Not that he doesn’t have the talent – he very clearly does – but after a run with Bellator, part of which played out during COVID, it seemed like Nallo’s window might be closing. Then, the fighter known as “Rat Garbage” (at least to some, more on that later) arrived on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. A finish, and a UFC contract, followed.

Speaking with Cageside Press in a recent interview, Canada’s Nallo (14-3, 1NC) admitted that while his journey to this point has “been long,” it has also “been a pleasure.”

“I love training under Firas [Zahabi, TriStar head coach], I love getting better every day,” Nallo explained. “I was never dejected, I was never disheartened at any point. I was always, maybe I’m delusional, but I was like ‘something good is going to happen.'”

“I do too much work, I just don’t believe that this amount of hard work in the right way will go unrewarded in some way. So I was always happy to do it. But yeah, it’s been a long one.”

Nallo even being on the Contender Series raised eyebrows, given Dana White has stated he’s not looking for older “contenders.” Earning a contract at age 36, the oldest fighter to do so, was all the more impressive as a result. Going in, Nallo knew he needed more than just a regular performance.

“The only fight I’ve gone into with the mindset that I need something special to happen was the Contender fight. And it wasn’t just so much of my age, it’s just like, that show is not a regular MMA show. You’re not going in there to get show/win, you’re going in there to get a UFC contract,” he stated. “And securing a boring win can be significantly worse for your career than having an entertaining loss. Not to say anybody should go on there and damage themselves in any way, but I’ve seen guys ruin any chance I think they have of signing to the UFC by grinding out a really secure 10-9 every round.”

The way Nallo fights, he added, “I always trusted something cool would happen.”

It did, and Mandel Nallo became the oldest fighter signed to the UFC off the Contender Series. Now, he’s getting a hot start out of the gate against Jai Herbert, who will be entering his 10th UFC fight at UFC Winnipeg.

It’s exactly the sort of match-up he was looking for.

“I think that’s exactly what you want. If you are entering the UFC with the skillset required to climb quickly, you don’t want to fight another random dude with an 0-0 record or 1-0 record, because it’s just so hard, no matter how well you do, for people to understand what that means.”

When you’re fighting an unknown fighter and score a quick knockout, Nallo added, fans can question how good the level of competition truly is. “Whereas fighting a guy with 10 fights, it’s undeniable.”

“I have pretty high aspirations for myself, so there’s no sense in slow playing this. I’m good to go. So we were ecstatic about the match-up,” he added.

You may have noticed a change to Mandel Nallo’s profile among MMA’s record keepers. Long known as “Rat Garbage” (he still uses the handle on Instagram, and his artwork carries a similar theme), recently, he’s become Mandel “Mango” Nallo.

The change was a bit of a surprise, including to Nallo himself.

“It happened without me knowing. Somebody messaged me the other day and said ‘hey you’re Mango now.’ I’m like ‘oh, I guess I am.’ I might be, I don’t know. I have no idea,” revealed Nallo. “It’s what my friends call me in the gym, but I’ve never been upset about ‘Rat Garbage’ as a nickname. You don’t get to choose, and people seem to enjoy it, but I know some people really dislike it for me. Like I have friends that are like ‘you cannot, you can’t be associated with garbage or rats or both.’ So maybe one of them.”

Nallo isn’t sweating it either way. “I have no say, so whoever changed it, do what you want, change it back, I don’t care. Call me what you want.”

Whatever you want to call him, Mandel Nallo makes his UFC debut against Jai Herbert at UFC Winnipeg on April 18, 2026.

The post Mandel Nallo “Never Disheartened” During Long Journey to UFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

A new flyweight champion will not be.

While Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg have made it to the date intact for their main event fight, which has the belt vacated by Alex Pereira on the line, Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira were not so lucky. With Van injured, their planned co-main event has shifted to UFC 328 in New Jersey, forcing Taira to wait another month for his shot at gold.

Still, UFC 327 has plenty to offer. The main event, the retirement fight of Cub Swanson, Paulo Costa moving to 205lbs, and the long awaited Bellator super-fight between Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Aaron Pico.

Weigh-ins for UFC 327 take place Friday in Miami started at 9AM ET, 6AM PT. Results can be found below.

UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg Weigh-In Results

Main card
Light Heavyweight: Jiří Procházka (203) vs. Carlos Ulberg (204) — for the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship
Light Heavyweight: Azamat Murzakanov (205) vs. Paulo Costa (205)
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (261) vs. Josh Hokit (233)
Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes (205) vs. Johnny Walker (205)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (146) vs. Nate Landwehr (145)

Preliminary card 

Featherweight: Patrício Pitbull (145) vs. Aaron Pico (145)
Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot (156) vs. Esteban Ribovics (155)
Welterweight: Kevin Holland (171) vs. Randy Brown (171)
Women’s Strawweight: Tatiana Suarez (116) vs. Loopy Godinez (116)

Early preliminary card

Lightweight: Chris Padilla (158)* vs. MarQuel Mederos (155)
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum (185) vs. Vicente Luque (185)
Welterweight: Charles Radtke (170) vs. Francisco Prado (170)

* Missed Weight, gives up 20% of his purse, but fight will go on.

The post UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

The fight has been booked before, and as former champ Surdu told Cageside Press recently, “a few times we had a chance, but unfortunately, the fight didn’t work so now is the third one. Hopefully we’ll be all good until the fight.”

Asked if he had any trepidation about the fight falling through once again, Surdu (17-7) admitted that “our business is a hard business. Until the last day, you can be good but on the last day you can do something or you can have some problem unfortunately. I hope that it will be all good with my opponent, with me, and finally we will meet each other in the cage. But at the same time if something happens, I’m ready for all [comers].”

Surdu never lost his welterweight title in a fight, instead, he lost the belt on the scales, missing weight back in November. What happened after that loss sheds some light on why the mishap occurred in the first place.

“After that I went for a blood test, I did tests on my body and unfortunately there was bacteria in my body. Because of this bacteria, my kidneys were blocked and I couldn’t do my weight, so for that [reason] I missed the weight.”

Clearing the bacteria from his body and making a few changes in camp has Surdu back on target for the welterweight division. And despite having gone up to middleweight before, he never considered another move up.

The day or so between losing his title and actually fighting (and defeating) Andrej Kalašnik last November, meanwhile, was a tumultuous one.

“It was a crazy, crazy 24 hours. I [missed] the weight, there was a chance to not fight, because 3 and a half kilos, it was a lot, and much respect to Kalašnik that he accepted the fight,” stated Surdu. “Of course I gave him 50% of my purse but yeah, he accepted the fight. I did a few things from doctors and I got back. Mindset, I can say I have one of the best mindsets in the game because I know what I can do. When people say that I can’t do something, for me it’s the best motivation.”

“At the same time when I step into the arena, when I walk into the cage, all the people were hating me. It was a crazy, crazy atmosphere. First time in my life, 60% of the highlights were on me but for me, it was the best. Because under pressure, I’m good.”

In fact, under pressure is exactly where Ion Surdu wants to be. “When it’s the biggest pressure of my life, I’m good. So I love to be under pressure, and you can see that in my last fight, in my performance.”

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 86’s Ion Surdu above. The event takes place on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Szczecin, Poland.

The post Oktagon 86’s Ion Surdu: “I Love to Be Under Pressure” appeared first on Cageside Press.

The show launches June 14, 2026.

Looking to piggyback off that spectacle, TUF 34 will feature bantamweights and women’s strawweights looking to fight their way into the UFC. The show, well-known to UFC fans, first launched in 2005 and is credited with saving the then-struggling mixed martial arts promotion, thanks to a blistering final between Forrest Griffin and the late Stephan Bonnar.

This year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter will feature two UFC Hall of Famers as coaches: Daniel Cormier, and Michael Bisping. Don’t expect a coach’s fight in this one, as both men are long-since retired.

Neither man is a stranger to the reality fighting show. Bisping won The Ultimate Fighter 3 at light heavyweight in 2006, and coached opposite Dan Henderson as part of Season 9. He also coached Season 14 against Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

While fellow UFC champ Daniel Cormier never competed on the show, he has coached on it previously. He served as coach on The Ultimate Fighter 27 against rival heavyweight Stipe Miocic, and returned last year to coach on TUF 33 as well.

