Knockdown Daily 4/2/22: Ben Rothwell Released By UFC
Ben Rothwell's release from the UFC roster leads the MMA headlines for Saturday
Welcome to the Saturday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s a busy issue, as we’re recapping the top stories from the past 48 hours.
News
Ben Rothwell Released By UFC, Out of Upcoming Fight
Heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell has been released from the UFC roster and pulled from his upcoming bout against Alexander Gustafsson.
Rothwell’s departure from the UFC roster was first reported by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting on Thursday.
Rothwell was previously booked to appear at UFC’s May 21st card against Gustafsson. It’s not known at the moment why he has suddenly been released from the promotion.
Rothwell fought on the UFC roster for over a decade, attaining nine wins through 17 appearances from 2009 to 2021.
Rothwell headlined a card in 2016, losing a fight to Junior dos Santos. He also put together a four-fight winning streak from 2013 to 2016, including wins over Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.
The 40-year-old fighter suffered a stoppage loss in his last fight, getting finished in 32 seconds by Marcos Rogerio de Lima.
Billy Goff Stops Justin Sumter, Earns Second CES Championship
Billy Goff became a two-division CES champion on Friday night, securing a second-round stoppage win against Justin Sumter to win his second title fight within a month’s time.
Goff’s win headlined CES 67 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut, USA on Friday night.
Goff finished the fight from side control in the second round, unloading a long series of elbows to the head until the referee stopped the fight. Goff hurt Sumter earlier in the round with a quick flurry of punches on the feet.
Sumter succeeded in the opening round, taking Goff down and unloading with ground and pound.
Goff became the CES Welterweight Champion last month, stopping Gary Balletto Jr. in the first round with strikes. He stepped in on this card on just a week’s notice, replacing former UFC fighter Eric Spicely to fight for the CES Middleweight Championship.
Donning two belts on his shoulders, Goff called for a fight in the UFC.
“I need those big-league checks. Give me a call,” said Goff in his post-fight interview.
Sumter was coming off a successful return to CES from last year, defeating Albert Tadevosyan in his last bout.
More information on CES 67 can be read here.
Here are the quick results from the main card:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Harris Bonfiglio def. Jason Huntley via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 0:42)
Bout 2: Mike Kimbel def. Tristan Lindi via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:04)
Bout 3: Eddy George def. Emiliano Calderon Decision, Split
Bout 4: Yuri Panferov def. Mus’Aib Baiyina via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 2:26)
Bout 5: Armus Guyton def. Pat Casey via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:33)
Bout 6: Azjavkhlan Baatar def. Johnny Lopez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Billy Goff def. Justin Sumter via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:13) (Vacant CES Middleweight Champion)
Justin Burlinson Submits Daniel Skibinski In Return To Cage Warriors
Justin Burlinson scored a comeback win over Daniel Skibinski in their main event fight, submitting him in the second round with a guillotine choke.
The win for Burlinson headlined Cage Warriors 135, which took place at the BEC Arena in Manchester, England on Friday night.
Burlinson had to get past some early troubles to secure the submission victory.
Skibinski hurt Burlinson in the opening round, coming forward with combinations of straight punches that connected clean. He carried this success into the second round, scoring some control time on Burlinson early in the round.
Burlinson started to hurt Skibinski with punches of his own in the second round. The finish for the fight came as he pulled guard with a guillotine choke, taking the bout to the ground. The fight was stopped moments after due to a tap from Skibinski.
The fight on Friday put Burlinson back into the win column after taking his sole pro loss last year. That defeat came on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” where he lost to now-UFC fighter Yohan Lainesse.
Skibinski was making his Cage Warriors debut in the fight, coming off a recent loss on a UAE Warriors card. That fight, which was against Tahir Abdullaev, put an end to an extensive winning streak.
Full results for Cage Warriors 135 can be read here.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM BST)
Bout 1: Ander Sanchez def. Connor Wilson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:30)
Bout 2: Ryan Shelley def. Magdi Gereev via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:12)
Bout 3: Caolan Loughran def. Bakhtyaar Oryakhail via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:29)
Bout 4: James Sheehan def. Karol Michalak via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:18)
Bout 5: Hugo Guillon vs. Matthew Byfield via No Contest, Unintentional Foul (RD 2, 2:57)
Bout 6: Federico Pasquali def. Paull McBain via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:17)
Bout 7: Omiel Brown def. Dan Hepworth via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:31)
Bout 8: Adam Shelley def. Steven Hooper via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:21)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST)
Bout 9: Liam Gittins def. Edward Walls via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Guiseppe Ruggeri def. Dean Trueman via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Milad Ahady def. Antonio Sheldon via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Matthew Bonner def. Hugo Pereira via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 0:51)
Bout 13: Justin Burlinson def. Daniel Skibinski via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 4:54)
Alexei Pergande Earns PFL Contract Following Pro Debut
Lightweight Alexei Pergande won a PFL contract after a successful pro debut on the seventh episode of the “Challenger Series,” which aired on Friday night.
