Now he just hopes he can get the streak going with a busy 2025.

“Not a rollercoaster like the last few years,” Matthews told reporters including Cageside Press about what the rest of 2025 looks like for him.

“Just too long in between fights and then like 6 months off and then fighting a guy like Michael Morales. That’s why I’m calling out Neil Magny. (I) went close decision with Michael Morales. Morales knocked out Neil. I feel like that’s just like a natural progression for me next.”

Matthews (21-7) had his leg up on the interview table for a big chunk of his post-fight scrum. Leg attacks certainly took a toll and the welterweight noted as much.

“Copped probably five or six kicks too many,” he said with a grin.

“It’ll be fine. A couple of days. It’s nothing unusual. Probably back in the gym in a week or two.”

Jimmy Crute, one of Matthews friends and teammates, fought to a draw at UFC 312 which caught Matthews by surprised.

“The guy must have rallied huh?,” Matthews says of Crute’s opponent Rodolfo Bellato.

“Jimmy’s got more ring rust than I have. He had like 500-something days out so. Just for him to get back in there to be honest, we know Jimmy like close, just for him to be able to come back and get back in the octagon it’s a big deal for him. Win, lose, or draw.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jake Matthews above.

The post Jake Matthews Hoping For More Fights In 2025, Tired Of “Rollercoaster” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Which is apparently why he didn’t grapple as much as he originally anticipated, he told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, which saw him win a unanimous decision.

“I expected myself to grapple a little bit more, but when I was in there I just felt very comfortable on the feet,” said Nolan (9-1). “I changed a few things up with my weight cut, so I was confident in my ability to take damage, to give damage, to not get tired, and most importantly I just had fun, so when I’m having fun I like to strike.”

Nolan did show a bit of his grappling skills, however, and that might have caught Borshchev by surprise. “I just expected him to expect me to only strike. I think everyone thinks I’ll only strike, because I’ve only shown my striking. So it’s to be expected,” said Nolan, later explaining that he’d held back on his grappling in UFC fights thus far.

“I’ve said I want to keep it up my sleeve for the right fight. This wasn’t necessarily that fight in the sense of just taking him down, looking for the sub only, but it was a good opportunity to mix it up. And I think I did it at the right time.”

Tom Nolan later explained that he carries a healthy does of fear with him into his fights. It’s less about being scared of opponents, however, and more about respecting their skills.

“I wouldn’t say scared, but I always have a healthy amount of fear and respect for my opponents. I know what can happen,” he explained. “For him [Borshchev], there was a little bit of an extra touch obviously, for who he is and what he’s done. Skill for skill, I know why the UFC put this fight together. Like Dana [White] said it on that video, it’s two strikers going to punch the sh*t out of each other. So it’s like, one of us is probably going to drop, I hope it’s not me.”

Thanks to Nolan changing his weight cut, including sweating off weight for the first time since he was 19 rather than strictly dieting down, it wasn’t him who dropped.

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Tom Nolan above.

The post UFC 312: Tom Nolan Carries A Healthy Dose of Fear into Fights appeared first on Cageside Press.

That ‘history’ just happens to involved a second belt currently held by flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

“Everything is about timing so if there’s a good time for both of us to make this fight happen, it happens,” Weili told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at her post-fight scrum.

“To be honest I don’t really care about like who is pound-for-pound number 1, number 2, it doesn’t really matter. What I care about is how can I just make myself better.”

Weili (26-3) tied former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk for most title defenses at 115-pounds. The current champ stopped well short of calling herself the greatest strawweight of all time.

“Joanna is still the legend. When I started my MMA career I looked up (to) Joanna. I couldn’t imagine one day I could fight against her. Before this fight I text Joanna ‘Hey I’m going to fight in Sydney. Please come to watch.’ And today I saw her,” she said.

“I’m really happy.”

Everything may be about timing, but UFC CEO Dana White told the press that Weili’s team was waiting for him outside of his post-fight scrum. Weili played that down.

“Let’s talk with Dana later,” she said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Weili Zhang above.

The post Weili Zhang Wants Shot At 125 Title “If there’s a good time for both of us” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“To go out there and beat him at his own game was a big, big priority. Because to go out there and fight the same fight as in Toronto, I could have done the exact same thing. But I didn’t,” Du Plessis told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I told you guys the whole week, I’m going to try and knock him out, try and submit him, or if this went to decision, complete domination. And that’s what happened.”

Du Plessis (23-2) and Strickland kept most of the fight standing opting to strike with each other rather than wrestle. The champion thought Strickland would change his game plan to add more wrestling, but was a bit surprised when it didn’t happen.

Du Plessis actually thought Strickland might initiate wrestling, despite the middleweight champ being the one who landed the takedowns in their first meeting. “He tried at some stage, but it was too late. I just felt great.”

At one point in the fight du Plessis managed to break Strickland’s nose so bad that Strickland couldn’t stop grabbing his nose to check it. Bleeding profusely at that point Strickland managed to not get finished at that point even if the champion smelled blood.

“That was big win for me tonight, and it was a big performance. To stay calm — when I got his nose, I didn’t stay that calm, but that was me smelling blood. I got back where I needed to be, and it was an incredible performance. It felt great,” he said.

