1/8/25 Notebook: Kang Kyung-ho Announces End of UFC Run

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

• Bantamweight Kang Kyung-ho (19-11) announced this week that he is no longer a UFC fighter, ending a decade-long run with the promotion spanning more than a dozen fights. Kang, 37, first joined the UFC back in 2013 after picking up a regional belt in his home country of Korea. Kang went on to pick up eight wins, five losses and one no contest, with his campaign coming to an end following losses to John Castaneda and Muin Gafurov over the past year or so.
• Angela Hill (17-14), the most experienced strawweight in UFC history, has been booked to face Ketlen Souza (15-4) on February 15th, per Nolan King and Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. Hill had a two-fight winning streak brought to an end in August, losing a decision to Tabatha Ricci. Souza is coming off a performance bonus win from September, submitting Yazmin Jauregui in the first round to earn her second consecutive UFC victory.
• Undefeated Kazakhstani light heavyweight Diyar Nurgozhay (10-0) will make his UFC debut on March 15th against Brendson Ribeiro (16-7), per Leo Guimaraes. Former UAE Warriors and Eagle FC talent Nurgozhay earned a UFC contract in October, stopping Bartosz Szewczyk on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Ribeiro scored his first UFC win in a potential do-or-die scenario late last year, snapping a two-fight skid with a split decision over Caio Machado.
• Two more fights have been reported for UFC’s March 29th card, which is rumored to go down in Mexico City, Mexico.
  • The promotion is hoping to book a fight between Joe Pyfer (13-3) and Kelvin Gastelum (19-9) at middleweight, per Alex Behunin of MMA Mania. Gastelum won in his return to 185 pounds last year, beating Daniel Rodriguez on scorecards. Pyfer bounced back from his first UFC loss in June, stopping Marc-Andre Barriault in just 95 seconds with strikes. Before then, his hype in the promotion was slowed following a five-round loss to Jack Hermansson.
  • Tijuana’s Yazmin Jauregui (11-2) will go up against Julia Polastri (13-4), per Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes. Jauregui, who was originally booked to face Dione Barbosa (7-3), is coming back after suffering a first-round submission loss to Ketlen Souza in September. Polastri picked up her first UFC win just a few months back, getting by Cory McKenna in a split decision.

PFL

• PFL will officially allow elbows in all MMA fights as of 2025, per an announcement made by Donn Davis. PFL had previously limited the use of elbows in most season matchups due to the risk of opening cuts which could prevent fighters from making quick turnarounds in the season and playoff format.
• Vadim Nemkov (18-2) has been booked to face Tim Johnson (18-10) for PFL’s Champions Series event on January 25th. Nemkov was previously booked to face Bellator 205-pound champ Corey Anderson on this card before suddenly withdrawing due to undisclosed reasons – something Anderson has constantly criticized him for doing. Nemkov vacated his 205-pound title last year and won his heavyweight debut with a second-round submission over Bruno Cappelozza. Johnson appeared as part of PFL’s 2024 heavyweight season, making it into the playoffs on short notice but being eliminated as part of the semi-finals against Denis Goltsov.

ONE Championship

• Keito Yamakita (10-1) vs. Lito Adiwang (16-5) has been added to ONE Fight Night 28 on February 7th in Bangkok. Japan’s Yamakita bounced back strongly from his first pro loss in 2024, beating veterans Jeremy Miado and Yosuke Saruta back to back. He now faces 13-fight ONE vet Adiwang, who has put together a trio of victories since 2023.

OKTAGON

• Sam Creasey (19-5) is expected to defend his OKTAGON Flyweight Championship against Beno Adamia (11-8-2) at the promotion’s February 22nd card in Trinec, Czech Republic. A clash between Creasey and Adamia was first booked for November, but was delayed after the champ suffered an injury. Cage Warriors vet Creasey captured the vacant belt in April, going five rounds against Aaron Aby for a decision victory. Georgia’s Adamia has earned back-to-back wins since entering OKTAGON in 2023, most recently beating Stipe Brcic.
  • The co-main event of the night will see David Kozma (32-14) take on Robert Pukac (18-13-1). Kozma will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak after being finished by Ion Surdu and Bojan Velickovic. Pukac, who at one point went on a stretch of just one OKTAGON victory in eight appearances, prevailed in his return to the promotion late last year against Ammari Diedrick.
  • A reserve bout in the Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Grand Prix has been booked between Milan Datelinka (10-7) and Jaime Cordero (6-2). The fight is a rematch from September, when an unintentional elbow to the back of the head caused their bout to end in just 34 seconds via no contest. Datelinka won his previous fight in just 14 seconds, and Cordero is now coming off a 60-second kimura victory against Ion Taburceanu.
  • Czech fighter Tomas Mudroch (5-1) will make his OKTAGON debut against Hascen Neri Gelezi (5-2) in a catchweight 158-pound fight. Murdoch has impressed on the regional scene since his 2021 debut, having won all five of his victories via first-round finish. He now meets Neri Gelezi, who won his OKTAGON debut last year but is returning after a loss to veteran Jan Malach.
  • Also added to 2/22: Rising flyweight Veronika Smolkova (5-3) will take on Aitana Alvarez (7-7). Smolkova, a fighter who picked up a trio of victories, is coming off a 66-second win over Mileide Simplicio in November. Alvarez evened her pro record late last year with a win on a Superior Challenge card and now will make her return to OKTAGON.
• OKTAGON 69 will head to Dortmund, Germany on April 5th. Uwe Schuden (1-1) and pro newcomer Ediz Tasci (0-0) have been matched up for the card thus far.

Misc.

• 46-year-old Rampage Jackson and 45-year-old Rashad Evans say they have agreed to a boxing match in Albuquerque, New Mexico sometime this year. The duo met under MMA rules back in 2010, with Evans beating Jackson on scorecards at UFC 114.
• I’ll be appearing on the We Are Rizin podcast today at 9 a.m. EST to discuss the latest New Year’s Eve card from Japan! Feel free to tune in and watch along!