Carlos Prates

We already knew how potent Prates’ offense was, but we didn’t know it was this dangerous against the top of the welterweight division. It took someone with elite defense like Ian Machado Garry to stifle him, and even the Irishman got a taste of the “The Nightmare” in the final frame of their bout. The Brazilian completely steamrolled Jack Della Maddalen en route to a 3^rd-round mercy stoppage from the referee. In most cases, this would make Prates the next title contender, but it would be a bit ridiculous to make him the next challenger considering his loss to Machado Garry. One thing is sure, though, his next fight should be for the welterweight title.

Prates’ next fight: Title shot

Quillan Salkilld

Not to take away from young Sakilld’s first-round finish, but it’s difficult to know exactly what we learned from this victory since it appears that Beneil Dariush’s punch resistance is completely gone, which means Salkilld was always going to win if he could connect just one punch on Dariush. What we do know is that this win will push the Australian inside the lightweight rankings, where he will be surrounded by sharks. Nobody seems to want to fight Mateusz Gamrot as he is a very unenviable opponent for several reasons. If Salkilld is game for it, I don’t see why the UFC wouldn’t make this fight next.

Salkilld’s next fight: Mateusz Gamrot

Steve Erceg

After dropping three fights in a row, “Astroboy” now finds himself on a win streak. An encouraging sign, as this win over Tim Elliott was more convincing than the previous one against Ode’ Osbourne. After fighting three killers in Alexandre Pantoja, Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno consecutively, going back to the Ode’ Osbournes and Tim Elliotts of the world was the right call. Having now won both of those fights, I think Erceg can start to look up the rankings once more. Someone like Amir Albazi makes a ton of sense, considering where both fighters are at.

Erceg’s next fight: Amir Albazi

Marwan Rahiki

Rahiki offered himself an early birthday gift as he scored his second UFC win before turning 24 next week. He made quick short of Ollie Schmid, who came in on very short notice. At such a young age, there is no reason the UFC should rush Rahiki up the featherweight ladder. Let him keep sharpening up his skills for next couple of fights before thinking of a big increase in competition. A reasonable increase in competition would be a name like John Yannis, who is 1-1 in the promotion, but coming off a 1^st-round KO victory just two weeks ago.

Rahiki’s next fight: John Yannis

Brando Pericic

A 31-year-old heavyweight who is now 3-0 with three finishes will enter the top15. Pericic has proven to be a bright spot in a division that has very few of them. Unfortuantely, if you want to climb the heavyweight ladder as an exciting puncher, you’re going to need to get passed some less than favourable matchups in terms of fan-friendly action. Someone like Tyrell Fortune would test Pericic in ways he hasn’t been, thus far, while also providing a potential launchpad to the top10.

Pericic’s next fight: Tyrell Fortune

Louie Sutherland

Nice of Louie Sutherland to get his first victory in the UFC, but what can you say about Tai Tuivasa, at this point? This isn’t Curtis Blaydes and Josh Hokit; this is the version of heavyweight that fans are hoping gets filtered out. In the meantime, give Sutherland anyone who’s willing to stand and bang with him. Someone like Steven Asplund, who nearly beat Vitor Petrino his last time out, should be a fine option.

Sutherland’s next fight: Steven Asplund

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Jack Della Maddalena

(#5) Carlos Prates put on a fantastic performance as he out struck (#1) Jack Della Maddalena on his way to a violent third round finish in the main event of UFC Perth on Saturday. The loss was JDM’s second in a row after he lost a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev last November, failing to keep Islam from reaching double champ status. JDM is now winless since defeating Belal Muhammad to capture the welterweight belt last May. He’s now 8-2 since being signed to the promotion off the 2021 season of the Contender Series.

JDM’s next fight should be against another former UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards. The matchup would line up too well. Both are strikers. Both former champs at 170lbs. And both were stopped in their last fight by Carlos Prates. They’ll be relatively close together when the new rankings come out.  Only hang up here is that Leon last fought way back in November so timing wouldn’t matchup too well. But it could still work. These two were actually booked to share the octagon in March of 2025 before JDM rebooked. Leon is currently on a 3-fight losing skid stemming from his loss to Belal Muhammad in 2024. Excellent fight night main event here that would be sure to deliver.

I like this fight more than a potential Kamaru Usman matchup, as Usman is coming off a unanimous decision victory to Joaquin Buckley but has been on the shelf for nearly a year.

Maddalena’s next fight: (#8) Leon Edwards

Beneil Dariush

Quillan Salkilld smoked (#12) Beneil Dariush inside of the first round on Saturday to earn himself a performance of the night bonus. Dariush becomes the fourth first round finish and bonus winning performance for Salkilld in his now 5-fight UFC career. Beneil has now lost four of his last five fights and has been finished in the first round of each. Dariush was originally supposed to face (#14) Manuel Torres in mid-April but that fight fell apart after Manuel withdrew.

Beneil’s next fight should be against (#14) Manuel Torres. Dariush turns 37 on May 6th so this would fight would keep him against relevant (ranked) competition. Plus, the two were obviously the originally scheduled co main for UFC Perth. Torres is 5-1 with the UFC, all of his wins with the promotion have been within the first round and earned him a performance bonus. A pretty dangerous fight for Dariush at this stage in his career.

I’m leaning more towards a matchup against a fighter like Nasrat Haqparast depending on what happens with the rankings (lightweight rankings can be a little finicky sometimes). Haqparast is 10-5 with the UFC and was riding a 5-fight win streak before Quillan Salkilld starched him with a first round head kick last October. That fight could be on the main card of a fight night event and could offer absolute fireworks. Winner gets another shot back at the rankings.

