Knockdown Daily 3/26/22: Ozzy Diaz Stops Bruno Assis Within A Round To Earn LFA Belt
Ozzy Diaz's win over Bruno Assis leads the MMA headlines for Saturday
Welcome to the Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue has results from Friday and a preview for the top events set to happen in the coming hours. Let’s begin.
News
Ozzy Diaz Drops Bruno Assis Three Times To Earn LFA Middleweight Championship
Ozzy Diaz scored three knockdowns in one round against Bruno Assis to claim the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship on Friday night.
Diaz’s win headlined LFA 127, which took place at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, California, USA.
Diaz’s first knockdown came in the third minute of their fight, as Assis seemingly hit the canvas due to a jab. Things picked back up in the final minute of the round, as Assis was floored with a right hook. He returned to his feet but was dropped by an overhand right from Diaz just moments later to end the bout.
Diaz, a former Bellator fighter, now has five consecutive wins on his record. All of his pro fights through eight appearances have all come via finish, with his longest bout lasting just longer than seven minutes in total.
The previous LFA Middleweight Champion, Bruno Souza, vacated his belt last year after he joined the UFC roster.
Assis was given the title fight after earning three wins in recent months. He most notably gave Jalin Fuller his first pro loss late last year, defeating him at LFA 120.
More details on LFA 127 can be read here.
Here are the main card results:
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Giovanna Canuto def. Jasmine Pouncy via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:28)
Bout 6: Arnold Jimenez def. Josh Wang-Kim via Disqualification, Illegal Strike (RD 3, 0:55)
Bout 7: Wascar Cruz def. Karlee Pangilinan via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:25)
Bout 8: Junior Melo def. Tommy Aaron via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:37)
Bout 9: Chase Gibson def. Javier Garcia via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Ozzy Diaz def. Bruno Assis via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:53) (Vacant LFA Middleweight Championship)
Undefeated Adam Keresh Earns Heavyweight Contract For 2022 PFL Regular Season
Adam Keresh earned a heavyweight contract for the 2022 PFL Regular Season on Friday night after a successful performance at the promotion’s “Challenger Series” show.
Keresh was selected over fellow finalist Marcelo Nunes along with successful fighters Daiqwon Buckley and Giacomo Lemos for the contract on Friday night.
Keresh’s victory on the card was a finish win against Chad Johnson in the first round. The bout came to an end after Keresh landed a damaging punch on the ground that flattened Johnson.
Johnson dropped from all fours to laying on the ground as a punch to the head from Keresh landed. This sudden shot, which looked to have landed near the right eye of Johnson, caused the referee to step in and end the fight as Johnson looked alarmingly hurt suddenly.
Keresh now has five wins as a pro, including three previous appearances in Bellator.
Johnson, a former LFA and “Dana White’s Contender Series” competitor, is now on a three-fight losing streak.
Further results from the most recent “Challenger Series” episode can be seen at this link.
Previews
ONE X
ONE Championship will celebrate its 10th anniversary in grand fashion on Saturday night. At “ONE X,” the Singapore-based promotion is scheduled to present a stacked 20-bout lineup that includes numerous title fights and many of their current top stars.
The show, which starts in the afternoon and goes late into the evening in Singapore, is set to be headlined by a title fight between Stamp Fairtex and the returning Angela Lee.
The card is currently underway, with the top fights happening later this morning. A preview of the event can be read here.
Here’s the lineup:
Part 1 (1:00AM EDT / 1:00PM SGT) (Youtube / Facebook)
Bout 1: Ryuto Sawada (14-7-1) vs. Senzo Ikeda (13-6-1) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Mei Yamaguchi vs. Danielle Kelly (115 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
Bout 3: Kang Ji Won (5-1) vs. Paul Elliott (3-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Amir Khan (13-8) vs. Ryogo Takahashi (14-5) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Stephen Loman (15-2) vs. Shoko Sato (32-14-2) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Jeremy Miado (10-4) vs. Lito Adiwang (13-4) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Nieky Holzken vs. Sinsamut Klinmee (170 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 8: Reinier de Ridder vs. Andre Galvao (205 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
Bout 9: Chingiz Allazov vs. Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Final) (155 lbs)
Part 2 (5:00AM EDT / 5:00PM SGT) (Youtube / Facebook)
Bout 10: Kim Jae Woong (12-4) vs. Tang Kai (13-2) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 11: Itsuki Hirata (5-0) vs. Jihin Radzuan (7-2) (115 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 12: Ham Seo Hee (24-8) vs. Denice Zamboanga (8-1) (115 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 13: Capitan Petchyindee Academy vs. Hiroki Akimoto (ONE Kickboxing Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 14: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao vs. Felipe Lobo (ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Grand Finale (8:00AM EDT / 8:00PM SGT) (ONE PPV)
Bout 15: Superbon Banchamek vs. Marat Grigorian (ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Championship) (155 lbs)
Bout 16: Eduard Folayang vs. John Wayne Parr (170 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 17: Shinya Aoki (47-9) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (15-7) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 18: Adriano Moraes (19-3) vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (15-4) (ONE MMA Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 19: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Demetrious Johnson (Muay Thai X MMA Special Rules Bout)
Bout 20: Angela Lee (10-2) vs. Stamp Fairtex (8-1) (ONE MMA Atomweight Championship) (115 lbs)
UFC on ESPN+ 63: Blaydes vs. Daukaus
UFC’s “Fight Night” series will hit the road in the U.S. for the first time in more than a year this weekend. The promotion will present a 13-fight card on Saturday night when they head to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
In the main event, heavyweight prospect Chris Daukaus will fight to bounce back from his sole UFC loss. That won’t be easy for him, as his opponent is veteran fighter Curtis Blaydes.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Here’s how the bout order looks:
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 1: Luis Saldana (15-7) vs. Bruno Souza (10-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: David Dvorak (20-3) vs. Matheus Nicolau (17-2-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Jennifer Maia (19-8-1) vs. Manon Fiorot (8-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-0) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (10-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Danaa Batgerel (12-2) vs. Chris Gutierrez (17-3-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Sara McMann (12-6) vs. Karol Rosa (15-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Neil Magny (25-8) vs. Max Griffin (18-8) (Welterweight)
Main Card (7:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 8: Marc Diakiese (14-5) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (6-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Aleksei Oleinik (59-16-1) vs. Ilir Latifi (15-8) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Askar Askarov (14-0-1) vs. Kai Kara-France (23-9) (Flyweight)
Bout 11: Matt Brown (23-18) vs. Bryan Barberena (16-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 12: Joanne Wood (15-7) vs. Alexa Grasso (13-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 13: Curtis Blaydes (15-3) vs. Chris Daukaus (12-4) (Heavyweight)
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