Knockdown Daily 3/31/22: PFL Unveils Heavyweight, Featherweight Rosters
An update for the 2022 PFL Season leads the headlines for Thursday
Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Here are the top MMA stories to know before you get your day started.
News
PFL Announces 10-Fight Card Featuring Heavyweights, Featherweights For April 28th
PFL has announced the entire 10-fight lineup for their second regular season show of the year. The promotion’s heavyweight and featherweight divisions will return on April 28th when a card takes place from the eSports Arena in Arlington, Texas, USA.
In the main event of the card, 2021 PFL Heavyweight Champion Bruno Cappelozza will start his next season in a fight against Stuart Austin.
Cappelozza had a flawless 2021, scoring four consecutive wins in the promotion from the regular season to the grand finals. The fourth win in that run saw him capture PFL’s heavyweight title, going five rounds in a rematch against Ante Delija for a win.
Austin will be returning for his second PFL season. He fought once in 2021, getting finished by Renan Ferreira.
The featherweight field will have just one bout on the main card, as 2021 semi-finalist Brendan Loughnane will face promotional newcomer Ryoji Kudo.
Loughnane scored two wins in the regular season last year but was eliminated in the opening portion of the playoffs. Kudo is an experienced fighter from the Japanese MMA scene, having mostly fought on the regional scene in promotions like Shooto Japan.
Also on the main card, 2021 heavyweight finalist Ante Delija will start his 2022 campaign against “Dana White’s Contender Series” alum Matheus Scheffel. The main card is expected to open with a fight between Renan Ferreira and Jamelle Jones.
Notably absent from the card is former UFC fighter Fabricio Werdum, who competed in the 2021 PFL Season but did not make the playoffs. Also not in the lineup is 2021 PFL Featherweight Champion Movlid Khaybulaev.
Here’s the full lineup:
Main Card
Bout 10: Bruno Cappelozza (14-5) vs. Stuart Austin (15-7) (Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Brendan Loughnane (21-4) vs. Ryoji Kudo (10-2-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Ante Delija (19-5) vs. Matheus Scheffel (15-7) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Renan Ferreria (8-2) vs. Jamelle Jones (12-7) (Heavyweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 6: Lance Palmer (22-5) vs. Chris Wade (20-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Bubba Jenkins (16-5) vs. Jo Sungbin (9-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Denis Goltsov (27-7) vs. Sam Kei (8-5) (Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Ali Isaev (9-0) vs. Klidson Abreu (15-5) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Sheymon Moraes (13-5) vs. Boston Salmon (8-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Alejandro Flores (20-3) vs. Saba Bolaghi (14-2-1) (Featherweight)
Dricus Du Plessis Steps In To Face Kelvin Gastelum At UFC 273, Other Fight Added
Kelvin Gastelum isn’t leaving the UFC 273 lineup. The middleweight vet has been booked to face short-notice opponent Dricus Du Plessis at the promotion’s April 9th pay-per-view card, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Du Plessis is stepping in to replace Nassourdine Imavov, who reportedly exited his matchup against Gastelum earlier this week.
Du Plessis was previously booked to fight on this card against Chris Curtis, although their pairing was thrown out more than a week ago. Du Plessis has yet to lose in the UFC, having scored two finish wins since entering the promotion in 2020.
This matchup gives a tough test for Du Plessis, as Gastelum is the most experienced name he has faced thus far.
Gastelum has lost four of his last five fights, although he has been matched up against many high-level contenders in the welterweight division recently.
Fremd To Debut Against Hernandez
Regional stand-out Josh Fremd will reportedly get his UFC debut on the card as well, facing Anthony Hernandez at middleweight. News of this matchup was first reported by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Fremd earned a UFC contract in February with a submission win over Joel Bauman on an FAC card. That event was being shot for web-series “Dana White’s Lookin’ For A Fight,” and Fremd was one of the many fighters at that event that was offered a spot on the UFC roster afterward.
Hernandez was originally given two different matchups for this card before being matched against Fremd. His last victory was in early 2021, where he pulled off an upset submission win over Rodolfo Vieira.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Johnny Elben Announced For June 24th Bellator Card
A previously reported fight between Bellator Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi and undefeated contender Johnny Eblen now has a date.
The matchup between Mousasi and Eblen has been announced for a June 24th Bellator card at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Eblen will be putting his flawless pro record on the line when challenging for the belt. He has climbed up Bellator’s 185-pound ranks over the past couple of years, scoring seven wins in the promotion. His most recent victory came just earlier this month against former title challenger and UFC vet John Salter.
Mousasi, currently on his second reign as Bellator champ, will be looking to defend his belt for the third time. He had a quick win in his last outing, finishing Austin Vanderford in less than two minutes with strikes in February.
Invicta FC Champ Emily Ducote To Face Alesha Zappitella At May 11th Card
Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Alesha Zappitella will get a crack at the strawweight division in May, facing 115-pound champ Emily Ducote. Their fight is scheduled to headline Invicta FC 47 on May 11th.
The location for the event is not known at the moment.
Zappitella was Invicta FC’s 105-pound champ for over a year, first gaining the belt in a decision victory against Ashley Cummins two years back. While she defended the belt against Jessica Delboni last year, Zappitella has since lost in a rematch to her. The long-time atomweight will be moving up a weight class for the upcoming title fight.
Ducote enters the matchup with the goal of defending her strawweight belt for the first time. She scored an emphatic win when gaining the vacant belt last year, landing a first-round head kick knockout against Danielle Taylor at Invicta FC 44. That was her second consecutive win in the promotion.
More on the card can be read here.
Here’s the lineup:
Bout 6: Emily Ducote (10-6) vs. Alesha Zappitella (9-3) (Invicta FC Strawweight Championship)
Bout 5: Courtney King (4-2) vs. Chelsea Chandler (3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Lindsey VanZant (7-5) vs. Jillian DeCoursey (4-3) (Atomweight)
Bout 3: Lisa Verzosa (6-2) vs. Serena DeJesus (4-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Janaisa Morandin (10-4) vs. Liana Pirosin (7-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Jennifer Chieng (1-1) vs. Alyssa Linduska (0-0) (Strawweight)
Julian Marquez Set For Return Against Wellington Turman At June 18th UFC Card
Julian Marquez is expected to make his return at UFC’s June 18th event, facing Wellington Turman in a middleweight fight. Their matchup was first reported by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
Marquez had a strong start to 2021, earning two wins in the first four months of the year. After submitting Maki Pitolo at UFC 258, Marquez followed that up two months later by stopping veteran Sam Alvey.
He later struggled to return in the second half of 2021 and earlier this year. He has previously been booked for two fights, although they have both not happened due to him withdrawing ahead of time.
Turman is taking the booking against Marquez after scoring a submission victory last month, catching Misha Cirkunov with an armbar. A win in June would be Turman’s third consecutive time emerging victorious.
Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento Moved To May 14th UFC Card
Jake Hadley’s UFC debut against Allan Nascimento has been re-booked and is now expected to take place at UFC’s May 14th event. News of the new date for the bout was first reported by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Netherland earlier this week.
A fight between Hadley and Nascimento was first booked for March. However, that iteration of the fight didn’t happen due to Hadley suffering an injury.
Hadley is an undefeated flyweight with eight pro wins. He earned a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year, scoring a submission victory against Mitch Raposo. Earlier appearances in his career include a bout in Bellator and a title fight in Cage Warriors.
Nascimento will be fighting to bounce back from an unsuccessful UFC debut. His first appearance for the promotion came in October 2021, where he lost a split decision to Tagir Ulanbekov.
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!