Welcome to the notebook, a quick catchup of all the smaller (but still important) stories from the world of MMA!
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Here are the latest stories we’re following:
UFC
- Morgan Charriere (19-10-1) has received a change in opponent for his September 28th appearance in Paris, France. While originally expected to meet AJ Cunningham (11-4), the Frenchman is now booked to face Gabriel Miranda (17-6). Miranda will end a year-long layoff with the upcoming fight. He earned his first UFC win last year, stopping Shane Young in less than a minute via submission. Charriere had a four-fight winning streak stopped in April by Chepe Mariscal, who beat him via split decision.
- In a meeting between two incredibly experienced UFC talents, Tim Means (33-16-1) and Court McGee (21-13) will face off at the promotion’s October 5th show. McGee will try to avoid the first four-fight losing streak of his career following losses since mid-2022. Means is coming back after getting stopped in the first round of a fight by Uros Medic earlier this year.
Misc.
- Cain Velasquez will appear in court on October 18th for sentencing regarding his attempted murder case, which he pleaded no contest to last month.
Bellator
- Bellator’s October 12th show in Chicago, Illinois, USA has been postponed, per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. The event’s new date is not known at the moment.
RIZIN
- Former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta (29-6) is booked to meet undefeated Kyrgyzstan prospect Razhabali Shaydullaev (10-0) at RIZIN 48 on September 29th. Shaydullaev won his promotional debut in June, putting away Koji Takeda in the first round with a rear naked choke. Archuleta has suffered back-to-back losses in RIZIN, getting stopped by Kai Asakura and Kleber Koike.
Cage Warriors
- A matchup set to go down next weekend between Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Champion Andy Clamp (13-2) and James Webb (10-5-1) has been postponed due to the defending champ suffering an illness, the promotion announced. Clamp and Webb are now expected to meet at Cage Warriors 180 on November 15th in London, England.
- Three more fights have been added to the Cage Warriors card set for September 20th:
- American prospect Chasen Blair (5-2) will try to keep his successful year going when he meets Florin Pirtea (8-2) at lightweight. Blair has picked up back-to-back first-round finish wins in Cage Warriors so far this year. Romania’s Pirtea will be competing for the first time since late 2022 when he had a three-fight winning streak broken by Cage Warriors title challenger Cristian Iorga.
- Promotional vet Adam Shelley (5-3) will meet Marin Vetrila (4-1) in a lightweight fight. Shelley had a three-fight winning streak brought to an end just two months back, suffering a second-round submission defeat against undefeated Ieuan Davies. Vetrila is returning to Cage Warriors after a pair of victories outside of the promotion. His promotional debut last year was a decision loss to El Hadji Ndiaye.
- U.K. prospect Connor Patterson (0-0) will make his pro debut against Jan Masek (1-0). Patterson put together an impressive amateur run, scoring nine wins since 2021. Masek won his pro debut in June via submission.
- Luke Riley (9-0) will headline the September 21st Cage Warriors card against Brazilian talent Alexandre Junior (6-2). Riley’s nine-fight undefeated record has solely come from wins in Cage Warriors since his 2021 debut, including a victory over American vet John De Jesus in March. He was expected to appear on “Dana White’s Contender Series” earlier this month but had to withdraw due to visa issues. Junior will be trying to bounce back from a finish loss he took on an LFA card in Brazil earlier this year.
Knockdown News 