Pergande beat semi-finalist Andrija Stankovic along with three other successful fighters to get the contract. The theme for this week’s episode was debuting fighters, meaning all 10 names on the card were fighting as a pro for the first time.
Pergande was the sole fighter to score a submission win on the card, catching Joe Hamm with a submission.
Pergande’s smothering ground performance against Joe Hamm came to an end in the second round, securing an arm triangle choke to end the fight.
Pergande dominated the fight on the ground prior to the submission finish.
Pergande’s amateur record included four wins from 2019 to 2021. Hamm had a record of six wins and one loss.
Jared Vanderaa To Face Aleksei Oleinik At UFC 273
Another change has been made to UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view card.
Veteran Aleksei Oleinik is now expected to face Jared Vanderaa at UFC 273, per an update provided by the promotion earlier this week. Vanderaa is replacing Ilir Latifi, who withdrew from the fight due to undisclosed reasons.
The new heavyweight bout is expected to take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
The fight keeps Oleinik in the lineup as he attempts to earn his milestone 60th pro victory. The veteran fighter has been unsuccessful in his last three fights in the UFC cage.
Vanderaa will also be fighting to break a losing streak in this short-notice assignment. His last fight came in February when Andrei Arlovski scored a split decision win over him.
Oleinik and Latifi were first scheduled to meet on a UFC card in late March. However, after Latifi suffered an illness, the fight was moved to UFC 273. It is not known when Latifi will return to the UFC cage.
Louis Smolka vs. Davey Grant Set For May 14th UFC Card
Bantamweights Louis Smolka and Davey Grant are expected to meet at UFC’s May 14th event, per a recent announcement from the promotion.
Smolka, a UFC vet of 16 appearances, will be fighting to return to the win column. He took a loss late last year, getting stopped in the first round of a fight against Vince Morales.
Grant will be attempting to snap a two-fight skid. While he started his 2021 with a win over Jonathan Martinez, he later took losses to Marlon Vera and Adrian Yanez.
Grant has avoided a three-fight losing streak before. He notably bounced back from two consecutive losses in 2019, going on to attain three wins in a row.
Previews
Cage Warriors 136: Melan vs. Duncan
A championship will be on the line when Cage Warriors holds their second night of a doubleheader from the BEC Arena in Manchester, England. In the main event of Saturday’s card, undefeated Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion Djati Melan will look to defend his belt for the first time when facing Christian Leroy Duncan.
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM BST)
Bout 1: Piotr Chmielecki (5-1) vs. Michael Tchamou (1-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Rickie Moore (0-0) vs. Chasen Blair (0-0) (Catchweight 175 lbs)
Bout 3: Jan Quaeyhaegens (8-4) vs. Kieran Lister (6-2-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Daan Duijs (7-1) vs. Josh Reed (12-6) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Dylan Hazan (7-0) vs. Raymison Bruno (12-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Manny Akpan (3-1) vs. Connor Hitchens (6-1) (Catchweight 148 lbs)
Bout 7: Ben Rees (3-4) vs. Liam Molloy (2-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Jeanderson Castro (6-5) vs. Aleksi Mantykivi (13-7) (Catchweight 165 lbs)
Bout 9: Alexis Fontes (4-1) vs. Mick Stanton (7-6) (Middleweight)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST)
Bout 10: Luke Riley (2-0) vs. Jack Eglin (2-0) (Catchweight 137 lbs)
Bout 11: Reece McEwan (3-1) vs. Sam Spencer (6-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 12: El Hadji Ndiaye (4-0) vs. Adam Cullen (3-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 13: Aaron Aby (12-4-1) vs. Gerardo Fanny (11-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 14: Djati Melan (8-0) vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (5-0) (Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship)
XMMA 4: Black Magic
XMMA will return on Saturday evening with a card from The Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The show is stacked with many names that used to compete in the UFC or Bellator. In the main event, former UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson will meet bantamweight vet Francisco Rivera Jr.
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Westin Wilson (12-6) vs. Tyrek Malveaux (6-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Josh Sweeney (9-3) vs. Cole Smith (7-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Josh Harvey (8-1-1) vs. Adli Edwards (8-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Andrew Garrette (1-0) vs. Justin Mead (3-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Kyron Bowen (9-7) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (6-4) (Welterweight)
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CDT) (XMMA.com / Fight Network)
Bout 6: Curtis Millender (18-8) vs. Jared Gooden (19-7) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Kyle Bochniak (10-5) vs. Carlton Minus (11-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Louie Sanoudakis (8-3) vs. Tateki Matsuda (15-10) (Bantamweight)
Bout 9: John Howard (29-18-1) vs. Ange Loosa (7-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 10: Kyle Stewart (14-5) vs. Zak Ottow (20-7) (Middleweight)
Bout 11: John Dodson (21-13) vs. Francisco Rivera Jr. (14-8) (Bantamweight)
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!