Knockdown Daily 5/13/22: Previewing Today's Bellator Card
A preview of Bellator 281 is part of the Friday edition
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. We have a few quick stories for you today, including a preview for today’s Bellator card.
News
Two Fights Join UFC’s July 23rd Card In London
A couple of matchups have been confirmed for UFC’s July 23rd “Fight Night” card. The bouts are joining a lineup that is expected to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Surging Craig To Face Oezdemir
Paul Craig will fight to keep his winning streak alive at light heavyweight when he faces Volkan Oezdemir, per an announcement made by the promotion this week.
Craig has put together four consecutive victories since 2020, with all fights ending via finish. He appeared at UFC’s last card in London, scoring a first-round submission victory over Nikita Krylov in March.
Oezdemir will attempt to avoid falling into a three-fight skid in his next appearance. He has recently suffered losses against high-level names in the division, dropping bouts to Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev.
Bohm Returns Against Leonardo
Fighting to bounce back from her sole pro loss, Mandy Bohm will face Victoria Leonardo in a flyweight bout. News of this matchup was confirmed by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
Bohm lost her UFC debut last year, dropping a fight on scorecards to Ariane Lipski. She was joining the promotion with a strong undefeated record of seven wins, including a 2020 victory in Bellator.
Leonardo is also searching for her first UFC victory. She was unsuccessful in both of her appearances last year, losing to Manon Fiorot and Melissa Gatto.
Undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov To Face Nate Maness On June 25th UFC Card
Umar Nurmagomedov will attempt to keep his undefeated record alive in his third UFC appearance, facing Nate Maness at the promotion’s June 25th event. News of the matchup was first confirmed by reporter James Lynch on Thursday.
Nurmagomedov currently has a strong flawless record of 14 wins as a pro. He has earned two of those victories in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2020.
Nurmagomedov had a quick performance in his last fight, earning a first-round submission victory against Brian Kelleher in March.
While Maness doesn’t have an undefeated record, he has also yet to lose since joining the UFC roster. He earned his third consecutive victory for the promotion in his most recent outing, stopping Tony Gravely with strikes last year.
UFC Looking To Book Vicente Luque vs. Geoff Neal For August 6th Event
Ranked welterweights Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal could reportedly collide at UFC’s August 6th show. UFC is currently aiming for that bout to join a “Fight Night” card in a few months, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Luque had a long winning streak broken in his last appearance, losing a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad in April. That fight was his first appearance in the main event of a UFC card since joining the promotion in 2015.
Before then, Luque had four straight finish wins in the UFC cage.
Neal snapped a two-fight skid in his last appearance, pulling off a split decision victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio late last year. Before then he had two decision losses, including a main event appearance in 2020.
Neal can make a big jump up the rankings if he wins a bout against Luque. He is currently placed 12th in the welterweight division, which is six slots lower than Luque.
Previews
Bellator 281: MVP vs. Storley
Bellator currently has a red-hot undefeated star as their welterweight champion. Yaroslav Amosov boasts an impressive flawless 26-fight record, including a win over Douglas Lima in 2021. However, the Ukrainian has been forced out of action recently, as he remains in his home country amid Russia’s invasion.
While Amosov can’t compete currently, the Bellator middleweight division will continue to move. Amosov retains his status as champion, but an interim titleholder will be crowned on Friday night when the promotion heads to the SSE Arena in London, England.
In the headlining bout of the card, Michael Page and Logan Storley will compete to earn the vacant belt.
There are other interesting fights lower on the card as well. In the co-main event, veteran Lyoto Machida will face Fabian Edwards. And earlier in the evening, Paul Daley will have his farewell fight after a storied career.
A preview of that fight — plus the rest of Bellator 281 — can be read here.
Here’s the lineup:
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM BST) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Chiara Penco (6-3) vs. Lanchana Green (4-4-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 2: Lee Chadwick (27-15-1) vs. Maciej Rozanski (13-3) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Charlie Ward (9-4) vs. Alan Carlos (13-9) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Andrew Fisher (18-8-1) vs. Attila Korkmaz (12-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Alfie Davis (14-4) vs. Tim Wilde (14-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Kate Jackson (11-5-1) vs. Elina Kallionidou (8-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Oliver Enkamp (10-3) vs. Mark Lemminger (12-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Daniel Weichel (41-13) vs. Robert Whiteford (16-4) (Featherweight)
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST) (Showtime)
Bout 9: Luke Trainer (5-0) vs. Simon Biyong (7-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Paul Daley (43-18-2) vs. Wendell Giacomo (9-2) (Catchweight 175 lbs)
Bout 11: Denise Kielholtz (6-3) vs. Kana Watanabe (10-1-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 12: Lyoto Machida (26-11) vs. Fabian Edwards (9-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 13: Michael Page (20-1) vs. Logan Storley (13-1) (Vacant Interim Bellator Welterweight Championship)
LFA 132: Gomes vs. Costa
LFA will return to Brazil this weekend for a card full of local prospects. In the main event, rising lightweights Italo Gomes and Melquizael Costa will compete.
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Joao Moraes (0-0) vs. Gabriel Souza de Oliveira (0-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Gabriel Souza Galindo (3-0) vs. Lucas Sousa (2-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Lincon Santos (5-1) vs. Rodrigo Roldan (5-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Jefferson Nascimento (6-0) vs. Uyran Carlos (12-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Hyago Silva (4-0) vs. Richard Jacobi (5-0) (Heavyweight)
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BRT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 6: Jose Henrique (4-0) vs. Pedro Oliveira (5-0-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 7: Edna Oliveira (10-9-1) vs. Gabriella Hermogenes (6-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Yasmin Castanho (5-0) vs. Bruna Brasil (6-2-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 9: Leo Leite (10-2) vs. Patrick Quadros (12-8-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Gabriel Silva (8-2) vs. Rono Junior (8-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Luan Luiz Lacerda (11-1) vs. Marciley Alves (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 12: Italo Gomes (10-2) vs. Melquizael Costa (17-4) (Lightweight)
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