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
- The date and opponent for former ONE two-division champ Reinier de Ridder’s (17-2) UFC debut is set. De Ridder will appear on UFC’s November 9th APEX show in Vegas against veteran Gerald Meerschaert (37-17), as recently announced by the promotion. De Ridder just recently finished up his run in ONE Championship, which included four different title fight wins and seven victories in the promotion overall. Meerschart is coming off a pair of finish wins from earlier this year, beating Bryan Barberena and Edmen Shahbazyan via submission.
- Along with the main event for UFC’s November 23rd Macau card being recently announced, five more fights have been revealed for the card:
- In a high-ranked co-main event clash at strawweight, former title challenger Yan Xiaonan (17-4) will take on Tabatha Ricci (11-2). Yan is coming back after losing a five-round decision to current strawweight champ Zhang Weili. Before then, she established a high-ranked spot in the division with wins over Jessica Andrade and Mackenzie Dern. Ricci has risen up through the UFC ranks by scoring six wins through eight appearances, with wins earlier this year over experienced fighters Tecia Pennington and Angela Hill.
- China’s Song Kenan (22-8) will face fellow UFC vet Muslim Salikhov (20-5) at welterweight. Song returned to the win column in August, fighting to a decision over Ricky Glenn at UFC 305. Salikhov snapped a two-fight skid in July with a split decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio.
- Volkan Oezdemir (20-7) has the chance to string together three wins for the first time since 2017 when he takes on Carlos Ulberg (10-1). Oezdemir’s last two fights have been quick appearances, putting away Johnny Walker and Bogdan Guskov in the first round over the past year. New Zealand’s Ulberg is coming off a 12-second win over Alonzo Menfield, his sixth consecutive win since early 2022. Ulberg’s momentum has been somewhat slowed this year by numerous cancelled bouts, keeping him off three different UFC cards.
- Flyweight prospect Wang Cong (6-0) will try to follow-up on her impressive UFC debut when she faces Gabriella Fernandes (9-3). Undefeated Wang won her first UFC fight in just 62 seconds last month, stopping Victoria Leonardo with a hard right hand. She will likely be favored once again when facing Fernandes, who snapped a two-fight skid in June with a win over Carli Judice.
- In a double UFC debut, Lone’er Kavanagh (7-0) and Jose Ochoa (7-0) will meet at flyweight. Cage Warriors vet Kavanagh earned a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in August, stopping An Tuan Ho in the first round with a hard left hook. Peru’s Ochoa is getting the UFC call after earning a submission win on LFA 171 in November 2023.
- Two more fights have been announced for UFC’s December 7th show:
- Clay Guida (38-24), the man with the fourth-most UFC fights in promotional history, will meet Chase Hooper (14-3-1) in a lightweight clash. Guida will slip into the first three-fight skid of his career if unsuccessful in December, returning after 2023 defeats to Joaquim Silva and Rafa Garcia. Hooper, on the other hand, is riding the momentum of his first trio of UFC wins, with the latest being a D’arce Choke win against Viacheslav Borshchev.
- Micheal Chiesa (17-7) and Max Griffin (20-10) will face off in a welterweight fight, per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting. Chiesa ended his three-fight losing streak in August with a quick submission over Tony Ferguson. Griffin’s last fight was a split decision victory over Jeremiah Wells, evening up his UFC record at eight wins and eight losses.
- Two more fights have been reported for UFC’s December 14th show in Tampa, Florida.
- Ranked flyweights Manel Kape (19-7) and Bruno Silva (14-5-2) will face off, per AgFight. Kape had a four-fight winning streak brought to an end in July, losing on scorecards to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304. Lower-ranked flyweight Silva is on the rise, with four consecutive finish wins since 2021 moving him up to 12th in the division. Most recently, he put away Cody Durden with strikes in the second round of a fight.
- A bantamweight fight between Davey Grant (13-7) and Ramon Taveras (10-2) will go down, as first reported by Nolan King and Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. Grant will be ending a more than year-long absence from the cage, coming back following a split decision loss in 2023 against Daniel Marcos. Taveras won his UFC debut early this year, avenging his 2023 loss to Serhiy Sidey with a split decision victory.
- Former UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno appeared on stage with MMA fan and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Meta Connect conference recently, testing the translation technology coming to the company’s smart glasses brand in partnership with Ray-Ban.
