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
- Following the news of UFC heading to Sydney, Western Australia for a show in February, former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski has expressed interest in competing on the card: “Whether it is for the title, an interim [title], lightweight title, I don’t care what it is,” he told Submission Radio. “If, for some reason, I can’t get a fight, I’ll entertain on the DJ decks or something. I’ll find a way to do it.” Volkanovski’s last appearance was in February when his title reign at featherweight came to an end via a second-round finish loss to Ilia Topuria.
- UFC has recently confirmed a pair of matchups for their November 9th card in Las Vegas:
- Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1) and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-8-1) will collide in a welterweight fight. Dalby had a four-fight winning streak brought to a close in June, dropping a split decision to Rinat Fakhretdinov. 15-fight UFC vet Zaleski dos Santos is similarly returning after a loss, dropping a decision to Randy Brown at UFC 302.
- Looking to avoid falling into a four-fight losing streak, Matthew Semelsberger (11-7) will face Charles Radtke (9-4). Semelsberger has lost three bouts over the past two years, most recently being on the wrong side of a decision against Preston Parsons. Radtke is returning after just a singular defeat, having a six-fight run of wins brought to an end in June by Carlos Prates.
- Maheshate (10-3) will meet Nikolas Motta (14-5) at UFC’s Macau card on November 23rd, as first reported by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. China’s Maheshate returned to the win column in April, ending a two-fight skid with a split decision over Gabriel Benitez. Motta’s previous win was a fast outing, ending the undefeated record of Tom Nolan with a 63-second finish.
- Flyweights Cody Durden (17-6-1) and Joshua Van (11-2) have been matched up for UFC 310 on December 7th. Durden earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his win just last month, pulling off a Ninja Choke win against Matt Schnell to earn his first victory in over a year. Van bounced back from his first and only UFC loss at UFC 306, beating Edgar Chairez via decision.
Misc.
- Earlier this week, we reported on former UFC fighter and current bare-knuckle boxing talent Mike Perry being arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Since that report, TMZ has published the police body camera footage of Perry’s arrest. In the video, Perry is seen verbally harassing officers while being detained, using a homophobic slur numerous times in the process. Perry has since issued an apology via social media, claiming that the incident was not reflective of how he views law enforcement: “I understand that my words were hurtful and offensive, and I sincerely regret my actions,” he wrote.
PFL
- In the build-up to PFL’s pay-per-view event this weekend, the promotion has frequently taken aim at top MMA brand UFC. Earlier this week, PFL’s Donn Davis challenged UFC to a champion versus champion card, arguing that the PFL would fare well in the duel. We’ll soon have a longer story about this promotional strategy…
Knockdown News 