“I didn’t think it was a thing really, I thought everyone was talking about it,” admitted Haggerty, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press this week. “I went running the first night I got here, I’ve been here for four weeks. But the first day I got here, I went running, it was alright. Then the next afternoon I was hitting the pads, and it was just literally, I went white in the face, couldn’t find my legs. I was like yeah, I need to adjust to this.”

“That’s why I’m grateful I’ve been here for four weeks. So yeah, we’re ready.”

Opponent Superlek did not come to town nearly as early as Haggerty, and has been known for gassing in fights at times. Will that play a factor? “You said it yourself, he does gas out. So imagine what it will be like against me at this altitude,” responded Haggerty. “But as long as I’m ready, 100%, that’s what I’m worried and I’m focused on. I’m sure he’s not underestimating me, I’m sure he’s been training. He says he’s been training with scientists, we’ll have to see how far that scientist gets him.”

Watch the full ONE 168 media scrum with Jonathan Haggerty above.

The post Jonathan Haggerty Overlooked Denver Altitude Until It Hit Him appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The Burmese Python” is in town for ONE 168 on Friday night, and when asked about the air at altitude in Denver, exclaimed “I can breathe so good here!” – which brought about a chuckle from the media members present, who certainly aren’t in fight shape.

Asked if he’d run any marathons, however, Aung La declined. “Marathons? I don’t think I’m built for marathons. I’m built for a fist fight, not a marathon.”

A fist fight is what Aung La N Sang has on his hands this Friday, against Shamil Erdogan. For N Sang (30-13, 1NC), it’s a chance to win his fourth consecutive bout. That’s in his 20th fight for ONE Championship, where he has competed for the past decade.

After all that time, the promotion very much feels like home.

“This is my 20th fight, 10 years in the promotion, and I’ve been fighting top level competition, so I’m thankful to be part of it,” he stated. “This feels like home. Every time we have a press conference, every time I see the staff, I can give them a big hug and it feels like home. I feel at home here and I hope they feel the same way about me.”

Queried about the fight and whether Erdogan, who seemed more focused on triple champ Anatoly Malykhin during this week’s media duties, was overlooking him, Aung La replied by saying “I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m going to break something, that’s the plan.”

“We’re going to fight everywhere. We’re going to fight in the wrestling exchange, we’re going to fight on the cage. I’m going to get back up every time he takes me down. I’m going to make it a war.”

Watch the full ONE 168 media scrum with Aung La N Sang above.

The post Aung La N Sang: ONE Championship “Feels Like Home” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cornejo and Lee have quite a bit in common: both are early on in their pro careers (to be fair, Cornejo had a solid amateur run dating back to 2019). Both are undefeated. And then there’s the age factor: Adrian Lee is still just a teenager. As for Cornejo, he’s perfectly familiar with those teenage years: his son is just two years younger than Adrian Lee, at 16.

Okay, so maybe not that much in common. Still, that’s one of those weird quirks of the fight business, as the 35-year old enters the highest-profile bout of his career.

“We joked around a lot in our gym, because believe it or not, I have a sixteen year old son,” Cornejo (2-0) told media outlets including Cageside Press in a pre-fight scrum on Wednesday. “So him being two years older than my son, we joke around a lot and my son is like, ‘dad I think I can take you.'” To which the elder Cornejo’s answer was “‘You can try, but we’ll see.'”

All joking aside, Nico Cornejo isn’t reading too much into the tender age of Lee, who comes from what amounts to ONE Championship royalty in a fighting family with Christian, Angela, and the late Victoria Lee.

“His age has nothing to do with it. He’s got years and years of experience in his background, fighting I’m pretty sure from the moment he could walk. His age, I don’t take into consideration at all, and I don’t want people to take my age into consideration,” stated Cornejo. “I just turned 35 and a lot of you know that in the fight world, that’s getting up there in age. But I feel like I’m in my prime, I feel like I’ve still got many many years ahead of me, and I’m in the best shape of my life compared to my 20s. So I’m just ready to show the world what I can do here in Colorado.”

If all goes well, Cornejo hopes to turn a solid performance into a continuing engagement.

“I don’t want this to be one and done at all. I want to be able to show ONE Championship and executives and everybody that I’m here to compete, I’m here to fight, and continue my fight journey.”

Watch the full media scrum with ONE 168’s Nico Cornejo above.

The post Nico Cornejo’s Son Is Just Two Years Younger Than ONE 168 Opponent Adrian Lee appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dricus du Plessis

No matter how he gets it done, the fact remains — Dricus du Plessis knows how to win fights. Despite looking ragged from body shots in the fourth round, his insatiable drive spurred him to victory, catching rival Israel Adesanya with a right hand before following him to the ground to lock up a submission finish.

