8/22/24 Notebook: Two ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Prospects Score UFC Fight

News 7 Minutes

Welcome to the notebook, a quick catchup of all the smaller (but still important) stories from the world of MMA!

If you want the notebook delivered to you every morning along with MMA’s top headlines, consider subscribing to the Knockdown Daily newsletter via Substack. It’s free!

Here are the latest stories we’re following:

UFC

  • Along with the grand final bouts from “The Ultimate Fighter” that have been added to Saturday’s UFC card, a clash between featherweight reality show contenders Zygimantas Ramaska (9-2) and Nathan Fletcher (8-1) will take place on the prelims. Lithuania’s Ramaska made it into the semi-finals of the tournament but had to be removed from the bracket due to an injury. Fletcher, a former title challenger in Cage Warriors, was eliminated in the opening round of the tournament by finalist Kaan Ofli.
  • Dennis Buzukja (12-4) also has a new opponent for Saturday. While he was originally booked to meet Danny Silva (9-1), the promotion is now matching him against Francis Marshall (7-2). On short notice, Marshall will be trying to snap a two-fight skid that developed in 2023. Buzukja will be trying to build off his March win against Connor Matthews.
  • On Tuesday night, UFC CEO Dana White admitted to writer Kevin Iole that the promotion intentionally edited footage of Israel Adesanya to exclude the former champ’s mention of Francis Ngannou at a press conference. While White said he didn’t tell the team to exclude mentions of Ngannou from promotional footage, he took ownership as the editors did the move assuming that’s what he would have wanted. “I’m in charge of everything production-related, so at the end of the day, the fact that it happened falls on me 100 percent,” he said. “It’s my responsibility and I accept it.” Ngannou notably had a sour exit from the UFC in 2023, waiting out the end of his contract to explore other options as a fighter.
  • A pair of fights for UFC’s September 28th card in Paris, France have recently been confirmed:
    • France’s own William Gomis (13-2) will try to keep his winning streak going against Joanderson Brito (17-3-1). Gomis has picked up three wins since entering the UFC roster in 2022, including a pair of appearances on previous trips to Paris. His last fight came just under a year ago, stopping Yanis Ghemmouri with strikes. Brito has strung together an even more impressive five consecutive finish wins since 2022, most recently getting past Jack Shore at UFC 301.
    • Undefeated Oumar Sy (10-0) will meet Jung Da-woon (15-5-1) at light heavyweight. Former KSW and OKTAGON talent Sy won his UFC debut in May, submitting Tuco Tokkos in the first round with a rear naked choke. He’ll now meet Jung, an eight-fight UFC vet who is fighting to snap a three-fight skid that has developed since 2022.
  • Two more fights for UFC 308, which is booked for Abu Dhabi on October 26th:
    • UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos (32-16) will return against Geoff Neal (15-6). The fight gives dos Anjos a chance to score his first victory in nearly two years, coming back after losses to Vicente Luque and Mateusz Gamrot. Neal similarly hasn’t had much luck as of late, dropping fights to contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry.
    • Long-time light heavyweight talent Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-5) will move up to heavyweight for a fight against Marcos Rogerio de Lima (22-9-1). Nzechukwu is making the move following losses to Dustin Jacoby and Ovince St. Preux over the past year. Rogerio de Lima scored a finish win in his last outing, putting away incredibly short-notice opponent Junior Tafa in the second round.
  • Some changes have hit UFC’s November 2nd card in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. While Derrick Lewis (28-12) and Alexandr Romanov (17-3) were originally scheduled to meet in a co-main event fight, both talents have been given new opponents for the same show. 29-fight UFC vet Lewis will now meet undefeated Jhonata Diniz (8-0), who earned his second UFC win just earlier this month over Karl Williams. Romanov will return against Rodrigo Nascimento (11-2), who had his three-fight winning streak broken in a main event fight against the aforementioned Lewis earlier this year. The Lewis and Romanov matchup was reported by Laerte Viana first, with MMA Fighting providing more detail on the other pairing.
  • Winless UFC talents Brendson Ribeiro (15-7) and Caio Machado (8-3-1) will also meet at UFC Edmonton in a light heavyweight fight, per Leo Guimaraes. Ribeiro has struggled in his rookie UFC year, getting stopped by Zhang Mingyang and then losing on scorecards to Magomed Gadzhiyasulov. Machado is moving down after losing heavyweight fights to Mick Parkin and Don’Tale Mayes.
  • Two more fights for UFC’s November 9th show:
    • Just one week removed from earning his UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Mansur Abdul-Malik (6-0) has his promotional debut booked against Dusko Todorovic (12-4). Abdul-Malik kept his streak of finish wins alive last week, stopping Wes Schultz in the second round with strikes. Todorovic is returning for the first time since losing a fight against Christian Leroy Duncan in 2023 due to a knee injury.
    • Former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitor Tresean Gore (4-2) will snap a 25-month absence from competition against Antonio Trocoli (12-4). Gore’s last win, which dates back to October 2022, was a submission victory over Josh Fremd. He has withdrawn from a pair of fights since then, both due to injury. Trocoli lost his UFC debut on super short notice in June, getting stopped by Shara Magomedov.
  • Karine Silva’s (18-4) undefeated UFC run has a chance to extend further when she meets Viviane Araujo (12-6) at UFC 309 on November 19th, as first reported by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie. Silva secured her fourth consecutive UFC win in April, beating Ariane Lipski on scorecards. All of her previous victories in the promotion came via submission. Araujo, who is ranked just below Silva at 11th in the official standings, is returning following a scorecard defeat against Natalia Silva.
  • The first pair of bouts have been reported for UFC’s end-of-year December 14th show at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
    • Top-1o strawweights Amanda Ribas (12-5) and Mackenzie Dern (14-5) could face off in a rematch, as first reported by AgFight. Ribas got past Dern during her rise up the strawweight rankings from 2019 to 2020. The upcoming booking, which is notably still in the works, gives her a chance to come back from a five-round defeat against Rose Namajunas from March. Dern is back on the rise, snapping a two-fight skid with a decision over Loopy Godinez just a few weeks back.
    • Returning for the first time since losing his undefeated record, Vitor Petrino (11-1) will take on Dustin Jacoby (19-9-1), per Nolan King and Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. Petrino’s 11-fight run came to an end with a massive upset result in May, suffering a first-round submission loss to veteran Anthony Smith. Jacoby has struggled in recent years, having won just one of his last five fights.