Dariush’s next fight: Nasrat Haqparast or (#14) Manuel Torres

Tim Elliott

(#12) Steve Erceg extended his win streak to two on Saturday with his hard-fought unanimous decision victory over (#11) Tim Elliot. Elliot is now 2-2 in his last four fights and has an overall UFC record of 10-12 since he signed in 2012. Granted, it’s worth mentioning that both of those wins during this stretch (Sumudaerji and Kai Asakura) have earned him performance bonuses.  Elliot turns 40 in December and still graces the rankings of the UFC’s flyweight division.

Pairing Tim up with the winner of Cody Durden vs. Ode Osbourne could offer a very fun veteran fight. Ode is 5-7 and 1 NC with the UFC while Cody is 7-8-1. Durden is rebounding from a 4-fight losing skid and picked up a victory opposite of Jafel Filho in his last bout. Osbourne has lost four of his last six. Backup option is to give Elliot (#15) Bruno Silva if he beats Edgar Chairez on June 6th. That would actually be the cleanest option here, the one that makes the most sense, but only if Silva gets the win on June 6th. Otherwise, matchmakers might lean towards squaring Tim off against an unranked fighter.

Elliott’s next fight: Ode Osbourne vs. Cody Durden winner or (#15) Bruno Silva if he beats Edgar Chairez

Ollie Schmid

Marwan Rahiki stayed perfect and extended his finish streak as he iced UFC newcomer Ollie Schmid on Saturday. Rahiki, a 2025 Contender Series alum was originally scheduled to take on Jack Jenkins. However, Jack had to withdraw from the fight after suffering an injury. 4-2 pro fighter, Ollie Schmid answered the short notice call while training for his HEX Fight Series 38 bout slated for May 30th.

Ollie’s second fight with the promotion should be against the loser of the Ramon Tavares vs. Kangjie Zhu fight. Tavares is 1-2 with the UFC since being signed off the 2023 season on the Contender Series. He is currently riding a 2-fight losing streak with unanimous decision defeats to Davey Grant and most recently, Jack Jenkins. Kangjie Is coming off of Road to UFC where he won three bouts. His fight with Tavares will be his UFC debut. Giving Ollie the loser of this fight makes a lot of sense and would give him a great opportunity to prove himself against a more evenly matched opponent with a full training camp. Timing would be decent as well as the pair are scheduled to fight on May 30th.

Schmid’s next fight: Ramon Tavares vs. Kangjie Zhu loser

Shamil Gaziev

Brando Percic delivered a stunning KO to punctuate his back and forth fight of the night winning heavyweight scrap with (#14) Shamil Gaziev on Saturday. The bout was pure excitement until it ended late in the second round. The defeat brings Shamil’s UFC record to .500 as he’s now 3-3 with the promotion. A far cry from the 11-0 record he entered the promotion with. After Gaziev’s first round defeat to Waldo Cortes-Acosta back in November, and the result in Perth, he is riding his first ever losing streak.

Shamil Gaziev’s next fight should be against (#15) Mick Parkin.  Mick is a 2022 Contender Series alum that is 4-1 with the promotion since being signed. Parkin was last in action last March when he lost a unanimous decision to Marcin Tybura. Parkin recently withdrew from a fight against Mario Pinto that was scheduled for late March.  Both guys are towards the bottom of the rankings and coming off of loses, so decent fight to make here.

Gaziev’s next fight: (#15) Mick Parkin 

Tai Tuivasa

UFC Perth’s main card kicked off with a heartbreaker for fans in attendance as Louie Sutherland out grappled and neutralized fan favorite Tai Tuivasa over three rounds. Tuivasa, who once fought Cyril Gane in a title eliminator bout, has now lost seven in a row, actually stemming from that Gane loss in 2022. Tai hasn’t won in four years and has been finished in four of those seven defeats. Tuivasa is 8-12 with the promotion since being signed in 2017.

What to do with Tai here. What to do. Logic says he will almost certainly be cut. But I could see a scenario where he is kept around for just one more opportunity. It is the heavyweight division after all, and Tai is extremely likeable and just turned 33. Tai could potentially draw a fight with a guy like Sean Sharaf. Sean is 0-2 with the UFC and was the fighter originally scheduled to take on Tai at UFC Perth. Sean had to withdraw from the bout due to a broken nose. Sharaf’s UFC career has consisted of him being finished in the second round at the hands of Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund. Long story short, don’t be surprised to see Tai cut after this one, but if not, a do or die fight like this is what’ll be next.

Tai’s next fight: Cut or Sean Sharaf  

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With UFC Vegas 116 now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.

Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling gave Youssef Zalal a “welcome to the big leagues” moment as he muscled the overmatched Moroccan around for most of the 25 minutes in the UFC Vegas 116 main event. While Sterling is now on a win streak, it’s nearly impossible to see him earn a title shot off of this performance. Not only does he have a loss to current number one contender Movsar Evloev, but the UFC has not shown a real interest in being in the Aljamain Sterling business in a long time. For that reason, I believe he’ll draw another tough matchup against another younger, up-and-coming featherweight contender like Aaron Pico.

Sterling’s next fight: Aaron Pico

Joselyne Edwards

After coming into the promotion at just 25 years old and starting her UFC career 1-2, the now 30-year-old Joselyne Edwards now finds herself on a 5-fight win streak, having just beaten s streaking Norma Dumont. Edwards’ game really appears to be coming together nicely. She came into this fight riding a four-fight finishing streak. Who knows how the title picture will look at bantamweight with the Kayle Harrison and Amanda Nunes matchup not even rescheduled yet, but Edwards has now earned herself a title shot.

