Leavitt had won two straight coming into Saturday, with his last being his debut at 145lbs. Brito had snapped a two-fight skid in his last outing, with a decision victory over Isaac Thomson.

Round 1 – Leavitt pounced on Brito’s ankles just 10 seconds in, trying to get the fight into his wheelhouse on the ground. Brito maintained top position while Leavitt worked to the cage, but a guillotine attempt off his back allowed Leavitt to gain control. He pushed Brito against the cage and pressed for the takedown, with separations only lasting seconds before Leavitt was all over him again.

After a wild early pace from Leavitt, Brito got aggressive and started winging some big punches. After a few landed, Leavitt dove in on the legs but left his neck exposed. Brito locked up his patented ninja choke and sat into it, forcing a tap late in Round one. Brito was quick to take his shorts off in celebration after the win and has now won two straight.

Official Result: Joanderson Brito def. Jordan Leavitt by Submission (ninja choke), Round 1, 4:19

The post UFC Vegas 118: Joanderson Brito Counters Leavitt’s Wrestling With Nasty Front Choke appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m very happy with my performance, for this victory. I was sure we would win,” Ochoa told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Even more I’m very happy to be able to dedicate this win to my father, my team, and my entire family.”

Ochoa (9-2) put together a striking masterpiece against Carpenter who badly wanted the takedown, but wasn’t able to secure anything. Ochoa knew he was well-prepared for this fight.

“I’m happy with everything that I did in there. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened in there. In fact, I thought I was going to get the knockout,” he said.

“But we went the 15 minutes and I was prepared for that as well.”

Following the bout Ochoa used his post-fight interview to propose to the mother of his child back in Brazil. Word traveled fast and he got his answer in the locker room.

“It’s obvious that she said yes,” he said with a smile.

“She was just waiting for me to ask.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jose Ochoa above.

The post Jose Ochoa Outclasses Carpenter, Caps Night with Engagement News appeared first on Cageside Press.

The fight didn’t exactly go to plan.

“The plan was never to step back. Not a step backwards, that was the plan. Basically after the first round, we had to do something different,” the Russian fighter told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Prudential Center following Saturday’s event. Kopylov’s striking coach told him between rounds to switch from single strikes to combinations. “That seemed to have worked, because we definitely dropped him. We weren’t able to finish him up, but at least we know combination punching worked for our game plan.”

When Kopylov dropped Tulio for the first time, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier were critical of Kopylov’s decision to clinch up, rather than hunt for the finish.

“That one, my corner told me after the fight that if I had just let him go, I wouldn’t have finished him,” noted Kopylov in response.

However, at the end of the round, “the strength was kind of running out, the eye was kind of closing, the blood was in the way. So I wanted to make sure I didn’t overextend myself and not finish the fight that way.”

Roman Kopylov came away with a unanimous decision instead, snapped a two-fight skid in the process.

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Roman Kopylov above.

The post Roman Kopylov Responds to Criticism That He Didn’t Hunt Finish at UFC 328 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Battling through personal adversity outside the cage and delivering a quick submission win over Jared Gordon, the veteran once again proved that even after nearly two decades in the sport, he’s still finding ways to win, and still not ready to walk away.

“In there everything’s moving like a mile a minute, or in slow motion, it’s really weird. I wish you guys could see what it’s like,” Miller told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“It’s unique when you get into that flow state, and things just happen. If I was thinking about all those things, if I was thinking about the injuries or my son’s health issues, I mean over the years there’s been plenty of stuff.”

Miller (39-19) had been dealing with his son’s health issues for a while, but the longtime UFC lightweight used it all as motivation to get through camp and into the fight. Even with the seriousness of the situation Miller was able to compartmentalize it better than past fights.

“If I thought about those things when I was warming up or making the walk or in the octagon, I wouldn’t be here today. Fighting immediately after my brother was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do because then during the warm-up I’m seeing him, I’m seeing the look on his face,” he said.

“And it’s like he is not here. Like sh*t, this is not cool. Having to turn that off and wanting to be there for him and just having to go and fight undefeated Iranian national champ wrestler…”

To win in front of his family, and his son, was something he was grateful for after his win over Gordon. Some would think that it would be the perfect time for the 42-year-old father of four to walk away, but that just wouldn’t be his style.

“It felt great. It’s awesome to be here, it’s awesome to get to fight, I get this opportunity. I earned it and I still get to do it,” he said.

“I can very confidently say that a vast majority of (fighters) are retiring because their body’s breaking down or because they’re not able to keep up with the sport. I’ve been able to do both of those things. I’ve been able to stay healthy and I’ve been able to keep up with my opponents.”

With Miller continuing on in his career in hopes of reaching that 50 UFC fights mark he said he didn’t care who he faced next. He did however shoot his shot at a specific lightweight.

