Knockdown Daily 6/27/22: A Look At The Week Ahead
We take a look at the week ahead in the Monday edition
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is a busy one, including some quick news and a preview of the week ahead.
News
Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy Removed From UFC 276
UFC’s July 2nd pay-per-view event will proceed without a flyweight bout between Lauren Murphy and Miesha Tate.
News broke Saturday that a previously booked bout between the fighters was scratched from the upcoming card.
Murphy withdrew from the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test, per a report from Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
The matchup was scheduled to take place during the main card of UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Tate was aiming to make her flyweight debut in the bout. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion planned on making the move after suffering a main event loss last year, dropping a unanimous decision to Ketlen Vieira.
The fight was also scheduled to be Murphy’s first appearance since losing a title fight to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in September 2021.
It is not known what is next for either fighter after this sudden change.
Thanh Le vs. Tang Kai To Headline August 26th ONE Championship Card
A doubleheader of events from ONE Championship in August will kick off with an MMA title fight at the 155-pound limit.
ONE Featherweight Champion Thanh Le is scheduled to face rising contender Tang Kai at the promotion’s August 26th event, “ONE 160,” per an announcement made Friday.
Le will be aiming to keep his undefeated ONE run intact in the appearance, and will also look to defend his belt for the second time.
Le has finished all five of his opponents since joining the promotion in 2019. He earned champion status in 2020 with a third-round victory over Martin Nguyen, catching him with strikes.
Le defended his belt for the first time earlier this year, handing grappling ace Garry Tonon his first pro loss in just 56 seconds.
Tang is getting the title opportunity after a steady climb up the promotional ranks.
Tang has picked up six wins in ONE, including three via finish. His last performance was earlier this year when he stopped Kim Jae Woong in the first round with punches.
One day after ONE 160, the promotion will make its U.S. debut on Amazon Prime Video. That card will feature a championship rematch between Adriano Moraes and former UFC titleholder Demetrious Johnson.
No other fights are known for ONE Championship’s August 26th card currently.
Rogerio Bontorin Reportedly Released By UFC
Rogerio Bontorin’s run as a UFC fighter has reportedly come to an end. The flyweight has been released by the UFC, per a report from Alex Behunin.
Bontorin’s release comes just weeks after he struggled during a weight cut, forcing his fight against Manel Kape off a UFC pay-per-view card.
Bontorin’s UFC career has concluded with a record of three wins and three losses.
He first joined the promotion in 2018 after an appearance on the TV show “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He started his run strong, defeating Magomed Bibulatov and Raulian Paiva in 2019.
Bontorin struggled later in his UFC run, losing three of his four more recent fights. This includes a 2021 loss against Kai Kara-France and a split decision defeat to Brandon Royval in January.
Bontorin reportedly hopes to compete at bantamweight for his next pro appearance.
A Look At The Week Ahead
Friday
PFL 2022 #6
PFL will wrap up their 2022 regular season on Friday night with a card from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Their last regular season show includes welterweight and lightweight fighters competing for a spot in the postseason.
Two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison is scheduled to headline the card against short-notice opponent Kaitlin Young. Julia Budd, the previously scheduled opponent for Harrison, withdrew from the card last week.
Location: Overtime Elite Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (ESPN / TSN 2)
Bout 10: Kayla Harrison (13-0) vs. Kaitlin Young (12-12-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Rory MacDonald (23-8-1) vs. Sadibou Sy (10-6-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Ray Cooper III (24-8-1) vs. Brett Cooper (28-16) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Magomed Magomedkerimov (29-6) vs. Joao Zeferino (26-10) (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card (5:00PM EDT) (ESPN+ / TSN Direct)
Bout 6: Jarrah Al-Silawi (18-3) vs. Magomed Umalatov (11-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Larissa Pacheco (16-4) vs. Genah Fabian (5-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Gleison Tibau (36-16) vs. Nikolay Aleksakhin (26-7) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Marina Mokhnatkina (6-3) vs. Abby Montes (3-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Martina Jindrova (5-2) vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova (7-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Olena Kolesnyk (6-4) vs. Vanessa Melo (11-9) (Lightweight)
Saturday
RIZIN 36
RIZIN will return on Saturday afternoon with a card from Okinawa, Japan. Former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Kai Asakura will headline the card, taking on Korean prospect Yang Ji-yong.
Notable names like Miyuu Yamamoto, Mitsuhisa Sunabe, and kickboxer TAIGA are also expected to appear on the card.
Location: Okinawa Arena, Okinawa, Japan
Main Card (12:00AM EDT / 1:00PM JST) (RIZIN Live / RIZIN Stream Pass)
Bout 13: Kai Asakura (19-4) vs. Yang Ji-yong (4-0) (134 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 12: Hiroaki Suzuki (2-1) vs. Ren Hiramoto (0-2) (146 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 11: Miyuu Yamamoto (6-6) vs. Saori Oshima (8-3) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 10: Mitsuhisa Sunabe (29-10-4) vs. Nobuysohi Nakatsukasa (7-4) (119 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 9: Kyle Augon (14-10) vs. Sora Yamamoto (15-6-2) (146 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 8: Kohei Tokeshi (7-8) vs. Atsushi Kishimoto (7-6-2) (157 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: TAIGA vs. Soichiro Arata (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 6: Yamato Fujita (8-4) vs. Tatsuya So (18-18-4) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Yutaro Muramoto (8-6-2) vs. Shinichi Kojima (14-6-5) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Yuki Ito (10-3) vs. Yuichi Miyagi (17-11-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Mizuki Oshiro (4-5) vs. Moeri Suda (5-3) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Hirokatsu Miyagi vs. Tomoki Yoshino (160 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 1: Tanner Lourenco (1-00 vs. Oriya Oshiro (1-0) (157 lbs) (MMA Bout)
UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier
UFC’s “International Fight Week” will culminate on Saturday night with a pay-per-view card. Dominant middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya will return in the main event, taking on Jared Cannonier.
A highly anticipated trilogy fight between UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway is set to take place in the co-main event as well.
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (PPV)
Bout 12: Israel Adesanya (22-1) vs. Jared Cannonier (15-5) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
Bout 11: Alexander Volkanovski (24-1) vs. Max Holloway (23-6) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 10: Sean Strickland (25-3) vs. Alex Pereira (5-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Pedro Munhoz (19-7) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1) (Bantamweight)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 5:00PM PDT) (ABC / TSN 5)
Bout 8: Brad Riddell (10-2) vs. Jalin Turner (12-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Robbie Lawler (29-15) vs. Bryan Barberena (17-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Ian Garry (9-0) vs. Gabe Green (11-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Donald Cerrone (36-16) vs. Jim Miller (34-16) (Welterweight)
Early Prelims (6:00PM EDT / 3:00PM PDT) (UFC Fight Pass / ESPN+)
Bout 4: Uriah Hall (17-10) vs. Andre Muniz (22-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Jessica Eye (15-10) vs. Maycee Barber (10-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Brad Tavares (19-6) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (16-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Jessica-Rose Clark (11-7) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (9-6-1) (Bantamweight)
Opinion
JMMA Monday: Rating RIZIN’s Return
This week’s “JMMA Monday” is all about RIZIN’s duo of events set for July. The article runs down the pros and cons of the cards, plus the things we still have yet to learn…
The usual news and notes can also be found in the article as well. It can all be read here.
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