Following the show’s debut, the 12-episode season will air on Tuesday nights on Paramount+.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 34 Coaches, Premiere Date Announced appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kicking off this UFC 327 edition of TTP is our interview with UFC lightweight, MarQuel Mederos. Mederos talks about his 10 months out of the cage and describes how it was some of the most important times of his career. Then he digs into his upcoming fight with Chris Padilla and discusses what it’s like to have constantly changing opponents.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC 327 (15:00)

The UFC heads to Miami for UFC 327 with a stacked card top to bottom. At the tippy top of the card, we have a bout for the vacant light heavyweight title. Jiri Prochazka looks to reclaim the belt that was once his when he faces Carlos Ulberg. Plus, Azamat Murzakanov looks to take a step forward in that same division as he faces Paulo Costa. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Amiran Gogoladze Interview (23:03)

Next up on this UFC 327 edition of TTP is our interview with Oktagon welterweight, Amiran Gogoladze. Gogoladze talks about missing out on a big fight against the now champion, Kaik Brito. Plus, he shares his thoughts about Ion Suru losing his belt on the scale and his chance to jump him in line this weekend.

Sean King Interview (37:12)

Closing out this UFC 327 edition of TTP is our interview with Fury featherweight, Sean King. One of the hottest prospects in the game right now, King discusses his current path to the UFC. Having picked up a big win earlier this year, he’s looking to rack them up before Contender Series season at the end of the summer.

The post TTP Ep. 526: MarQuel Mederos, Amiran Gogoladze, Sean King, and UFC 327 appeared first on Cageside Press.

News of Till inking a deal with the organization was first reported by Uncrowned on Wednesday. Till is expected to compete at 185lbs, and will make his debut in the main event of BKFC’s May 30 date in Birmingham, England.

No opponent has been reported for Till’s BKFC debut as of yet.

Darren Till was a perfect 12-0 in MMA when he joined the UFC in 2015, and went 5-0-1 to land a welterweight title fight against Tyron Woodley three years later. Till was submitted in the bout, and went 1-4 in his next five fights, which saw him return to middleweight after struggling with the cut to 170lbs.

Parting ways with the UFC in 2022, Till has stayed active on social media, but has only competed on a handful of occasions, in the boxing realm. He most recently defeated Luke Rockhold under the Misfits Boxing banner, knocking the ex-UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion out in the third round. In the process, Till claimed the Misfits bridgerweight championship.

Till’s only other action since 2022 came in bouts with Anthony Taylor and fellow UFC vet Darren Stewart, and an exhibition contest with Mohammad Mutie. Till won each bout, with only Stewart going the distance.

The post Darren Till Inks Deal with BKFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

The fight with Jiri Prochazka is a striking fan’s dream, with Prochazka promising to work on his notorious slow starts. Ulberg, meanwhile, doesn’t expect the Czech star to come out reckless, but he does see holes in the former champ’s game.

“I definitely see a lot of holes in the game, I think there’s a lot of fighters with holes in their game,” stated Ulberg (13-1) during Wednesday’s media day, before adding “I’m purely focused on what I bring to the table. I go in there and do what I do best.”

Becoming champion and being the best light heavyweight in the world is something “Black Jag” always had faith in, he told media outlets including Cageside Press.

“I always knew that I was going to be the best, and that I was working towards being the best. This division, you throw a punch and you land, anyone can fall. It’s a game of inches,” Ulberg said. “I always had that belief in myself, and now we’re here. It’s just about proving it to others.”

Nor did he shy away from envisioning what winning the title would be like. “There’s always the vision, you’ve got to have that belief and the faith that you can get that belt and visualize it. I guess the pure focus is me just going in there and getting the work done and handling business.”

The UFC 327 main event is as notable for who isn’t fighting in it as who is. Alex Pereira vacated his light heavyweight title in favor of a move to heavyweight; that facilitated Prochazka vs. Ulberg. “Poatan” Pereira, meanwhile, remains a fight that is of great interest to Carlos Ulberg.

“I would have loved to have fought the champion, definitely, because that would have etched me up to be the best. He is the man right now and he’s definitely the man I wanted to fight for the title,” Ulberg said on Wednesday.

The New Zealander believes the bout could still happen. “I think a dominant win here could definitely lure Pereira back to the division, and test himself as well.”

As he later put it, “to be the man you’ve got the beat the man, if you want to be the best you’ve got to beat him [Pereira]. So he’s definitely a guy that I’ve been keeping a close eye on, and wanting that fight, because I know that would be the fight to make happen.”

That said, Ulberg noted that “the pure focus has always been, and it’s always been for me, focusing on what’s at hand and what’s in front of me.”

That would be Jiri Prochazka this Saturday.

