Knockdown Daily 9/3/21: ONE Championship: Empower Preview
A preview of this morning's ONE Championship card leads the MMA headlines for Friday
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily. This issue covers all the recent MMA news, including a preview of this morning’s ONE Championship event.
News
Undefeated Welterweight Sean Brady To Face Michael Chiesa At November 20th UFC Event
Undefeated welterweight Sean Brady now has a new fight lined up, as he is expected to face Micheal Chiesa at UFC’s November 20th event. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported the matchup first.
Brady has had bad luck with getting a fight recently, with two recent renditions of a bout against Kevin Lee falling through for various reasons. His last appearance was in March, where he submitted Jake Matthews in the third round of a fight with an arm triangle choke. The appearance was his fourth win since joining the UFC in 2019.
Chiesa will be attempting to bounce back from a recent first-round submission loss that he suffered to Vicente Luque. The fight snapped a four-fight winning streak that he had built up, which included a five-round decision victory against Neil Magny earlier this year.
Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev Set For December 4th UFC Card
Rising lightweights will be paired up in early December when Brad Riddell faces Rafael Fiziev. The fighters are expected to meet at UFC’s December 4th event, per a report from Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
Riddell has been undefeated since joining the UFC roster two years back. He defeated divisional gatekeeper Drew Dober in his last bout. He isn’t afraid of going the distance in his fights, as he has picked up every UFC victory on scorecards thus far.
Fiziev lost in his UFC debut back in 2019, marking the sole blemish on his pro record. Since then, he has put together four consecutive wins. He keeps prevailing as the challenges get steeper, with his two most recent wins coming against Renato Moicano and Bobby Green.
UFC Parts Ways With Antonio Braga Neto and Liliya Shakirova
UFC has parted ways with two more athletes, per a recent report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. The report details that Antonio Braga Neto and Liliya Shakirova have departed the roster recently.
Braga Neto was scheduled to appear at last weekend’s UFC “Fight Night” event, but was later removed from the lineup due to testing positive for COVID-19.
The withdrawal continued his struggle in returning to the cage. The 33-year-old middleweight has been inactive since 2017, with four different bookings falling through in that time.
Braga Neto entered the UFC in 2013 with a record of seven wins and one loss. He is departing the UFC after putting together one win and two losses in the promotion.
Shakirova’s UFC stint has come to a close after a recent suspension. The flyweight was given a two-year sanction by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency earlier this week due to a drug test that was taken in December 2020.
Shakirova entered the promotion on short notice last year, stepping in to face Lauren Murphy at UFC 254. She was submitted with a rear naked choke in the bout.
Preview
ONE Championship: Empower
Singapore-based MMA promotion ONE Championship will host their first-ever all-women event on Friday morning. The eight-fight card features a title fight between 125-pound champ Xiong Jing Nan and Michelle Nicolini, and also includes the launch of an eight-woman grand prix.
The tournament includes ONE prospects Itsuki Hirata, Denice Zamboanga, Ritu Phogat, and also has the promotional debut of former RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion Seo Hee Ham.
The event is one of the promotion’s most anticipated of the year. It was first announced back in March, with the first targeted date for the event being May. After COVID-19 forced the first rendition of the show to be postponed, it now finally lands on a weekend in September.
Unlike many ONE Championship events recently, Friday’s card will air live instead of pre-taped. It will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
A preview of the card can be read here.
Lead Card (7:30AM EDT / 7:30PM SGT) (Youtube / Bleacher Report App)
Bout 1: Mei Yamaguchi (21-12-1) vs. Julie Mezabarba (8-2-1) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Alternate Bout) (115 lbs)
Bout 2: Jackie Buntan vs. Daniela Lopez (115 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube / Bleacher Report App)
Bout 3: Anissa Meksen vs. Cristina Morales (115 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 4: Itsuki Hirata (4-0) vs. Alyse Anderson (5-1) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (115 lbs)
Bout 5: Meng Bo (17-5) vs. Ritu Phogat (5-1) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (115 lbs)
Bout 6: Alyona Rassohyna (13-4) vs. Stamp Fairtex (5-1) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (115 lbs)
Bout 7: Denice Zamboanga (8-0) vs. Seo Hee Ham (23-8) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final) (115 lbs)
Bout 8: Xiong Jing Nan (15-2) vs. Michelle Nicolini (6-2) (ONE MMA Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
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