Knockdown Daily 5/11/22: UFC Aiming To Book Interim Flyweight Title Bout
A potential fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France leads the MMA headlines for Wednesday
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily. There’s a lot of news to cover in today’s issue, including a preview for tonight’s Invicta FC event. Let’s begin
News
UFC Aiming To Book Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France For Interim Flyweight Belt
The rematch between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France could include an interim championship on the line.
UFC is reportedly aiming to book a fight between Moreno and Kara-France for their July 30th pay-per-view event, per Ariel Helwani. The fight, which has currently been verbally agreed upon by both parties, would be for a vacant interim flyweight championship.
The potential booking sees Moreno take a step down in status after competing in a three-fight trilogy against current champion Deiveson Figueiredo. He met Figueiredo for the third time in January, losing that fight via unanimous decision in the end.
Previous results against Figueiredo resulted in a win and a draw for Moreno. A win in an interim title fight would set Moreno up for an unprecedented fourth fight against Figueiredo at a championship level.
Kara-France is getting the title opportunity after putting together a strong run over the past year. The high-ranked flyweight scored his third consecutive win in March, handing Askar Askarov his first pro loss in a unanimous decision result.
A win for Kara-France in this potential booking would not only give him a UFC belt for the first time, but it would avenge a loss he took in late 2019 against Moreno at UFC 245.
Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon Re-Booked For June 18th UFC ‘Fight Night’
Veterans Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon have been given a second chance to meet in the UFC cage.
The lightweights have been placed back on the promotion’s schedule, now lined up for a June 18th card. News of the rescheduled bout was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
The fight is joining a “Fight Night” show that is expected to take place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, USA.
Cerrone and Lauzon were first expected to meet at UFC 274 this past weekend. However, that fight was thrown out the day of the event due to Cerrone suffering a non-COVID-19-related illness.
Now with a new booking in place, Cerrone has a chance to end a losing streak that has developed late in his career.
Cerrone has gone winless in his past six appearances, with five of those fights ending in a loss and the other being a no contest. His last fight was in May 2021, when Alex Morono stopped him within a round.
The new booking is also set to be Lauzon’s first appearance in nearly three years. He snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last fight, stopping Jonathan Pearce back in October 2019.
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Arman Tsarukyan Booked For June 25th UFC Card
Two high-profile lightweights will collide next month when Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan meet.
The matchup was confirmed for UFC’s June 25th card by Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie last week.
Tsarukyan has been slowly rising up the lightweight division since 2019. He scored his fifth consecutive win in the division just a few months back, stopping Joel Alvarez in the second round of a bout.
Gamrot is coming off a strong 2021 that saw him attain three victories. While he lost his UFC debut in 2020, the KSW Lightweight Champion came back to score a trio of finish wins the next year.
Gamrot’s last win came against Diego Ferreira, who got finished in the second round of their fight with strikes.
Molly McCann To Face Hannah Goldy At July 23rd UFC Card In London
Fan-favorite Molly McCann will appear in front of a loud London, England crowd yet again later this year.
McCann is expected to face Hannah Goldy at UFC’s July 23rd “Fight Night” card, per an announcement made by the promotion this week. The fight is joining UFC’s second appearance at the O2 Arena this year.
McCann was one of the biggest names coming out of UFC’s return to England in March. She secured a third-round finish win against opponent Luana Carolina, landing a spinning back elbow knockout to stop the bout.
The 32-year-old will now search for her third consecutive win in her next booking.
Goldy is coming off her first UFC win, which came in September 2021 over Emily Whitmire. She struggled in the promotion before then, suffering two losses from 2019 to 2021.
Two-Division Champion Daniel Cormier Joins 2022 UFC Hall of Fame Class
Former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier is expected to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.
Cormier’s upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame was announced during UFC 274 on Saturday night.
Cormier, 43, will be joining the Hall of Fame’s “Modern Wing,” a division meant to celebrate prolific names in more recent years of MMA history.
