“Very happy with the win. Everything that I went through in July…I went through a lot. Working a lot to become a better fighter and to put new things into my fight game,” Ferreira told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

Ferreira suffered a TKO loss at the hands of Nursulton Ruziboev last July.

“I learned a lot from that fight. It was an opportunity to become a better fighter. I’m the person that I expect the most out of myself. I put a lot of weight on myself and this was a weight that was lifted off my back,” he said.

With the his start to 2024 being a positive one Ferreira looked ahead to what he’d like to do next.

“Everything has “why” everything has a reason. This fight was supposed to happen before, and he’s already run away from me once at the end of the year. He didn’t fight me, but at the end of the day I have a brother, I have a training partner and a friend in Bruno Silva,” said Ferreira.

“He (Hawes) welcome him into his home. So we would like to welcome him into our home. So Shara Bullet (Sharabutdin Magomedov) we want to face him in Brazil.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Brunno Ferreira above.

The post Brunno Ferreira Wants To Face Shara Bullet In Brazil appeared first on Cageside Press.

“He’s lost in some certain ways so whatever way the water flows easiest,” Bautista told reporters including Cageside Press about how the fight with Font would go.

“I would say around springtime. The way I planned it out is top 15, top 10, and top 5 at the end of the year.”

The possibility of Font not being available is a very real issue, and it’s something Bautista hasn’t given too much thought.

“I haven’t really looked at anyone. Nothing that would make sense. I think everyone else is kind of booked so that’s why I figured Font,” he said.

Bautista (14-2) is on a 6-fight win streak. With Font on a two-fight losing streak it wouldn’t be a bad fight for him to accept.

The fight with Simon turned out to be one of the more entertaining ones on the card with both men going back and forth. It’s something that may have been wasted at the UFC APEX.

“It would have been fun. I’m pretty sure the crowd would have went crazy after watching that fight,” Bautista said.

“It is what it is you know. Next one…maybe it will be.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Mario Bautista above.

The post Mario Bautista Explains Call Out Of Rob Font appeared first on Cageside Press.

At UFC 294 last October, the pair saw a three-round fight end inside the opening frame when an illegal knee resulted in a controversial No Contest (controversial not because of the foul, but because Walker, who appeared ready to fight on, was not allowed to do so).

There were no such mishaps in the UFC Vegas 84 main event. And overall, Ankalaev didn’t feel much was different.

“Not that much different. I mean I also knew I was going to win back then, so I won now,” Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex. “This is my time, and I did my job, and I won the fight.”

The opening round saw Walker throwing any number of flashy spinning attacks, including several spinning back fists. “I also knew to expect some strange stuff from him. I gave him the first round so he’s able to work,” said Ankalaev. “I wanted to see if I could see his tactics, see the stuff he’s throwing out, if I was able to catch it. Nothing surprised me, so that’s why the second round, I did what I did.”

While the Dagestani has dominant wrestling in his back pocket, the method of victory on Saturday was intentional, Magomed Ankalaev later explained.

“I could have come out here today and wrestled against Johnny Walker, could have taken him down right away and won with my ground n’ pound on the ground,” the 31-year old stated. “But instead, I wanted to send a message, I wanted to stand up, I wanted to knock him out and that’s what I did.”

Ankalaev had another message to deliver after the fight, in fact. One for Glover Teixeira, who has been training current light heavyweight and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira.

“For Glover Texeira, I have a message. Don’t waste you time trying to teach your student to wrestle or grapple. He’s not going to need it. I’m going to come out there, I’m going to stand across from him. And I know he’s been knocked out before, as a middleweight. So imagine what’s going to happen if I meet him at light heavyweight. Trust me, he’s not going to feel comfortable there.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 84 post-fight press conference with Glover Teixeira above.

The post Magomed Ankalaev Issues Message to Glover Teixeira, Alex Pereira Following UFC Vegas 84 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m not talking to him because (he made me mad) in the second round. You see the guy try kicking my mouthpiece. I respect him, but that time no respect no more. My movement is my movement. My salsa, merenge, everything. I’ll be there for Salsa Boy,” Cortes-Acosta told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“My respect for the guy every time, but I win tonight.”

There we some antics Cortes-Acosta pulled including dancing in front of Arlovski, and talking some trash. At one point his mouthpiece fell out and Arlovski attempted to kick it in frustration.

After beating a former champion Cortes-Acosta took aim at the current UFC heavyweight champion.

“Yes I have a fighter in mind. Jon Jones. One of the fighters that has been known for his movement, for everything. Maybe we’ll see Salsa Boy grow little by little and learn how to move like Jon Jones,” he said.