In Strickland’s corner was the UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Both Pereira and du Plessis have taken to social media and interviews talking of a potential matchup. Du Plessis sees other challenges at 185 pounds however with one name standing above the others.

“Khamzat’s first. I wish him – I said ‘please beat Ankalaev.’ No hate against Ankalaev, I just want to beat Alex Pereira. Nothing personal against Ankalaev, it was just, Pereira, he’s such a legend in this sport to me already that it would be amazing to beat him for my legacy. I want to be the greatest to ever do this. But Khamzat’s next,” said du Plessis.

“Khamzat is next. I want to make sure that this belt, the middleweight title, that there’s no question that I’m the GOAT of the middleweight division. And I know that, you have Anderson Silva, in my mind he is the GOAT of this division, and you have Adesanya who has done incredible things. But it’s not about how many times you defend it, it’s about who you fight, how you defend it, how you’ve done it, in what period of time have you done it, and who have you fought? And making sure there’s no question that I am the best middleweight, then going up.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Dricus du Plessis above.

The post Dricus Du Plessis Wants Khamzat Chimaev Before Alex Pereira appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Magnum” Zhang earned a one-sided unanimous decision win over Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event of UFC 312, extending her second reign as the promotion’s strawweight champ. Shevchenko is likewise in her own second reign as champion, in her case at flyweight. Both have all but cleared out their respective divisions.

Zhang has four title defenses between her reigns, Shevchenko seven. Both will one day land in the UFC Hall of Fame. Both are among the sport’s biggest stars.

While White has been hesitant to book champ versus champ fights at times, it appears he’s come around to the idea of Zhang vs. Shevchenko. Asked who he picked as the women’s P4P #1, White admitted that “I f*cking hate answering these questions, because I love them both,” before adding that “maybe we’ll just have to find out.”

Asked flat out if he’d book the super-fight, “it’s a possibility” said White.

For Dana White, it seemingly comes down to the fact that Zhang (and presumably Shevchenko as well) has earned it.

“She looked absolutely dominant tonight. She looked great. As far as I know she ‘s healthy and came out of that fight with zero injuries, so yes. The answer is yes,” White said, asked about whether he’d keep Zhang busy in 2025. Noting that the champ and her team were waiting for him in the hallway, he added “We’ll see what she wants. She’s at a point in her career right now and everything she’s accomplished that whatever she has to ask me in the hallway back here, I’m probably going to say yes.”

There’s a very good chance that Valentina Shevchenko is exactly what Weili Zhang is asking for.

The post Dana White Open to Finding Out Who Women’s P4P Best Is, Zhang or Shevchenko appeared first on Cageside Press.

Team China went 3 for 3, with Zhu Rong, Cong, and women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang all picking up decision wins on the night. For Cong, fighting on the prelims, it was a unanimous decision over Bruna Brasil that improved Wang’s record to 7-1.

Reflecting on the fight backstage at the Qudos Bank Arena, Cong, speaking via translator, told media outlets including Cageside Press that “I let her do more work, because I wanted to feel her pace. Then in second and third, I go in for the fight.” She would go on to add that “the first round, I was like trying to let her attack first, and see what’s her combo, what’s she got. In the second and third round, I have a game plan in my mind.”

After posting a 2-1 record in her last three fights and never once seeing the judges, Cong went to the scorecards for the first time in the UFC on Saturday. Asked about whether it was Brasil’s game plan, or her own approach, that saw the fight go the distance, Cong explained that “the loss I took the last time gave me a lot of experience. I’m new to MMA, but I think I’m learning very fast. So I will keep getting more mature in the sport.”

Cong carries the nickname “The Joker,” and wears the D.C. villain’s face paint to match. At weigh-ins on Friday, Brasil showed up in a Batman mask, which Wang Cong appreciated.

“I like Batman mask a lot. Let’s copy what happened in the movie – the Joker won eventually,” said Cong. “Her mask made me excited.”

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Wang Cong above.

The post UFC 312: Wang Cong Says She’s New to MMA, But Learning Fast appeared first on Cageside Press.

Topuria improved to 6-1 with the win, fighting for the first time in over a year. That’s not the sort of record, or level of activity, that normally facilitates entry into the UFC. Topuria, however, is the brother of UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria. And name clearly has its privileges.

Of course, privilege doesn’t win fights, and Topuria looked solid in his debut. “Emotionally, I feel very good. I feel grateful, I feel blessed,” Topuria said following the fight, adding that he felt physically well as well.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press, the 29-year old said of Thicknesse, who replaced Cody Haddon in the bout, that “I am thankful because this guy gave me something which I had never had, which is three rounds. I feel very good. Right now, I feel that this fight gives me more experience, it makes me strong, stronger.”

Aleksandre Topuria also shed light into what brother Ilia told him in his corner. “When the fight began, when I caught him with the shot, my brother told me to stay relaxed. Be calm. In that moment, I was thinking, I have to options: to keep pressing and get crazy, let’s swing, or be calm, wait a moment, if it’s a decision, it’s a decision.”

