10/12/24 Notebook: ONE Re-Books Kickboxing Title Fight For November Card

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

• Jack Shore (17-2) vs. Youssef Zalal (15-5-1) has been added to UFC’s November 2nd card in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Zalal is on an impressive career resurgence as of late, returning to the UFC roster after a run on the regional scene and scoring a pair of wins since then. Shore will be trying to come back from a stoppage loss from May against Joanderson Brito.
• David Onama (12-2) and Lucas Almeida (15-3) will collide at UFC 309 next month, per social media posts made by both fighters. Onama scored his second consecutive win earlier this year, beating Jonathan Pearce. Almeida scored a crucial win in June, snapping a two-fight skid with a victory over Timmy Cuamba.

ONE Championship

• A fight between Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen to crown ONE’s first 125-pound kickboxing champ has been re-booked for the promotion’s November 9th show in Bangkok, Thailand. The fight, which was first expected to go down in July, was cancelled the first time due to Buntan suffering an injury. Buntan has put together an impressive six wins and just one loss since entering the promotion in 2021. Former GLORY Kickboxing champ Meksen is moving up after losing a 115-pound title fight against Phetjeeja late last year.
  • It was also recently announced that grappling ace Marcus Almeida (4-1) and Amir Aliakbari (14-3) will meet in a heavyweight MMA clash earlier on the card. Almeida will be appearing for the first time since his undefeated record came to an end last year, losing on scorecards to Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane. Aliakbari will try to build upon his four-fight winning streak, which includes a trio of finish wins.

RIZIN

• RIZIN has announced that the promotion’s November 17th show in Nagoya, Japan will be 16 bouts (yes, you read that right). Here’s a rundown of the new fights announced for the card, along with the previously revealed pairings of Shoji Maruyama (19-17-1) vs. Ryusei Ashizawa (1-1) and Ayaka Hamasaki (24-6) vs. Shim Yu-ri (6-4).
  • Appearing for the first time since losing the RIZIN Featherweight Championship, Vugar Karamov (19-5) will face Kazumasa Majima (17-5). Karamov lost his title just under a year ago, getting stopped in 78 seconds by current champ Chihiro Suzuki, ending a four-fight winning streak in the promotion. Majima won at RIZIN’s July show, submitting Suguru Nii via rear naked choke.
  • Undefeated Igor Tanabe (5-0) will return against Marcos Yoshio de Souza (9-3). Tanabe has impressed in his RIZIN appearances thus far, winning three bouts via first-round submission. Souza, who trains out of the prominent Bonsai Jiu Jitsu gym, is appearing for the first time since getting stopped by Daichi Abe in 2022.
  • Korea’s Lee Jung-hyun (4-2) will return to RIZIN for a fight against Yuki Ito (16-5). “Road To UFC” alum Lee had an unsuccessful promotional debut in April, getting submitted in the first round by Makoto Shinryu. Ito has put together a trio of RIZIN wins since 2023, most recently getting past Masatoshi Ueda on scorecards.
  • Japan Top Team’s Hiroya (9-13-1) has been booked to face Yuya Shibata (19-7). Hiroya has lost three of his four RIZIN outings since debuting in the promotion last year, with his last fight being a first-round stoppage loss to Hideo Tokoro in July. Shibata won his RIZIN debut in March, pulling off a kneebar to get past Erson Yamamoto.
  • Tony Laramie (9-2), the brother of former UFC fighter TJ Laramie, will make his RIZIN debut against Yutaro Muramoto (12-8-2). Laramie has put together an impressive seven wins since 2019, mostly emerging on the Canadian regional scene. His last fight went just 25 seconds, stopping Josh Smith to capture BTC’s flyweight title. While Muramoto lost to former UFC talent Rogerio Bontorin last year, he’s competing in RIZIN once again following a win in the regional promotion DEEP Impact.
  • Turkish prospect Alibek Gadzhammatov (4-0) will step into the RIZIN cage and face Daichi Kitakata (20-12-1). Gadzhammatov has earned four wins in the Russian promotion ACA since his 2021 debut, all via finish. Japanese regional vet Kitakata will be fighting for his first win since March 2022.
  • Alan Yamaniha (22-11-4) will come back to RIZIN for a fight against Seigo Yamamoto (7-11-1). Yamaniha has won his past two RIZIN fights but is returning to the promotion after losing to prospect Kyouma Akimoto on a regional card. Yamamoto is competing in his home country of Japan after a three-fight winning streak in the Korean promotion Black Combat earlier this year.
  • Former sumo wrestler turned MMA fighter Tsuyoshi Sudario (8-3) will face off against Hisaki Kato (8-3). Sudario suffered his third pro loss on New Year’s Eve, getting stopped by Mikio Ueda with ground and pound. Kato is returning to MMA for the first time since 2017, coming back to the sport after a run in kickboxing promotion K-1 Japan.
  • Russian prospect Viktor Kolesnik (26-6-1) will try to continue his strong RIZIN run when he faces Koji Takeda (16-7). Kolesnik has earned a trio of wins since entering the promotion last year, including an April performance over ONE alum Yoshiki Nakahara. Takeda will be trying to turn things around after losing four of his last five fights.
  • In another matchup that sees an international prospect making their RIZIN debut, Azerbaijan’s Magerram Gasanzade (10-1) will take on Rikuto Shirakawa (12-10-1). Gasanzade has scored 10 pro wins since debuting in 2019, mainly appearing in the Russian promotion AMC Fight Nights. Shirakawa is coming back to RIZIN after beating veteran Daisuke Nakamura on a DEEP Impact card earlier this year.
  • Rising Japanese prospect Daigo Kuramoto (6-1) will get his first RIZIN assignment, meeting Kim Kyung-pyo (13-5). Kuramoto has put together five wins in DEEP Impact, getting by experienced names Satoru Kitaoka and Yuki Kawana recently. Kim will be trying to bounce back from his submission loss to UFC alum Spike Carlyle.
  • In a clash between DEEP vets, Taito Kubota (14-6) and Junya Hibino (7-4) will face off. Hibino is coming back to RIZIN roughly a year after losing to Joji Goto on another Nagoya card. Kubota will be making his RIZIN debut, getting the call after winning five of his last six. Among those wins was a victory over Hibino from just two months back.
  • In a heavyweight clash, Masashi Inada (3-2) and France’s Stephane Coignon (1-2) will meet. Inada turned pro in 2022, and Coignon is still in his rookie year.
  • 31-fight DEEP vet Daisuke Tatsumi (20-12) will make his RIZIN debut against Sho Hiramatsu (5-5). Tatsumi, who has fought as a pro for a decade, is coming off a first-round finish win from two months back. Hiramatsu is trying to bounce back from a loss to veteran Yuki Motoya.