“I switched to management and within like three weeks of working with my new manager he was like ‘hey, I know we’re still kind of like getting to know each other, but I want to know how you feel about PFL as an option,” Bowers recalled, “At this point I am open to anything bigger and better, so he presented me with the opportunity.”

Not only is the option bigger than where she was, but Bowers believes that the 125lbs division in PFL might be as good as anywhere. She’s excited for the challenges on the way – especially the one at the top.

“It’s a step-up – there’s a ton of really good girls in the PFL. Within the next year to two years I would love to fight Dakota [Ditcheva],” she said. “I don’t think it’s really any different in my eyes compared to the UFC. I feel like it’s very well-rounded and it has a deep 125 pool right now.”

It’s not only flyweight kingpin Dakota Ditcheva that has her interested. When looking up and down the division, Bowers sees plenty of exciting matchups as well as fighters she looks up to.

“I actually just noticed yesterday they added another girl fight to the Sioux Falls card with Talia Santos on it. I’ve always been a huge fan of hers even before she fought Valentina for the the UFC belt. Super pumped to see that in person,” Bowers said. “Other girls like Jenna Bishop and Angela Hill I’ve always like been googly-eyed in love with – they’re just such cool fighters. So to know that I’m in the same pool as Jenna Bishop is super awesome because I’m a big jiu-jitsu girl.”

However, it’s not just the existing stars that makes PFL’s flyweight division so good. Their commitment to grabbing the top upcoming talent in the division also gives it real growth potential.

“Overall like there’s a lot of up-and-comers like myself that are that are entering the division a lot of girls that are undefeated like 6-0, 7-0 somewhere like that,” she said. “There’s a lot of rising talent that I think we’re going to see kind of explode over the next year or two.”

Bowers will get her first crack at one of those undefeated names when she faces Sabrinna de Sousa at PFL Sioux Falls. That fight takes place as part of the prelim portion of the card, which begins at 7pm EST this Saturday on ESPN 2.

The post PFL Sioux Falls’ Cheyanne Bowers: PFL 125ers as Good as Anywhere appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I was always kind of like an ultra ADHD kid that could never like sit still in the classroom and could never really focus on what was happening in front of me. Then when I walked into an MMA gym, did my first few classes there, I was hooked. It felt like the first time I could ever fully focus in my life,” he explained. “I could just feel myself get better every session in a way that I’d never felt myself with anything else before in my life. I’d played football. I’d played cricket. I was never like a talented guy, nor was I a guy that could like sit down and really learn what they were like trying to teach me. Then with MMA, it was completely different. It was like everything that these people are telling me, I feel like I’m absorbing. I feel like I’m a sponge for this. I made it my purpose from then on.”

That mentality shift and having a purpose changed everything for Mar Fan. He shared that there was never a plan B after that point and it was all arrows pointing in the same direction. However, his first fight definitely didn’t help that trajectory and further made him an underdog to the people watching him.

“I started my MMA amateur career with a 10-second knockout loss. From then on, I was the underdog. So it’s become an area I’m very comfortable being in,” Mar Fan revealed. “I’m very comfortable with people kind of doubting me – assuming that I’m weaker in areas than I actually am. So yeah, I carry that all the way through my career.”

That moment, while it didn’t help his public image, did fuel his mentality moving forward. He embraced the idea of the doubters and the idea of winning as many as he could over to his side.

“It was definitely disheartening at first, and it’s one of those cool things nowadays because I did have people at the time say, ‘hey, this is going to be a really cool story one day when you make it,” he said. “At that point in time, there was no one other than myself that really thought I was going to make it. So it’s been cool, each fight, being able to sway a few more people to my side and then sway a few more people after that to my side. Then eventually it’s going to get to the point one day where there’s no one in the world that doubts me, and everyone is going to just assume that I’m going to win.”

He started moving more over to his side during the Road to UFC – winning in the first round of the tournament as a +350 underdog. Now he looks to continue his winning ways as an underdog when he takes on Kody Steele at UFC Perth. That fight takes place on the prelims of the fight card, which starts at 4am EST on Paramount+.

The post UFC Perth’s Dom Mar Fan Embraces Doubters, Vows to Win Them Over appeared first on Cageside Press.

The main event of the Fight Night card saw Australia’s own Jack Della Maddalena looking to bounce back from the loss of his welterweight title to Islam Makhachev last year. The loss not only saw JDM lose gold but was the first defeat he’d suffered since back-to-back losses at the very start of his professional MMA career.

With names like Steve Erceg, Tai Tuivasa, Beneil Dariush, and Tim Elliott also on the card, there was plenty of talent from home and abroad set for action as well.

Weigh-in results for UFC Perth can be found below.