The official ceremony is expected to take place on June 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as part of “International Fight Week.”
Cormier was UFC Light Heavyweight Champion from 2015 to 2018, defending the belt five times during his run.
Cormier also had a heavyweight title run late in his career, defeating Stipe Miocic via first-round knockout in 2018 to earn the belt. He defended the belt once before losing it a year later in a rematch to Miocic.
Cormier might be best known for his two-fight rivalry with Jon Jones, which was recognized for its high profile in the light heavyweight division and the on-screen bad blood rivalry that it generated between the two fighters.
Cormier has settled into an analyst role in the sport since retiring in 2020. He has become a regular commentator for UFC events, frequently appearing for “Fight Night” and pay-per-view events.
Cormier will not be the only fighter inducted into the “Modern Wing” of the Hall of fame this year. Former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is also expected to be celebrated at the event next month.
In the “Fight Wing” of the Hall of Fame, a 2016 bout between Cub Swanson and Choi Doo-ho will also be inducted.
Undefeated Khusein Askhabov To Make UFC Debut Against Herbert Burns On July 16th Card
Featherweight prospect Khusein Askhabov will make his UFC debut on July 16th, putting his lengthy undefeated record on the line against Herbert Burns. News of the matchup was confirmed by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting on Monday.
Askhabov is joining the UFC roster with an already long 23-fight pro record. He has picked up all of his wins on the regional scene since debuting in 2012, albeit many are over less experienced or successful names.
Similar to Burns, Askhabov will be competing for the first time since 2020 in this booking.
Burns has been out of the cage for more than a year due to injury, per MMA Fighting. The 34-year-old took his first UFC loss in his last appearance, suffering a finish defeat against Daniel Pineda at UFC 252.
Kaytlin Neil Uses Overtime Round To Defeat Helen Peralta In ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Quarter-Final
Kaytlin Neil won her first appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter” this week, defeating Helen Peralta via unanimous decision.
Neil’s win, which aired Tuesday, was the first bout to happen in the eight-woman flyweight bracket for this season.
Neil needed an overtime round to win her fight against Peralta. While most “TUF” bouts are only two rounds, they utilize a third frame if the scorecards have it as a draw.
The fight was a close battle on the feet throughout all three rounds. Neil had a significant height and reach advantage, but Peralta was able to explode forward with punches that connected.
Judges saw Neil as the better fighter in the third and final round, giving her the win and advancing her to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Neil had a pro record of five wins and four losses going into this season. She has previously fought in notable promotions like Bellator, Combate Global, and LFA.
Neil mentioned that he entered this fight during a tough time in her life, as she learned during the taping of the show that her father had passed away.
Peralta joined this season of “TUF” on a two-fight winning streak in Invicta FC. Her last pro win was in January when she beat Elise Pone on scorecards.
The show will return to the heavyweight division next week for another quarter-final bout. In that fight, undefeated prospect Muhammed Usman will face “Contender Series” alum Mitchell Sipe.
Preview
Invicta FC 47: Ducote vs. Zappitella
Alesha Zappitella will look for success in a new division on Wednesday night. Headlining Invicta FC 47, Zappitella will make the move up from atomweight – a division she herself became a champion in – to face strawweight champion Emily Ducote.
The bout is headlining a card that is set to take place at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, USA. You can read a full preview of the card here.
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Jennifer Chieng (1-1) vs. Alyssa Linduska (0-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 2: Fatima Kline (1-0) vs. Sidney Trillo (2-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Serena DeJesus (4-2) vs. Brittney Cloudy (4-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Janaisa Morandin (10-4) vs. Liana Pirosin (7-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: Lindsey VanZandt (7-5) vs. Jillian DeCoursey (4-3) (Atomweight)
Bout 6: Courtney King (4-2) vs. Chelsea Chandler (3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Emily Ducote (10-6) vs. Alesha Zappitella (9-3) (Invicta FC Strawweight Championship)
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