Edwards’ next fight: Title shot

Rafa Garcia

The Mexican has had won consecutive bouts twice in the UFC, but with Saturday’s win, he now has his first three-fight win streak. The lightweight division is a shark tank even for the unranked, which is why Garcia isn’t out of the woods yet. There are multiple names the UFC could throw at him, but I landed on Mason Jones, who is also on a three-fight heater since joining the UFC again.

Garcia’s next fight: Mason Jones

Davey Grant

Even at 40 years of age, Davey Grant proves to still be a real tough out for anyone. This time around he defeated Adrian Luna Martinetti, who was one half of last year’s Fight of the Year contender with Mark Vologdin. Any unranked bantamweight could be thrown at Grant and it would make sense, but an option that I am particularly fond of is Serhiy Sidey. Grant would serve as a good test for the 29-year-old Canadian, but I also have no doubt that Sidey would make sure to pull his weight to contribute to the action quotient in that clash.

Grant’s next fight: Serhiy Sidey

Raoni Barcelos

Not too long ago, Barcelos was on a 1-4 stretch and looking old. He’s now on a five-fight win streak and the undying Brazilian will somehow enter the rankings at 38 years old.

It might sound like a strange matchmaking idea, but I really like the idea of a Payton Talbott rematch. If you look at it from the UFC’s perspective, they will want to invest in the young Talbott, who seems to have real star potential. There’s a promotional angle to be able to market Talbott as someone who has defeated everybody he’s faced. Talbott may no longer be undefeated, but the Barcelos loss is still one he can get back. And despite the bad nature of that loss, at the rate he seems to improve, I believe Talbott would be favoured in a rematch.

Barcelos’ next fight: Payton Talbott

Ryan Spann

With this win, Ryan Spann finds himself on his first win streak in almost four years. He’s been around for so long that it can be easy to forget he’s only 34 years old, which is quite young at heavyweight. The heavyweight division being in its current state means this KO win is probably enough to give Spann a ranked opponent. I think a fight with Marcin Tybura, Mick Parkin or the winner of next week’s Shamil Gaziev vs Brando Pericic bout all make sense. I went with the Englishman.

Spann’s next fight: Mick Parkin

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 116 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

It was an extra-long main card as all but the first fight on the card going the distance. In the main event, an important featherweight scrap, as former UFC bantamweight champion, (#5) Aljamain Sterling out-grappled (#7) Youssef Zalal on his way to a unanimous decision victory. In the co-main event Joselyne Edwards used her constant striking aggression to capture a unanimous decision victory over Norma Dumont.

Four win streaks were snapped on this main card while just two fighters have added to losing streaks.

Youssef Zalal

(#5) Aljamain Sterling put on a clinic in all things grappling and wrestling on Saturday when he smothered (#7) Youssef Zalal over five rounds to log a victory. Bitter defeat for Zalal as this is the first loss of his second UFC stint. Zalal was the owner of a 2-3-1 stretch with the UFC from 2020 to 2022 but that included decision defeats against studs like eventual double champ, Illia Topuria and striking standout, Sean Woodson. Since Zalal’s resigning in 2024, he’s 5-1. Youssef was coming into this fight with a decision win over Calvin Kattar and a first round submission victory against Josh Emmett back in October.

A good next opponent for Zalal would be to give him the loser of Melquizael Costa vs. Arnold Allen. That fight goes down on May 16 so the timing would be just fine.  It’s also a main event so it would make even more sense as a matchup. Allen has lost three of his last four as he has recently had a huge step-up in competition. His last fight was back in late January when he lost a unanimous decision to Jean Silva. Melquizael Costa, on the other hand, is on the ascent. Costa is on a six-fight win streak and has finished his last two opponents, most recently, Dan Ige in late February to earn himself a performance bonus.

Best case scenario for Zalal is he’s facing Costa who has a freshly snapped win streak much like himself. This could be a fight night co-main event or potentially even a main event. Great fighters to build names for.

Zalal’s next fight: (#12) Melquizael Costa vs.  (#8) Arnold Allen loser 

Norma Dumont

(#11) Joselyne Edwards used her muay thai and stayed on the offensive in order to get the victory over (#3) Norma Dumont in the co main event on Saturday. It was a competitive fight, but Dumont suffers a horrific setback suffering her first loss since a split decision in May 2022 (opposite of Macy Chiasson). Dumont is now 9-3 with the promotion. Considering Dumont was originally supposed to take on (#5) Yana Santos before her opponent suffered an injury having to withdrawal, this is a rough defeat.

Norma’s next opponent should be Jacquline Cavalcanti if she loses her fight to Ketlen Vieira. That fight goes down on May 16 so the timing would be fine. The Yana fight would also work fine as a backup as she’s just sitting on the shelf right now. Leaning heavily towards the fight with Cavalcanti though. Dumont was Vieira’s most recent loss, and it was only by split decision. Cavalcanti is 10-1 as a pro and a perfect 5-0 in the UFC.  If she stumbles against Vieira, Dumont could be the perfect next test- especially if it’s a close fight.

Dumont’s next fight: (#10) Jacqueline Cavalcanti or (#5) Yana Santos

Alexander Hernandez

Rafa Garica remained cool and composed for the duration of his bout with Alexander Hernadez, fighting within his game plan to tally a nice unanimous decision victory. Bad outcome for Hernandez- but at least he wasn’t finished. The loss stops Alexander’s 4-fight win streak that saw him defeating multiple TUF veterans before stopping Chase Hooper and Diego Ferreira.

