Knockdown Daily 3/27/22: Angela Lee Submits Stamp Fairtex In Return Fight
Angela Lee's return against Stamp Fairtex leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s a busy issue with lots of news to cover. Let’s begin.
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Angela Lee Submits Stamp Fairtex In Return, Defends ONE Belt For Fifth Time
Angela Lee had a successful return to the cage Saturday, submitting Stamp Fairtex to defend her ONE 115-pound MMA Championship for the fifth time.
Lee’s win headlined “ONE X,” which was a 10th-anniversary card held by ONE Championship at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Lee had a short but tough battle against Stamp, overcoming hard striking in the first round and using grappling to get the win.
Lee finished the fight in the second round with a rear naked choke. This came after a dominant round on the ground from the champ, attempting the more rare twister submission before getting the choke finish.
Stamp had Lee in trouble earlier in the battle, hurting her in the third minute of the bout with a punch to the body. Lee survived this moment, scoring a takedown to stop Stamp’s momentum on the feet.
Lee was returning after going on maternity leave for her first child. After the fight, she celebrated that she became ONE’s first mom-champ.
“This moment right here is a dream come true for me,” said Lee in her post-fight interview while holding her child.
Stamp had a long journey to get the title fight on Saturday. She fought through an eight-woman tournament in 2021, defeating Ritu Phogat in the grand finals to get the bout against Lee.
Adriano Moraes Submits Yuya Wakamatsu To Defend Belt ONE Championship Belt
Adriano Moraes defended his ONE 135-pound MMA Championship on Saturday night, catching Yuya Wakamatsu with a sudden guillotine choke in the third round of their fight.
Wakamatsu scored a takedown in the third round, although Moraes caught him with the choke on the way down. The referee called to end the bout shortly after.
The fight was a slow-paced battle before the finish, causing both fighters to take a yellow card and making the crowd boo the fight at times.
Moraes has now defended his belt twice in his current stint as a champ. He beat former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson in his previous appearance, stopping him with strikes last year.
Wakamatsu found himself in the title position after a long five-fight winning streak in recent years.
A full report on “ONE X” can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Part 1 (1:00AM EDT / 1:00PM SGT) (Youtube / Facebook)
Bout 1: Senzo Ikeda def. Ryuto Sawada via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Danielle Kelly vs. Mei Yamaguchi via Draw, Time Limit (Grappling Bout)
Bout 3: Kang Ji Won def. Paul Elliott via TKO, Strikes (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Amir Khan def. Ryogo Takahashi via Decision, Split (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Stephen Loman def. Shoko Sato via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Jeremy Miado def. Lito Adiwang via TKO, Injury (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Sinsamut Klinmee def. Nieky Holzken via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 8: Reinier de Ridder vs. Andre Galvao via Draw, Time Limit (Grappling Bout)
Bout 9: Chingiz Allazov def. Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Final) (155 lbs)
Part 2 (5:00AM EDT / 5:00PM SGT) (Youtube / Facebook)
Bout 10: Tang Kai def. Kim Jae Woong via TKO, Strikes (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 11: Jihin Radzuan def. Itsuki Hirata via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 12: Ham Seo Hee def. Denice Zamboanga via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 13: Hiroki Akimoto def. Capitan Petchyindee Academy via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Kickboxing Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 14: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao def. Felipe Lobo via TKO, Strikes (RD 3) (ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Grand Finale (8:00AM EDT / 8:00PM SGT) (ONE PPV)
Bout 15: Superbon Singha Mawynn def. Marat Grigorian via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Championship) (155 lbs)
Bout 16: Eduard Folayang def. John Wayne Parr via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 17: Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Shinya Aoki via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 18: Adriano Moraes def. Yuya Wakamatsu via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 3) (ONE MMA Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 19: Demetrious Johnson def. Rodtang Jitmuangnon via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2) (Muay Thai X MMA Special Rules Bout)
Bout 20: Angela Lee def. Stamp Fairtex via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2) (ONE MMA Atomweight Championship) (115 lbs)
Curtis Blaydes Stops Chris Daukaus With Punches, Calls For Interim Title Fight
Curtis Blaydes scored a sudden stoppage win in Saturday’s main event, finishing Chris Daukaus just moments into the second round of their fight.
