The Weekly Wrap: July 11 - July 17

Odds and Ends

• Coming off a loss that derailed his long-held position in the featherweight rankings, Norifumi Yamamoto suffered a second upset loss on July 13 in Tokyo, falling to unheralded Korean kickboxer Jae Hee Cheon in a K-1 match via first-round knockout. Yamamoto, one of the top ratings draws in Japanese fighting, dropped a decision to Joe Warren in Dream in May, which was Warren's second pro fight. Also July 13, top MMA lightweight Tatsuya Kawajiri lost in the main event via second-round TKO to K-1 Max legend Masato, who is retiring this year. The show will premiere in the United States July 17 on HDNet.

• Several well-known MMA fighters lost grappling matches that were held as part of the UFC 100 Fan Expo in Las Vegas this past weekend. Vinny Magalhaes, Joe Stevenson and Wilson Reis all dropped their exhibitions on points, respectively, to Daniel Valverde, Bill Cooper and Jeff Glover. Shooto legend Rumina Sato submitted Ulysses Gomez via armbar in a superfight match.

• Megumi Fujii, who many call the best female MMA fighter, improved her streak to 18-0 on July 11, submitting Saori Ishioka with a second-round armbar after working damaging ground-and-pound. The fight headlined a show from the Jewels promotion called "Fourth Ring" in Tokyo.

• UFC U.K. President Marshall Zelaznik confirmed to Versus.com that the UFC will return to the Manchester Evening News Arena on Nov. 14. No other details are available for the show, including whether it will be a pay-per-view or Spike TV special.

• The M-1 Global promotion is attempting to match Muhammed Lawal and UFC legend Don Frye as the main event of an Aug. 29 card the group will hold in Los Angeles, HDNet’s “Inside MMA” reported. A grappling exhibition between M-1 managed fighters Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi is also scheduled. The show will be broadcast on HDNet, which airs the M-1 Challenge weekly. Also, HDNet announced this week that its new commentary team for MMA cards will be K-1’s Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger.

• Closely watched featherweight prospect Chad Mendes improved his pro record to 4-0 on July 16 at the latest Tachi Palace Fights (formerly Palace Fighting Championships) card in Lemoore, Calif. The Team Alpha Male product knocked out Steven Siler in 44 seconds after landing an overhand right.