Fight Roundup: Danyelle Wolf set for UFC debut, Jimmie Rivera makes first BKFC appearance on June 24
Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.
All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.
Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
Norma Dumont (7-2) is expected to welcome recent Contender Series contract winner Danyelle Wolf (1-0) to the UFC in a featherweight bout at an event on Sept. 10.
Wolf comes from an extensive amateur boxing background with gold medal wins at the U.S. National Boxing Championships as well as appearances at the Olympic trials, though Wolf could not actually compete at the London 2012 nor 2016 Rio events due to her weight class not being added to the Olympics until 2020. She earned a spot in the UFC with a win over Taneisha Tennant on the Contender Series in September 2020.
The boxer was to make her UFC debut against Felicia Spencer in May of last year, but withdrew for undisclosed reasons. Dumont stepped in as a replacement and defeated Spencer by split decision.
Now Dumont gets to fight Wolf herself. The Brazilian fighter won three straight decisions over Ashlee Evans-Smith, Spencer, and Aspen Ladd before dropping a split call to Macy Chiasson in her most recent outing at UFC 274.
Ag. Fight was first to report the bout.
Marc Diakiese vs. Damir Hadzovic
Marc Diakiese has a home date for his next fight.
The English fighter meets Damir Hadzovic (14-6) in a lightweight bout at UFC London on July 23, the promotion recently announced.
Diakiese (15-5) recently snapped a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC Columbus in March. In 11 UFC appearances, Diakiese has a 6-5 record with recent wins over Lando Vannata and Joe Duffy.
Hadzovic also got back on the winning track with a unanimous decision win over Yancy Medieros in June of last year. “The Bosnian Bomber” was scheduled to fight Steve Garcia in April, but had to withdraw due to visa issues.
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jonathan Pearce
Also added to UFC London is a featherweight bout between Makwan Amirkhani (17-7) and Jonathan Pearce (12-4).
Amirkhani looks to get a win streak going after submitting Mike Grundy with an anaconda choke in just 57 seconds this past March at the UFC’s first London visit of 2022. “Mr. Finland” had lost three straight fights prior to that win and his UFC record stands at 7-5.
Pearce has won three of his first four UFC fights since earning a contract on the Contender Series in 2019. He is coming off of consecutive wins over Christian Rodriguez, Omar Morales, and Kai Kamaka III.
The bout was first announced by Pearce’s management.
Damon Jackson vs. Daniel Argueta
Damon Jackson (20-4-1, 1 NC) welcomes undefeated featherweight Daniel Argueta (8-0) to the octagon at UFC Vegas 56.
This marks Jackson’s fifth appearance in his second stint with the promotion. He has won three of four fights since returning to the promotion, most recently scoring back-to-back victories over Kamuela Kirk and Charles Rosa. The 10-year veteran has won 15 of 20 pro bouts by submission.
Argueta recently competed on season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter where he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual bantamweight tournament winner Ricky Turcios (TUF bouts are considered exhibitions and do not affect a fighter’s pro record). “The Determined” then returned to the LFA where he won three straight fights, capturing a 135-pound title earlier this month with a split decision win over Diego Silva.
The bout was first reported by Eurosport.
Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin
The Aug. 28 UFC 278 card is shaping up with the addition of a bantamweight bout between Aoriqileng (23-11) and Jay Perrin (10-5).
Aoriqileng seeks his second UFC win after earning his first with a first-round knockout of Cameron Else at UFC Vegas 52 in April. “The Mongolian Murderer” snapped a two-fight losing skid with the finish.
Perrin makes his second walk to the octagon. The former CES bantamweight champion made his UFC debut on less than a week’s notice against Mario Bautista as a replacement for Khalid Taha at UFC Vegas 48 this past February and now gets a full camp for his sophomore outing. Bautista defeated Perrin by unanimous decision. Prior to the loss, Perrin had won seven of eight fights.
The bout was first announced by Perrin’s management.
Mads Burnell vs. Pedro Carvalho
A battle of featherweight contenders has been added to the Bellator’s upcoming return to Dublin.
The promotion recently announced via press release that Mads Burnell (16-4) will fight Pedro Carvalho (12-6) in the featherweight main card opener of Bellator Dublin on Sept. 23.
In his most recent outing in March, Burnell lost a unanimous decision to Adam Borics in a five-round thriller that served as the main event of Bellator 276. Burnell saw a seven-fight win streak come to an end, which dated back to May 2018.
Carvalho previously competed for the Bellator featherweight championship against Patricio Pitbull in a bout that served as the opener of a 145-pound grand prix tournament. The Portuguese fighter is in need of a win after losing to Pitbull by first-round knockout and then dropping two of his next three fights.
Jimmie Rivera vs. Howard Davis (BKFC)
Longtime UFC bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera is set to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut.
The BKFC recently announced that Rivera (23-5 in MMA) will fight Howard Davis at BKFC 26 on June 24. This will be Rivera’s first fight since parting ways with the UFC late last year.
Rivera was a top 10 contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division, winning his first five fights for the promotion (including decision victories over Urijah Faber, Thomas Almeida, and Iuri Alcantara) before being stopped by Marlon Moraes. “El Terror” ended his UFC run with losses in four of his past six fights. He competes in bare-knuckle boxing for the first time.
Davis is 2-0 with the BKFC, most recently picking up a third-round knockout of Josh Wright this past April.