Hernandez should look towards a veteran striker for his next matchup, keep the foot on the gas, but maybe a potentially more manageable matchup. Giving Hernandez the loser of the King Green vs Jeremy Stephens fight could be incredibly interesting. Those guys scrap on May 9th so timing would be perfect. King Green even has a recent unanimous decision victory over Jim Miller, and so does Hernandez. Green is headed into that May matchup with Stephens riding a 2-fight win streak.

Jeremy Stephens hasn’t been in the octagon since last May when he lost a violent fight to Mason Jones. Stephens has been all over the place in recent years, from the PFL, to most recently a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships stint. Either one of these vets could offer an interesting and fresh standup battle with Alexander Hernandez. It could be on the main card of a fight night card or prelim of a PPV card.

Hernandez’s next fight: Bobby Green vs Jeremy Stephens Loser

Adrian Luna Martinetti

Davey Grant battered a relentless Adrian Luna Martinetti at the APEX on Saturday to get the unanimous decision victory. Luna Martinetti never gave up, despite his heavily damaged legs, and for that, this fight received fight of the night honors for UFC Vegas 116. The bout was Adrian’s UFC debut as he is a product of last year’s season of the Contender Series. This was Martinetti’s first MMA loss since his third bout, snapping a 15-fight win streak.

Jafel Filho also lost a unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 116, but he fell on the undercard to Cody Durden. Filho is 3-3 with the UFC since being signed off of the 2022 season of the Contender Series. Jafel was fed to the sharks immediately as he faced an undefeated Muhammad Mokaev in his promotional debut. Filho also has a performance bonus under his belt for his 2024 finish over Ode Osbourne. Pairing these two featherweights up could offer a high action fight for fans. Timing makes it too easy of a fight to make as well.

Martinelli’s next fight: Jafel Filho

Montel Jackson

Raoni Barcelos did enough with his grappling and deep submission attempts to steal a split decision over Montel Jackson Saturday, despite Jackson’s early knockdown. This loss extends Jackson’s losing streak to two though his last loss was also a split decision and opposite of former UFC flyweight champion, Deivision Figueiredo. Before this pair of defeats, the 2018 Contender Series veteran was riding a 6-fight win streak featuring three finishes and two bonuses.

Montel Jackson should fight Ricky Simon next. This would be a banger. Simon has big power in his hands and is fresh off a wild majority draw against Adrian Yanez back in late March. Timing wouldn’t be too bad. Simon headed into that fight having dropped three of his last four. But prior to that was his 5-fight win streak that earned him five bonuses in his first five fights with the promotion. Similar fighters in terms of having had their momentums extinguished. Seems like this would be a great time to book this slick standup battle that would have fans on the edge of their seats. This fight could be a co main event on a fight night card.

Jackson’s next fight: Ricky Simon

Marcus Buchecha

Ryan Spann used his 16 fights of UFC experience to expertly navigate the dangerous grappling attacks of Marcus Buchecha before finishing the fight with a two-punch combo in the second. Marcus, who was once 5-1 with ONE Fighting Championship, is now winless since being picked up by the UFC, last July. With a 0-2-1 record with the promotion, it’s worth noting that the 36-year-old heavyweight was originally supposed to take on Max Gimenis on Saturday before Max broke his foot.

Rebook the fight with Max here. Max lost his debut to Josh Hokit, who at the time, was also making his debut. With all the notoriety Hokit has gained recently, giving Max a fight against a fighter that was a name outside of the promotion makes a lot of sense. Plus, the heavyweight division is shallow, and Marcus could be on the shelf long enough for Max to recover from his injury.

Buchecha’s next fight: Max Gimenis

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 116 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Overall, Canadian fighters went 4-5 on the night, with Jasmine Jasudavicius and Melissa Croden also getting wins. Marcio Barbosa and Gokhan Saricam also scored impressive knockout wins in their promotional debuts. With UFC Winnipeg now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for our winners.

Mike Malott

While it was true that Gilbert Burns came into this fight having lost four consecutive bouts, those losses came against Belal Muhammad, Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and Michael Morales. No shame losing to these guys as all four of these names are either former champions or top 5 contenders. Time will tell if Mike Malott is of that ilk, but for now, we can add him to the list of names to have defeated Durinho. There are a lot of interesting matchups for Malott at welterweight, but in my opinion, the winner of the upcoming Sean Brady vs Joaquin Buckley fight is the best option on the table for the Canadian.

Malott’s next fight: Brady/Buckley winner

Charles Jourdain

It wasn’t easy, but Charles Jourdain came out in the right side of his Fight of the Night with Kyler Phillips, earning a third consecutive victory. Jourdain has always been a fan favourite because of his personality and action-oriented fight style, but he really seems to be coming into his own at 30 years old. Undefeated since coming down to 135lbs, he should keep steadily climbing up the bantamweight ladder. For that reason, fighting the winner of Saturday’s Montel Jackson vs Raoni Barcelos bout would make a ton of sense.

Jourdain’s next fight: Jackson/Barcelos winner

Jai Herbert

Jai Herbert proved once again that if you do not mind your Ps and Qs, he is going to get you. “Rat Garbage” is a fan favourite, but he wasn’t careful enough and the Englishman caught him. Herbert will always be a good measuring stick to throw against anyone at lightweight. I think he’d be a good test for Gauge Young, who was also victorious on Saturday.

