Knockdown Daily 4/7/22: ONE Championship Reveals Full Card For 'Reloaded'
ONE Championship's next event leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Here are the top MMA stories from the past 48 hours, plus a preview of tonight’s top events.
News
ONE Championship Announces Full 16-Fight ‘Reloaded’ Card For April 22nd
Returning for the first time since their massive 10th-anniversary card, ONE Championship is planning on hosting 16 fights for their “Reloaded” show on April 22nd. The show, which was announced in its entirety on Thursday, includes kickboxing and Muay Thai title fights, along with 10 MMA bouts in total.
In the main event, kickboxing champion Regian Eersel will look to defend his belt against Arian Sadikovic.
Eersel has defended his belt three times since first earning it in 2019. His last victory came late last year, where he went five rounds against Islam Murtazaev for a split decision victory.
Sadikovic, a former GLORY Kickboxing fighter, is being given the title shot after winning his debut fight for ONE. That bout came late last year, as he defeated former title challenger Mustapha Haida on scorecards.
ONE To Crown New Muay Thai Champ
ONE will crown a new Muay Thai champion in the co-main event, as Smilla Sundell and Jackie Buntan will battle for a vacant belt.
Buntan has earned three wins since joining the ONE roster last year. She made a splash in her promotional debut more than a year ago, pulling off an upset win over Wondergirl Fairtex. She has since also defeated Ekaterina Vandaryeva and Daniela Lopez.
Sundell picked up a finish win during her ONE debut just two months back, stopping Diandra Martin in the third round of a bout.
More details on “Reloaded” can be read here.
Here’s the full lineup:
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube / ONE App)
Bout 16: Regian Eersel vs. Arian Sadikovic (ONE Kickboxing Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Bout 15: Smilla Sundell vs. Jackie Buntan (Vacant ONE Muay Thai Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 14: Bokang Masunyane (8-0) vs. Jarred Brooks (18-2) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 13: Liam Harrison vs. Mungthai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 12: Marcus Almeida (2-0) vs. Oumar Kane (3-1) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 11: Namiki Kawahara (7-4-2) vs. Danial Williams (4-1) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Lead Card (4:30AM EDT / 4:30PM SGT) (Youtube / ONE App)
Bout 10: Yosuke Saruta (21-10-3) vs. Gustavo Balart (9-4) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 9: Andrei Stoica vs. Giannis Stoforidis (265 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 8: Anissa Meksen vs. Marie Ruumet (115 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 7: Windson Ramos (4-1) vs. Woo Sung Hoon (9-2) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Chen Rui (13-4) vs. Song Min Jong (12-8) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Ayaka Miura (11-4) vs. Dayane Souza (8-1-1) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Abraao Amorim (8-3) vs. Park Dae Sung (11-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Agilan Thani (10-6) vs. Jin Tae Ho (10-5) (185 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Masakazu Imanari vs. Mike Musumeci (143 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
Bout 1: Keanu Subba (7-5) vs. James Yang (1-0) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Conor McGregor Faces Dangerous Driving Charges In Ireland
UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been handed six charges that relate to an alleged dangerous driving incident that occurred last month in Dublin, Ireland.
McGregor, 33, appeared before a court on Thursday, where he was charged with two counts of dangerous driving along with driving without a license and insurance, and also failing to produce proof of a license and insurance.
News of McGregor’s court appearance was first reported by John Hand of DublinLive.
McGregor was arrested last month and charged with dangerous driving. A car that he owned, a Bentley Continental GT, was seized by authorities that evening but was returned to him shortly after.
McGregor is currently out on bail and is reportedly scheduled to make his next court appearance in June.
UFC Introduces New Fan-Voted Bonus Awards For PPV Events
UFC is debuting a new system this weekend that will allow viewers to determine which fighters get financial bonuses for their performances.
The “Fan Bonus of the Night” will debut at the promotion’s April 9th pay-per-view card, per an announcement made Thursday.
The system will give out the cryptocurrency Bitcoin to fighters that are most voted on by viewers. The prizes will be worth the U.S. dollar equivalent of $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 each.
These bonuses will be voted on by fans and will happen for each PPV event that takes place this year.
The program is sponsored by cryptocurrency exchange service Crypto.com, which has been in partnership with the UFC since mid-2021.
UFC is still planning on doing their regular “Performance of the Night” bonuses, which regularly hand out $50,000 to four fighters each at the conclusion of every event.
Previews
LFA 128: McKenzie vs. Clay
LFA will kick off a busy month of events on Friday night by crowning a new lightweight champ. In the main event of a card from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, prospects Aaron McKenzie and Lucas Clay will meet with a championship on the line.
A full preview of the show can be read here.
Here is how the card looks right now:
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Zach Sulzer (1-1) vs. Jorge Apalategui (2-1) (Amateur Lightweight)
Bout 2: Cheyanne Bowers (5-1) vs. Kaeley Fenhaus (1-0) (Amateur Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Brett Bye (1-0) vs. Jhellani Olton (2-0) (Amateur Welterweight)
Bout 4: Abubakar Adamu (0-0) vs. Andre Triolo (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Sarek Shields (2-0) vs. Thad Jean (2-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Mitchell McKee (1-0) vs. Jalen Jackson (0-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Bryce Meredith (1-0) vs. Jay Viola (3-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Devon Dixon (4-0-1) vs. Richie Miranda (3-0) (Catchweight 160 lbs)
Bout 9: Jimmy Lawson (3-1) vs. Marino Eatman (5-4-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Aaron McKenzie (10-2-1) vs. Lucas Clay (8-1) (Vacant LFA Lightweight Championship)
PFL Challenger Series: Week 8
PFL’s final “Challenger Series” episode will air on Friday night. The episode has the theme of being a “second chance” for fighters, as the lineup includes names that appeared on previous episode of the show but did not get offered a contract with the promotion.
It is unknown what a contract on Friday’s episode will guarantee a fighter, as the promotion’s six weight classes are all set for their first events in late April and early May.
Main Card (9:00PM EDT) (FuboTV)
Bout 1: Aaron Blackie (8-2) vs. Ali Zebian (7-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Jackie Cataline (1-0) vs. Jeslen Mishelle (1-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Simeon Powell (4-0) vs. Tobias Baker (2-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Carlos Leal (15-3) vs. Chris Brown (8-3) (Welterweight)
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