Knockdown Daily 8/12/22: UFC Aiming To Make Jiri Prochazka, Glover Teixeira Rematch
A potential title fight at light heavyweight leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s incredibly busy issue includes a news catchup, plus a preview of tonight’s Bellator card.
News
UFC Aiming To Make Jiri Prochazka, Glover Teixeira Rematch For December PPV
After putting on one of the most memorable fights of the year, Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira might face off again.
A fight rematch between current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Prochazka and former titleholder Teixeira has been verbally agreed upon for UFC 282 on December 10th, per a report from Damon Martin of MMA Fighting.
If the fight can be confirmed, it will join a card that doesn’t have a set location at the moment.
Prochazka became champion earlier this year with a hard-fought win over Teixeira. He put an end to their back-and-forth battle in the closing moments of the title bout, securing a rear naked choke with just 28 seconds to go in the fight.
The victory was Prochazka’s third victory since joining the UFC roster in 2020, bringing him to the top of the division quite early in his promotional run.
A rematch would give Teixeira the chance to re-gain champion status. His first run as champion was quite short, not being able to defend his belt once.
Teixeira first gained the belt in October 2021, scoring a second-round rear naked choke win over Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267.
Uriah Hall: ‘I Will Be Stepping Away From’ MMA
UFC middleweight Uriah Hall has announced that he will be “stepping away” from MMA for an indefinite period of time.
Hall, 38, recently posted a statement on social media that illuded to a long or permanent absence from what he called the “greatest sport in the world.”
“Although I did not achieve the rank of world champion I’ve acquired some of my greatest achievements from mixed martial arts and that was facing my fears and being a champion in life,” said Hall via Instagram. “I want to thank the incredible fans, you guys made the sport what it is today.”
Hall was removed from the UFC rankings on Wednesday following his statement, meaning he could already be off the promotion’s roster.
The recent move to step away from MMA for Hall comes after nearly an entire decade on the UFC roster. Hall joined the promotion in 2013 after competing on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Hall scored 10 wins in the UFC through 19 appearances. His best run was from 2018 to 2021, when he scored four consecutive victories – including three via finish.
Hall recently suffered a pair of decision losses, dropping bouts to Andre Muniz and Sean Strickland in recent months.
Patricky Pitbull To Defend Lightweight Bellator Belt Against Usman Nurmagomedov
Patricky Pitbull’s first defense of his Bellator Lightweight Championship is back on the schedule.
Pitbull is expected to face undefeated contender Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288 on November 18th, as first reported by MMA Fight Universe.
The booking gives Pitbull the opportunity to defend his belt for the first time since earning it in 2021. He first secured the title last year, avenging a loss against Peter Queally to secure the then-vacant belt.
Pitbull was originally scheduled to defend his belt earlier this year. He was booked to meet Sidney Outlaw at Bellator’s July 22nd card, although an injury forced him out of that fight.
Outlaw lost his status as the top contender since then, losing a bout to former RIZIN talent Tofiq Musayev in July.
Nurmagomedov appeared on that same card, earning a first-round submission victory against Chris Gonzalez. That victory moved his undefeated record to 15 consecutive wins and marked his fourth time competing in the Bellator cage.
After that win, Nurmagomedov moved up to the top of Bellator’s lightweight rankings, with Musayev landing one spot below him.
ONE Championship Books Arjan Bhullar vs. Anatoly Malykhin For September 29th Card
ONE Championship’s heavyweight belts will be unified later this year.
The promotion has reportedly booked a fight between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin for their September 29th event, as first announced by Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” Wednesday.
Bhullar earned ONE’s heavyweight belt in 2021, scoring a second-round finish victory over veteran Brandon Vera. However, he remained sidelined for more than a year afterward, as contract negotiations with the promotion stopped him from competing.
During Bhullar’s absence from competition, Malykhin rose up the ONE ranks and become an interim titleholder. In the fall of 2021, he scored his second win for the promotion, stopping Amir Aliakbari in the first round of a bout.
He then earned champion status in February, finishing then-undefeated talent Kirill Grishenko in the second round of a fight via punches.
The reigns of both Bhullar and Malykhin have still been short. One will come to an end later this year, with the other living on.