There are two obvious options for the South Africa’s next fight: Sean Strickland or the winner of Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev. Personally, I think Rob or Khamzat would deserve it more since Strickland only won one fight since losing the belt to du Plessis himself. However, Dana White has already stated that Strickland will be next to face Dricus, and he has the power to decide those things, of course.

Du Plessis’ Next Fight: Sean Strickland 2

Kai-Kara France

New Zealand’s Kai-Kara France impressed in a way that people usually do not associate with flyweights when he knocked Steve Erceg out cold on Saturday. He has now rebounded from two straight losses, but the second of those losses was a decision against Amir Albazi that most people thought he won.

Albazi has sat out for a year due to injury and with this win Kai has earned a rematch. The winner would then find themselves in a title fight or at least a number one contender bout.

France’s Next Fight: Amir Albazi 2

Dan Hooker

In the immediate aftermath of Dan Hooker’s win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305, Hunter Campbell was quoted as saying that Hooker would fight Charles Oliveira next. That fight would be incredible; they have been in the same division for a long time putting on exciting fights, but have never crossed paths.

Now that they will do so, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will win. Whoever it is though, they will be firmly entrenched in the top-five at lightweight and ready to challenge for the belt next, perhaps, after Arman Tsarukyan’s much-deserved title shot.

Hooker’s Next Fight: Charles Oliveira

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Although one judge bafflingly gave Tai Tuivasa a 30-27 scorecard, Jairzinho ‘Bigi Boi’ Rozenstruik was the one who walked out of the cage the victor after a confident striking performance, his second in a row. Now with a two fight winning streak in hand it is time for the Surinamese fighter to face one of the other big hitters of heavyweight – Derrick Lewis – in a bout that could end at any moment with one punch from either man. Lewis will just have to get past Alexander Romanov in Edmonton first.

Rozenstruik’s Next Fight: Derrick Lewis

Carlos Prates

Brazil’s Carlos Prates has taken the welterweight division by storm with three knockout wins in as many UFC fights, but now the real tests begin. He is on the fringe of having a number next to his name and should fight someone else who is in the same boat.

After a three fight losing streak, Michael Chiesa bounced back with a win over Tony Ferguson, but it did not tell us much. He would be a new threat for Prates, a strong grappler, while Carlos would be a young, hungry, powerful hitter who would test if Chiesa himself is ready to return to the rankings.

Prates’ Next Fight: Michael Chiesa

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Crossing the small pond from New Zealand, ‘The Hangman’ had a slight home-field advantage in Perth, Australia as he welcomed Poland’s Gamrot down under. With three straight wins and the number five next to his name, Gamrot has inserted himself in the title conversation. However a resurging Dan Hooker had something to say about that. With a ‘Fight of the Night’ victory in his last fight proving that Hooker still can bring the violence, he looked to play spoiler to ‘Gamer’ as he just had to Jalin Turner in 2023.

Both men switched stances frequently when the fight began which would create a tactical dynamic which many analysts sought to break down for this fight. Gamrot drew first blood, literally, with a right hand that bruised Dan’s eye and opened a small cut. Two minutes in Hooker landed a hard body kick but Gamrot expectedly turned it into a takedown — his infamous low single. Dan butt-scooted to the fence where Gamrot landed a few ground strikes before Dan worked his way up.

Suddenly, a short shot caught ‘Hangman’ off guard and he fell to a knee. Mateusz jumped on top, pushed him to his back, and teed off with ground strikes against a still-recovering Hooker. However Dan was not done. He got back up and with one minute left he landed a big right hand that dropped Gamrot. The Pole retreated on shaky legs while Hooker unloaded on him. Gamrot only survived the round by shooting a desperate takedown and stalling.

The second round started to a cacophony from the Perth fans as Dan Hooker pressed forward. Yet Gamrot knew what to do; he waited for the body kick and got an easy takedown. He passed to side control in open space and maintained that control on a Hooker who did not work as hard to get up in the second round. It took two full minutes but Dan did finally scoot to the fence and use it to get to his feet. There he landed a body shot which made Gamrot reset in discomfort, but Mateusz fired back with effective straight shots in the next exchange. With ninety seconds left Gamrot shot another takedown. Hooker defended with the guillotine which gave him his nickname which forced Gamrot to roll and lose top position in his escape.

