Welcome back to the Knockdown Daily newsletter. The next few issues will be catching you up on MMA news, providing some end-of-year reflection content, and getting you ready for the New Year’s Eve action that is scheduled to take place.
Today’s issue will include a catchup of all of the news that took place since our break. It will also feature a recap of recent articles on KnockdownNews.com.
What’s New
Here are all of the headlines from the past week or so.
December 19
A fight between high-level middleweights Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa has been removed from UFC 284, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN. The fight was previously in the process of being made, but negotiations reportedly fell apart and stopped the fight from being finalized. Reports suggest that it was issues on Costa’s side of the negotiations that prevented the fight from being completely made.
Nasrat Haqparast also recently revealed on social media that an injury has forced him out of his UFC 284 bout against Jamie Mullarkey.
Veteran Ovince St. Preux has been booked to meet Philipe Lins in a heavyweight bout on February 18th, as first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. Both fighters snapped losing streaks with a win in 2022.
December 20
Appearing for the first time since losing a title fight, Taila Santos will meet Erin Blanchfield at UFC’s February 18th card. Blanchfield has picked up four consecutive UFC wins, including a recent submission win over Molly McCann. Blanchfield announced the matchup during an interview with Morning Kombat.
December 21
The price of UFC pay-per-views will increase once again in the U.S. market, with the price going up by five dollars as of next month. UFC 283 will cost a total of $79.99, as first reported by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal.
UFC PPVs have seen four increases since the promotion moved to ESPN in early 2019. The price of ESPN+, a subscription service that allows viewers to catch the majority of UFC “Fight Night” events, has also undergone increases in recent years.
Johnny Bedford, a five-time UFC fighter, announced his retirement from combat sports this month.
The 39-year-old spent a recent chunk of his career competing in bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC, claiming their bantamweight title last year.
MMA veteran Chael Sonnen is expected to appear in a Nevada court on April 5th to begin trial for four misdemeanor battery charges. The charges allege that Sonnen attacked numerous people during an incident at a Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 18th, 2021.
A strawweight bout between Loma Lookboonmee and Elise Reed has been moved to UFC 284 on February 11th, as announced by the promotion. The bout was reportedly originally scheduled to take place at the promotion’s “Fight Night” card a week earlier.
Both aiming to get back into the win column, flyweights Ariane Lipski and JJ Aldrich will meet at UFC’s March 11th event. Meni Mayer of MMA Ideas was the first to report the fight.
December 22
Middleweight Deron Winn was cut from the UFC roster days after his matchup against Julian Marquez was pulled from a “Fight Night” card. Winn’s December 17th booking was thrown out after Winn collapsed at the UFC Performance Institute and fell down a flight of stairs, an incident that he described as a “freak accident.”
Winn’s sudden departure from the UFC roster was first reported by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. Winn is leaving with a promotional record of two wins and three losses.
A clash between high-ranked flyweights Kai Kara-France and Alex Perez became one of the most recent departures from UFC 284 recently. Kara-France said in a social media post that an injury forced him out of the booking.
Blagoy Ivanov will return on February 4th, facing Marcin Tybura in a heavyweight booking. Both talents are coming off a win from 2022. John Morgan of The Underground broke the story first.
Julian Marquez will search for his first victory since 2021 when he fights Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 285, per his management team.
December 23
Bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera are expected to headline UFC’s February 18th main event, as announced by the promotion last week.
Sandhagen snapped a two-fight skid in his last appearance, scoring a fourth-round finish win over Song Yadong. His previous losses came against former or current champions, having fought both TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan in 2021.
Vera has been on the rise since 2021, having earned four consecutive wins. His last victory came against Dominick Cruz, which saw him pick up a fourth-round head kick stoppage.
On the hunt for his fourth consecutive win, Manel Kape will meet Alex Perez in a flyweight bout, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. Kape earned his third UFC victory at the promotion’s last event of 2022, overcoming David Dvorak on scorecards. Perez will be looking for his first win since 2020, with losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Alexandre Pantoja since then.