The win for Blaydes headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Blaydes caught Daukaus clean with a right cross during an exchange that started the second round. Daukaus then shelled up on the ground and was later knocked out by follow-up shots by Blaydes.
Blaydes, a fighter that currently sits fourth in UFC’s heavyweight rankings, called for an interim title fight against Ciryl Gane during his post-fight interview.
“I’m thinking I deserve an interim title shot against Gane,” said Blaydes. He later also expressed interest in facing former titleholder Stipe Miocic, who was in attendance.
Blaydes’ previous fight was a decision victory against Jairzinho Rozenstruick last year. The veteran heavyweight has won four of his last five against some of the top names in the division.
Daukaus was attempting to bounce back from his first UFC loss, which came late last year against Derrick Lewis. Before then, he had four wins in the promotion.
Bryan Barberena, Matt Brown Earn ‘Fight of the Night’
Bryan Barberena’s close three-round brawl against veteran Matt Brown was given a “Fight of the Night” award for UFC’s Saturday night event. The award gives both fighters $50,000 on top of their previously negotiated fight purses.
Barberena pulled off a split decision win against Brown after three rounds. The close fight ended with a hectic exchange in the closing minute, as the welterweights battled through fatigue to land shots.
Chris Gutierrez and headliner Curtis Blaydes also got “Performance of the Night” bonuses worth $50,000 each.
Gutierrez scored one of the few stoppage wins on this card, landing a spinning backfist on Danaa Batgerel for a second-round finish on the prelims.
More details regarding UFC on ESPN+ 63 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 1: Luis Saldana def. Bruno Souza via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Matheus Nicolau def. David Dvorak via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Manon Fiorot def. Jennifer Maia via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Aliaskhab Khizriev def. Denis Tiuliulin via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:58)
Bout 5: Chris Gutierrez def. Danaa Batgerel via TKO, Strikes (RD 2. 2:34)
Bout 6: Sara McMann def. Karol Rosa via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (7:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 7: Marc Diakiese def. Viacheslav Borshchev via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Neil Magny def. Max Griffin via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Kai Kara-France def. Askar Askarov via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Bryan Barberena def. Matt Brown via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Alexa Grasso def. Joanne Wood via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:57)
Bout 12: Curtis Blaydes def. Chris Daukaus via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:17)
Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic Rebooked For May 14th UFC Card
A fight between ranked light heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic and former titleholder Jan Blachowicz is back on the schedule. The matchup is reportedly set to headline a UFC “Fight Night” card on May 14th, per Ariel Helwani.
The fight is expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
A fight between Rakic and Blachowicz was first booked for a late March card but was removed from that lineup after Blachowicz suffered an injury.
The booking gives Blachowicz a chance to earn a win for the first time since he dropped the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Glover Teixeira last year.
Rakic also has the opportunity to earn a massive win to boost his rise up the light heavyweight division. His last fight now dates back to over a year ago, defeating former title challenger Thiago Santos at UFC 259.
UFC Looking To Book Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland For July 30th Event
Former GLORY Kickboxing Champion Alex Pereira will get a big step-up in MMA competition later this year, facing ranked middleweight Sean Strickland at UFC’s July 30th card.
The fight has been verbally agreed upon and is in the process of being finalized, per a report from Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
A booking between Pereira and Strickland is the first booking to be mentioned for a July 30th date. The location of the event is not known at the moment.
Strickland is one of the fastest rising names at middleweight. He has earned five wins since October 2020, with two of those fights coming in the main event of a card. His last victory came last month, securing a split decision win over Jack Hermansson in a five-round battle.
Pereira, an accomplished kickboxer, has secured two wins since joining the UFC roster last year. His most recent victory came against the experienced Bruno Silva, who he beat via unanimous decision earlier this month.
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