UFC Looking To Make Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland For October 15th Main Event
Both coming off high-profile losses at middleweight, Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland could be matched up. UFC is reportedly looking to pair up the 185-pound talents for the main event of their October 15th “Fight Night” event.
Although the fight hasn’t been officially signed by either party, the fight is currently in the works, per reporter Ariel Helwani. An exact location for the event isn’t known at the moment, but Helwani noted that the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is “likely” the setting.
Both middleweight names suffered losses at UFC 276 last month.
Cannonier had an unsuccessful title shot, going five rounds against reigning champion Israel Adesanya but losing via unanimous decision in the end. Prior to that defeat, Cannonier had attained wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Derek Brunson.
Strickland had his climb up the middleweight division stopped by explosive striker Alex Pereira, who finished him in the first round of their bout. Strickland entered the fight with a strong six-fight winning streak that included two five-round main event victories.
UFC Announces Return To Brazil For January 2023 PPV
UFC is planning a pay-per-view event in Brazil early next year, marking their return to the country after nearly three years.
UFC 283 is scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 21st, as revealed by the promotion earlier this week.
UFC has regularly visited Brazil since 2011. The promotion has visited the country a total of 37 times, including 10 appearances in Rio de Janeiro.
The promotion’s last appearance was in March 2020 for a “Fight Night” card headlined by Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira. The event proceeded amid the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and was held behind closed doors.
UFC has only held events outside of the United States a handful of times since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have notably only visited Europe twice, did one event in Asia, and have yet to come back to Canada.
The announcement also came with the news that UFC has reached a pair of new broadcast deals in the country.
The promotion will move their television broadcasts over from Globo’s Combate channel to Rede Bandeiro (also known as “Band”), in early 2023. At the same time, UFC will also launch their “Fight Pass” service in the country for the price of $4.85 on a monthly basis.
“Fight Pass” offers combat sports content from smaller promotions around the world, the library of all UFC events, and other exclusive content related to the UFC. The service first launched in 2013 and has expanded since then.
Mansour Barnaoui To Make Bellator Debut Against Adam Piccolotti In October 29th Main Event
French lightweight contender Mansour Barnaoui will make his Bellator debut later this year, facing Adam Piccolotti in the main event of an October 29th show.
The bout will headline a card from the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy, per an announcement made by the promotion earlier this week.
Barnaoui will be appearing in a major MMA promotion for the first time in years. He has spent recent years of his career in Korean promotion Road FC, where he strung together six consecutive finish wins from 2017 to 2019.
The upcoming bout will also be Barnaoui’s first appearance in more than three years. His last fight dates back to May 2019, when he submitted Kwon A-sol to earn the Road FC Lightweight Championship.
Earlier fights in Barnaoui’s career include bouts in KSW and M-1 Challenge.
Piccolotti, a veteran of Bellator, will be aiming to spoil Barnaoui’s debut fight.
Appearing in his 13th Bellator bout, Piccolotti is riding the momentum of a win that he scored earlier this year. His last appearance was at Bellator 274 in February, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Georgi Karakhanyan.
Preview
Bellator 284: Gracie vs. Yamauchi
Back for their sole event in August, Bellator will present 12 fights from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA on Friday night. The card includes a welterweight main event, which sees high-ranked contender Neiman Gracie take on veteran Goiti Yamauchi.
A full preview of the show can be read here.
Here’s the bout order:
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CDT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Brett Bye (1-0) vs. M,A, Yah Li (4-0) (Amateur Catchweight 175 lbs)
Bout 2: Mitchell McKee (2-0) vs. Tony Ortega (5-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Bailey Schoenfelder (2-0) vs. Mark Currier (1-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Patrick Downey (0-0) vs. Keyes Nelson (0-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Sullivan Cauley (3-0) vs. Tyson Jeffries (14-10) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 6: DeAnna Bennett (12-7-1) vs. Justine Kish (8-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Josh Hill (21-4) vs. Marcos Breno (14-2) (Bantamweight)
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (Showtime)
Bout 8: Austin Vanderford (11-1) vs. Aaron Jeffery (12-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Said Sowma (8-3) vs. Gokhan Saricam (7-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-2) vs. Bruna Ellen (6-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 11: Valentin Moldavsky (11-2) vs. Steve Mowry (10-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 12: Neiman Gracie (11-3) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (27-5) (Welterweight)
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