Knockdown Daily 1/8/23: A Look At The Week Ahead
We take a look at the week ahead in the Monday edition
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes the latest news, a preview of this week’s upcoming events, and an important message to readers of the newsletter.
What’s New
Thiago Moises has received a new opponent for UFC 283 later this month. The UFC is currently looking to pair him up against promotional newcomer Melquizael Costa, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Costa has a record of 19 wins and five losses. He won in the main event of an LFA card in his last appearance, stopping Junior Melo with strikes.
Moises was originally scheduled to face Guram Kutateladze at UFC 283.
Nurullo Aliev will make his UFC debut on February 25th against Rafael Alves, Nolan King of MMA Junkie is reporting.
Aliev earned a UFC contract on the most recent season of “Dana White’s Contender Series,” scoring a first-round finish over Josh Wick. The bout moved his undefeated record to eight wins since his 2018 debut.
Alves will be fighting to bounce back from a stoppage loss he took against Drew Dober this year.
Four-time Bellator alum Keith Lee has helped revive the business of a restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Lee, who has gained an audience of more than seven million followers on TikTok, has become a notable food critic online. His recent review of Vegas pizzeria Frankenson’s helped a business that had “almost no customers” experience a massive rush this week.
“I’ve sold more lemon pepper wings in the last two days than I have in the past four months,” said Frank Steele, the owner of Frankenson’s, in an interview with KTNV Las Vegas.
Lee’s growth on TikTok has caught the attention of many. MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin has recently written a profile on him. So has Narcity.
A Look At The Week Ahead
Friday
ONE on Prime Vido 6: Superbon vs. Allazov
ONE Championship’s 2023 schedule will kick off from Thailand on Friday evening. Their first event of the year will include two kickboxing title bouts, plus a grappling contest. Superbon Singha Mawynn will attempt to defend his ONE 145-pound belt for the second time in the main event, taking on 2022 grand prix winner Chingiz Allazov.
Location: Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand
Postlims (Youtube)
Bout 9: Anna Jaroonsak vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (125 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 8: Kim Jae Woong (13-6) vs. Shoko Sato (33-15-2) (150 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Main Card (8:00PM EST / 8:00AM ICT) (Prime Video)
Bout 7: Superbon Singha Mawynn vs. Chingiz Allazov (ONE Kickboxing Featherweight Championship) (155 lbs)
Bout 6: Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Daniel Puertas (Vacant ONE Kickboxing Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 5: Mikey Musumeci vs. Gantumur Bayanduuren (ONE Grappling Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 4: Stamp Fairtex vs. Anissa Meksen (115 lbs) (Mixed Rules Bout)
Bout 3: Aung La N Sang (28-13) vs. Gilberto Galvao (30-7-1) (215 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Yibu Jiduo (135 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 1: Garry Tonon (6-1) vs. Johnny Nunez (7-2) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)
LFA 150: Farias vs. Sweeney
LFA will celebrate its 150th event this weekend with a card from Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA. The event will be headlined by bantamweight prospects Ary Farias and John Sweeney. Rising talent like Quang Le, Thomas Petersen, Mark Climaco, Jalin Fuller and others will also feature on the card.
Location: Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 15: Ary Farias (12-3) vs. John Sweeney (11-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 14: Thomas Petersen (6-1) vs. Richard Foster (6-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 13: Miguel Sanson (4-0) vs. Mark Climaco (7-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 12: Scott Writz (6-2) vs. Jalin Fuller (6-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 11: Wes Schultz (3-0) vs. Dylan Budka (4-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Quang Le (4-0) vs. Henry Huff (4-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 9: Mitchell McKee (3-0) vs. Ira Lukowsky (3-1) (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 8: Santos Verdinez (1-0) vs. Darius Miller (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Gary Konkol (5-2) vs. Isaac Thomson (2-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 6: Jackson McVey (0-0) vs. Deven Paulsen (5-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Dominic St. George (1-0) vs. Dominic Dagostino (1-1) (Amateur Featherweight)
Bout 4: Shamar Williams (4-1) vs. Saw Dah (4-1) (Amateur Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Noah Gasho (1-0) vs. Moy Medina (0-0) (Amateur Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Scott Zeller (1-1) vs. Brady Steinhorst (1-1) (Amateur Welterweight)
Bout 1: Zach Gehl (3-0) vs. Darren Coleman (4-0) (Amateur Featherweight)
Saturday
UFC on ESPN+ 75: Imavov vs. Gastelum
UFC’s year will begin this Saturday with a “Fight Night” from their studio in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Nassourdine Imavov will get his first-ever UFC main event appearance on Saturday night, taking on veteran Kelvin Gastelum in a five-round middleweight bout.
Notable names like Dan Ige, Raquel Pennington, Umar Nurmagomedov and Raoni Barcelos are also set for the main card. The prelims will include many fresh faces to the UFC, like newcomers Mateus Mendonca and Nick Fiore.
Location: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 4:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 2)
Bout 12: Kelvin Gastelum (17-8) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (12-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: Dan Ige (15-6) vs. Damon Jackson (22-4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Punahele Soriano (9-2) vs. Roman Kopylov (9-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Ketlen Vieira (13-2) vs. Raquel Pennington (14-8) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Umar Nurmagomedov (15-0) vs. Raoni Barcelos (17-3) (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EST / 1:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 2)
Bout 7: Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-5) vs. Claudi Ribeiro (10-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Mateusz Rebecki (16-1) vs. Nick Fiore (6-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Mateus Mendonca (10-) vs. Javid Basharat (13-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Allan Nascimento (19-6) vs. Carlos Hernandez (8-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Dan Argueta (8-1) vs. Isaac Dulgarian (5-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Jimmy Flick (16-5) vs. Charles Johnson (12-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Priscila Cachoeira (12-4) vs. Sijara Eubanks (7-7) (Bantamweight)
A Note To Readers
Hello readers of the Knockdown Daily newsletter. I’m writer and reporter Jack Wannan.
I’m writing to announce that Knockdown News, along with the Knockdown Daily newsletter will be on pause indefinitely.
Today, I am beginning a six-week internship program at CBC’s Front Burner podcast. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and hope to give it 100% of my effort so I can learn and become a better journalist.
Focusing on the internship fully means that my work for Knockdown News will have to be paused. I am leaving this break as indefinite so that there is more flexibility regarding when it can return — for example, I don’t want to tell you I’ll be on break for six weeks, then, later on, realize I have to take more time away. That’s not fair to you.
I hope you are understanding of my decision. It has been a pleasure to report on MMA through the website and newsletter for just under three full years. If you want to get in contact during this break, I can always be reached via email (jackwannancanada@gmail.com) or Twitter (@JackWannan).
Thank you for reading this newsletter and supporting independent journalism.
Jack
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