UFC Perth: Della Maddalena vs. Prates Weigh-In Results

Main card

Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena (170) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
Lightweight: Beneil Dariush (156) vs. Quillan Salkilld (156)
Flyweight: Tim Elliott (126) vs. Steve Erceg (125.5)
Featherweight: Marwan Rahiki (146) vs. Ollie Schmid (145.5)
Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev (264) vs. Brando Peričić (265)
Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (265) vs. Louie Sutherland (261)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Cameron Rowston (185) vs. Robert Bryczek (186)
Light Heavyweight: Junior Tafa (205.5) vs. Kevin Christian (204)
Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun (186) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (190)*
Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse (135) vs. Vince Morales (136)
Middleweight: Ben Johnston (185.5) vs. Wesley Schultz (186)
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallefvs (170). Themba Gorimbo (171)
Lightweight: Dom Mar Fan (155.5) vs. Kody Steele (156)

* Meerschaert misses weight by 4 pounds. Fight continues with a 30% penalty.

The post UFC Perth: Della Maddalena vs. Prates Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Which has him rather surprised at the reception he’s had since arriving in Perth, both in the gym and on the street.

“I’m surprised, because they say ‘I hope you win,'” the Brazilian said during Wednesday’s media day. Prates (23-7) isn’t sure if people are just trying to be nice, but noted that “when the octagon doors close, it’s just me and Jack. But let’s see.”

Prates is known for his knockout power, and he had a prediction to that end on Wednesday. “I will knock him out.” As to what round, it’s a “surprise,” he added.

It’s a 25-minute fight for Prates this weekend, not his first, and The Fighting Nerds star did go the distance in a five-round fight against Ian Machado Garry a year ago. As to how he prepares for the extra time, “like always, I train a lot. Sometimes I train two, three times per day. Train a lot, make the right strategy. And that’s it,” stated Prates. “I have no secrets. Just train, train, train and let’s go.”

If all goes well on Saturday, Prates will build on wins over Geoff Neal and Leon Edwards. Both have been knockouts, and JDM would represent a second former welterweight champ beaten. That, believes Prates, should land him a title shot.

“Yeah. I think after I beat two former champs in a row, I think nobody did it, so I’m gonna be the next [title challenger].”

Watch the full UFC Perth media day appearance by Carlos Prates above.

The post UFC Perth: Carlos Prates Feels Beating Second Straight Champ Would Secure Title Shot appeared first on Cageside Press.

That was a rather one-sided fight, with Maddalena (18-3) spending a whole lot of time on his back, and on the canvas in general, though he did go the distance.

Australia’s JDM admits that he wasn’t able to “implement those techniques to get back to the feet” against the grappling-heavy Makhachev. “The mindset wasn’t perfect in the fight, and I guess that’s what it’s about. I’ve always said anyone can win on any given night. Came up against one of the best and couldn’t get my game plan going.”

While Maddalena admitted that it “wasn’t the best performance” against Makhachev, he’s gone back, looked at what went wrong, and tried to fix what he could. That said, Carlos Prates represents “a different stylistic matchup this time. So looking forward to the performance.”

Prates has predicted a knockout victory for himself in the fight. Maddalena recognized his past success in that area. “I’m going to try my best not to let that happen.”

During Thursday’s UFC Perth pre-fight press conference, Maddalena expanded on what can be seen as his comeback fight.

 “I can’t wait. It’s business as usual, but obviously extra pressure [fighting at home in Australia],” exclaimed Maddalena. “But pressure makes good performances – and that’s what’s coming.”

At media day, meanwhile, Maddalena touched on another welterweight contender, Ian Machado Garry, who was critical of his last performance. That’s a pairing the ex-champ would like.

“Yeah it would be a good match. I definitely think we’ll cross paths at some point. Yeah, we’ll see how he does against Makhachev when he gets the shot.”

Watch the full UFC Perth media day appearance by Jack Della Maddalena above.

The post Jack Della Maddalena on Makhachev Fight: Came Up Against One of the Best appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ahead of his fight with Robert Bryczek, which has Rowston looking to go 3-0 in the UFC, the 31-year old spoke with Cageside Press via The Top Turtle MMA podcast and discussed the state of the UFC’s 185lb division at the moment.

In recent times, the weight class has seen Paulo Costa exit for a middleweight run, while ex-champ Robert Whittaker has been talking about doing the same. Alex Pereira is long gone, first to light heavyweight and now heavyweight, while even champ Khamzat Chimaev has teased a move to 205lbs.

In response, Rowston (14-3) noted that “it’s kind of like this intermediary period where no one fighter has really stood out as the next guy. I think the last time you really had a dominant champion was Israel [Adesanya], really. That guy coming up, and everyone’s like ‘oh he’s going to be the champion, he’s going to be the champion for a while.'”

