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
- Veteran Brad Tavares (20-9) is expected to meet Park Jun-yong (17-6) at UFC’s October 12th card in Las Vegas. Tavares and Park were initially booked to meet in July, although that iteration of the fight was cancelled after Park wasn’t medically cleared to compete. Tavares is coming off a third-round finish loss from February against Gregory Rodrigues. Korea’s Park had a four-fight winning streak brought to an end late last year by Andre Muniz.
- Alexander Volkov (38-10) has withdrawn from his October 26th bout on UFC 308 against Ciryl Gane (12-2) due to injury, per a recent announcement from the heavyweight vet. It’s unclear whether Gane will receive a new opponent for the pay-per-view event, which is roughly one month away.
- Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt (14-6) has been paired up with Miles Johns (15-2) for November 9th. Garbrandt had a two-fight winning streak broken at UFC 300 with a second-round submission loss to Deiveson Figueiredo. Johns hasn’t lost since 2022, including victories earlier this year against Cody Gibson and Douglas Silva de Andrade.
- Mickey Gall (7-6) will try to snap a three-fight losing streak when he faces Ramiz Brahimaj (10-5) at UFC 309 on November 16th. Gall has gone winless since 2021. Brahimaj has flipped between wins and losses since joining the UFC roster in 2020, most recently losing on scorecards to Themba Gorimbo.
- LFA stand-out Ozzy Diaz (9-2) will make his UFC debut on November 23rd against Zhang Mingyang (17-6), per First Round Management. Diaz is getting the call-up after a pair of finish wins in the LFA, most recently beating former UFC talent Bevon Lewis in the second round with strikes. Zhang scored a performance bonus for his promotional debut in February, stopping Brendson Ribeiro in under two minutes with strikes.
Invicta FC
- Invicta FC 58 will take place on November 6th from the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, USA. Former Bellator title challenger Alejandra Lara (11-7) will headline the card against past UFC talent Viviane Pereira (16-3). Pereira has put together a trio of wins since 2019, most recently beating veteran talent DeAnna Bennett on an XFC card in May. Lara has scored two wins since the end of her Bellator run earlier this year.
Cage Warriors
- Cage Warriors will head to Rome, Italy on November 2nd. Rome has become a frequent stop for Cage Warriors in recent years, having visited the city four times since 2022.
- Expected to appear on the show: Stefano Paterno (18-4-1), Alessandro Giordano (8-3), Michele Martignoni (9-3), Simone Patrizi (7-2), Luca Borando (4-1), Khadim Dia (5-0), Emanuele Tetti (2-0), Giuseppe Mastrogiacomo (5-0), Sergio Gavinelli (5-3), Mario Mingaj (6-0), Giacomo Michelis (6-1), and Giuseppe Ruggeri (8-1).
Knockdown News 