Gamrot began round three by treetopping Hooker, running him to the fence, and then switching to the double. Dan again forced him to gator roll to escape, allowing the Kiwi to stand back up. Hooker was more focused and aggressive in the third round, targeting the body of his foe especially. The defense of Gamrot began to consist mostly of just covering up and desperate retreats. Gamrot fired back with his own punches, which was more effective, but he could never get off the back foot.

Mateusz shot another takedown halfway through the round but Dan saw it coming and sprawled it out easily. Gamrot shot a head inside single leg against the fence with one minute left, but the guillotine again made him bail on it. Hooker turned up the intensity even more thereafter, though Gamrot made him pay with a right hand and some clinch control. He dropped for another takedown but only ended up on his knees where Hooker could smash elbows into his side. The final seconds of the fight saw then stand back up and swing to the bell, with Dan landing one big left hook in that final exchange.

The third round was dominant for Dan Hooker, but with solid control time and damage in the first two rounds for Mateusz, the scorecards could have gone either way. As was predictable, the judges were split. With a tense arena of fight fans down under hanging on every word, Bruce Buffer announced the third and final scorecard for Dan Hooker.

He immediately got on the mic and yelled, “How do you like me now?” in indignation at being counted out in the grappling by some.

After beating a top five opponent, Dan Hooker declared he wants anyone and everyone in the rankings, clearly too jubilant to give a singular answer to the question of, “Who’s next?”

Official Result: Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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Prates, Brazil’s newest welterweight prospect, had won both of his UFC fights and his last nine fights overall, with eight straight knockouts in that time. In addition, this fight took place on his birthday. On the other side stood ‘The Leech,’ China’s longest tenured UFC fighter ever who had traded wins and losses equally since 2019.

The southpaw Prates appeared taller and longer than the Leech in the cage. Carlos stalked forward with his left hand poised to throw, but mostly just attacked with leg kicks while they felt each other out. With two minutes left in the first round Carlos Prates threw one of his first power punches, which dropped Jingliang to a knee. It was a flash knockdown at best, but first blood went to the Brazilian.

Carlos slowly let his hands go more and more, while staying defensively sound as Li tried to puncture his guard with combinations. With thirty seconds left Prates dropped Leech, and then again ten seconds later. However, Li got right back up and met fire with fire. He charged forward in the final seconds and connected with his foe’s chin, but got again rocked himself.

After being hurt multiple times in the first round it bore watching whether or not the Jingliang team would change their plans. Leech began the round aggressively while Prates worked to corral him against the fence and land low kicks. Prates rocked him again at one point, and then landed a head kick with half a foot, which Li somehow survived. Thirty seconds later another left hand dropped Leech.

Jingliang got back up and was on the ropes, but the one hitter quitter came soon enough. Li Jingliang was finished by strikes for the first time ever and it took almost a full minute for him to regain consciousness after such a brutal knockout.

With such a highlight reel knockout and an undefeated 3-0 UFC record Carlos Prates can surely expect a ranked opponent in his next fight.

Official Result: Carlos Prates def. Li Jingliang by Knockout (punch), Round 2, 4:02

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Nolan had lost his UFC debut by upset knockout before getting the job done in his sophomore effort. In the meantime, Alex Reyes had returned to the octagon more than six years after his debut, with no fights in between. However Alex, brother of former light-heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes, was knocked out for a second straight fight. As a result, Tom Nolan was a massive favorite heading into their bout at UFC 305.

Tom Nolan stalked his opponent early in the fight but Reyes timed a blitz and landed a takedown against the fence. Alex transitioned to the back but could not get his hooks in. He maintained control for a minute but got too high when trying to again get hooks in, so he fell off. Back on the feet, Nolan’s aggression did solid damage, but then Reyes stalled him again with grappling. Nolan broke free this time, landed an elbow on the break, and again poured it on. Reyes was able to move laterally and avoid some of the onslaught, but he had absolutely no respect from his foe in striking. At least, that was the case until he caught Tom with a right hand that made him reassess his aggression.

In late round one Alex got punished for a takedown with a knee, but then Nolan fell to his back. When trying to get up, Reyes landed an illegal knee to his grounded foe. It was a heated moment and Nolan was fine, so the referee did not take a point, but did give Alex a hard warning.

The second round began with more aggression from Nolan, he landed a spinning backfist early that may have knocked out a less hardy foe. Ninety seconds into the round a short, straight left hand from the Aussie dropped Alex Reyes to a knee, but he refused to go all the way down. Tom poured it on but Alex had recovered relatively well. He must have still been a bit foggy, because he found himself trapped against the fence more and more due to passivity. However Nolan got over-aggressive and was trapped in a clinch again. Escaping gave Tom one final minute in the round to deliver his high-paced offense. He landed a monstrous combo in the final twenty seconds, forcing Reyes to get on his bicycle to survive the round.

