Knockdown Daily 5/15/22: Injury Forces Aleksandar Rakic Out of Fight, Earns Jan Blachowicz Win
UFC's recent "Fight Night" card leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes a report on last night’s UFC main event, along with other news from the past 24 hours.
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Injury Takes Aleksandar Rakic Out of Main Event, Earns Jan Blachowicz First Win Since Title Reign
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz picked up a win on Saturday night, as opponent Aleksandar Rakic had to withdraw from their fight in the third round due to an injury.
Blachowicz’s win headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Rakic dropped to the ground in the third round, clutching his right knee while falling to the canvas. The fall from Rakic caused the referee to step in and end the fight, earning Blachowicz his first win since losing his belt last year.
The injury wasn’t seemingly related to an exchange on the feet, as Rakic wasn’t hit in the leg before suddenly falling down.
The high-ranked light heavyweights were in a close fight before the abrupt end.
Rakic likely won the second round of the fight, taking Blachowicz down in that frame and using a large portion of the round to earn ground control. The first round was a close battle on the feet that saw both light heavyweights land strikes. Blachowicz started to become bothered in the opening round, as a cut below his left eye opened early.
Blachowicz was appearing for the first time since he lost his 205-pound belt last year, suffering a submission loss against Glover Teixeira. As champion, Blachowicz defended his belt once since first earning it in 2020.
The injury for Rakic gave him just the second loss since he joined the UFC in 2017. He won two consecutive fights before Saturday, including a decision win over former title challenger Thiago Santos last year.
A full report on Saturday’s “Fight Night” card can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (7:30PM EDT / 4:30PM PDT) (ESPN2 / TSN 5)
Bout 1: Andre Petroski def. Nick Maximov via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 1:16)
Bout 2: Tatsuro Taira def. Carlos Candelario via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Virna Jandiroba def. Angela Hill via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Michael Johnson def. Alan Patrick via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:22)
Bout 5: Viviane Araujo def. Andrea Lee via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (ESPN2 / TSN 5)
Bout 6: Allan Nascimento def. Jake Hadley via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Manuel Torres def. Frank Camacho via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:27)
Bout 8: Katlyn Chookagian def. Amanda Ribas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Davey Grant def. Louis Smolka via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:49)
Bout 10: Ryan Spann def. Ion Cutelaba via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:22)
Bout 11: Jan Blachowicz def. Aleksandar Rakic via TKO, Injury (RD 3, 1:11)
Da’Mon Blackshear Submits Josh Smith With Rear Naked Choke To Defend CFFC Bantamweight Belt For The First Time
Da’Mon Blackshear defended his CFFC Bantamweight Championship for the first time on Saturday night, putting Josh Smith to sleep with a rear naked choke in the third round of their main event bout.
Blackshear’s victory headlined CFFC 108, which took place at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, USA on Saturday afternoon.
Blackshear took the back of Smith in the third round after stuffing a takedown. After the choke went under Smith’s chin, he went unconscious and the fight was called off by the referee.
The champion had a strong grappling performance in earlier rounds of the fight as well, earning takedowns and control time against Smith.
With 12 wins through 16 fights, Blackshear now has his sights on a UFC opportunity. However, he has another opponent in mind for a CFFC fight if he isn’t given that call-up shot yet.
“I’d like to challenge [Jose] Perez if UFC don’t give me a call,” said Blackshear in his post-fight interview.
Blackshear earned the CFFC Bantamweight Championship last year, scoring a first-round rear naked choke win over DeAndre Anderson.
Smith, a former CES Bantamweight Champion, was making his CFFC debut on Saturday afternoon. His previous appearance was a victory over Kyle Estrada on a XMMA card last year.
A full report on CFFC 108 can be read here.
Quick Results:
Main Card (2:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Isaiah Sackey-El def. Victor Mena via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Frank Wells def. Damion Nelson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Will Spann def. Brandon Davis via Submission, Omoplata (RD 1, 3:29)
Bout 4: Ryan Burgos def. Ivan Rios via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:40)
Bout 5: Ricardo Fuentes def. DeAndre Anderson via Submission, Kneebar (RD 1, 2:10)
Bout 6: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Josh Smith via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:34) (CFFC Bantamweight Championship)
Postlims (Youtube)
Bout 7: Nezzar Dimes def. Eduardo Castillo via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 8: Nick Galanti def. Mike Basile via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 9: Luke Fernandez def. Dymere Rappa via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:14) (CFFC Amateur Light Heavyweight Championship)
Veterans Jim Miller, Bobby Green Matched For UFC 276
In a clash between two of the most experienced active lightweights in the UFC, Bobby Green and Jim Miller will meet at the promotion’s July 2nd pay-per-view event. News of the matchup was confirmed earlier this week in a report from Matthew Wells and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
Miller currently holds the UFC record for most fights in the promotion. He’ll extend that streak in his next booking, making his milestone 40th appearance in the octagon in July.
Miller is currently riding a two-fight winning streak in the promotion. He spoiled the UFC debut of Nikolas Motta earlier this year, scoring a second-round finish win against him in February.
Green headlined a UFC card a few months back, playing a gatekeeper role against rising contender Islam Makhachev. He suffered a quick loss in this fight, getting stopped in the first round with ground and pound strikes.
Green’s last win was just two weeks before then, defeating Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271.
Michelle Waterson To Return Against Amanda Lemos At July 16th UFC Card
Michelle Waterson will make her return to the cage at UFC’s July 16th event, facing Amanda Lemos in a strawweight bout. News of the matchup was confirmed by Ariel Helwani earlier this week.
The booking gives Lemos a chance to bounce back from a loss she suffered just last month. Her climb up the strawweight ranks was stopped in April, as former champion Jessica Andrade submitted her in the first round of a main event fight.
The loss for Lemos broke a five-fight winning streak that she attained from 2019 to 2021, including three victories via finish.
Waterson will be making her first appearance in over a year. Her last fight dates back to May 2021, when she dropped a unanimous decision to Marina Rodriguez after competing for five rounds in a UFC main event.
Waterson’s last win was a 2020 headlining appearance against Angela Hill.
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