hours, along with a preview for tonight’s top two events.
News
UFC Announces Signing of Flyweight Prospect Muhammad Mokaev
Undefeated 21-year-old flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev has joined the UFC roster, per an announcement made by the promotion Wednesday.
Mokaev has signed to the UFC after attaining an undefeated amateur and pro record thus far.
Mokaev had an extensive amateur career, putting together 23 consecutive wins from 2015 to 2020. This included a run in the 2019 IMMA World Championship, where he captured a gold medal at bantamweight.
Mokaev has mostly competed in the MMA promotion Brave CF since his pro debut last year. He has scored five wins, with three of them being stoppage wins.
His last victory was in September, where he secured a second-round rear naked choke win over Blaine O’Driscoll.
Mokaev, 21, is now the youngest member of the UFC roster.
Roman Dolidze To Replace Brad Tavares In December 4th UFC Booking Against Brendan Allen
Brendan Allen has received a new opponent for his December 4th UFC booking. The middleweight is now expected to face Roman Dolidze instead of Brad Tavares, per a report from David Van Auken on Thursday.
It is not known at the moment why UFC veteran Tavares withdrew from his late 2021 booking.
Dolidze is stepping in after a fight of his own fell off a recent lineup.
Dolidze was set to compete at last weekend’s November 13th UFC event, but he was removed from that card on short notice due to COVID-19 protocol.
Dolidze’s last win was in June, where he fought to a unanimous decision victory over Laureano Staropoli. The bout was his third victory through four bouts since joining the UFC roster in 2020.
With a new opponent, Allen will be fighting to score his third victory of the year. He has gained momentum in recent months, submitting Karl Roberson in April and earning a decision victory over Punahele Soriano in July.
Jake Heun Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison, Four Years Before Parole For Drug Charges In Australia
MMA fighter Jake Heun was sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison Friday for drug charges at the County Court of Victoria, Australia.
Heun has a non-parole sentence of four years and nine months – more than a year of which he has already served.
Heun, 34, previously pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine in September 2020 and trafficking cocaine between May 2019 and September 2020.
Recently obtained court documents describe that Heun was arrested in September 2020.
After a package was flagged by the Australian Border Force (ABF), Heun admitted to authorities that he allowed his address to be used as a location to import illegal drugs. He claimed that he knew what was being imported was illegal, but was under the impression that the drugs were of the performance-enhancing type, like anabolic steroids or testosterone.
County Court judge Tinney said Friday that Heun didn’t ask the right questions at the time to know the proper level of risk he could be facing.
“You pushed the risks to the back of your mind,” said Judge Tinney. “At the end of the day, you were committing a serious crime and knew you were. And that is not dependent knowledge of the precise drug inside of the parcel.”
Authorities seized Heun’s phone, which provided them with evidence to charge him with a cocaine trafficking charge.
Conversations on apps Wickr Me and WhatsApp showed photo, video and text evidence that Heun was trafficking cocaine from May 2019 up until the month of his arrest.
Heun has an MMA pro record of nearly 25 pro bouts. His career, which first started in 2011 and has been active up until 2019, includes appearances in PFL, RIZIN and TV series “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Preview
CFFC 103: Anderson vs. Blackshear
Undefeated bantamweight DeAndre Anderson will get the chance to claim a bantamweight belt on Friday night, facing Da’Mon Blackshear for a vacant title in the main event of CFFC 103. The fight headlines a 12-bout card that is set to happen at the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel in Tunica, Mississippi, USA.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EST / 6:00PM CST) (Facebook / Youtube)
Bout 1: Petera Wilson (4-1) vs. Calvin Watkins (1-0) (Amateur Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Andrew Horowitz (1-4) vs. Chase Mann (1-0) (Amateur Welterweight)
Bout 3: Josh Willard (2-0) vs. Ethan Burmingham (5-0) (Amateur Featherweight)
Bout 4: Kristien Ruffin (0-0) vs. TJ Welch (0-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Brandt Cooper (1-1) vs. Isaack Watkins (0-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Joe Tran (0-1) vs. Nehemias Cruz (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 7: Lydell Poag (1-0) vs. Dillon Winemiller (0-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Devante Sewell (8-5) vs. Jonathan Jackson (5-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Wade Johnson (11-2) vs. Trevor Ollison (4-3) (Catchweight 160 lbs)
Bout 10: Marcelo Nunes (6-1) vs. Anthony Garrett (6-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 11: Donovan Beard (5-0) vs. Raheam Forest (3-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 12: Da’Mon Blackshear (10-4) vs. DeAndre Anderson (5-0) (Vacant CFFC Bantamweight Championship)
RIZIN 32
RIZIN will touch down at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan for the first time this weekend when presenting RIZIN 32. The card will be headlined by experienced fighters RENA and Miyuu Yamamoto, who will be meeting in the ring for the second time.
The event is also set to include numerous veterans and local talent from Okinawa.
A bout-by-bout breakdown of the card can be read here.
Main Card (12:00AM EST / 2:00PM JST) (Live-Now / RIZIN Live)
Bout 1: Ryoga Terayama vs. HIROKI (121 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 2: TARKER (2-3-1) vs. Sho Sekihara (7-2) (128 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Hirokatsu Miyagi vs. Lopez Satsuma (161 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 4: Shinya Kumazawa (9-10) vs. Tanner Lourenco (0-0) (163 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: NISSE (3-4) vs. Aira Koga (2-0) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Tomohiro Adaniya (16-15-3) vs. Yuichi Miyagi (16-10-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Haruo Ochi (20-9-2) vs. Tatsuya So (18-17-4) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 8: Juri Ohara (28-17-3) vs. Kohei Tokeshi (6-7) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 9: Daryl Lokoku (9-5-1) vs. BeyNoah (0-1) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 10: Bobby Ologun (2-2) vs. Katsuya Kitamura (0-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 11: Mitsuhisa Sunabe (29-9-4) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (38-19-3) (129 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 12: Kouzi vs. Kazuma Sone (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 13: RENA (11-3) vs. Miyuu Yamamoto (6-5) (110 lbs) (MMA Bout)
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