“Before Israel the belt kind of bounced around a bit. They had Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, it was kind of like up in the air and it was still waiting for that new guy to come through and establish himself. And I think you will see that with a lot of the prospects at middleweight coming up, especially the Contender Series the last year or two.”

Rowston singled out Yousri Belgaroui and Baisangur Susurkaev as two of those names, as well as “a few other guys that have come off Contender Series that the UFC is trying to push through.” Belgaroui is a former kickboxer who once competed against Alex Pereira and now trains with him; Susurkaev remains undefeated. Rowston expects to be right there with them.

“I think these guys are going to be taking over the spot of the old guard. And the old guard, whether that’s them just sailing off into the sunset, calling it a career or moving up a weight class, those spots are eventually going to be filled. And that’s me, I’m hoping to be one of those guys who fills one of those spots and just kind of blasts his way to the top and announces himself as ‘hey, I’m here in the middleweight division. Cam Rowston is here.'”

Rowston has reason to be flying high. For one, teammate Carlos Ulberg captured the light heavyweight crown in April, doing so on a torn ACL. “You see him do that on one leg— he could probably have done it on no legs. That’s how special of a guy Carlos is,” Rowston exclaimed.

Another reason for Rowston to feel good, it’s his third fight in the UFC, with all of those coming close to New Zealand’s City Kickboxing. Three fights, meanwhile, have Rowston in a comfortable routine.

“It’s starting to feel a little more routine. I like routine, I feel very comfortable in routine. I do my best work when there’s predictability in my life and there’s a lot of structure,” he told us. “Once I signed with the UFC I was able to transition into basically full-time training. I didn’t have to work anymore, and it made my whole week, my whole weekly schedule extremely predictable and structured. Train in the morning, come home, eat, groceries- eat sleep train sh*t basically. That’s all it was every day, and I love that, I love doing that.”

With three fights in less than 12 months, Rowston says that he and his team have gotten into the “nuts and bolts” of training camp, “refining it every fight.”

“I’ve really refined it with the coaches, we’ve leaned it out, cut all the fat off it, all the process and it’s something I really enjoy now.”

From Robert Bryczek, Rowston later explained, “I’m expecting the Polish power. Polish power is a real thing, you look at a lot of the Polish fighters in the UFC and fighting around the world, they’re all, they’re big hitters.”

“From the footage I’ve seen of Bryczek that me and my coaches have broken down, he’s a goer. He’s gonna come forward, he likes to have momentum coming forward, that’s when he does his best work. He’s got really good hands, he throws his punches very mechanically sound, he’s not sloppy with his punches. I’m excited to make this a bit of a dogfight, to just really get stuck in and feel him out and just put on an absolute barnburner of a fight.”

Watch our full interview with UFC Perth middleweight Cam Rowston above.

The post UFC Perth: Cam Rowston Sees Middleweight In “Intermediary Period” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kicking off this UFC Perth edition of TTP is our interview with UFC middleweight, Dom Mar Fan. Mar Fan discussed the Road to UFC and how his career has been changed by the tournament. Plus, he digs into his feeling about doubters and getting to debut in his home country. Then we talk about the specifics of his fight with Kody Steele on Saturday.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Perth (16:27)

The UFC heads down under for a fight card loaded with talent. In the main event, Jack Della Maddalena looks to put himself back in the title picture as he faces Carlos Prates. Plus, Quillan Salkilld will look to leap forward at lightweight when he faces Beneil Dariush.  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.

Cam Rowston Interview (22:28)

Closing out this UFC Perth edition of TTP is our interview with UFC middleweight, Cam Rowston. With a special shoutout to Cageside Press’ own Jay Anderson for an assist with the interview, he chats with Rowston about the upcoming contest in Perth as well as starting to feel comfortable inside of the UFC.

Cheyanne Bowers Interview (38:42)

Closing out this UFC Perth edition of TTP is our interview with PFL flywight, Cheyanne Bowers. Bowers talks about her change in management and how that led her to exploring a move to the PFL. Now in the organization, she’s got her eyes on plenty of names within the division. Those names include the likes of divisional kingpin, Dakota Ditcheva. She gives a timeline she’d like to get there and then a breakdown of her fight in Sioux Falls this weekend.

The post TTP Ep. 529: Dom Mar Fan, Cam Rowston, Cheyanne Bowers and UFC Perth appeared first on Cageside Press.

He went down a similar path this week at a media scrum ahead of UFC 328, where he’ll face off against middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev.

The pair have previously sparred, with Strickland calling the current champ a “one trick pony.” However ahead of the fight, Chimaev said he’d anticipate Strickland running away if confronted prior to the bout.

