While Yan has competed for gold in the UFC previously, coming up short against Weili Zhang, Gomes doesn’t see her as the biggest threat she’s had to face.

“She is a threat, but she’s not the biggest threat yet,” Gomes (12-3) said during the UFC Shanghai media day. “I’m going to use my aggressiveness, my intelligence in my favour. So yes she is a threat, but there’s going to be bigger ones.”

Gomes won her way into the UFC in 2022, and just four years later finds herself in a co-main event. As to what that progress means, she stated on Wednesday that “it means that what I’ve been doing is showing results, and I think that looking back, the girl who fought at Contenders would be very proud of who I’m becoming now. It’s just one step at a time, and it’s the fruits of our labour.”

Gomes outlook on the fight is that she’s not just fighting Yan. “This is the biggest fight in my career, but I think I’m not only fighting her, I’m fighting everyone that she has fought, and all the girls that I’m still going to fight,” she stated. “She is the biggest right now, but it’s just proof that all the work that we’ve been doing is showing results.”

Watch the full UFC Shanghai media day appearance by Denise Gomes above.

The post UFC Shanghai’s Denise Gomes: Yan “Not the Biggest Threat” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ahead of his UFC Shanghai main event against Umar Nurmagomedov on Saturday, the Chinese bantamweight is drawing inspiration from Bruce Lee, tuning out the outside noise and keeping his attention on the one thing he can control.

“After I got to the states that’s when I started to really learn about Bruce Lee. The more I learned it actually felt quite scary,” Song told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Over 50 years ago understanding of combat and his life is already reached a very high level. These past few days I’ve actually been listening to his book and also some podcasts. He also talked about practice and traditional martial artists transitioning to competitive sports. His technique and some power generation method are actually very similar to when I first started training.”

“In the past I felt that if others didn’t believe in me I had to prove them wrong, but now for me whether it’s these companies, gambling or something, whether they believe in me or not, I don’t really care,” he said.

“Right now I only focus on myself.”

Song also made sure he had everything he needed for a full training camp without making things more complicated than they needed to be. With friends making the trip to help and the UFC Performance Institute in China providing everything under one roof, his focus could stay entirely on preparing for the fight.

“The preparation was actually the same place as when I just got to US. At the same time I got a lot of friends coming over to help including some local friends from Shanghai. At the PI all the facilities are very good so everything I needed was right there. I didn’t have to run back and forth,” he said.

“During our last conversations there wasn’t tension. We also waved to each other. (The) two of us don’t have any history or any issue, so to put it simply, it’s just a match,” said Song.

“I’m also not a trash talker.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Song Yadong above. He faces Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Shanghai on Saturday.

The post Song Yadong Focused on Himself Ahead of Nurmagomedov Main Event appeared first on Cageside Press.

That’s because both athletes have been training at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai.

“It’s funny. We met each other every day, but we didn’t train together. Always they tried to make us separate,” Nurmagomedov (20-1) told media outlets during this week’s UFC Shanghai media day. “He had his own time, I had my time. We closed cage, we even don’t see our training. But it’s funny, we meet each other every day, and we don’t have any pressure, just respect. I think we’re both ready.”

Nurmagomedov came up short against Merab Dvalishvili in a title fight at UFC 311 in January 2025. Since that loss, the only defeat of his professional MMA career, the Dagestani has picked up decision victories over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo. Should he be victorious against Song Yadong in the UFC Shanghai main event, he expects to be on the short list for a title shot.

“Who else? I think we’re both going to be one of the contenders. Also, I think it depends on who’s going to win for the title,” suggested Nurmagomedov. “If Petr’s going to win, I think they’re going to do a rematch with O’Malley.”

Petr Yan is set to face Merab Dvalishvili in the rubber match of their trilogy later this year. Ex-champ Sean O’Malley, meanwhile, has won both of his fights this year, against Yadong, and Aiemann Zahabi at the White House.

Watch the full UFC Shanghai media day appearance by Umar Nurmagomedov above.

The post Umar Nurmagomedov Expects to Be Back in Contention with Win Over Song Yadong: “Who Else?” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Asakura is a two-time RIZIN bantamweight champ, but moved down to flyweight, where he competed earlier in his career, upon arriving in the UFC in December 2024. The Japanese star fell short in an immediate title shot against Alexandre Pantoja, then followed that up with a loss against Tim Elliott.

