Knockdown Daily 1/8/23: ONE Championship Fighter Victoria Lee Dead At 18
The passing of Victoria Lee leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue will be a catch-up from the past two days of news stories.
What’s New
18-year-old ONE Championship fighter Victoria Lee passed away on December 26th. Victoria’s passing was announced by her sister and fellow fighter Angela Lee on Saturday. The cause of her death is not known at the moment.
“She has gone too soon and our family has been completely devastated since then,” said Angela in an Instagram post. “We miss her. More than anything in this world. Our family will never be the same. Life will never be the same.”
Lee had a strong showing in her rookie year as an MMA fighter, stopping three opponents in 2021. She had a big spotlight put on her career from the start, as her brother Christian and sister Angela had both previously earned championships in ONE.
Felipe Bunes became the new LFA Flyweight Champion on Friday night, earning a first-round finish victory against Yuma Horiuchi to earn the promotion’s vacant belt.
The fight headlined LFA 149, which took place at the Gila River Resort & Casino in Chandler, Arizona, USA.
Bunes dropped Horiguchi in the fourth minute of their bout with a clean left hook. The fight continued for a few brief moments, where he landed ground and pound shots that eventually forced a finish to the bout. Bunes’ record is now 13 wins and six losses.
Bellator has announced a series of new matchups for their February 4th card from the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, USA.
A total of 14 bouts are now set for the card, including the retirement bout of Fedor Emelianenko and the first title defense for middleweight titleholder Johnny Eblen.
Undefeated Bellator newcomer Ali Isaev, former champion Darrion Caldwell, and veteran Lorenz Larkin are among the new names to join the card. The full lineup can be seen in MMA Fighting’s recent report.
Undefeated 20-year-old lightweight Francisco Prado will make his UFC debut at the promotion’s February 11th pay-per-view, facing Jamie Mullarkey. Gaston Reyno first reported the bout.
Prado, a fighter from Argentina, is entering the UFC with a flawless record of 11 wins. He defended his regional belt just last month, stopping Jose Barrios Vargas in just over a minute with strikes.
A trio of fights has joined UFC’s February 25th show:
Alex Reyes will make his first appearance since 2017, taking on UFC newcomer Trevor Peek, as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Reyes’ last UFC bout was his debut, which he lost to Mike Perry. Peek is debuting after earning his seventh win this fall, appearing on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Tatiana Suarez’s return is back on the UFC schedule. The undefeated strawweight will make her sixth UFC appearance next month, meeting Montana De La Rosa. The bout was announced by De La Rosa this week.
Riding a three-fight winning streak which includes a win from “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Jose Johnson will take on Garrett Armfield. Armfield will be trying to bounce back from an unsuccessful UFC debut.
Esteban Ribovics, a “Contender Series” alum with a flawless record of 11 wins, will make his first UFC appearance against Kamuela Kirk.
Rising featherweights Lerone Murphy and Nathaniel Wood have been paired up for UFC 286 on March 18th, per Al Zullino.
Murphy has yet to lose since joining the UFC, attaining three wins and one draw since 2019.
Wood is coming off a strong 2022 that saw him defeat Charles Rosa and Charles Jourdain.
A fight between Jai Herbert and Ludovit Klein has also joined UFC 286, as reported Friday by Marcel Dorff.
Herbert returned to the win column in his last appearance, defeating Kyle Nelson on scorecards. Klein had a clean two consecutive wins in 2022, beating Devonte Smith and Mason Jones.
Cynthia Calvillo will return to strawweight on April 8th to take on Loopy Godinez, as first reported by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes.
Calvillo’s last strawweight bout dates back to late 2019. She has since fought at flyweight, attaining one win and four losses.
Godinez will be fighting to bounce back from a decision loss that she took against Angela Hill earlier this year.
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