10/9/24 Notebook: Iasmin Lucindo Breaks Into Strawweight Top 10

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

• Some rankings movement following UFC 307:
  • Iasmin Lucindo (17-5) has shot up six spots in the strawweight standings, now placed eighth overall. Marina Rodriguez (17-5-2), who lost to Lucindo on Saturday, has dropped down to ninth.
  • Kayla Harrison (18-1) is up to second in the bantamweight standings, with Ketlen Vieira (14-4) dropping to third. Former champ Raquel Pennington (16-9) returned to the non-champ standings as the first-place contender.
  • Mario Bautista (15-2) has advanced up to ninth at bantamweight following his victory over Jose Aldo (32-9), who now sits down at 11th.
  • Joaquin Buckley (20-6) swapped places with Stephen Thompson (17-8-1) at welterweight, bringing him up to ninth.
• Ismail Naurdiev (23-7) will make his return to the UFC at the promotion’s October 26th card, taking on Bruno Silva (23-11). Naurdiev previously fought on the UFC roster from 2019 to 2020, exiting with a pair of wins and two losses. He has mainly since fought in Brave CF, recently snapping a two-fight skid with a quick submission victory. Silva will be trying to end a three-fight losing streak, which includes a March loss to Chris Weidman.
• Team Iridium management has announced a pair of fights for UFC’s November 9th show:
  • Both aiming to end losing streaks, Cody Stamann (21-7-1) and Da’Mon Blackshear (14-7-1) will face off at bantamweight. Blackshear has suffered a pair of defeats as of late, including an 18-second defeat to Montel Jackson. Stamann has lost on scorecards in his past two appearances, keeping him winless since early 2023.
  • Cortavious Romious (9-2) will make his UFC debut against Gaston Bolanos (7-4). Romious earned a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in August, beating Michael Imperato via decision. Nine-fight UFC vet Bolanos is coming back after taking a stoppage loss early this year against Marcus McGhee.
• Two more fights for UFC 309 on November 16th from Madison Square Garden:
  • Looking to keep his solid year going, Oban Elliott (11-2) will face Bassil Hafez (9-4-1), per Hafez’s management team. Elliott made his UFC debut in February, beating Val Woodburn on scorecards. He most recently returned to beat Preston Parsons via decision as well. Hafez scored his first UFC victory in June, bouncing back from an unsuccessful debut with a performance over Mickey Gall.
  • Charlie Campbell (9-2) and Mauricio Ruffy (10-1) are expected to meet at lightweight, as first reported by AgFight. Ruffy, fighting out of the rising Brazilian gym Fighting Nerds, won his UFC debut via first-round stoppage against Jamie Mullarkey in May. Campbell picked up a pair of wins in his rookie year as a UFC talent, stopping Alex Reyes and overcoming Trevor Peek via decision.
• Both fighting for their first UFC win, Xiao Long (26-9) and Quang Le (8-1) have been matched up for the promotion’s November 23rd show in Macau. Xiao joined the UFC roster earlier this year after losing to Lee Chang-ho in the grand finals of the “Road To UFC” bantamweight 2023-24 tournament. LFA stand-out Le suffered a loss in his short-notice debut earlier this year, not being favored on scorecards against UFC veteran Chris Gutierrez.
• Undefeated City Kickboxing prospect Navajo Stirling (5-0) will make his UFC debut on December 14th against Tuco Tokkos (10-4). Stirling had an impressive showing on the “Contender Series” earlier this year, stopping Phillip Latu in the second round with strikes. Four of Stirling’s five wins have come via stoppage since turning pro in 2022 following a career in kickboxing. Bellator alum Tokkos lost his UFC debut in May to Oumar Sy via submission.
• Veteran Chris Curtis (31-11) is booked to face Roman Kopylov (13-3) on January 11th, per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting. Kopylov will try to break back into the rankings with a win, as Curtis currently sits 15th in the division. The Russian talent has won four of his last five, most recently beating Cesar Almeida via split decision. Curtis will be trying to bounce back early next year following a defeat to Brendan Allen.
• It looks like UFC will host an event on January 18th, as a fight has been booked for a card on that date. Jailton Almeida (21-3) and Serghei Spivac (17-4) have been matched up in a heavyweight clash, per Leo Guimaraes. Almeida came back from his sole UFC loss in June, submitting Alexandr Romanov in the first round via rear naked choke. Spivac similarly returned to the win column in August, catching Marcin Tybura with an armbar in August.
• Some quick numbers via my growing collection of spreadsheets: Here are the UFC champions who have gone the longest number of days since their last fight, excluding those who have a bout booked currently (Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria): Zhang Weili (179), Alexandra Pantoja (158), Islam Makhachev (130), Tom Aspinall (74), Belal Muhammad (74), Dricus Du Plessis (52), Merab Dvalishvili (25), Valentina Shevchenko (25), and of course Juliana Pena (4) and Alex Pereira (4). Worth keeping this list in mind when considering who could headline UFC’s December PPV, which is without any major fights thus far.

Invicta FC

• Invicta FC has announced the full six-fight lineup for their November 6th show from the Memorial Hall in Kansas City:
  • While the show was originally scheduled to be headlined by a clash between Alejandra Lara and Viviane Pereira, a fight between them has been swapped out for a clash between Emily Ducote (13-9) and Yulia Ostroverkhova (9-3-1). Former Invicta FC champ Ducote is coming back to the promotion after a five-fight run in the UFC which came to an end in May with a loss to Vanessa Demopoulos. Ostroverkhova lost her Invicta FC debut in August to Valesca Machado via unanimous decision.
  • Returning following a recent win, former Bellator title challenger DeAnna Bennett (14-9-1) will take on Kate Bacik (5-1). Bennett snapped a two-fight skid in her return to Invicta FC, beating Liz Tracy last month. Poland’s Bacik has put together five wins over the past 24 months, most recently getting by Paula Cristina dos Santos Silva at Invicta FC 56.
  • Former RIZIN talent Saori Oshima (14-5) will look for her first Invicta FC win when she faces Ana Palacios (9-3-1). Oshima suffered a loss in her promotional debut earlier this year, dropping a fight on scorecards to Andressa Romero. Long-time Combate Global fighter Palacios had a successful Invicta FC debut in August, beating Flor Hernandez.
  • Former UFC and PFL fighter Shanna Young (9-7) will head back to Invicta FC for the first time since 2019, meeting Amanda Torres (9-7). Young competed in this year’s PFL flyweight season, not making the playoffs after losing to Kana Watanabe and Ilara Joanne. Torres, a past opponent of Marina Rodriguez and Priscila Cachoeira, will be trying to return to the win column in her promotional debut.
  • After finding some success in Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat promotion, Joy Pendell (3-1) will take on Zurina Turrey (4-1) next month. Pendell has earned three victories earlier this year already. Turrey had a run of four wins stopped two months back with a submission defeat to Jaeleen Robledo.
  • Both returning after a successful pro debut, Magdalena Czaban (1-0) and Hope Holmes (1-0) have been paired up. Czaban won her pro debut on the Polish regional scene, submitting Camila Curutchet in the first round. Holmes picked up a win in Peak Fighting Championships just two months back via decision.