Knockdown Daily 5/20/22: UFC Confirms Debut France Event
UFC's first event in the country of France leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue includes recent MMA news and analysis. Let’s begin.
News
UFC Announces Debut Event In Paris, France For September
UFC’s debut event in Paris, France is official.
The promotion announced Wednesday that they will head to the Accor Arena on September 3rd for a “Fight Night” card, marking the first time they have ever touched down in the country.
Reports of UFC’s intention to hold an event in Paris were first noted last month. It was mentioned at that time that a heavyweight bout between former interim champion Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa is being targeted for the card.
Since then, middleweights Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker have also expressed interest in facing each other on the card. While they have both publicly stated the matchup they want, nothing has been formally offered to them yet.
September will mark the first time that UFC touches down in France since MMA was legalized two years ago. They are following the lead of Bellator, who has visited the country twice since 2020.
Previews
ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot
Muay Thai will be the focus on Friday night when ONE Championship hosts an event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The loaded card will include a variety of combat sports but has Muay Thai as the biggest contributor to the lineup.
The show is scheduled to include two Muay Thai title bouts, along with the beginning of an eight-man grand prix.
A full preview of the card can be read here.
Note: News broke early Friday that Johnathan Haggerty was removed from his grand prix bout against Walter Goncalves. Josue Cruz, who was originally scheduled to face Panpayak Jitmuangnon in an alternate tournament bout, has been moved into that tournament bout. News of this chance was first reported by Nicolas Atkin of the South China Morning Post.
Lead Card (5:00AM EDT / 5:00PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Elipitua Siregar (4-2) vs. Robin Catalan (9-7) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Sherzod Kabutov vs. Denis Puric (ONE Muay Thay Flyweight Grand Prix Alternate Bout) (135 lbs)
Bout 3: Nat Jaroonsak (0-0) vs. Zeba Bano (1-0) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Davit Kiria vs. Mohammed Boutasaa (155 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 5: Asha Roka (4-2) vs. Alyse Anderson (5-2) (115 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Savvas Michael vs. Amir Naseri (ONE Muay Thay Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (135 lbs)
Bout 7: Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Taiki Naito (ONE Muay Thay Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (135 lbs)
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 8: Josue Cruz vs. Walter Goncalves (ONE Muay Thay Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (135 lbs)
Bout 9: Shinya Aoki vs. Kade Ruotolo (170 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
Bout 10: Garry Tonon vs. Tye Ruotolo (170 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
Bout 11: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Jacob Smith (ONE Muay Thay Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (135 lbs)
Bout 12: Prajanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Joseph Lasiri (ONE Muay Thai Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 13: Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy vs. Jimmy Vienot (ONE Muay Thai Featherweight Championship) (155 lbs)
Eagle FC 47: dos Santos vs. De Castro
Eagle FC will return on Friday night with a card full of recognizable names in MMA. In the main event, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos will face Yorgan De Castro.
A variety of former UFC, Bellator and PFL fighters are scheduled to appear throughout the card. Here’s the lineup:
Main Card (GoFLX)
Bout 11: Yorgan De Castro (8-3) vs. Junior dos Santos (21-9) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Hector Lombard (34-10-1) vs. Thiago Silva (21-9) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Maki Pitolo (14-9) vs. Doug Usher (13-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Gabriel Checco (12-6) vs. Andrew Sanchez (12-7) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Akhmed Aliev (20-7) vs. Darrell Horcher (14-5) (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT) (GoFLX)
Bout 6: Islam Mamedov (20-2-1) vs. Zach Zane (15-12) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Ronny Markes (21-9) vs. Reggie Pena (15-6) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Alexandre de Almeida (21-10) vs. Roosevelt Roberts (11-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Sean Soriano (14-8) vs. Paulo Silva (6-6) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Adi Alic (8-4) vs. Shawn Bunch (11-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Dylan Mantello (4-2) vs. Dennis Hughes (7-4) (Lightweight)
Column
Junior dos Santos Has A Proper Litmus Test Ahead of Him
The end to Junior dos Santos' UFC run might have not been a fair representation of his current skill level.
In the debut of the new Friday Column series, I argue that the losses that “Cigano” took at the end of his UFC didn’t offer him a solid chance to show where he stands as a fighter currently. Instead, it is his opportunity this weekend at Eagle FC 47 that allows the veteran to show what is left in the tank.
You can read the column here if interested.
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