Strickland has other plans. “All I’m going to do, I’m going to pull my gun and shoot him,” Strickland stated (h/t MMA Junkie).

He had a bit of a smile saying it, but Strickland then went on the kind of tirade that makes him a target both online and with his opponents.

“I’ll tell you what: That being said, if Chimaev were to come up to me as a gentleman and say, ‘Hey, you know what? You said some things. You insulted my wife. I actually love sheep, it’s crazy,’ then I would be like, ‘I love goats, dude. Goat tastes good.’ He loves goats. We have that in common. I just don’t f*ck them.” He’d go on to name-drop Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, who Chimaev has associated with, Strick added “if you were to come up to me like a man, say, ‘You know what, Sean? You said some things about my dad Kadyrov.’ I’m like, ‘Well, you know what, dude? You whored yourself out, not me.’ ‘I want to settle this.’ I would say, ‘Let’s settle this like a man.’ But if you come up to me with three f*cking goat-f*cker Chechens who don’t speak English, I’m going to pull my gun, and I’m going to shoot each and every one of you.”

It remains to be seen if Strickland will push Dana White past his infamously lax policy on what fighters can say promoting bouts for the UFC. White has been a staunch free-speech absolutist over the years, with minor exceptions, like when Matt Mitrione had his contract suspended for comments made about transgender fighter Fallon Fox.

The post Sean Strickland Says He’ll Be Armed, Will Shoot Chimaev If Attacked Prior to UFC 328 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Carmouche (25-8) will face fellow UFC alum Viviane Araujo (13-7) in the co-main event of PFL San Diego on June 27, 2026, promotion officials announced on Wednesday. The card takes place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.

“The Girl-Rilla” is Louisiana born but called San Diego home for years, fighting out of the San Diego Combat Academy. The PFL World Tournament winner, former Bellator MMA women’s flyweight champion and UFC title challenger has more recently called Tennessee home, but has continued to train both in San Diego and Virginia as well.

Last year, Carmouche, who turned 42 in February, went on a three-fight tear to defeat Ilara Joanne, Elora Dana, and BJJ star Jena Bishop to claim the PFL’s World Tournament crown at flyweight. Most then widely suspected a fight with #1 ranked flyweight and promotional darling Dakota Ditcheva, but that has not yet come to pass.

Ditcheva had been paired up with Denise Kielholtz in February, but was forced out of the fight due to injury.

Instead, Carmouche gets the #8-ranked women’s flyweight in the PFL, with Liz herself sitting at #2. Araujo made her PFL debut earlier this month, earning a unanimous decision over Shanna Young.

PFL San Diego is headlined by a featherweight match-up featuring the #2-ranked AJ McKee taking on #6-ranked Salamat Isbulaev.

The post Liz Carmouche vs. Viviane Araujo Added As PFL San Diego Co-Main appeared first on Cageside Press.

The start of a new series for ONE Championship in Japan, ONE Samurai 1 had multiple title fights on a stacked mid-week card. Rodtang and Takeru were up for interim gold in kickboxing, while three other championship bouts also featured.

The main event also served as Takeru’s retirement fight, making the belt in question a rather one-sided affair.

Where to Watch ONE Samurai 1

ONE Championship is at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Full results from the event can be found below. The card streams live via PPV through live.onefc.com.

ONE Samurai 1 Full Results

Takeru Segawa def. Rodtang Jitmuangnon by TKO, Round 5, 2:22 – for the ONE interim flyweight kickboxing championship
Avazbek Kholmirzaev def. Yuya Wakamatsu by knockout, Round 1, 4:53 – for the ONE flyweight MMA  championship
Nadaka def. Songchainoi Kiatsongrit by unanimous decision – for the ONE atomweight Muay Thai championship
Jonathan Haggerty (c) def. Yuki Yoza by unanimous decision – for the ONE bantamweight kickboxing championship
Marat Grigorian def. Kaito by KO, Round 1, 1:51 – Kickboxing
Chihiro Sawada def. Ayaka Miura by submission (Armbar), Round 1, 4:33 – MMA
Hiroki Akimoto def. Taimu Hisai by split decision – Kickboxing
Hiromi Wajima def. Ricardo Bravo by unanimous decision – MMA
Itsuki Hirata def. Ritu Phogat by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 2:42 – MMA
Tatsumitsu Wada def. Seiichiro Ito by split decision – MMA
Keito Yamakita def. Ryohei Kurosawa by submission (Armbar), Round 2, 1:31 – MMA
Shimon Yoshinari def. Johan Ghazali by unanimous decision – Muay Thai
Toki Tamaru def. Toma Kuroda by unanimous decision – Kickboxing
Taiki Naito def. Hyu by unanimous decision – Kickboxing
Kanata Nagai def. Atsubo Kambe by unanimous decision – MMA

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