Knockdown Daily 5/19/22: 'Contender Series' Scheduled For July Return
The return of "Dana White's Contender Series" leads the MMA headlines for Thursday
Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today is a busy issue that covers a variety of topics. Here is the latest:
News
2022 Season of ‘Dana White’s Contender Series’ Scheduled To Begin on July 26th
Season 6 of UFC’s live reality TV show “Dana White’s Contender Series” now has a targeted start date.
The latest “Contender Series” season is scheduled to begin on July 26th and run for 10 weeks to September 27th, per recent filings with the Nevada Athletic Commission obtained by MMA Fighting.
As was the case in earlier seasons of the program, the show is expected to be filmed in the UFC APEX and air live on Tuesday nights.
The show offers a selection of live fights every week between prospects in the sport. By the end of the episode, UFC President Dana White offers the best performers a spot on the UFC roster.
UFC signed 39 fighters to their roster during the 2021 “Contender Series” season. In total, the show has brought 156 fighters into the promotion since first launching in 2017.
The latest season of the “Contender Series” has yet to be officially announced by the promotion.
Clay Collard vs. Alexander Martinez To Headline June 17th PFL Card
The second phase of PFL’s regular season will begin on June 17th with lightweight and light heavyweight bouts. The event will give both weight classes their final chance to score points and qualify for this year’s playoff brackets.
PFL recently announced the matchups for this card, which is expected to take place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
In the main event, Clay Collard will meet Alexander Martinez in a lightweight fight. The booking sees a pairing between two 2021 playoff fighters who have seen a strong start to their 2022 season runs.
Collard won in the main event of PFL’s first show this year, defeating UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision. Martinez also scored a win last time around, beating Stevie Ray on scorecards. Both with just three points in the lightweight division, a win on this card might be necessary to secure a playoff spot.
In the co-main event of the card, 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Carlos Junior will face Bruce Suoto.
Carlos Junior started his year with a strong six points in the PFL 205-pound rankings, submitting Delan Monte in just 29 seconds with a darce choke.
Suoto will be fighting for his first PFL win. He lost his first fight of the season in April, getting stopped in the second round by Rob Wilkinson.
More details on the card can be read here.
Here’s how the card looks currently:
Main Card
Bout 9: Clay Collard (21-9) vs. Alexander Martinez (9-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 8: Antonio Carlos Junior (14-5) vs. Bruce Suoto (15-4) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Raush Manfio (16-3) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (14-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Jeremy Stephens (28-20) vs. Myles Price (11-8) (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card
Bout 5: Omari Akhmedov (22-7-1) vs. Teodoras Aukstuolis (11-6) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Natan Schulte (21-5-1) vs. Marcin Held (27-8) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Emiliano Sordi (23-10-1) vs. Delan Monte (8-2) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Rob Wilkinson (14-2) vs. Viktor Pesta (18-7) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Marthin Hamlet (9-3) vs. Josh Silveira (8-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Manel Kape Reaches Agreement With NAC, Remains Eligible To Compete At UFC 275
UFC flyweight Manel Kape has struck an agreement with the Nevada Athletic Commission that will allow him to avoid major penalties for a recent drug test.
In a meeting held this week with the commission, Kape agreed to do two drug tests for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency between April to September. If the tests both come back negative, he will regain his license to compete within the state of Nevada.
Kape was given these terms due to a recent drug test that found M3 metabolite in his system. The drug test, which was registered last month, forced him out of an April 23rd booking against Sumudaerji.
The week of that fight, Kape announced on social media that a drug test forced him off the card. In that statement, he denied intentionally ingesting any prohibited substance and claimed that there were only 17 picograms of the metabolite in his system.
The terms of Kape’s agreement with the Nevada commission allow him to proceed with his booking at UFC 275 on June 11th. In that matchup, Kape is expected to appear in Singapore against Rogerio Bontorin.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Tafon Nchukwi Booked For June 25th UFC Card
Light heavyweights Carlos Ulberg and Tafon Nchukwi have been added to UFC’s June 25th show, per Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie. The fight is joining a card that is expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Ulberg picked up his first UFC victory earlier this year, beating former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Fabio Cherant on scorecards. He took his sole pro loss in his UFC debut last year, suffering a finish loss against Kennedy Nzechukwu.
Nchukwi’s UFC record is currently an even two wins and two losses since joining the promotion in late 2020. He was finished for the first time in his career two months back, suffering a defeat to undefeated prospect Azamat Murzakanov.
‘TUF’ Finalist Tresean Gore To Face Cody Brundage At July 9th UFC Card
“The Ultimate Fighter” finalist Tresean Gore will make his return to action on July 9th, fighting Cody Brundage at a UFC “Fight Night” card.
Gore will be stepping in to replace Josh Fremd, per Sherdog reporter Tudor Leonte.
Fremd reportedly withdrew from his booking due to injury. The fight was scheduled to be his second appearance in the promotion.
Gore fought on the return season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2021. After winning both of his prelim fights on the show, he took his first loss in the grand finals against Bryan Battle.
Prior to his “TUF” career, Gore attained three pro wins on the regional scene from 2018 to 2020.
Brundage scored his first UFC victory earlier this year, submitting Dalcha Lungiambula in the first round via guillotine choke. His previous fight was a decision loss to Nick Maximov in 2021.
Two Fights Join UFC’s August 13th Card
Two new matchups have recently been confirmed for UFC’s August 13th “Fight Night” event. The fights are joining a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment.
Undefeated Murzakanov To Face Clark
Azamat Murzakanov will attempt to keep his flawless MMA record intact in his second UFC appearance, facing Devin Clark later this year. The light heavyweight matchup was first confirmed by Hosheh MMA earlier this week.
Murzakanov had a successful UFC debut in March, scoring a third-round stoppage finish against Tafon Nchukwi. He won his contract with the promotion last year, scoring a first-round finish victory against Matheus Scheffel on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Clark snapped a two-fight losing streak in his last appearance, stopping William Knight with strikes in April.
Meerschaert To Face Silva
Fighting to come back from his first UFC loss, Bruno Silva will face veteran Gerald Meerschaert in August, per Diego Ribas of AgFight.
Silva took the first loss in his UFC campaign earlier this year, dropping a unanimous decision against former GLORY Kickboxing Champion Alex Pereira. Before then, he attained three finish wins in the promotion last year.
Meerschaert, an experienced UFC vet of 16 fights, will also be fighting to get back into the win column. He had a three-fight streak of wins snapped in his last bout, losing a unanimous decision to Krzysztof Jotko in April.
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