The giant, 6’3″ lightweight Tom Nolan continued to mostly cruise his way to victory in the third and final round. Reyes mostly just circled and threw leg kicks, not maximizing his win condition while down two rounds. When Alex did get aggressive he was punished for it. Finally he shot a takedown halfway through the round but Nolan stuffed it. Tom turned that sprawl into a d’Arce choke attempt; it seemed for a moment as though he would finish it, but Reyes survived and got up. Alex held Nolan in the clinch as the clock ticked past one minute remaining. Tom did not escape, but he was the one doing damage, pushing on his foes head to create space for elbows while Reyes focused on controlling the offensive dynamo. Massively to his credit Alex Reyes opened up in the final moments, swinging wildly to the bell in search of what little chance there was for a knockout.

When the dust settled the two men clapped each other on the backs and awaited a decision which was really just a formality. All three judges gave him the win, with only one giving the Aussie less than all three rounds as he earned a win in his home country for the first time with the UFC.

Official Result: Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Serghei Spivac

Moldova’s Spivac redeemed himself twofold in UFC Vegas 95’s main event against Marcin Tybura, making up for his recent TKO loss to Cyril Gane and for his first fight against Tybura back in 2020, which Serghei lost by decision. This time he made it look easy, taking the Pole down and tapping him with an armbar after less than two minutes. Despite his recent loss, Spivac is 4-1 in his last five, so he should be in position for a higher-ranked opponent.

There are not many other available, highly ranked heavyweights coming off wins. Gane and Alexander Volkov won their last fights but have been scheduled to rematch each other, as well, in two months. With the title picture stagnant due to Tom Aspinall being forced to defend his interim belt the division feels a bit empty at the top of the rankings, since the erstwhile #1 contender has been a champion, not just a contender, for over a year now while Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones endlessly circle each other. That leaves just Jailton Almeida for Spivac.

A strong grappler, Almeida has flawed wrestling but is freakishly athletic and has the best top game in the UFC heavyweight division. With a 7-1 UFC record and his only loss coming against Curtis Blaydes – in a fight he was winning – Jailton needs maybe just one or two more wins to earn a title shot, as does Spivac. This matchup would also be a grappler’s delight, with interesting scrambles sure to ensue.

Spivac’s Next Fight: Jailton Almeida

Chepe Mariscal

With his impressive and dominant win over Damon Jackson, Chepe Mariscal got his fourth straight win. Staying perfect in the UFC matters a lot, but missing weight by 4.5 pounds is egregious, so perhaps Chepe will not be given a ranked opponent just yet. Hovering just outside the rankings at featherweight are fighters like Sodiq Yusuff, Nate Wood, and Nate Landwehr.

Any of those would be excellent fights; Yusuff was ranked at featherweight for years until his last two losses, and never puts on a bad show. Wood and Landwehr are also talented; Landwehr in particular is one of the most action-oriented fighters in the sport today. His brawl-or-die style matches up perfectly with Chepe’s own, and would create an excellent fight where the winner could compete against a ranked foe next.

Mariscal’s Next Fight: Nate Landwehr

Danny Barlow

Memphis’ young, new striker Danny Barlow also missed weight for his UFC Vegas 95 fight, but unlike Mariscal it was by less than a pound. Barlow earned a split decision win for his efforts against short-notice debutant Nikolay Veretennikov. He remains undefeated and moves to 2-0 in the UFC, but this prospect clearly wanted to win more dominantly. As a 29-year-old welterweight his time is now to make a run.

A good step up to test if Barlow is capable of bigger things would be Phil Rowe. ‘The Fresh Prince’ lost his last two fights after a three-bout winning streak put him on the verge of being ranked, so while it is a big step up for Barlow, its also a fight he is capable of winning and will be a new style for him to face. He may only be 9-0, but when a fighter has that zero in their record they are going to ascend quicker than others may.

Barlow’s Next Fight: Phil Rowe

Chris Gutierrez

‘El Guapo’ made it look easy, though not necessarily attractive to look at, when he beat the debuting Quang Le on Saturday. Using his infamous leg kicks, Gutierrez chewed up the former LFA fighter from the outside en route to a comfortable, if tepid, decision. With his last two losses coming to ranked fighters, and due to holding no wins against ranked bantamweights, Chris will have to do more to get back his top-15 spot.

He was originally scheduled to face Javid Basharat in the UFC Apex, so that fight can be rebooked with no hesitation. It would be an excellent addition to the pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi later this year, with Basharat being from the region and fans loving to see talented bantamweights in action.