Herbert’s next fight: Gauge Young

Jasmine Jasudavicius

Jasmine Jasudavicius successfully bounced back from her bad loss to Manon Fiorot, not letting the knockout turn into a losing streak. She outworked a limited, but tough Karine Silva en route to a unanimous decision victory. From Alexa Grasso and Erin Blanchfield to Rose Namajunas, Casey O’Neill and Wang Cong, there isn’t a shortage of names to throw at Jasmine, I just happen to prefer other matchups that don’t involve her. Once Maycee Barber is cleared to get back inside the octagon, I believe a fight between those makes the most sense.

Jasudavicius’ next fight: Maycee Barber

Gauge Young

Thiago Moises has always been a tricky fighter for anyone at 155lbs, so for Gauge Young to manage to beat him at just 25 is a promising sign. Despite getting his hand raised, Young also showed that he’s still green in some aspects of his game. I would look to give an opponent of similar calibre before having him climb up the ranks. I’d like to see him try to solve someone like Jai Herbert, who poses some fairly unique problems at lightweight with his length and off beat striking style.

Young’s next fight: Jai Herbert

The post What’s Next: UFC Winnipeg Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC bantamweights Kyler Phillips and Charles Jourdain lit the place up with their scrap in the co-main event slot. Every fighter on this edition of our losers matchmaker in a rough place, but that makes for some high stakes matchups on the horizon.

Gilbert Burns

(NR) Mike Malott turned in a great night at the office, stopping UFC veteran (#11) Gilbert Burns in the third round of the UFC Winnipeg main event. Burns announced that he would be retiring from professional fighting after the loss.

The 39-year-old ends his 12-year career with the UFC riding a five-fight skid but went 15-10 overall across two weight classes. Burns also challenged Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight strap in 2021. ‘Durinho’ will be missed by fans as he brought a good-spirited attitude, slick submissions and unbelievable forward pressure in fights. A solid representative of the sport.

Burns’s next fight: Retirement

Kyler Phillips

Charles Jourdain secured a high-flying, high-action victory over Kyler Phillips via a unanimous decision in the co main event of UFC Winnipeg. It was an important bout for the division with Phillips being recently ranked in the Top 15 and Jourdain ascending through the ranks of the division since dropping down to bantamweight. The fight also ended up scoring Fight of the Night honors. Kyler now falls to 6-4 with the UFC and has dropped three in a row. Philips last earned a victory two years ago with a victory of Pedro Munhoz, who recently retired.

The 2017 Contender Series product needs a win badly here. Good next fight would be a matchup again Said Nurmagomedov. Said and Kyler were matched up previously, back in 2023. But that fight fell through after Said withdrew. Nurmagomedov is 1-2 since that fight cancellation while Phillips is 2-3.  This fight would be a great standup battle though the timing isn’t the best with Nurmagomedov’s last bout having been in July of 2025. The pair also share a loss to (#12) Vinicius Oliveira in the year of 2025. This bout could be high on the main card of a fight night.

Phillips’s next fight: Said Nurmagomedov

Mandel Nallo

Jai Herbert overcame a couple of early knockdowns to finish the Mandel Nallo just over two minutes into the pair’s fight on Saturday. A disappointing promotional debut for Nallo, a Bellator veteran and 2025 Contender Series product. 36-year-old Mandel now has a pro MMA record of 14-4.

Nallo has couple directions here in terms of matchups. An aggressive path vs. a more conservative one. Leaning towards giving him Jamie Mullarkey who is 6-7 with the promotion and has lost three of his last four. All three losses were first round stoppages, but against solid competition, Nasrat Haqparast, (#10) Mauricio Ruffy and Quillan Salkilld. Mullarkey was last in action at the end of January when he was submitted by Salkilld on UFC 325. A somewhat aggressive pairing but one that’s certainly feasible.

Backup choice here would be a pairing with Rolando Bedoya. Rolando is 0-4 with the UFC since being signed in 2023. Bedoya has yet to be stopped and he’s dropped fights to Khaos Williams and Kenan Song at 170lbs., and Jai Herbert and Jamie Mullarkey at 155lbs. Either way, exciting potential matchups for Nallo, but the timing, among other variables would work best with a matchup against Mullarkey. This would work well as a feature prelim type of fight with how Mandel brings it.

Nallo’s next fight: Jamie Mullarkey or Rolando Bedoya

Karine Silva

(#7) Jasmine Jasudavicius logged a hard-fought unanimous decision victory on Saturday, evading submissions from (#9) Karine Silva and landing takedowns and damaging ground n’ pound. Karine has now lost three of her last four and falls to 5-3 with the UFC. Rough four-fight stretch for Karine who, after her 2021 victory on the Contender Series ripped off three straight wins, all by submission in the first round. To be fair, Karine’s other losses in the UFC have been against stiff competition in Viviane Araujo and (#5) Maycee Barber.

Pair Karine up with Miranda Maverick for her next fight. Maverick also lost a unanimous decision to Jasmine, though it was back in 2023. Another common opponent and outcome against, Maycee Barber, who Maverick faced five years ago. These two women are right next to each other in the rankings and Miranda is coming off of a June of 2025 loss to (#6) Rose Namajunas but hasn’t been booked since then. Even though the timing does not matchup this is a great grappler vs. grappler ranked matchup.