Watch the full UFC 327 media day appearance by Carlos Ulberg above.

The post UFC 327: Carlos Ulberg Feels Dominant Win Could Lure Pereira Back to 205 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Yes for sure,” he said when asked that exact question during the UFC 327 media day in Miami this week.

Prochazka (32-5-1) is looking to become a two-time light heavyweight champion after Alex Pereira vacated his title in favor of a move to heavyweight. Opposite him this Saturday at the Kaseya Center will be City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg, who sits on a nine-fight win streak.

Ulberg’s kickboxing style is something that Prochazka, likewise known for his standup, welcomes.

“For sure I like this match-up, because Carlos is a great standup fighter. I like to fight standup,” Prochazka told media outlets including Cageside Press.

“He proved that he’s a really good striker. In movement, he has good movement, precise punches. I think in the standup, from all my opponents, this one, Ulberg is, with this, his style is very specific, very systematic. Really somebody who right now I need to face to push my standup up.”

There is a longtime narrative that Jiri Prochazka is a slow starter, something that has dogged him since his arrival in the UFC. That’s been a focus ahead of the Ulberg fight, with the key, according to Prochazka, being to figure out “how to unlock this primal aggression inside myself, to go there in the fight like the second round. To start the first round like the second round.”

Fatherhood, meanwhile, has Prochazka thinking more about responsibility.

“Since I knew that there will be a new life in my life, and I will be a father, first came a big, lot of thoughts about responsibility, about the end of my free time and all these things. But I don’t have free time, everything is about the fight, about the preparation. So I started to work more to believe, to my girlfriend, that we can handle that. I started to work on our relationship, to be more deeply connected and to understand each other more.”

As Prochazka later put it, “to be a father is not just about one person, it’s parents.”

Watch the full UFC 327 media day appearance by Jiri Prochazka above.

The post Jiri Prochazka Looking to “Unlock This Primal Aggression Inside Myself” For Quicker Start at UFC 327 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Albeit undefeated and a former LFA champ, McKee is unranked, little known, and not the pairing Pettis (25-7) was expecting after going 2-0 in 2025.

“Interesting, I thought it was interesting for sure,” Pettis told Cageside Press in an interview ahead of the promotion’s return to the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. “The whole tournament mix-up thing kind of threw off everything. I was ready to fight the championship winner, [Marcirley] Alves. Things got a little held-up on his end, he was hurt at the time.”

When the PFL offered Mitch McKee in Chicago, Pettis jumped at it. “I’m okay with it, man. I’m here to fight every single one of them, I’ve never said ‘no’ to a fight throughout my whole career, so I’m not going to start now. Even when it’s a risky fight for me to take. He definitely could come and beat me, number one, and him being not ranked would definitely look bad on me.”

With McKee’s low profile but high-level wrestling and overall talent, Pettis admitted that “it’s a risky fight for sure, risky to my position,” but added that “I think it’s also a risky fight for him, for his health. I’m going to go out there and be a veteran, go out there and try to hurt the man.”

Asked whether there was one particular thing, one area within McKee’s game that he’d taken notice of and needed to watch out for, Pettis suggested that “I think everybody who fights me does that one particular thing, and it’s going to be wrestling me. Putting me on the cage, trying to get me in referee position, front headlock position, trying to stall me out.”

Pettis also admitted that Mckee has some power in his hands. “He’s not afraid to throw. That’s the thing about fighting these up-and-coming fighters, they haven’t been hit with anything yet, so they’re very confident, it’s unknown to them. Having that confidence is definitely important in a fight for sure.”

It’s hard not to look at Sergio Pettis’s return at PFL Chicago and not think of what’s missing. Primarily, legendary coach (and former kickboxer) Duke Roufus, founder of Roufusport, the gym Pettis has long called home. Roufus was a constant presence in Pettis’s corner and in his life; he passed away suddenly just weeks after the Milwaukee native’s early October win against Magmed Magomedov.

While some might find it hard to get back into the fighting spirit after such tragedy, “I almost feel like it was easier to get back into fight camp mentality, because I have something to prove in this fight,” Pettis explained. “Not having Duke in my corner, it definitely hurts but at the same time, everything he taught me, I’m going to implement into my game plan and show the world that Duke Roufus’s style is going to be everlasting.”

