Knockdown Daily 4/3/22: Christian Leroy Duncan Earns Cage Warriors Belt
Christian Leroy Duncan's win over Djati Melan leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Here are the top MMA headlines from the past 24 hours.
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Christian Leroy Duncan Earns Cage Warriors Belt With Flying Knee Knockout Against Djati Melan
Christian Leroy Duncan scored a knockout win to become a champion on Saturday night, stopping Djati Melan with a flying knee to be crowned new Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion.
Duncan’s win headlined Cage Warriors 136, which took place at the BEC Arena in Manchester, England.
Duncan knocked Melan out cold with the knee, putting an end to a style matchup that saw the challenger’s striking go up against the champion’s wrestling.
Melan succeeded earlier in the fight with wrestling and ground and pound. He started to struggle in the second round, as one of the contact lenses that he was wearing fell out. Referee Marc Goddard didn’t allow him to put the lens back in, and threatened to take a point away from him if he continued to attempt to put the lens in before the third round started.
Duncan now has a flawless record of six wins since turning pro in 2020. Five of his wins, including Saturday’s victory, have come via stoppage.
Melan was fighting to defend his belt for the first time. He earned the championship late last year, going five rounds against Matthew Bonner for a unanimous decision victory.
A full report on Cage Warriors 136 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EDT / 6:30PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Michael Tchamou def. Piotr Chmielecki via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:35)
Bout 2: Chasen Blair def. Rickie Moore via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
Bout 3: Jan Quaeyhaegens def. Kieran Lister via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:08)
Bout 4: Dylan Hazan def. Raymison Bruno via TKO, Doctor Stoppage (RD 1, 5:00)
Bout 5: Manny Akpan def. Connor Hitchens via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:36)
Bout 6: Liam Molloy def. Ben Rees via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:26)
Bout 7: Aleksi Mantykivi def. Jeanderson Castro via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:27)
Bout 8: Mick Stanton def. Alexis Fontes via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:28)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Luke Riley def. Jack Eglin via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:54)
Bout 10: Reece McEwan def. Sam Spencer via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 4:33)
Bout 11: Adam Cullen def. El Hadji Ndiaye via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:14)
Bout 12: Aaron Aby def. Gerardo Fanny via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:25)
Bout 13: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Djati Melan via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:48) (Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship)
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dricus Du Plessis Off UFC 273
The changes for UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view event have only continued.
A middleweight fight between Kelvin Gastelum and Dricus Du Plessis has been removed from the upcoming card, per an announcement made by the promotion on Friday night.
The fight was set to happen during UFC 273 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
The middleweight bout was withdrawn from the lineup after Gastelum suffered an injury. It is not known at the moment if Du Plessis will get a new opponent for that date, or if he will appear later in the year.
Du Plessis and Gastelum were matched for UFC 273 after both previously being booked against different opponents on the card. The fight was scheduled to be Du Plessis’ third UFC appearance, and his first time fighting since July 2021.
Uriah Hall Out of April 16th UFC Bout Against Andre Muniz
A matchup between veteran Uriah Hall and rising middleweight Andre Muniz has been removed from UFC’s April 16th card, per a report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
The bout was scheduled to take place in the co-main event of a “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Hall reportedly withdrew from the fight due to undisclosed reasons. The plan going forward is for UFC to find a replacement opponent for Muniz.
The fight was set to give Muniz a chance to extend his undefeated UFC run. The grappling ace last competed in late 2021, submitting Eryk Anders via armbar.
John Dodson Earns First Win Since UFC Run, Defeats Francisco Rivera At XMMA 4
Former UFC vet John Dodson picked up a win on Saturday night, battling for three close rounds against Francisco Rivera to earn a unanimous decision outcome.
Dodson’s win headlined an XMMA card from The Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA this weekend.
Dodson started strong against Rivera, connecting with quick combinations of punches in the opening round. These shots continued into the second round, but the output slowed as the fight progressed. Rivera had started to take control of the matchup near the end, but by then it was too late for him to mount a comeback on scorecards for the win.
The fight on Saturday marked Dodson’s first win since departing the UFC roster in 2020. His previous fight was on an October 2021 XMMA card, where he lost a decision to Cody Gibson.
Rivera was coming off an active 2021 that saw him attain three wins and one loss.
More information on the XMMA card can be read here.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Andrew Garrette def. Justin Mead via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:36)
Bout 2: Adli Edwards def. Josh Harvey via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 4:45)
Bout 3: Louie Sanoudakis def. Tateki Matsuda via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Weston Wilson def. Tyrek Malveaux via Submission, Side Choke (RD 1, 1:59)
Bout 5: Sasha Palatnikov def. Kyron Bowen via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:03)
Bout 6: John Sweeney def. Cole Smith via Decision, Split
Main Card
Bout 7: Kyle Stewart def. Zak Ottow via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Ange Loosa def. John Howard via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Kyle Bochniak def. Carlton Minus via Decision, Split
Bout 10: Jared Gooden def. Curtis Millender via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:16)
Bout 11: John Dodson def. Francisco Rivera via Decision, Unanimous
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