Then came his knockout of Cameron Smotherman in May, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus in his return to 135lbs.

“I looked good at bantamweight, I felt good, everything was good,” Asakura (22-6) said during the UFC Shanghai media day this week. “Now looking back at it, I wonder why I fought at flyweight to be honest with you. But now I think that I’ve settled into bantamweight, and I’m ready to move forward.”

Asakura is fighting in enemy territory in China this Saturday, against Mongolian Aoriqileng. He’s hoping, however, that the Chinese fans are receptive to him. “To be honest with you, I don’t know if I’m really fighting away this time. I hope Chinese fans will cheer for me too.”

When it comes to Aoriqileng, who has the edge in experience in UFC fights despite not having fought for a title, Asakura noted that “he’s a great striker, and he has the ability to close distance really well. So I have to be careful of that.”

Watch the full UFC Shanghai media day appearance by Kai Asakura above.

The post UFC Shanghai: Kai Asakura Wonders Why He Bothered with Flyweight appeared first on Cageside Press.

As far as a debut in the big show, “I don’t have any names,” Clancy (9-0) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the event. “Anybody. Anybody, anywhere, any time.”

Ahead of the fight, there was little in the way of heat. As Clancy noted backstage at the Meta Apex, Balletto was “being very respectful. Almost like overly respectful, I thought. And at the end of the day, it’s a fight. I didn’t want to give too much back. I’m coming to like, punch your face off. I’m not coming there to hug you and nicey-nicey.”

As Clancy put it, “although I’m a humble, nice guy, I’m coming to cut your face off. That’s my only real intentions towards you. I don’t want to be your friend, I don’t want to be your alley, I don’t want to be cordial.” Instead, Clancy is looking to do damage to his opponents.

“I want to do as much damage as I can do to you in that short window of time,” he exclaimed.

“Everybody’s different, you need to be prepared for anything. So I wasn’t expecting anything, I didn’t really read to much into it. Everything changes when you’re in the cage. I don’t read into these things too much.”

Watch the full Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference with Sean Clancy Jr. above.

The post DWCS: Sean Clancy Jr Looking to Do Damage Inside the Cage appeared first on Cageside Press.

Expanding on that dream post-fight at the Meta Apex on Tuesday, Galanti (8-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press that “I visualized this for so long. And the fact that it’s actually happening, it’s crazy. When you really have a dream and pursue it, crazy things happen.”

In his UFC debut, whenever it might come, Galanti added that “I just want to prove that, I want to be the best. I want to continue to progress and be the best fighter I can be.”

“I’m very real with myself,” the New Jersey-based middleweight stated. “I want to keep evolving: get better at grappling, better at striking, and just become more dangerous everywhere.”

In terms of the division and where he sees himself, “everyone in the UFC is good obviously,” stated Galanti. “I’m not going to be the type to be like ‘oh I want a top 10 guy.’ You see people talking like that, and they get slept their next fight. So you just focus on one fight at a time, and continue to grow and progress and get better.”

Galanti previously said he walked away from a six-figure income to pursue fighting and make it to the UFC. That news was something of a shock, given the miniscule pay entry-level UFC fighters collect. Galanti expanded on the career switch after his win on Tuesday.

“I used to do concrete and cement in high rises in New York. I did that, and I had a landscaping business with my cousin,” he revealed. Galanti added that he had nothing against the working life, but it led to him being late to the gym, and sleeping as little as three hours a day at times. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing against that life it just wasn’t for me.”

Watch the full Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference with Nick Galanti above.

The post DWCS: Nick Galanti Looking for Growth, Gives Backstory on Six-Figure Career He Left Behind appeared first on Cageside Press.

It was a standout performance in what has already been a solid season for the show, and for Humphrey, he’s now the second member of his family to earn a spot in a major promotion.

Father Ron “Abongo” Humphrey, who unfortunately passed away at age 41, had competed for Strikforce against the likes of Mike Kyle and Ovince St. Preux. He also worked as a stunt performer, appearing in Marvel’s Black Panther.

“I feel like I’m just now reaching the ability to beat him in a fight. If I could beat my dad in a fight, that would be dope, like in a playful way,” the younger Humphrey (5-0) told media outlets including Cageside Press on Tuesday. “But I feel like I’m just now reaching that level.”

