Knockdown Daily 1/2/23: RIZIN, Cage Warriors Close Out Their 2022s
The final events of 2022 lead the MMA headlines for Monday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes a quick catch-up from New Year’s Eve headlines, plus the first stories that have come out of 2023.
What’s New
A collaborative New Year’s Eve card between RIZIN and Bellator took place from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this weekend.
Bellator prevailed in all five of their promotion vs. promotion matchups against RIZIN, with fighters AJ McKee Jr., Patricio Pitbull, Kyoji Horiguchi, Juan Archuleta and Gadzhi Rabadanov picking up wins.
All of the fights, which were held under RIZIN rules and using the promotion’s scoring system, went the distance and relied on judges to decide who won. Many of the fights were quite close after 15 minutes of action.
Earlier in the evening, Seika Izawa snuck by Park Si-woo in a close split decision result to win the RIZIN Super Atomweight Grand Prix. The fight was Izawa’s fourth victory of the year and moved her record to an undefeated nine wins since her 2021 debut.
Lower on the card, veteran John Dodson won his RIZIN debut against Hideo Tokoro. In his first appearance since a six-fight UFC run, Rogerio Bontorin suffered a first-rounds finish loss against Yuki Motoya.
It was also announced during the event that decorated boxer Manny Pacquiao will compete inside RIZIN next year. The opponent, ruleset or date for Pacquiao’s appearance is not known at the moment.
Cage Warriors also held an event on New Year’s Eve from the Indigo at the O2 in London, England.
UFC alum Modestas Bukauskas claimed the promotion’s vacant 185-pound belt in the main event, catching Chuck Campbell in the fourth round with punches. The fight was his second appearance since departing the UFC roster last year.
Christian Leroy Duncan, an undefeated champion who was supposed to be on the card but didn’t compete after opponent Jesse Taylor was removed from the event, announced that he has signed a contract with the UFC.
Duncan has a flawless record of seven since since turning pro in 2020. He earned the Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship in April, and defended the belt once later in the year.
UFC lightweight Damir Ismagulov suddenly announced his retirement from MMA on Sunday. Ismagulov stated in a social media post that health issues is what has caused his retirement from the sport.
Ismagulov, 31, took his first UFC loss last month, dropping a unanimous decision to rising contender Arman Tsarukyan. Before then he had an undefeated streak that dated back to 2015, including five fights in the UFC.
Rising bantamweight Adrian Yanez has been paired up against Rob Font for UFC’s April 8th event, per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Yanez has strung together five wins since joining the UFC roster, with most of those victories coming via finish. His last win was in June when he stopped rival Tony Kelley in the first round with strikes.
Font will be trying to break a two-fight skid. He has struggled as of late against the division’s top names, including Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera.
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