Knockdown Daily 11/26/21: UFC Looking To Book Bryce Mitchell vs. Edson Barboza
A booking between an undefeated featherweight and a veteran leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue will cover the top MMA stories from the past 48 hours, and will also preview this morning’s ONE Championship card.
News
UFC Looking To Book Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell For March 5th Event
Undefeated featherweight Bryce Mitchell could get a big challenge next year, as the UFC is aiming to put him up against Edson Barboza for their March 5th event. News of the potential bout was first reported by Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
The fight, which has been verbally agreed upon, is set to join a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment. The bout is also the first to be reported for a March 5th UFC card.
Mitchell has kept his flawless pro record intact through five bouts in the UFC. He has been inactive for over a year now, as his last bout was a late October victory over Andre Fili.
Mitchell is currently just one of seven UFC fighters that have an undefeated record of 14-or-more victories.
Barboza presents an interesting test for Mitchell, being a veteran of over 25 UFC bouts. He had a two-fight winning streak snapped in his last appearance, as Giga Chikadze stopped him with strikes in a main event bout three months back.
Anthony Rocco Martin Arrested In Las Vegas, Handed Two Misdemeanor Charges
Former UFC fighter Anthony Rocco Martin was arrested over the weekend following an alleged incident at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Martin, 31, was given misdemeanor charges of battery and engaging in lewd/dissolute conduct in a public place Saturday, per a report from Greg Haas of local news station 8 News Now.
A report filed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police alleges that Martin got into a physical confrontation with venue security after urinating in public.
Martin was reported to security at the resort after he was seen urinating on the casino floor. The situation escalated when Martin was confronted by security that asked him to leave.
Martin allegedly became “very irate” and made threats to officers after he was asked to leave and show ID. After a guard put up his hand to ask Martin to step back, he was allegedly punched in the throat by the MMA fighter.
Police say surveillance footage recorded by the venue back shows the entire confrontation.
Martin fought 15 times on the UFC roster from 2014 to 2020. He recently departed the promotion following a loss to Neil Magny at UFC 250.
UFC Adds William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield To December 4th Event
Light heavyweights William Knight and Alonzo Menifield will make one last appearance this year, being paired up for UFC’s December 4th card. The new matchup was first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
The booking gives Menifield a chance to score his third victory of the year. He defeated Ed Herman in his last appearance, beating him via unanimous decision in August.
Before then, he scored a first-round submission win over short-notice opponent Fabio Cherant.
Knight also defeated Cherant recently, stopping him in the first round with punches three months back. That performance put him back into the win column after taking a loss to Jung Da-un in April.
A booking between Knight and Menifield was attempted twice by the UFC early this year, although COVID-19 protocols made the fight fall apart in both instances.
Former UFC Fighter Luis Pena Arrest For Third Time This Year, Given Two More Misdemeanor Charges
Former UFC fighter Luis Pena was arrested for the third time this year on Monday, per reports.
Pena, 28, was arrested earlier this week by the Deerfield Beach Police Department in Florida, USA. He was given misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal mischief, adding on to an already long list of crimes he has been charged with this year.
Aaron Bronsteter of TSN was the first to report the arrest.
Pena’s bond is set at $6,000, per a report from Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Pena was arrested just last month in Deerfield Beach, that time being charged with battery to cause bodily harm and domestic violence battery to touch or strike. Shortly after, UFC decided to release him from their roster.
Pena was also arrested in June, that time being charged with robbery by sudden snatching, battery and criminal mischief. Those charges were later downgraded to simple battery and criminal mischief after the alleged victim signed an affidavit saying that she does not want to press charges.
Pena was charged with misdemeanor battery for an alleged incident from May, but the signed affidavit said that charges would not be pressed.
Pena fought on the UFC roster from 2018 to 2021, competing seven times after winning on Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” His last bout was a split decision win over Alex Munoz in April.
Preview
ONE Championship: NextGen 3
ONE Championship will present their third and final “NextGen” event on Friday morning, showcasing a collection of MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. The pre-taped event originally took place last month at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and will air for the first time this weekend.
In the main event, former UFC flyweight Jarred Brooks will make his promotional debut against Lito Adiwang. The fight will be Brooks’ first appearance since 2019, and he will be fighting to become just the second person to hand Adiwang a loss in the ONE Championship cage.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Main Card (7:30AM EST / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube / B/R Live)
Bout 1: Felipe Lobo vs. Rodlek P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym (145 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 2: Pieter Buist (17-5) vs. Ruslan Emilbek Uulu (12-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Panpayak Jitmuangnon vs. Daniel Puertas (135 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 4: Alex Silva (10-6) vs. Rene Catalan (6-4) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Alaverdi Ramazanov vs. Pongsiri P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym (155 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 6: Lito Adiwang (13-3) vs. Jarred Brooks (16-2) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
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