Silva’s next fight: (#10) Miranda Maverick

Thiago Moises

Gauge Young got the split decision nod to open up the UFC Winnipeg main card on Saturday opposite of Thiago Moises. Thiago started off strong but was ultimately edged out by the strikes and takedown defense of his opponent. Thiago falls to 8-8 in the UFC and has lost three of his last four. All of Thiago’s losses with the promotion are against solid competition ((#12) Beneil Dariush, Damir Ismagulov, (WWCHP) Islam Makhachev, Joel Alvarez, (#5) Benoit Saint-Denis, L’udovit Klein, Jared Gordon).

A good matchup here for a vet like Moises would be to give him another young gun, this time, Chase Hooper. Hooper is 2018 Contender Series product that is 8-5 with the UFC at just 26 years old. Chase ripped off a five-fight win streak from 2023-2025, which featured three submission finishes. But he’s struggled with his recent step up in competition. Chase was finished in the first round by Alexander Hernandez in August of 2025. Most recently, Lance Gibson Jr. melted the young lightweight with knees at the end of last month.

This would be an excellent grappling matchup and would do some heavy lifting for both fighters. This fight could easily grace the main card of a fight nigh. Could even see it landing in a feature prelim slot of a pay per view card.

Moises’s next fight: Chase Hooper

The post What’s Next: UFC Winnipeg Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Nationality really shouldn’t matter in fighting, mind you, except when it does (more on that shortly). What should matter is the fights, and we certainly had some entertaining ones over the weekend.

Having made my way back to sunnier shores this morning after several days in the bipolar climate of Winterpeg sorry, Winnipeg, and after a pit stop on Alex K. Lee’s On to the Next One to do a little matchmaking (be sure to go check that out!), it’s time for me to give a few final thoughts on the UFC’s first trip to Canada in 2026.

Main Event Talent Is Back in Canada

The last Canadian to headline a UFC event, prior to Mike Malott on Saturday, was Felica Spencer, who challenged Amanda Nunes for the now defunct UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship at UFC 250 on June 6, 2020.

Let that sink in for a bit. Nearly six years ago. Peak COVID-19 MMA, empty venue. A numbered event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, in fact.

MMA isn’t a sport where nationality should really matter. I’ve long suggested (though UFC VP of International and Content David Shaw feels otherwise) that you don’t need a big Canadian star to run events in Canada. Just bring a few big names, like adopted Canuck Max Holloway, and educated fans will be perfectly happy.

That’s worked with Holloway, with Charles Oliveira, it certainly worked with Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in Toronto, which happens to be the first UFC event I was ever in the building for.

The promotion, however, favours having Canadian talent topping Canadian cards, Brazilian talent topping Brazilian cards, British talent topping British cards, so on and so forth. Especially for Fight Nights, where champions and megastars are far less likely to appear.

Enter UFC Winnipeg, and Mike Malott. After putting together a 6-1 record through his first seven UFC bouts, the UFC decided it was time to give the unranked welterweight another step up. He’d had one of those at UFC 297 a couple of years back, against Neil Magny, and stumbled, dominating until he gassed late. Magny stole a come-from-behind victory. Malott’s lone UFC loss, and he proved on Saturday that the gas tank concerns have, to at least some extent, been addressed. Paired up with Brazilian veteran Gilbert Burns, Malott found the TKO finish at 2:08 of the third round.

No, he didn’t go five, didn’t need to. But through two and a half rounds, he never seemed to be tired, never seemed to slow a step. It’s a good sign.

The UFC is positioning Malott and Aiemann Zahabi, who fights at the White House in less than two months, to do some heavy lifting in Canada. Jasmine Jasudavicius kicked off the UFC’s return to Canada a few years ago, but Malott is the most bankable star, while Zahabi is closest to a title shot. Expect Malott to headline the UFC’s next trip to Canada if it’s a Fight Night. If it’s a Pay-Per-View, well, if Zahabi gets the win over Sean O’Malley at Freedom 250 on June 14, there are worse ideas than Petr Yan vs. Aiemann Zahabi on Canadian soil. And Malott almost certainly gets a co-main event slot there.

Farewell, Gilbert Burns

Gilbert Burns has called it a career. We think.

MMA retirements have a funny tendency not to stick, but Burns said following his loss to Mike Malott at UFC Winnipeg that he thought he was done, adding that he was “content” and had fought “everyone.”

Burns, who started at lightweight but wound up challenging Kamaru Usman for welterweight gold in 2021, was a workhorse for the UFC. A reliable fighter who competed in big fights, took on all comers, and headlined five events for the promotion.

He was also the Gilbert whose name was spelled correctly by Reebok, so he had that going for him.

Burns is one of those fighters that every promotion needs. Even when he wasn’t at the top of the card, he put on big performances. In wins, and losses. Burns is responsible for giving Khamzat Chimaev his biggest test to this day. Picked up wins over the likes of ex-champ Tyron Woodley, title challenger Demian Maia, fan favourite Jorge Masvidal, and future PFL two-time champ Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Elite fighters and fan favourites.

Don’t remember him for the tailspin at the end. Just remember the exciting fights, win or lose.

Rough Start, Strong Finish for Team Canada

4-5 on the night isn’t what Canada was hoping for.

Yes, I just got finished saying that nationality shouldn’t matter in MMA. And for individual cards, that’s true. The health of the sport in a given region is important though, and for the last few years, Canada has been in rebuilding mode.

The likes of Georges St-Pierre, Rory MacDonald, Mark Hominick, Valerie Letourneau, and Olivier Aubin-Mercier have all retired. Malott, Jasudavicius, Jourdain, and Zahabi are at the forefront of the sport now, but none have fought for a title, let alone held one.

