Back in the ring
Former junior featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (31-2, 28 KOs) of Puerto Rico fights Aldimar Santos (18-3, 9 KOs) of Brazil on Saturday, Feb. 2. This is Lopez’s first fight since losing the WBO title by knockout to Mexico’s Orlando Salido. Subsequently, Salido lost the title to Riverside’s Mikey Garcia. DirecTV will televise.
Lone Star battle
Andre Dirrell (20-1, 14 KOs) fights Milton Nunez (25-6-1, 23 KOs) at McAllen, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 2. Dirrell, 29, lost only to current champion Carl Froch. Nunez, 25, fights out of Colombia. Telefutura will televise.
Pitbull is hungry
East LA’s Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez (14-0, 11 KOs) headlines a card at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 2. Gomez, 20, fights Lanard Lane (13-2, 8 KOs) in a junior welterweight showdown. Also, a number of prospects are showcasing their skills, including junior middleweight Chris Pearson and former U.S. Olympian Joe “Jojo” Diaz of South El Monte. Fox Espanol will televise.
Junior welterweight bomber Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KOs) knocked out Bakersfield’s Mike Dallas Jr. (19-3-1, 8 KOs) at 2:26 of round one. It was Matthysse’s fifth consecutive knockout win since losing a disputed decision to Devon Alexander. “I was waiting for him to throw the left,” said Matthysse, who countered with a right. Other winners at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas were Jesus Soto Karass, Francisco Vargas, Julian Ramirez and brothers Jermell and Jermall Charlo.
UFC 156 features Jose Aldo (21-1) against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (14-3-1) in a mixed martial arts card at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Saturday, Feb. 2. Also on the card is Rashad Evans (22-2-1) vs. Antonio Nogueira (20-5) in a light heavyweight clash.
‘The Natural’ vs. ‘The Rock’
One Fighting Championship features a featherweight mixed martial arts championship between Eric “The Natural” Kelly and Honorio “The Rock” Banario. The MMA card takes place from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, Feb. 2. Many of Asia’s top fighters are participating on the card that streams live at 3 a.m. PST. The cost is $9.99. Go to www.onefc.livesport.tv.