PFL

  • Brahyan Zurcher (9-0), a promising featherweight talent out of Mexico, has withdrawn from his booking against Marcirley Alves (12-4) for Friday’s PFL card.

ONE Championship

  • Notable flyweight talents Bokang Masunyane (10-1) and Mansur Malachiev (12-1) have been paired up for ONE Fight Night 25 on October 4th from Bangkok, Thailand. Masunyane has earned a pair of wins since his undefeated run was put to an end by now-champ Jarred Brooks, beating Japan’s Hiroba Minowa and Keito Yamakita on scorecards. Malachiev bounced back from defeat in February with a victory against Yosuke Saruta.

Invicta FC

  • Last week, we reported that a title fight between Elisandra Ferreira and Andressa Romero would headline Invicta FC 57 on September 20th. Since then, the promotion has announced four more bouts for the card:
    • Former Bellator talent and Invicta FC title challenger Kristina Williams (7-4) will take on Nayara Maia (7-1-1) at flyweight. Williams fought for the Invicta FC 125-pound division title in early 2023, losing to now-UFC talent Ketlen Souza. She has since rebounded with a victory over Dee Begley. Maia is returning after more than a two-year layoff, with her last fight being a defeat against Tereza Bleda on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
    • Returning to Invicta FC for the first time since 2019, DeAnna Bennett (13-9-1) will face Liz Tracy (7-5). Bennett has a long history with Invicta FC dating back to 2014 and has scored six wins for them in the past. She is coming back after a five-fight run in Bellator, plus a regional loss in Michigan earlier this year. Tracy is similarly making a comeback, fighting for the first time since her September 2022 loss against Valesca Machado.
    • Rounding out a trio of flyweight fights, former UFC fighter Milana Dudieva (12-9) is expected to face Sandra Lavado (12-5). Dudieva hasn’t found much success since joining Invicta FC in 2017, scoring just one win in five appearances. Her last fight was back in early 2022, getting stopped by Denise Gomes. Lavado, a talent who has fought in notable places like LFA, “Contender Series,” and Combate Global, is landing at Invicta FC with the hopes of getting back into the win column after taking a loss against past UFC fighter Sabina Mazo.
    • Maria Djukic (3-1) and Maria Jose Favela (3-2) are booked for a bantamweight clash. Djukic earned her first Invicta FC win late last year. While Jose Favela has lost her past two fights in the promotion, she’s returning after scoring a stoppage loss elsewhere in 2022.

ICYMI

Unknown's avatar

Published by Jack Wannan

Published

Leave a comment