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
- Former UFC Featherweight Champion Germaine de Randamie (10-5) has withdrawn from her September 28th fight against France’s Nora Cornolle (8-1), per a recent social media post. “Two weeks ago in training I broke my finger and fractured my foot,” she wrote recently. Portugal’s Jacqueline Cavalcanti (7-1) will take her place, searching for a third UFC win after performances against Zarah Fairn and Josiane Nunes. Cornolle has similarly won a pair of fights since her debut last year. The new matchup was first reported by AgFight.
- Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-5) has received a new opponent for UFC 308 on October 26th. While originally booked to meet Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima (22-9-1), he’s now expected to fight Justin Tafa (7-4). Nzechukwu will be trying to snap a two-fight skid after losses against Ovince St. Preux and Dustin Jacoby. Tafa is returning following a defeat against Karl Williams in March.
- Charles Jourdain (15-8-1) will make his bantamweight debut at UFC’s November 2nd show in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, going down to face veteran Victor Henry (24-6). News of the matchup was first reported by Aaron Bronsteter of Sportsnet. Jourdain is dropping 10 pounds after back-to-back losses earlier this year at featherweight, losing bouts to Sean Woodson and Jean Silva. Henry is coming off a third-round finish over veteran Rani Yahya from April.
Bellator
- Former Bellator Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov (27-1) says he is a free agent, concluding his nine-fight run with Bellator which kicked off back in 2018. Amosov had his undefeated record broken last year when he suffered a third-round loss to Jason Jackson, ending his title run.
Misc.
- Bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC has struck a three-year deal with DAZN, per an announcement made Friday. The deal, which will begin with their show next month in Spain, will see the subscription service air live events and pay-per-view shows.
- Former UFC heavyweights Greg Hardy and Chase Sherman will meet as part of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA’s November 15th show in Biloxi, Mississippi.
- Former UFC fighter Kevin Lee recently told the Anik & Florian podcast that he was willing to compete on “Dana White’s Contender Series” to get back on the promotion’s roster. “I’m willing to go on Dana White’s Contender Series to show how serious I am about competing at a high level,” he said.
Around The World
- UFC and Bellator are set to go down today, but so are dozens of other shows from around the globe. Here are some other events to keep an eye on:
- Middleweight talents will get the main event focus when KSW 98 takes place in Lubin, Poland. France’s Laid Zerhouni (11-8) will try for his third KSW victory when he faces Radoslaw Paczuski in the final bout of the night. Zerhouni has earned a pair of notable finish wins, beating Bartosz Fabinski and Boubacar Niakate earlier this year. Polish fighter Pacszuski snapped a two-fight skid in July with a victory over Kacper Karski. The card will also feature former boxer Krzysztof Glowacki (1-0), rising Czech fighter Dominik Humburger (8-1), and former bantamweight title challenger Zuriko Jojua (9-2).
- UFC and Bellator veteran Benson Henderson will make his boxing debut as part of a four-man tournament in Newcastle, England hosted by MF & DAZN X Series. Henderson will meet fellow MMA fighter Chris Avila in the opening round, and if successful will take on the winner of a fight between Idris Virgo and Mohammed Faisal later that evening.
- Former UFC talent Jay Perrin (11-8) will attempt to gain the Cage Titans Bantamweight Championship when he meets Jay Pressley (8-4) in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Perrin has gone 1-1 since exiting the UFC roster in late 2022.
LFA
- LFA has announced a pair of events for November:
- LFA 196 will go down at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona on November 8th. The event will be their third trip to the U.S. state this year.
- LFA 197 is booked to take place on November 22nd from Brazil, with the exact location not announced yet. Brazil has become a significant portion of LFA’s schedule in recent years, with the upcoming event being their sixth time visiting the country in 2024 alone.
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