Kairat Akhmetov has been on the ONE Championship roster for a long time, but the former flyweight champion showed off some new tricks to defeat Dae Hwan Kin in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This catchweight contest was the main attraction at ONE: Collision Course II. The Kazakh fighter seemed more than happy to test his striking against an opponent with a background in Taekwondo and Muay Thai.

Akhmetov has spent a lot of time training at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket and showcased some fast punching combinations and left kicks from the southpaw stance. By contrast Kim struggled to find his rhythm or range and spent the first five minutes in defensive mode.  

In the second stanza Akhmetov did more damage. A head kick opened up a cut on Kim’s head and the referee called in the doctor to take a look, with blood pouring profusely from the Korean’s facial area.

Kim tried to use side kicks to keep Akhmetov at bay but to no avail. With 30 seconds remaining in the round the Kazakh scored a double leg takedown with the former bantamweight title challenger powerless to prevent his opponent t from putting him on his back.

It left Kim with a mountain to climb in the final round and Akhmetov continued to score with strikes and takedowns. The Korean was in his back but the referee paused the action to check the cuts and he landed a solid up kick after the restart. 

It didn’t deter Akhmetov who retained top position and remained there until the final bell to take a clear cut decision win. He improves to 27-2 and is riding a three fight winning streak while Kim slips to 15-7-1.

Earlier in the evening Dae Sung Park (11-2) scored a split decision win over Amir Khan (13-8) in their lightweight contest. In welterweight action Raimond Magomedaliev (6-1) handed Edson Marques (9-1) the first loss of his career with a devastating first round knockout.

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ONE: Collision Course II results

• Muay Thai: Jamal Yusupov def. Samy Sana via Decision (Unanimous) 
• Kairat Akhmetov def. Dae Hwan Kim via Decision (Unanimous)
• Muay Thai: Momotaro def. Walter Goncalves by TKO (Injury) at 0:30 of round two
• Dae Sung Park def. Amir Khan by Decision (Split)
• Raimond Magomedaliev def. Edson Marques by KO (Punch) at 1:52 of round one
• Senzo Ikeda def. Liang Hui by Decision (Unanimous)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/kairat-akhmetov-puts-on-a-striking-clinic-to-win-at-one-collision-course-ii

Nick Diaz hasn’t fought since losing to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January of 2015, put promises a comeback in 2021. (Diaz’s loss to Silva was later changed to a no contest after both fighters failed drug tests.)

Nate Diaz hasn’t fought since November of 2019, when he lost to Jorge Masvidal in the infamous UFC 244 “Baddest Motherf—er” belt bout. He also appears intent on fighting again in 2021.

So how did the two infamous Diaz brothers spend their quarantine during the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020? Well, Nate released a video for all to see.

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(Video courtesy of Nate Diaz)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/video-how-nick-and-nate-diaz-spent-quarantine-in-2020

Amir Khan will fight with a heavy heart in his return to action.

Singapore’s Khan (13-7) takes on South Korean contender Dae Sung Park (10-2) at “ONE Championship 125: Collision Course II,” which airs today via tape delay, where he will be fighting not just for the victory, but for the memory of his father, who he recently lost to brain cancer.

“I’m sad, but I’m trying to stay strong at the same time,” he told ONE Championship ahead of fight night in Singapore. “I’ve just got to fight on. The show must go on.”

Khan’s father was a regular presence in his son’s corner at ONE Championship events and never missed a fight during the 26-year-old’s career. Now, still dealing with the news of his father’s passing, Khan must fight on without his biggest fan and inspiration by his side.

“I know he wants me to be strong, he doesn’t want me to be down because of this incident,” Khan continued. “The worst thing I can do is be doing nothing and being depressed. I know he doesn’t want me to be doing that, because I have a job this Friday. Get the job done, and then I can grieve later.”

A longtime contender in ONE Championship’s lightweight division, Khan is aiming to register back-to-back wins for the first time since 2018. His last outing saw him return to top form as he finished Rahul Raju via first-round TKO at “ONE Championship 116: Reign of Dynasties II” in October. Now he’s hoping to channel all of the conflicting energies of the last few days into one focused performance that will push him back toward the top of the lightweight rankings.

“I still want to make him proud,” he said. “This is the fight I should fight. Just fight my best out there, no hesitation, there’s nothing to hold me back. I feel the fight is not going to be harder than what I just experienced, so this is just going to bring out a different kind of savageness in me. I love him so much, and he did everything he can to make me the man I am today. I will continue his legacy.”

“ONE Championship 125: Collision Course II” streams on B/R Live Friday from Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/one-championship-125-amir-khan-fighting-for-fathers-memory

A battle between two middleweight prospects is the latest addition to the UFC’s first card of 2021.

Phil Hawes (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will take on Nassourdine Imavov (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 16, which takes place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA DNA was the first to report the news Thursday.

After failed stints on “The Ultimate Fighter” and “Dana White’s Contender Series,” the third time was the charm for Hawes, who was finally able to punch his ticket to the UFC when he knocked out Khadzhimurat Bestaev at Dana White’s Contender Series 32 in September. He would make his UFC debut less than two months later, dispatching of newcomer Jacob Malkoun in just 17 seconds at UFC 254.

MMA Factory Paris’ Imavov also made good on his promotional debut when he defeated Jordan Williams in a hard-fought unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 16 in October. The Dagestani-born fighter has won his past six in a row.

With the addition, the Jan. 16 lineup includes:

• Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar
• Sara McMann vs. Julianna Pena
• Mike Grundy vs. Nik Lentz
• Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
• Jacob Kilburn vs. Austin Lingo
• Carlos Felipe vs. Justin Tafa
• Punahele Soriano vs. Dusko Todorovic
• Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Bethe Correia vs. Wu Yanan
• Christian Aguilera vs. Warlley Alves
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Tom Breese
• Ramazan Emeev vs. David Zawada
• Phil Hawes vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/phil-hawes-nassourdine-imavov-ufc-fight-night-january-16

If you’ve followed the UFC, you’ve likely seen your fair share of faceoffs by now.

But have you ever seen a backward faceoff?

A post shared by ufc (@ufc)

Well, now you have.

On Thursday, the promotion released the poster for its upcoming UFC Fight Night on Jan. 16. The event kicks off the UFC’s 2021 schedule and is headlined by a featherweight banger between former UFC 145-pound king Max Holloway and New England Cartel star Calvin Kattar. The card will take place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

MMA Junkie recently learned a portion of the event will likely air on ABC, marking the promotion’s debut on the network – and its return to network television.

The current UFC Fight Night lineup includes:

• Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar
• Sara McMann vs. Julianna Pena
• Mike Grundy vs. Nik Lentz
• Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
• Jacob Kilburn vs. Austin Lingo
• Carlos Felipe vs. Justin Tafa
• Punahele Soriano vs. Dusko Todorovic
• Anthony Hernandez vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Bethe Correia vs. Wu Yanan
• Christian Aguilera vs. Warlley Alves
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Tom Breese
• Ramazan Emeev vs. David Zawada
• Phil Hawes vs. Nassourdine Imavov

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-poster-max-holloway-calvin-kattar-backward-faceoff