Fighting for the first time in over a year, Sijara Eubanks will return to bantamweight for a fight against Priscila Cachoeira on January 14th. Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting broke the news of the fight first.
Flyweight Jake Hadley will have home-field advantage over Malcolm Gordon at UFC 286, as he will face him at the O2 Arena in London, England. Aaron Bronsteter of TSN reported the match.
December 24
Stephan Bonnar, a finalist in the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” passed away on December 22nd due to “presumed heart complications,” per an announcement from the UFC.
Bonnar, 45, had a UFC career of 15 fights from 2005 to 2012. His first bout against Forrest Griffin in the grand final of “The Ultimate Fighter” is widely recognized as one of the most prolific fights in MMA history.
December 26
Michel Pereira will put his five-fight winning streak on the line on March 25th, facing Sean Brady in a welterweight bout. Brady suffered his first pro loss this year, taking a defeat to Belal Muhammad. The booking was revealed during an interview between Pereira and PVT.
UFC flyweight Jeff Molina has been given a suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, per David Purdum and Marc Raimondi of ESPN. The reason for suspension and the length of his suspension is unknown at the moment, but are expected to be discussed at the athletic commission’s next monthly meeting.
Molina has long been coached by James Krause, who is currently under investigation due to problematic gambling practices in the sport.
December 27
Bellator’s first event of 2023, Bellator 290, has undergone some changes.
Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov has withdrawn from his bout against Yoel Romero due to undisclosed reasons. The fight was scheduled to be Romero’s first title fight since joining the Bellator roster in 2021.
Since that change, a middleweight title bout has been added to the card. Undefeated titleholder Johnny Eblen will look to defend his belt for the first time when appearing against Anatoly Tokov.
Tokov will be appearing in his first Bellator title fight after attaining seven consecutive wins in the promotion.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN was the first to report the changes in Bellator 290’s lineup.
A heavyweight title bout between Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko is still expected to headline the card.
Heavyweight Jared Vanderaa revealed Tuesday that he is no longer on the UFC roster. He is parting ways with the promotion after suffering five consecutive losses since 2021.
Sara McMann announced that she has joined the Bellator roster, making the move after a 13-fight UFC run from 2013 to 2022.
December 28
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, an MMA veteran that had a lengthy UFC run and appearances in Strikeforce and EliteXC, has retired from MMA. His retirement comes after losing seven consecutive fights in the sport, plus losses in various other combat sports.
“I’ll leave the sport professionally,” said Silva in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I have wife and kids and people to take care of, people I love and that love me.”
Ranked middleweights Dricus Du Plessis and Derek Brunson will meet at UFC 285 in March, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN. Du Plessis has remained undefeated in the UFC through four appearances.
Former CFFC Featherweight Champion and “Dana White’s Contender Series” alum Blake Bilder will make his UFC debut in February, taking on Shane Young at UFC 284. The fight, which was first reported by Alexander K. Lee and Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, will be Young’s first appearance since March 2021.
Columns
Here are some of the latest long-form articles published on Knockdown News. Click the headline of any story to read the full article.
Knockdown News 2022 Fighter of the Year: Alex Pereira. After scoring three wins, claiming a belt and beating a rival for the third time, Alex Pereira stood out from the pack of champions this year and made him the best contender for “Fighter of the Year.” A full biography on his 2022 can be read here.
The 2022 Knockdown News Fighter of the Year Nominees: This year, Knockdown News had a list of five “Fighter of the Year” nominees, along with five other honorable mentions. The list, which is a celebration of excellence around the globe in MMA this year, can be read here.
2022: 12 Months, 12 Thoughts: Reflecting on 2022 one last time, we went through the months and generated one takeaway from each. Some months are about the biggest story from that time period, while others are just about interesting observations. You can give it a look here.
Stay Connected
Twitter: @JackWannan - Follow the site: @KnockdownNews
Reading this update on a browser? Sign up for free with your email to get the newsletter sent to you right as it drops!