PFL
- The rest of PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view card has been announced, with six more fights being revealed by the promotion. The new fights aren’t as high-profile as the card’s top four bouts, which feature numerous current and former champions.
- Prospects Zafar Mohsen (13-4) and Husein Kadimagomaev (11-1) will make their PFL debuts on the card. Mohsen, who has mostly appeared on the German regional scene, has scored a trio of finishes in the country as of late. He was expected to appear in a Cage Warriors title fight against Harry Hardwick earlier this year, although the fight fell through. Switzerland’s Kadimagomaev has earned 11 wins since his 2018 debut, including numerous appearances in Brave CF.
- Bellator vets Raufeon Stots (20-2) and Marcos Breno (15-3) will face off in a bantamweight clash. Stots will be aiming for his second win since dropping the Bellator Bantamweight Championshuip in 2023. His last fight was a unanimous win against Danny Sabatello, beating the rival for the second time. Brazil’s Breno similarly faced Sabatello in his last appearance, suffering a second-round rear naked choke loss.
- After wins in notable promotions UAE Warriors and RCC, Russia’s Makkasharipov Zaynukov (15-4) will meet Dedrek Sanders (9-4). Sanders’ PFL debut earlier this year was somewhat of an upset win, stopping Sergio Cossio in the first round.
- In a classic “Two O’s, One’s Got To Go” fight, Ibragim Ibragimov (7-0) and Nacho Campos (5-0) will collide at featherweight. Ibragimov won in a non-tournament PFL Europe bout earlier this year, submitting Josh Reed in just 50 seconds. Spain’s Campos has finished four of his five opponents since debuting a year-and-a-half ago.
- Fighting on his home turf, Saudi Arabia’s Mostafa Rashed Neda (9-3) is booked to meet Ahmed Sami (11-4). Neda has made quick work of his two previous PFL opponents, stopping Abdel Rahmane Driai and Korey Kuppe in the first round with strikes. Sami is getting the PFL call after losing a regional title bout in the Netherlands earlier this year, not being favored after five rounds against Yousri Belgaroui.
- The card is currently scheduled to open with Youssef Al Housani (4-1) against Taha Bendaoud (3-0). Bendaoud was booked for this year’s PFL MENA featherweight bracket, but got eliminated in the quarter-finals after missing weight for his fight. He has an undefeated record of three wins, including a pair of UAE Warriors fights. Al Housani has similarly scored a pair of victories in the notable regional promotion as well.
ONE Championship
- UFC vet John Lineker will make his second Muay Thai appearance of the year at ONE’s October 4th show in Bangkok, facing Alexey Balyko. Lineker won his Muay Thai debut earlier this month, scoring a second-round stoppage against Asa Ten Pow.
- A clash between Sanzhar Zakirov (10-0) and Hiroba Minowa (14-5) has been re-booked and will take place at the October 4th show. The clash, which per Nicolas Atkin was removed from ONE’s U.S. show earlier this month due to visa issues on Zakirov’s side, is now set to take place in Thailand. Zakirov has put together an undefeated record of 10 wins, including a trio in ONE over the past year. Minowa snapped a three-fight skid in July, beating Jeremy Miado via split decision.
KSW
- Josef Stummer (4-1) has been given a new opponent for KSW 99 on October 9th. While originally booked to face Michal Domin (7-3), the promotion announced Thursday that he withdrew due to injury and would be replaced by Wojciech Kazieczko (4-2). Kazieczko lost his past two fights in KSW but is returning after scoring a win on the Polish regional scene in April. Stummer will be searching for his second win this year, returning after a submission victory over Adrian Wieliczko.
OKTAGON
- Undefeated German prospect Max Holzer (8-0) will face Mohammed Trabelsi (12-7) at OKTAGON’s big show in Germany on October 12th. Holzer will be trying to end his big year with OKTAGON by scoring a third win under their banner. He has kept his streak of submission wins alive so far in the promotion, submitting Corey Fry and Eemil Kurhela in recent months. Trabelsi is coming to OKTAGON after snapping a two-fight skid on the regional scene late last year.
- Long-time OKTAGON talents Daniel Skvor (7-4) and Jorick Montagnac (6-2) will face off at the promotion’s December 7th show. Montagnac has earned a pair of decision wins in the promotion over the past year, while Skvor is coming back after losing via submission to Bellator alum Will Fleury.
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