“Whoever,” Miller said when asked who he wanted next.

“Unfortunately I think I might have broke my left hand in the four minutes that we were fighting, but I hear there’s an Irishman looking for a fight. I think that would be a fun one.”

Conor McGregor, the ball is in your court.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jim Miller above.

The post Jim Miller Balances Family Struggles, Calls For McGregor Bout appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m ready to do another one, I’m ready to fight next week,” Green told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’ll be honest, if I can get on the Vegas card next week, surprise, come in and surprise everybody and do a fight out there that’d be dope.”

Green (35-17-1) was still so fresh after the fight that he called for a spot on UFC Vegas 117 headlined by Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa at the Meta APEX. Unlikely as it may be that he gets a fight on the card it shows that Green is in a bit of a hurry to stack some more fights together in 2026.

“I don’t even feel like I got in a fight, and I didn’t like the way I finished it. I wanted to knock him out and get that. Make sure that I solidified myself as one of the greatest fighters to ever step on these mats. That’s what I was saying to Dana is I’m one of the greatest to ever do this,” he said.

“I told him hey bro, I even told him when we were standing on our face off, I was like listen there is no loser,” said Green.

“The work you’ve done in this cage, the work I’ve done in this cage, there is no loser. You’re great no matter what. That’s what I was telling him at the face-off. There is no loser. We’re great fighters, bro.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with King Green above.

The post King Green Unsatisfied After UFC 328 Win, Pushes for Immediate Return appeared first on Cageside Press.

As he entered Fight Week, Dawson also learned that he and his wife had lost their first child due to a miscarriage.

“My wife and I were expecting our first baby, and we found out on Monday that we lost the baby. So it’s been a rough week,” Dawson revealed during his UFC 328 post-fight appearance with the media. “My amazing wife soldiered through it, toughed it out, no emotion, got me through this, and I promised her a little vacation for us to go and do our thing.”

And so, after the win, Dawson (24-3-1) admitted to media outlets that “physically, I feel terrible. Emotionally, also a little terrible.”

The fight was a back-and-forth one, with Dawson hurt at points before he submitted former training partner Mateusz Rebecki. The adversity he overcame is a point of pride for Dawson, it seems.

“I’m happy with this one, because like I said in the cage, I think a lot of people think of me as skilled, I don’t think a lot of people think of me as tough, and I hope that that has answered that question to night.”

He’d go on to add that “I’ll never turn my nose to a win. We got the win, that’s what matters. Obviously I would like to knock everybody out in the first 10 seconds.”

When Dawson landed a head kick early in the first, he thought “this is going to be a good night.” After being knocked down in the second, the thought was “this is not a great night. And then third round, I was like ‘this is a great night.’ So I’m happy.”

As for fighting a former training partner, Grant Dawson suggested that there were only certain names he’d ever decline, including Mateusz Gamrot. Unless a title was on the line. Otherwise, “if you say yes, I’mma say yes,” he stated. “And he [Rebecki] said yes, so I said yes.”

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Grant Dawson above.

The post UFC 328: Grant Dawson Hopes He’s Answered Questions About Toughness appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Different life,” he exclaimed while munching on a cookie, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press.

Amosov’s sacrifice paid off with a submission win against Alvarez on Saturday’s preliminary card. He’s now 2-0 in the promotion, 30-1 overall, and has seen the difference in reception when he tells people he’s a UFC fighter, instead of a Bellator champion.

“After my first fight, I felt this. I felt many peopled started following me. When you’re a UFC fighter, this is a little bit different. I talked with many guys who may be champion from different organizations, it doesn’t matter. You’re a super, super champion, you defend the belt couple times, it doesn’t matter. If you’re not a UFC fighter, people don’t respect you,” suggested Amosov. “Of course, respect, respect but not like— you can talk with somebody, you can be a super champion, but people ask you, ‘oh this is not UFC?’ And you can say ‘no, no this is not UFC’ and people say ‘ah, ah, okay okay.'”

“If you’re a UFC fighter, people [are like] ‘ohhh!'” continued Amosov. Now, Amosov added, if he shows up in the mall, “now I can say yes, I’m a UFC fighter,” and people will ask to take a photo with him. Even if he was 0-10 in the UFC, he added, “people think this is different people. This is not different, but people have this [idea], like ‘UFC fighter.'”

Yaroslav Amosov’s goal is to become a champion in the UFC, and it isn’t just down to winning, he observed. “This is very important — how I will win.” UFC 328 saw him pick up a Performance of the Night bonus, so on that front, he’s on solid footing.

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Yaroslav Amosov above.

The post UFC 328’s Yaroslav Amosov On the Different Reaction He Gets As a “UFC Fighter” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“So much needed right now just wins. Maybe it wasn’t so impressive, but Waldo is f*cking tough mother f*cker. Nobody can finish him,” Volkov told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I put him knockdown in the second round, but I was so accurate with his tricks.”