Pettis still has a solid crew in his corner including brother Anthony, a former WEC and UFC lightweight champ. And Roufus will no doubt be there in spirit. “I obviously miss Duke, it’s crazy not to have him, it’s hard to accept this reality without him. But to be honest I think I’m going to go out there and still get the job done, do what I need to do and be a professional fighter.”

Watch our full interview with PFL Chicago headliner Sergio Pettis above. The event takes place on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.

The post PFL Chicago’s Sergio Pettis Looking to Prove That “Duke Roufus’s Style is Going to be Everlasting” appeared first on Cageside Press.

It just wasn’t supposed to come in a main event with former Bellator champ and UFC contender Sergio Pettis.

“Then like a week later my manager called me while I was shopping at WalMart and just asked me if I wanted to fight Sergio Pettis, because I guess whoever I was supposed to fight pulled out,” McKee (10-1) told Cageside Press in a recent interview. “Right away I was like ‘yeah.'”

“Getting that opportunity right off the bat, I’m never going to say no to an opportunity like that.”

McKee’s entry into the PFL is something rarely seen in the days of Dana White’s Contender Series and the PFL Challenger Series (the latter of which has been, at least for now, on hiatus). No job interview, just a straight step up into the big leagues after McKee spent most of his career in LFA, claiming gold there.

It wasn’t just the PFL knocking at his door. There was interest from other promotions, the UFC included. The PFL, however, had the more appealing offer.

“Honestly, it’s things like this. They wanted to invest in me, they wanted to give me opportunities, they wanted to build me into an American star. And that’s what they’re looking to do, is moving forward over the next years, they want to build their base in America, build their stars in America,” explained McKee when asked about the decision to sign with the league. “And I think that’s really important to growing, because that’s where you main viewership is coming from. So yeah they just, from the get-go they said how much they wanted to build me and how much they wanted to invest in me and give me opportunities.”

McKee sees the promotion as backing up their words by giving them the opportunity against Pettis. “I’m gonna prove that they made the right choice.”

A two-time All-American NCAA Division I wrestler, McKee’s transition to MMA stemmed from a conversation with Bellator star Logan Storley. Primarily, Storley questioned why more Division I wrestlers didn’t fight. McKee immediately threw his name in the hat.

By his fifth or sixth fight, a main event for LFA, McKee found he’d become comfortable with his striking, in addition to his wrestling. “The whole entire 15 minutes was on the feet striking pretty much. Maybe like one minute was on the ground, and I won that unanimous decision. And that’s when I kind of realized, you kind of have to have a fight like that. Now you trust all the work you’ve been putting in, and then it helps you just grow even more from there. Because now you trust it, now you can keep building on that trust of your hands.”

Comfortable with striking or not, however, he’ll be breaking out the takedowns against the Duke Roufus-trained Pettis at some point. “It would be kind of a terrible game plan if I didn’t try to wrestle.”

“I think the more you wrestle, the more it opens up striking. The more you kind of, you get a couple takedowns, now you can start faking the takedown, coming over the top with strikes, stuff like that,” added McKee.

“The key is pressuring him, putting his back against the cage, and then going and getting my takedowns.”

Mitch McKee finds himself in an interesting position at PFL Chicago to say the least. The bantamweight title is vacant, and he’s fighting the number one contender despite being an unranked fighter making his promotional debut. Stranger things have happened than a title shot with just one win, however, and it would be hard to argue against him should he defeat Pettis.

“That’s why I’m going in there next week, I’m going in there looking for a finish next week. I think that will cement me as one half of the title contention talks,” stated McKee.

“I’m definitely going in there for a finish next week. I would think that, if you beat the number one contender, even if it’s your debut in the promotion, that that would get you a title fight. I’m going to try to advocate for that as much as I can.”

Should the title fight not come to pass, meanwhile, “I’m willing to fight anyone, anywhere. Anyone in the division, I’ll fight,” McKee added.

McKee also respects Pettis for doing the same. “That’s what I respect Sergio for, taking the match-up with me. Someone that’s making their debut, not ranked, he’s the number one contender, like you said he has everything to lose. It takes balls, especially nowadays when people are picking and choosing who they want to fight. I just want to fight the best people, so hopefully that’s for the title after this fight.”

Watch our full interview with PFL Chicago headliner Mitch McKee above. The event takes place on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.

The post Mitch McKee Reveals Motivation for Signing with PFL appeared first on Cageside Press.