Gutierrez’s Next Fight: Javid Basharat

Yana Santos

Twelfth-ranked UFC women’s bantamweight Yana Santos, née Kunitskaya, won her first fight since returning from giving birth to a child with her husband, former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos, in April of 2022. Santos largely outclassed fourteenth-ranked opponent Chelsea Chandler, another fighter from UFC Vegas 95 who missed weight badly, even scoring a her first-ever UFC knockdown in the second round.

After three straight losses to ranked opponents, Santos had to win this to hold onto her ranking, and she did just that. Another fighter who is not in the best form of her career is Julia Avila. Thirteenth-ranked Avila won her first three UFC fights, including beating now-ranked fighter Pannie Kianzad, but has now lost two of her last three and clearly needs work on her wrestling. Yana Santos would be more than happy to oblige her by testing that particular skillset of Julia’s.

Santos’s Next Fight: Julia Avila

Toshiomi Kazama

Japan’s Toshiomi Kazama lost his first two UFC fights by knockout but impressed in his rebound against Charalampos Grigoriou on Saturday. Despite getting dropped after a strong first round, Kazama survived and choked out his opponent from his back with a triangle choke, a somewhat rare submission to see in the UFC nowadays.

However, Kazama is not totally in the clear, even after that; a 1-2 record in the stacked bantamweight division is not ideal. Toshiomi will need to win his next fight to make sure his job is safe. One fight which would be interesting is Kazama vs Ricky Turcios. Turcios is not a knockout artist, but he is chaotic and a good scrambler that would give Kazama a new style to deal with. Also, Ricky will not gas out quickly like Grigoriou.

Kazama’s Next Fight: Ricky Turcios

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While Japan’s Kazama had been knocked out in his first two UFC bouts, Cyprus’ Grigoriou had only lost a decision in his debut after his DWCS win. With both men looking for their first UFC win, this bout had the highest of stakes in their minds, even if not those of the fans.

Kazama shot a takedown in the opening seconds but only managed to push his foe against the fence. After holding him there for a while, Kazama landed a knee which may have been illegal, with Grigoriou’s hand on the mat. Jason Herzog paused the fight while the commentary debated the legality of the knee; Charalampos’ hand was coming up right as the knee landed. When the fight restarted they were at distance but again Toshiomi shot, this time transitioning to the back. He had the back almost fully but made a mistake by giving up the position to hunt for an arm bar, allowing Grigoriou to get on top. However, Kazama executed a half-guard sweep and got on top, where the round ended.

Grigoriou came out swinging to start round two and hurt Kazama badly. Kazama almost got a takedown but Charalampos shook him off and got back to his assault. The Cypresian fighter dropped his foe and pounced on top with elbows. Jason Herzog warned Kazama to defend and he did just enough to stay alive as Grigoriou wore himself out. While he rested, clearly exhausted, Toshiomi Kazama locked up a triangle choke. Grigoriou was so tired that he tapped almost right away.

Despite his battered face, Kazama radiated joy after earning his first UFC win with slick grappling skills.

Official Result: Toshiomi Kazama def. Charalampos Grigoriou by submission (triangle choke), Round 2, 1:55

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Although he went 3-3-1 in his first UFC stint, Zalal had to find his way outside the UFC due to the draw and losses coming in succession at the end of his contract. After winning five fights he got a second chance and made the most of it by annihilating Billy Quarantillo in the debut fight of his second run. As for Errens, he had just notched his first UFC win in 2024 after two losses when he first entered the promotion.

When the fight began the pair felt each other out, with Zalal being the retreating party. Errens ran at him with punches at times but largely missed due to the evasiveness of his foe, whose leg kicks were effective early. Youssef shot the first takedown and got in deep. Errens defended well at first, but after grinding him against the cage, Zalal got Jarno down. He then took the back and locked up a body triangle as Errens stood up.

Youssef switched sides only twice when going for the rear-naked choke and did not even appear to be fully under the chin when he made Jarno tap, to a chorus of Zalal’s Factory X MMA coach Mark Montoya yelling, “He’s going out!” repeatedly. To make Jarno tap while the forearm was still over the chin is extremely impressive.

With two submission wins in two fights since returning to the UFC, Youssef Zalal looks to be the real deal at twenty-seven years old. If he can continue winning he will finding himself ranked at featherweight in no time.

Official Result: Youssef Zalal def. Jarno Errens by Submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 3:52

The post UFC Vegas 95: Youssef Zalal Submits Errens, Stays Perfect in Second UFC Run appeared first on Cageside Press.