Knockdown Daily 1/14/22: ONE Championship Re-Books Johnson vs. Rodtang, Announces Three Title Fights
Big announcements from ONE Championship lead the MMA headlines for Friday
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Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is a busy one, covering the top MMA stories and previewing the big shows of today.
News
ONE Championship Re-Books Johnson vs. Rodtang, Announces Three Title Fights
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently unveiled a series of big fights for the promotion’s upcoming few months. He made these announcements when he recently appeared on an episode of “The MMA Hour.”
The promotion most notably revealed three fights for their “ONE X” event, which has been moved to March 26th. The event was first targeted for December 2021 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A previously discussed mixed rules fight between former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson and Muay Thai expert Rodtang Jitmuangnon will happen at the event.
The fight will see the fighters compete in three rounds of combat sports, alternating between MMA and Muay Thai rules.
The biggest title fight of the card will see Angela Lee make her return against Stamp Fairtex.
Lee, the promotion’s 115-pound champion, has been out of the cage since 2019 due to maternity leave. The division has remained active in this time, hosting an eight-woman tournament last year to determine who would face her.
Stamp prevailed in this bracket, defeating Alyona Rassohyna, Julie Mezabarba and Ritu Phogat in recent months to be guaranteed the title shot.
Stamp, a fighter whose entire MMA career has been under ONE Championship, will be getting her first MMA title fight in the appearance.
The other title fight on the card will see 135-pound champion Adriano Moraes face Yuya Wakamatsu.
Moraes pulled off a finish win in his last title fight, stopping Johnson in the second round. Trying to extend his third reign as a ONE champion, Moraes will face a rising name in Wakamatsu.
Wakamatsu is currently on a strong five-fight winning streak that he has put together since 2019. His last win was in December, defeating Hu Yong on scorecards.
Fernandes vs. Lineker Set For February Card
A title fight between Bibiano Fernandes and former UFC fighter John Lineker will headline a February 11th ONE Championship card, per the promotion’s CEO.
Fernandes and Lineker were originally set to meet at the first version of “ONE X” in December. They’re now being paired up for the “Bad Blood” card in February.
Lineker has earned some big wins since joining ONE Championship in 2019. He has most notably finished both Kevin Belingon and Troy Worthen with strikes in recent appearances.
Fernandes is competing for the first time after prevailing two-fights-to-one in a rivalry against Kevin Belingon between 2018 and 2019. Fernandes has only lost once since joining ONE Championship in 2013.
Two UFC 270 Fights See Short-Notice Changes
Two matchups for UFC’s January 22nd pay-per-view event have seen a recent change in opponent.
Spivac To Replace Oleinik In Fight Against Hardy
Veteran fighter Aleksei Oleinik has reportedly been pulled from his heavyweight bout against Greg Hardy due to undisclosed reasons. Taking his place will be Serghei Spivac, per reporter Ariel Helwani.
Hardy will be attempting to break a two-fight losing streak. He was stopped in just over a minute in his last fight, being finished by Tai Tuivasa in July.
Spivac is also coming off a loss, having been stopped by Tom Aspinall in September. He had a strong three-fight winning streak in place before then.
Oleinik will now have to wait for his next fight. His next appearance will see him attempt to end a three-fight skid that he has taken over the past two years.
Jourdain Steps In To Face Topuria
Featherweight Charles Jourdain has agreed to step in to face undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC 270. The fight has been verbally agreed upon and is in the process of being finalized, per Ariel Helwani.
It was reported yesterday that Topuria’s previous opponent, Movsar Evloev, had withdrawn from the fight.
The fight is a quick turnaround for Jourdain, as he fought just last month and scored a dominant victory over Andre Ewell. That victory put him back into the win column after suffering a submission loss in September.
Topuria has earned three victories since joining the promotion in 2020. He gave Ryan Hall his first UFC loss a few months back, putting him away within a round due to strikes.
Maki Pitolo Among Three Departures From UFC Roster
Four fighters have recently parted ways with the UFC, per a report from Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Maki Pitolo, Jared Gooden and Matt Sayles are reportedly no longer on the UFC roster.
Pitolo was the most active fighter of all on the list. He joined the UFC roster in 2019 after winning on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” and competed in six bouts while with the promotion.
Pitolo’s UFC run is concluding after a four-fight losing streak. His last fight was in late 2021, getting stopped by Dusko Todorovic.
Gooden fought four times in the UFC, putting together a record of one win and three losses. His last appearance was in October, where Randy Brown beat him on scorecards.