There was a lot, and I do mean a lot, of chatter online criticizing the UFC’s selection of Canadian fighters, and the performances of those fighters themselves.

My immediate response is the most Canadian possible: take off, hosers! More seriously, don’t panic just yet.

Jamie Siraj, Julien Leblanc, and Mandel Nallo all made their promotional debuts at UFC Winnipeg, and all three were finished. Siraj and Nallo were in very entertaining fights, particularly Nallo, and there is zero question that “Rat Garbage” (or “Mango, if we must) is a quality fighter. Siraj went through hell just to stay alive, overcoming sepsis, an autoimmune disorder, and spending time in a medically induced coma just to be here walking the earth, let alone fighting. Both he and Leblanc will get another look. Nallo obviously will as well.

Jamey-Lyn Horth… well, judges are what they are. Plenty of robbery talk. Dana White shut that down by saying two of the three judges were Canadian, and that all three judges awarded the same score. That doesn’t make her loss to JJ Aldrich any less questionable.

Tanner Boser’s reintroduction to the UFC, at heavyweight, was wildly entertaining. So while he was finished by Gokhan Saricam, he can at least say he helped continue the recent (very recent) resurgence of the heavyweight division.

With Jasudavicius, Jourdain, and Malott winning on the main card, all was not lost for Canada. Sometimes it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The lasting images from UFC Winnipeg will be Malott finishing Burns, and his electric walkout to Sum 41’s Fat Lip.

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This time around, there was Canadian content in the main event, as Mike Malott looked to extend his win streak at welterweight against former title challenger Gilbert Burns. Despite being on a four-fight skid Burns remained ranked at 170lbs, and could be looked at as Malott’s toughest test to date.

Canada had plenty of fighters representing the country at UFC Winnipeg, with nine in total fighting at home. Among them, Charles Jourdain, facing Kyler Phillips in the co-main event, and Jasmine Jasudavicius, who was taking on Karine Silva in a key women’s flyweight fight on the main card.

Also on the main card and making his promotional debut, Mandel Nallo. The former Bellator standout was paired up with England’s Jai Herbert, entering his 10th fight under the UFC banner.

A big night for Canada, plus a lot of debuts. The five-fight main card was set to be kicked off by veteran Thiago Moises, taking on Gauge Young, who had dragged Winnipeg during Fight Week, calling it a “dump.”

Our picks are in for Saturday’s event! Check below to see how we expect it all to play out.

Writer / Fight	Moises vs. Young	Jasudavicius vs. Silva	Herbert vs. Nallo	Jourdain vs. Phillips	Burns vs. Malott
Brett Cagle (46-15)
Mathis Desjardins (38-13)
Alex Behunin (43-19)
Patrick Danna (41-21)
Jay Anderson (40-22)
Eddie Law (38-24)

Not surprisingly, no one was siding with Gauge Young, the upstart paired up against UFC veteran Thiago Moises. Jasmine Jasudavicius, meanwhile, was looking at a clean sweep against Karine Silva. We were pretty high on Mandel Nallo’s debut, with the 36-year old Contender Series winner taking on Jai Herbert. All but one writer responding sided with Nallo.

Things were a little more split in the co-main event between Kyler Phillips and Charles Jourdain. A pick ’em.

As for “Proper” Mike Malott, he was a heavy favorite against ex-title challenger Gilbert Burns.

The post UFC Winnipeg: Burns vs. Malott Main Card Staff Picks appeared first on Cageside Press.

It may not have shocked the world, but UFC 327 was a reminder that, when so inspired, the UFC can still put on a very solid night of fights from top to bottom.

In fact, it was a good enough night for me to dust off this old “Aftermath” series (far from original, others sites have done them as well) for the second time in 2026. Probably because, in an era of poor booking and Apex Slop, when an event shines, it outright dazzles.

The Battle of Bellator Finally Arrives, and Does Not Disappoint

Ladies and gentleman, Aaron Pico.

The Aaron Pico we saw competing on Saturday at UFC 327 was not, despite online hyperbole, the best Pico we’ve ever seen. We have, in fact, seen a better Aaron Pico. He took too many lunging shots, was a little out of position a little too often. Peak Bellator Pico had better nights, if we’re being honest.

Yet it was a far better Aaron Pico who showed up at UFC 327 than the one who appeared in his UFC debut, and he has the win to prove it. Make no mistake, despite the loss to Lerone Murphy last year, Pico is a player in the UFC’s featherweight division. He always was. And now that the horse is out of the gate, let’s see how far he can ride.

Patricio Pitbull, were he the Pitbull of just a few years ago, would be a player as well. Now 1-2 in the UFC, at 38, it’s clear he has a ceiling. There are some fun fights for him, but I’ll go out on a very thick limb here and suggest he’ll never fight for the UFC’s featherweight title.

That said, Pitbull kept the fight with Pico interesting. One of the biggest Bellator MMA fights ever played out in the UFC octagon, and it didn’t disappoint. Bellator Never Die.

The Win that Wasn’t: Jiri Prochazka Sees Title Slip Through His Fingers

The win that wasn’t is how you can look at the UFC 327 main event.

Jiri Prochazka had the win in the bag after Carlos Ulberg either blew out his ACL or suffered a similar knee injury early in their headlining fight. No way Ulberg was ever going to be able to continue into the second round. A limping, lame duck rather than the “Black Jag” — right up until Prochazka got caught by a wounded cat striking out.

Check left hook, lights out.

