Joseph Fights Moniz for Bantamweight Gold Friday Night

If there ever were a place to be to experience combat sports heaven, the West Coast of the United States is as close as you’ll get this coming weekend. With ONE Championship, A1 Combat, Bellator MMA, and the UFC all holding shows in Colorado, California, and Nevada, respectively, Friday and Saturday nights will be packed with fights.

Wheatland, CA is the host city for A1 Combat’s first show since late July, A1 Combat 24. Hard Rock Live will be the setting for the Friday show. Live coverage begins at 8:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm PT on the official A1 Combat YouTube channel with the prelims.

The main card then commences at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass. If there are no postponed fights on the bout order, A1 Combat 24: Night of Champions will feature 17 MMA bouts and four championship fights from Urijah Faber‘s promotion.

Championship Quadrupleheader Continues at Bantamweight

Following the fight for the A1 Combat Women’s Featherweight Championship, the second title fight of the evening moves down to 135 lbs. Incumbent A1 Combat Bantamweight Champion Dwight Joseph (13-2, 1 NC MMA, 1-0 A1 Combat), an alumnus of the LFA and Contender Series, takes on challenger Kale Moniz (7-2 MMA, A1 Combat promotional debut), a veteran of Tuff-N-Uff and Fury Fighting Championships.

Due to California State Athletic Commission regulations on championship fights in regionally-based cards, this title bout is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, CSAC policy dictates a three-round maximum for all fights on local cards.

No exceptions were made for championship contests.

Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds

Heading into the second title fight of the night on Friday, challenger Kale Moniz stands as the taller man at 5-foot-9, compared to the 5-foot-7 frame of champion Dwight Joseph. The champion owns a 3 1/2-inch reach advantage (71 inches even to 67 1/2 inches) over the challenger.

Currently, the oddsmakers have this one listed as a pick-’em. Dwight Joseph has -120 odds on the money line, while Kale Moniz counters at -110. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight in MMA and/or combat sports this weekend, please wager responsibly.

Dwight Joseph Gets a “Home Game” on Friday Night

Dwight Joseph enters this title fight on Friday having posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five contests. He’s hoping to build off his championship victory back in November against Cristhian Rivas (10-4-1 MMA, 1-2 A1 Combat) during A1 Combat 15: Night of Champions on UFC Fight Pass.

While Joseph was born in Liberia, he now holds his training camps in the Sacramento area, thus it’ll be another “home game” for the champion this weekend in A1 Combat 24. He’ll have the crowd on his side for certain on Friday night.

Will he be able to capitalize on the energy the partisan crowd feeds him to another victory in this title fight? Tune into A1 Combat 24 and find out.

Kale Moniz Returns for First Time in 51 Weeks

In the other corner, Kale Moniz has gone 4-1 himself over the past five contests. At present, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.

Most recently, he stopped Anvar Boynazarov (5-4 MMA) with a first-round submission (face crank) during Tuff-N-Uff 133 on Sept. 15, 2023. Since then, he’s been out of action, with a planned fight against Brian Mitchell (7-2 MMA) during Fury FC 90 on Mother’s Day going by the boards after Moniz withdrew.

Lengthy hiatuses have become commonplace for Kale Moniz and his camp of late. Since the start of 2022, out of a possible six fights, Moniz has only made the walk to the cage three times. With the Mitchell fight unrealized, Moniz will be making his 2024 debut on Friday evening after not having stepped inside a cage since Sept. 15 of last year, 51 weeks ago.

How much ring rust will he have to shake off?

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

This one looks to be another one of those strength versus strength matchups. Who will secure the belt at the end of the contest?

Joseph Slick with Subs

Statistically speaking, Dwight Joseph has ended three of his 13 career wins by way of submission. Once he gets an opponent to the ground, the fight could be a wrap, like it was in the second round of his fight vs. Earnest Wells.

During that round, Joseph and Wells went into the clinch and the former dropped him almost immediately. From that moment, it was game, set, and match, applying a rear-naked choke, forcing Wells to tap out.

If Dwight Joseph gets enough of an opening on the ground in this fight, he’ll take it.

Kale Moniz Has One-Punch Power

In the other corner, Kale Moniz is able to end this title bout with just a single blow. He displayed his one-punch power wonderfully just under two years ago versus Shane Torres.

Right after the command to fight was given to start the third round, Moniz executed a vicious uppercut to put Torres on the canvas on contact. No follow-up shots were necessary here. If he lands one single shot right on the button, this one will be done and dusted in a hurry.

Final Thoughts

This looks to be a really interesting fight on Friday. Don’t miss it.

Prediction: Kale Moniz by Third-Round TKO.