Sayles had an identical UFC record to Gooden from 2018 to 2021.
Sayles made his return in December, competing for the first time in two years. He was submitted in that fight, getting finished in the second round by Jordan Leavitt.
Jairzinho Rozenstruick vs. Marcin Tybura Among Three Fights Targeted For UFC 273
UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view event is quickly gaining fights. The show recently got three more matchups added to the lineup, per reports.
Rozenstruick vs. Tybura Moved To PPV
UFC is currently targeting a heavyweight fight between Jairzinho Rozenstruick and Marcin Tybura to join the card, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.
The fight was initially planned for a February UFC show but is now being moved to early April. Both fighters will be attempting to bounce back from a loss.
Tybura had a five-fight winning streak snapped in October when Alexander Volkov beat him on scorecards.
Rozenstruick lost to fellow title contender Curtis Blaydes in September via unanimous decision.
Torres To Meet Dern At Strawweight
Ranked strawweights will meet on the card, as Tecia Torres will return against Mackenzie Dern. Torres revealed the matchup via social media on Wednesday.
Torres has been on a roll since 2020, attaining three consecutive wins. Her last victory came against another veteran in Angela Hill, who she beat via unanimous decision.
Dern had her momentum in the division stopped in October, as Marina Rodriguez beat her in a five-round main event bout. Before then, Dern had strung together a four-fight winning streak that included three first-round submission wins.
Gastelum Looks To Break Skid Against Imavov
Middleweight gatekeeper Kelvin Gastelum will return on the card when facing the rising name Nassourdine Imavov. Brett Okamoto of ESPN broke the matchup Wednesday night.
Gastelum lost two main event fights in 2021, going five rounds with former champ Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. He took the fight on short notice in both instances, replacing Paulo Costa twice.
Gastelum’s last victory was a decision over Ian Heinisch in February 2021.
Imavov is being given Gastelum after earning two finish wins last year. His last victory saw him stop Edmen Shahbazyan in the second round of their bout.
Preview
ONE Championship: Heavy Hitters
ONE Championship will kick off their 2022 schedule on Friday morning with an eight-fight “Heavy Hitters” card. The event was scheduled to be a much longer 12 fights, although COVID-19 protocols forced the event to change dramatically earlier in the week.
In the main event of Friday’s card, dominant champion Xiong Jing Nan will face Pancrase veteran Ayaka Miura.
A full preview of the show can be read at this link.
NOTE: There will not be a live coverage article for this show. However, a report will still be published to KnockdownNews.com later in the day.
Here’s the bout order:
Lead Card (6:30AM EST / 7:30PM SGT) (Bleacher Report App / Youtube)
Bout 1: 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)
Main Card (7:30AM EST / 8:30PM SGT) (Bleacher Report App / Youtube)
Bout 3: Beybulat Isaev vs. Giannis Stoforidis (225 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 4: Senzo Ikeda (12-6-1) vs. Elipitua Siregar (4-1) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Supergirl Jaroonsak Muaythai vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (125 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 6: James Nakashima (12-2) vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev (19-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Saemapetch Fairtex vs. Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 8: Xiong Jing Nan (16-2) vs. Ayaka Miura (11-3) (ONE MMA Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
LFA 121: Brown vs. Jones
LFA has an incredibly busy start to the new year planned. The promotion is scheduled to host numerous events in the coming weeks, with a few shows being their debut in some U.S. states.
Their 2022 schedule will kick off on Friday night when they present LFA 121 from The Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas, USA. The event was set to be headlined by lightweights Aaron McKenzie and Joshua Jones. However, after Jones said he couldn’t make the lightweight limit and the fighters couldn’t agree to a catchweight, their bout was removed from the card.
Instead, it will be welterweights Chris Brown and Steve Jones headlining the eight-fight card.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Here’s the lineup:
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Caleb Jensen (0-0) vs. Harrison Layne (0-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Zumar Archer (0-0) vs. Akeem Lewis (2-0) (Middleweight)
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 3: Siteu Senghor (2-0) vs. Jakori Savage (0-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 4: John Pham (4-2) vs. Anvar Boynazarov (2-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Isaiah Gutierrez (6-1) vs. Keeton Gorton (6-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Alden Coria (5-0) vs. Michael Cyr (3-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Elijah Johns (7-2) vs. Brandon Phillips (8-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Chris Brown (7-3) vs. Steve Jones (8-2) (Welterweight)
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