As for what’s next Cortes-Acosta hopes to get a fight on UFC Mexico City on Feb 24. Headlined by Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval it’s Mexico since 2019.

“I want to fight in Mexico City. I love Mexico. My family is Mexican-Dominican. Mexican fans want me, I want to be there,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Waldo Costes-Acosta above.

* Some translation done by Cageside Press.

The post Waldo Cortes-Acosta Wants On UFC Mexico City Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Miller, everyone’s favorite choice to join the UFC 300 card in April, had got word that Benitez was especially proficient with his kicks.

“I’ve heard that he’s the hardest kicker, leg kicker at AKA, and it’s like ‘alright, hold my beer,'” the victorious Miller told media outlets including Cageside Press following the event. “We can see about that.”

Miller put Benitez away via submission in the end, finishing the fight with a face crank. But early on, the 40-year old opted to trade kicks, and exchange on the feet, in what became quite the exciting co-main event.

“That’s the way we expected it, a tough fight,” reflected Miller. “Like I sat here a few days ago and said, even though the opportunity to fight at 300 was on the shelf, or there in front of me, I wasn’t going to do anything tonight that wasn’t Jim Miller style. I went out there and fought like I always try to fight, sometimes I fall a little short, but my goal in every fight that I’ve ever been in is to come out and to be as violent as I can and to get that finish. That’s the only way I’m happy, is if I put somebody away.”

UFC 300 is right there in front of him now. The fact that Miller, who competed at UFC 100 in 2009 and UFC 200 in 2016, is still competing, is nothing short of amazing. It’s not the fights that take their toll, however, Miller explained.

“It’s not the fights, necessarily, it’s more so the training camps. Training as a 40-year old lightweight, I have to make concessions, everyday. It’s about sacrificing certain things. My goal when I step onto the mat to train is to be healthy, and then to be in shape, and then to be good at what I’m good at and then to be ready for what my opponent brings. I’m not going to do anything like the silly stuff like start in bad positions, all this stuff. ‘Oh this guy’s good at arm-bars, let’s start in an arm-bar.’ No. Been there, done that, I’ve got those reps in. If I can’t make it through the camps then I know it’s time to hang them up.”

Asked about the key to the longevity he has seen in his career, Miller admitted that “the lazy answer is luck and genetics, but there’s been a lot. There’s been a lot.” That includes Miller’s decision to start his own gym, and do to it with a small team of guys he could trust. Which allowed him to “not have to deal with some of the things you have to deal with at big gyms,” including training partners who might injure you in sparring. “There are a lot of careers that have been cut short by injuries in rounds that they didn’t need to do in the gym, and silly mistakes.”

Following his win over Benitez, Jim Miller called out both Paul Felder, who was working the broadcast booth (Felder addressed the media at Saturday’s post-fight press conference, suggesting he was open to a return for the match-up), and welterweight vet Matt Brown. Miller seems high on both match-ups.

“Paul and I almost fought, when was that, 15? 2015. I think that fight would be brutal. I think that is a brutal fight, me and him, locked in a cage for 15 minutes,” Miller exclaimed. “I also think that that Matt Brown fight is amazing as well. I think it’s awesome because one I don’t have to cut weight, and two, he’s the guy with the most finishes at welterweight, I’m the guy with the most finishes at lightweight. That’s a fight for 300. Let’s put on a show, let’s go out, let’s entertain. I’m willing to move up in weight for that type of event.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 84 post-fight press conference with Jim Miller above.

The post UFC Vegas 84: Jim Miller on “Brutal” Felder, “Awesome” Matt Brown Fights appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Very tough. He’s like a tough person right? Like my hands hurt from hitting him. He took some shots I didn’t think that he was going to be able to take. Kudos to him for sure,” McGhee told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum on Saturday.

“Super tough, super durable, super impressed by him.”

Going into the fight many believed that Bolanos’s kickboxing skills would be too much for McGhee to handle. McGhee seemed to turn that into motivation to out-strike the striker.

“It was definitely still a tough fight, but yes. I don’t blame them, but a lot of folks wanted me to just go out there and grapple him. My grappling’s coming along a lot and when I get ready to start showing it off it’ll be nice,” McGhee said.

“But I am a striker and I believe I can out-strike the best strikers in the world. I really believe that. I have a lot of faith in myself, we put a lot of work in, I have some great coaches that I work with. And I’m constantly evolving. It was great to go out there and do exactly what I wanted to do. Out-strike the striker.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Marcus McGhee above.

The post Marcus McGhee Aimed To “Out-Strike The Striker” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“For me every fight is life and death. It doesn’t matter if it’s end of the year, beginning of the year, every fight is the next most important fight. The last 12 weeks of my life I dedicated to this fight non-stop,” Basharat told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I think it kind of showed today in the fight. I put a crazy pace in there and I was ready for every single puzzle that Lapilus put in front of me.”

