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
- Former UFC talent Nate Diaz was handed a misdemeanor battery charge in October after allegedly striking a Las Vegas nightclub staffer in the face with “an open right hand,” as first reported by TMZ and later also confirmed by MMA Fighting. The charge stems from an incident which is claimed to have occurred in August at the Omnia nightclub in Vegas, where Diaz was approached by a staffer who believed his crew was holding up the line at the venue’s entrance. After Diaz allegedly shoved the security guard and was shoved back, it’s claimed that he then took a swing at the worker.
- Five new matchups have recently been confirmed for UFC 311, which will go down on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
- Returning after a year outside of the cage, Beneil Dariush (22-6-1) will face off against Renato Moicano (20-5-1) at lightweight. Dariush took 2024 off after suffering a pair of losses to big talents in the division, getting stopped by former champ Charles Oliveira and future title challenger Arman Tsarukyan in 2023. Before those setbacks, he had a streak of eight wins at 155 pounds. Moicano will look to continue his momentum, coming off a September victory over Benoit Saint-Denis.
- Rising undefeated talent Rinya Nakamura (9-0) will take on Muin Gafurov (19-6). Nakamura has yet to face a defeat more than a year after he won the “Road To UFC” tournament, recently getting past Carlos Vera for his second win since joining the promotion’s roster. He will now meet the significantly more experienced Gafurov, who snapped a two-fight skid this year by beating Kang Kyung-ho.
- Aiming to follow up on a strong 2024, Bogdan Guskov (16-3) will go up against Johnny Walker (21-9). Uzbekistan’s Guskov earned back-to-back “Performance of the Night” bonus wins this year, stopping Zac Pauga and Ryan Spann with strikes. 14-fight UFC vet Walker on the other hand is coming back after a rough 2024, losing to Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir.
- A middleweight clash between Zachary Reese (8-1) and Sedriques Dumas (10-2) has been booked for the card. Reese bounced back from his UFC debut loss with a pair of wins in 2024, including a lightning-quick 20-second win over Julian Marquez. Dumas won on scorecards against Denis Tiuliulin in August.
- Rising flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov (15-2) will make his return against Clayton Carpenter (8-0). Ulanbekov has been on the rise at flyweight for years, although numerous cancelled bouts have slowed his momentum. His last fight was a late 2023 win over Cody Durden, marking the Russian’s fourth win through five UFC fights. Undefeated Carpenter notched his second UFC victory earlier this year, submitting Lucas Rocha with a rear naked choke.
- Heavyweight Brazilian prospect Tallison Teixeira (7-0) will make his UFC debut against Justin Tafa (7-4) at the promotion’s February 8th show in Sydney, Australia. Teixeira continued his career-long streak of first-round finish wins when he appeared on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in September, stopping Arthur Lopes in just under two minutes. He’s now booked to fight Australia-based Tafa, who had a three-fight streak of wins broken early this year by Karl Williams.
- Julianna Miller’s (3-3) return has been delayed once again. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 winner has withdrawn from her February 15th fight against Carli Judice (3-2), per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. The fight was expected to be Miller’s first appearance in over a year, giving her a chance to score her first victory since August 2022. UFC is reportedly looking for a new opponent for Judice.
- Seventh-ranked UFC strawweight Iasmin Lucindo (17-5) will get another big test in March, facing former title challenger Amanda Lemos (14-4-1) at UFC 313, per AgFight. Lucindo has put together four wins, most recently getting past highly respected names Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Marina Rodriguez. She would move higher in the division with a win over fifth-ranked Lemos, who is coming off a July loss to Virna Jandiroba.
Bellator
- Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Corey Anderson (18-6) will move up to heavyweight for a non-title trilogy fight against Vadim Nemkov (18-2) at PFL’s upcoming “Champions Series” event on January 25th in Dubai. Anderson and Nemkov previously met back in 2022, first settling with a no-contest result as part of Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. Nemkov walked away with a scorecard win in their rematch, extending his reign as light heavyweight champ into 2023. After Nemkov vacated his title and announced a move up to the heavyweight limit this year, Anderson won the vacant title in a five-round clash against Karl Moore on a Bellator card. Putting his new-found title reign on hold, Anderson will move up a weight class for the early 2025 bout. Anderson was among the numerous Bellator fighters who have recently spoken out about a lack of opportunities, mentioning in November that he was “aging like warm cheese” waiting for a fight offer.
ONE Championship
- Legendary Japanese MMA talent Masakazu Imanari will return to ONE for the first time since 2022, meeting Marcelo Garcia in an openweight grappling match. Imanari’s previous ONE appearance was a submission defeat to Mikey Musumeci.
LFA
- LFA has announced a pair of events to kick off its 2025 schedule:
- LFA 199 will go down from the legendary Tachi Palace Casino & Resort in Lemoore, California, USA on January 10th. The venue, maybe best known for hosting a solid chunk of WEC’s events from 2001 to 2006, is presenting an LFA card for the first time next month.
- LFA will celebrate its 200th event when they head to the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota on January 25th.
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