Prochazka said after the fight that he had felt mercy for Ulberg, and didn’t move in for the kill like he should have. Instead, he took his foot off the gas. I’m not sure I agree fully; watching the fight, he absolutely targeted Ulberg’s leg. Yet Jiri did show more of a reserved approach considering how badly injured Ulberg was, so in the end, there is some truth to his words.

Ulberg, for one, felt Prochazka made the wrong choice. “I feel like he made the mistake there, because I would not have done the same,” the UFC’s new light heavyweight champ said following the win. “If you were in there to get that title, you do whatever it takes to get that win.”

This loss is going to haunt Jiri Prochazka for a while. He had the title in his grasp, and let it slip away. How he handles it, and bounces back, will be key. A former champion who vacated due to injury, Prochakza has dropped title fights to Alex Pereira and Ulberg now. He’s popular enough to earn another crack at gold, but he’ll need a few wins to get there. And he has only himself to blame.

Josh Hokit Is Here to Stay

Love him or hate him, and so many do the latter, but Josh Hokit is here to stay.

The Clown Prince of the heavyweight division might stumble on the mic, but he sure knows how to fight. Am I right, Miami?

Don’t take me aping Hokit’s public persona as any sort of endorsement. His routine is less late-career Chael Sonnen (when he was better on the mic, but found himself giving less in fights), and more Colby “Chaos Cringe” Covington. Just like Dana White isn’t a fan of it, it’s not my cup of tea either. Like White, however, I must concede: Hokit came to fight, and we might as well all stop harping on it, because if Josh Hokit continues to fight like that, the dumb pro wrestling promos and vaguely racist caricatures will be overshadowed anyway. In fact if he keeps fighting like he did at UFC 327, going to war with Curtis Blaydes in one of the best heavyweight fights of all time, the antics might just go away entirely.

Honestly, you don’t need them when you fight like that. And we’d all be better for it.

What Hokit did on Saturday was phenomenal. The unranked heavyweight walked into the Kaseya Center, came out guns blazing, and proved that, after both men had emptied their gas tanks, he had both the chin to withstand punches from a man 30 pounds heavier, and the wherewithal to keep himself in the fight as it drew on. The pair set a significant strikes record for heavyweight, with most of those apparently landing on “Razor” Blaydes’s face. Blaydes is now out with a broken nose and a broken orbital, while Hokit will be fighting Derrick Lewis on the Freedom 250 card at the White House.

It would be easy to write Hokit off as a clown because, well, he’s acted like one. Yet you can’t at this point. If he gets past Lewis, there are only a handful of names left ahead of him. If he doesn’t, Hokit isn’t going anywhere regardless, he’ll just be on a slower path. Credit where it’s due.

The post UFC 327 Aftermath: The Win That Wasn’t, And Four More Takeaways From Miami appeared first on Cageside Press.

Carlos Ulberg

What a clutch win by the Kiwi. With an obvious injury to his right leg, it looked like a Jiri Prochazka victory was a formality. Ulberg probably wouldn’t have been cleared by his corner or the doctor for a second round, so he had to take care of Prochazka in this opening round, with a compromised leg. And that’s exactly what he did. He landed his favourite shot, a clean left hook, and put Jiri out cold.

As for what’s next for the newly crowned champion, anything is on the table. The top contenders are all coming off losses, so maybe Paulo Costa’s win over Murzakanov will be enough to sneak into a title fight. Should Alex Pereira be unsuccessful in his bid at heavyweight and look to come back down, an immediate title shot would certainly be in the cards. And who knows how long Ulberg’s recovery from his leg injury will take? Maybe by the time he’s ready to come back a clear number one contender will have emerged. If Bogdan Guskov puts out Jan Blachowicz in highlight reel fashion, he might steal the number one slot. For now, though, it’s difficult to find someone with a better case than Paulo Costa.

Ulberg’s next fight: Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa

Despite barely holding on to a ranking at middleweight, the Brazilian knocked out the undefeated, top10-ranked Azamat Murzakanov in the third round. Light-heavyweight being the state that it is, who knows what could be next for “The Eraser”. I love the idea of Costa facing off with Jiri Prochazka, but Jiri should look to take some time off after getting brutally put out by Ulberg. With Magomed Ankalaev, Khalil Rountree Jr., Jamahal Hill and the aforementioned Prochazka all coming off losses, Costa may just currently have the best case for a title shot, as wild as that sounds.

Costa’s next fight: Carlos Ulberg

Josh Hokit

Usually we hear that the UFC “doesn’t make fights the night of,” but Josh Hokit’s brawl with Curtis Blaydes was too good not to stick him on the White House card right away. Time will tell if fighting Derrick Lewis barely two months after taking over one hundred strikes from Curtis Blaydes will pay off, but for now, there’s no matchmaking needed for me to make on my end.

Hokit’s next fight: Derrick Lewis

Dominick Reyes

Dominick Reyes may have gotten back in the win column, but we can’t pretend he did it in impressive fashion. Johnny Walker has been quite a vulnerable target for any decent puncher at 205 pounds, but Reyes still put on a pretty anemic performance and did just enough to get away with a split decision. He doesn’t deserve a big fight after a performance like this, so I think the loser of the upcoming Blachowicz/Guskov rematch makes sense.

Reyes’ next fight: Blachowicz/Guskov 2 loser

Cub Swanson

Getting back-to-back knockouts like the ones Swanson got against Billy Quarantillo and now Nate Landwehr, Killer Cub clearly still has it. But 42 years of age is a good time to call it a career and props to Cub, the last remaining WEC alumni, for going out on a high note like this one. Happy retirement Cub!

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