Topuria recalled that Thicknesse had promised to drag him into deep waters before the fight. “And I said, let’s go a little by little. Let’s go in the deep ocean. Like you saw, it was the deep ocean, but my ocean, in the third round.”

While there was a lot of hype on Topuria coming into UFC 312, that’s not really what he’s looking for. He just wants to have great fights, like the one between himself and Thicknesse.

“I’m a normal guy, I’m a chill guy who keeps fighting for his dream, for his family, for his own. I have a lot of ambitions, but it’s not to have hype. So next, another fight, that’s it.”

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Aleksandre Topuria above.

The post Aleksandre Topuria Reveals What Brother Ilia Told Him During UFC 312 Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

He got just that – a big win – at UFC 312 on Saturday, in a fight that started out slow but turned into a slobber-knocker opposite the debuting Kody Steele. Evidence of that was written all over Zhu’s face backstage at the Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, although he told media outlets including Cageside Press that things were “in general, all good” when it came to injury.

As for the match-up on Saturday, well, Zhu could not have asked for anything more. The pair had trained together previously, and their styles turned out to bring out the best in each other.

“I know Kody pretty well. Although he’s a grappler, I know he’s a brawler. So this type of match-up is what I expected. In my previous UFC fights, all my opponents, they are kind of running away from me, trying to win by points, trying to grapple with me. This fight, Kody, he’s the ideal opponent for me.”

Zhu Rong improved to 26-6 with the unanimous decision victory, and served up the first loss of Steeles career. And while he couldn’t find the finish (certainly not for lack of effort, as he had Steele on skates in the opening round), Zhu had actually come in wanting to go the full 15 minutes.

“To be honest, before this fight, I hoped this fight I could fight the whole three rounds. Because I do believe I can learn a lot through the fights,” he explained. “Of course this is not an easy fight, it’s a really hard fight, but I can tell you that my training camp at CKB [City Kickboxing], every day training is ten times harder than this.”

Asked whether the high-octane fight will help draw extra eyeballs to his next outing, Zhu said simply, “of course.”

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Zhu Rong above.

The post UFC 312: Zhu Rong Says Kody Steele Was “Ideal Opponent” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Australia’s Micallef (8-1) even came close to finish a finish in the opening round, though Jousset weathered the storm and took the bout to the scorecards. After the win over the more-experienced Jousset, Micallef reflected on the victory, and his journey to this point.

“This week’s been different to most, because obviously we’ve got the UFC going, first fight in the UFC. They just make everything so easy, so it’s been a really cruise-y week, it’s been nice.”

“The fight itself was hard-fought, definitely hard-fought but it was sort of what we were expecting,” he added. “In that first round, I knocked him down and almost had the finish, maybe I got a little too overzealous there. But it’s been a fantastic week, and what a way to top it off with a hard-fought fight.”

Micallef, just 25, admitted that things easily could have gone the other way had he let his defense slip. “He cracked me a few times with some good shots, but I was defensively sound thankfully. If one or two of those got through, it could have been real different. He’s a gamer. And that’s what we came into this fight expecting.”

Micallef had been expecting a war, and potentially a Fight of the Night bonus. That was as much about mental preparation as wanting the extra payday. “Like I said, be prepared for that, and you’re not surprised when it comes. And that’s exactly what happened tonight.”

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Jonathan Micallef above.

The post Jonathan Micallef Got Hard-Fought Fight He Was Expecting at UFC 312 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It was a fairy tale ending of my UFC debut,” Salkilld (8-1) exclaimed, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press.

The finishing blow was punishing, and was the first solid connection of a fight that opened with a few leg kicks and probing jabs. It wasn’t exactly a sure shot, either. “Just happened to land,” admitted Salkilld. “I found the range early on, jabbing to the body. Landed on his chest, and I knew from then that something was going to open up over the top. Yeah, it just landed like that.”

Asked how reality compared to what he had envisioned his debut looking like, and if he’d expected a stoppage, “I never expect quick finishes,” Salkilld replied. “I swear, any time I expect a war— I was going into this fight expecting it was going to be a hard dogfight— and I end up getting a quick finish. And my last fight on Contender Series, I was expecting a finish and it ended up being a hard dog fight. So I don’t know, I’m always contradicting myself.”

Jubli protested the stoppage; he was attacking a leg while Quillan Salkilld was celebrating. Still, he’d gone down in a heap, covering up. Not the sort of body language that is going to encourage a ref to allow a fight to continue.

Salkilld laughed when queried about whether the stoppage was fair. “Always going to be a fair stoppage. That was fair, more than fair.”

As to what how he wants the rest of 2025 to play out, the 25-year old from Perth wants to stay busy, and replenish his bank account.

“I want four fights this year. Four fights, four cheques. I want to end the year financially very comfortable. I want to be a rich man. I’m poor right now, I need some money. I’m praying that tonight I get the 50K bonus, even though it’s the first fight of the night. I’m hoping everyone else doesn’t perform as well. I want the 50K all to myself.”

Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Quillan Salkilld above.

The post After “Fairy Tale” Debut at UFC 312, Quillan Salkilld Wants to Be A “Rich Man” appeared first on Cageside Press.