With Basharat remaining undefeated, and on a 3-fight UFC win streak, the bantamweight is looking for a step up in competition next.

“I don’t have an idea of who I want to fight next. Let it be a step up, but regardless it doesn’t matter who it is. I’m constantly improving so much I’m never worried about who it’s going to be next,” Basharat said.

“I’m just worried about improving myself when I get there. When it will be, let’s see you know, I’m always ready. I’m always training hard, always in shape, so whoever it is they can all get it.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Farid Basharat above.

The post Farid Basharat Looking For Step Up In Competition Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It wasn’t a prediction. We trained this. We trained a lot of things and we knew what was going to happen. We knew how he was going to walk, we know how he was going to approach how he wasn’t going to touch gloves or anything like that,” Silva told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

“Nothing is a coincidence. We trained everything.”

With the sort of detail he trained with nothing really surprised the Brazilian in the cage.

“Nothing. We knew everything. We knew everything. Everything that we predicted happened. He couldn’t even bring himself to look into my eyes we even knew that,” he said.

Silva put on a show for the entire time he was at the APEX. Even his walkout drew interest as he chose to walk slow, seemed to take it all in, almost like he was the main character of a movie.

It drew a lot of interest from fans on social media.

“I’m going to apologize for not knowing how to answer this. I’ve said this before. It’s another person. It’s someone else. I’ve given a name to my alter-ego that’s why ‘Lord Assassin” came about,” Silva said.

“It’s another person.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jean Silva above.

The post Jean Silva Went Into Extreme Detail For Wilson appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I don’t know if it was personal but I saw when he got signed he said something that when he has an opponent his whole life (revolves) around the guy. He’s trying to take as many years as possible off the guy life, and I was like ‘damn!’. Why man? Everyone has family,” Motta told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’m a very exciting fight, I want to entertain people, I want to put in a nice performance. I want to put in wars and knock people out, but at the same time I don’t want to hurt nobody.”

Motta also saw some things that Nolan said on social media that may have added some more motivation.

“Also I saw that he said on social media that (our fight) is ‘going to be a highlight reel finish and I promise you guys how violent I am’. I had to wear that shirt again that says, ‘I am comfortable with violence’. That’s a shirt that my friend Vinc Pichel likes to wear and I copied him. That crazy guy,” Motta said as he revealed the phrase printed on his shirt.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Nikolas Motta above.

The post Nikolas Motta Had Added Motivation From Nolan Trash Talk appeared first on Cageside Press.

Miller, who submitted Gabriel Benitez at UFC Vegas 84 on Saturday night, called out Felder following his big win. “The Irish Dragon” was working the broadcast booth cageside, and hasn’t fought since 2020, but it appears the possibility of a comeback fight was something the pair had discussed in advance.

“Anybody that knows me or talks to me,” Felder told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage, “knew that Jim was the name that was gonna be like ‘if I’m going to do it, I want it to be against a guy like Jim.’ Somebody that’s around my age, that’s been in the game a long time. I’m not trying to come back and make a run for the belt or anything like that.”

Felder was getting back into racing in Triathlons and questioning whether he really wanted to go back to fighting, but wound up talking to Miller during recent fighter meetings. “Obviously the people around me are kind of egging it on and pushing me, and I was like ‘if you call me out, Jim, it’s something I’d be interesting in doing.'” Miller replied by suggesting if Felder hooked him up with a broadcasting gig, “‘we’ll make it a deal.’ I think they’ll be calling him for at least an audition coming up.”

Felder admits that he has to get back in the gym and see how he feels. There’s also the UFC’s desires to take into consideration. “It’s also up to the UFC too. I obviously haven’t pressed the issue. Sean [Shelby, UFC matchmaker] knew that, he knew he wanted to test me out and see if I was just being flakey, and I’ve done it in the past where I’m like ‘I’m coming back, I’m going to make a run for it, I’m going to do all this’ and then I just don’t. So I’ve got to see if they’re even interested in that fight happening. But to do it on a legendary card like that would be incredible.”

The allure might just be worth it for Felder, who has been working on acting projects in addition to broadcasting.

“It’s definitely a possibility. I’ve got to go home, and I’ll probably have a fun night tonight, and then get back into seeing how the body feels training. I’m in phenomenal shape, I’m in the best shape of my adult life the last few years, I just haven’t been fighting.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 84 post-fight press conference appearance by Paul Felder above.

The post Paul Felder Open to Facing Jim Miller at UFC 300: “It’s Definitely a Possibility” appeared first on Cageside Press.