Volkov (40-11) was well aware the fight may not have been aesthetically pleasing to fans, especially against a known heavy-hitter like Cortes-Acosta, as the Russian largely relied on a point-scoring game plan to keep himself out of danger. It’s a lesson he learned the hard way in the past against another dangerous knockout artist.

“I learned the lesson. 2008 when Derrick Lewis did the same and (caught) me at the very end of the fight. Everybody reminds me of this again and again every time they see me. So I know this lesson very good,” he said.

“With these tough mother f*ckers who can punch in any minute in fight, better to be very accurate, and just give him lot of damage.”

Volkov has spoken about fighting for the UFC title, including in the cage, but struck a surprisingly self-deprecating tone when discussing his place among the division’s elite following the win. Despite his resume and success, he downplayed his standing and admitted to feeling the pressure that comes with climbing the heavyweight ranks.

“I don’t know. I understand the rules of the game. I’m so scared to fight for the title honestly. This guy is so big, so huge, so talented. I don’t know what I’m doing here in top two honestly,” he said.

“It’s so hard to be there like I need to do every time like new plan, how to win. I hid in my closet and coach can’t find me so I almost miss the bus to arena. I don’t know what I will do when I will fight for the title, I don’t know why I tell this. I was so brave after the win, but now a little bit calm down, I don’t know why I did this.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alexander Volkov above. 

The post Alexander Volkov Touts Lessons Learned Against Derrick Lewis appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Russian middleweight improved to 12-0 after choking out Brazilian Djorden Santos on Saturday’s preliminary card, having broken his hand in the first couple of minutes in the bout. That’s now three victories, and three stoppages since joining the UFC last fall off a win on the Contender Series.

Susurkaev is now looking for a step up in competition. “A hundred percent. I told Mick Maynard [UFC matchmaker] yesterday, I talked with him, and [said] a couple names. He said ‘we’ll try something.’ I’m 100% sure I need someone top 15, top 20.”

The 25-year old revealed that he’d spoken to Maynard about “Marvin Vettori, Roman Dolidze, and Bo Nickal.” It doesn’t sound like any of those will be forthcoming. “He said Bo Nickal and Vettori have fights soon, and Dolidze [is going] up in weight.”

Perhaps Susurkaev has some time to land a big name. With the hand injury, doctors “said five, six months I should rest.” Though he plans to be back sooner. “I will try to come back fast, I’m a fast recovery. I hope four, five months I can fight again.”

That could line him up for the UFC’s annual trip to Madison Square Garden. “Maybe, why not? I like that.”

With the submission over Santos coming late in the third when Baisangur Susurkaev opted to wrestle, you’d have to wonder if he should have gone that route earlier. Instead, he stated “it was the perfect time. I wanted to show the people I’m UFC level.”

“I hope you all like it. I like it also,” stated Susurkaev, adding “It was a good fight. I like a fight like this.”

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Baisangur Susurkaev above.

The post Baisangur Susurkaev Hoping to Return in Four or Five Months After Injuring Hand at UFC 328 appeared first on Cageside Press.

If there were any surprises in the fight, Gautier (11-1) didn’t let on, telling media outlets including Cageside Press following the second-round TKO that “I know he wanted to shoot, but I was ready for anything. It’s what happened.”

Ahead of the fight, fellow middleweight prospect Baisangur Susurkaev suggested that Gautier wasn’t famous enough yet to interest him in a match-up. Gautier gave his response backstage at the Prudential Center following the win.

“Let’s go step-by-step. Susurkaev says I’m not [famous], who knows him? Who knows him, for what? Who knows him? Nobody. I build my name myself, not behind some other peoples’ names. Myself, alone. With my team.”

As for a return, Gautier isn’t sure when exactly, other than “soon as possible,” adding that “I don’t know who they’re going to give to me, but I’m ready.”

He did call out Israel Adesanya in the cage after the win over Diaz, something of a surprise given it’s a fellow African fighter. By way of explanation, Ateba Gautier said that the callout was “because I admire him a lot. He’s a good fighter, he’s a very good quality fighter. He’s an African brother. I want to face him because I admire him.”

How big would the fight be, and how famous is Adesanya, a former two-time middleweight champ, in Africa? Gautier explained that “he’s more than famous in Africa. More than famous. Everybody knows him. If you fight in Africa and you don’t know Adesanya, you don’t know what a fight is. As a fighter, everybody knows him.”

Beyond that, Ateba didn’t have any other names on his mind— just food, including pizza.

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Ateba Gautier above.

The post Ateba Gautier Explains Adesanya Callout at UFC 328 appeared first on Cageside Press.