While Humphrey has arrived in the UFC with Dana White singing his praises, “the UFC isn’t what matters to me,” he later noted. “What matters to me that I get to live my life fighting the best people in the world. So now that I’m here, man, I get to fight the best people in the world, and I’m just going to keep doing it until I can’t anymore.”

When asked where he wants to be in a year, given he had already put the welterweight division on notice, “I don’t know, man. I’m talking about beating everybody and all this good stuff, but just fighting, bro. Obviously I want to be a UFC champion. Obviously.”

That’s the goal, added Humphrey, “but the only way I’m going to get there is by fighting people. So where do I want to be in one year? Fighting better people. Keep testing myself, keep goin through the f*cking fire, keep seeing what I can do. Find some adversity, learn something about myself in the cage. Things like that is what excites me. That’s where I want to be. I want to grow, I want to learn, I want to go through this journey and become who the f*ck I gotta become in life.”

Watch the full Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference with Ronald Humphrey above.

The post DWCS Winner Ronald Humphrey Looking to Learn Something About Himself in the Cage appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the card at the Meta Apex, White also noted that Apodaca, who he later signed to the UFC, “never acted like a 6000 to 1 underdog.”

White, who actually encouraged Mir (the biggest favorite in Contender Series history) to attend college prior to persuing MMA, noted that “you guys all heard what her goals were over the next several years. And again, like I said out there, [Michael] Bisping nailed it and said the difference in this fight is deep waters. Bella’s never been there, and Alex has.”

Mir wound up losing a unanimous decision, with anyone who bet on Apodaca picking up serious money. “That fight right there would have paid for your whole year of gambling. Nobody in this sport is that big of an underdog, ever.”

White also touched on how difficult it is to go undefeated in MMA. Mir fell to 4-1 with the loss. Few big stars in the sport maintain perfect records. Georges St-Pierre lost twice, though he would avenge both. Jon Jones technically has a DQ loss against Matt Hammill, though the 12-6 elbows that cost him the fight are now legal in modern MMA. Khabib Nurmagomedov retired 29-0.

White used Jones as the example. “To come in and just go undefeated, it’s very hard to do in this sport. That’s why, when its done— he’s undefeated. And when you think about the killers that Jon Jones fought when he was a young guy in this sport. And there’s more than just his physical attributes. There’s the mental and the first fight with [Alexander] Gustafsson, when he got his deep water experience, how he reacted to that and overcame it, these are all things that are part of this game.”

Whether Bella Mir makes a quick turnaround, or takes time away to shore up her game, is something Dana White is leaving up to the fighter, and her father, UFC legend Frank Mir. “That’s up to her and her father. That’s up to them.”

Watch the full Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference with Dana White above.

The post Dana White Reacts to Bella Mir’s Loss on DWCS appeared first on Cageside Press.

Uriel (8-2) pulled off a standing guillotine choke against Mario Piazzon on week three of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, earning a finish in under a minute. The choke surprised many, including White himself, who didn’t expect it to work, only to later admit he’d been proven wrong.

Following the event, “Urso” (that’s Portuguese for “bear”) suggested he was ready to go again immediately.

“I’ll be ready. Tomorrow. All you have to do is make the call,” Uriel told media outlets including Cageside Press, speaking via translator. “In Brazil, we say, the 1-800 call. 1-800, call the bear, and I’ll be there.”

Uriel and Piazzon got into a bit of a scuffle at weigh-ins, and that’s something the heavyweight also addressed post-fight on Tuesday.

“I’m not that kind of athlete, to do the what do you call it, trash talk? Well I’m not that kind of guy,” stated Uriel. “We’re very automatic in our reactions. And when he came close to me, I just had that reaction. I even ended up touching him. It’s something that happened, and that’s not me.”

Luckily, it doesn’t appear there will be any consequences for the newly signed UFC athlete. “Nobody came to talk to me.”

Watch the full Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference with Guilherme Uriel above.

The post Guilherme Uriel Ready for UFC Debut “Tomorrow.” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I eat two meals a day, as tiny as possible, just trying to get down,” explained de Ridder (21-4) during Wednesday’s UFC Sacramento media day, adding that things are much different now that he’s returning to light heavyweight. “This time, I can just have breakfast. I’m still eating good of course, but bigger portions. And it makes recovery so much better as well. I’ve been able to go hard, train hard twice a day. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to train this hard.”

A former ONE Championship double champion at both middleweight and light heavyweight, de Ridder noted that it was repeated weight cuts that impacted him, more than the weight being shed itself. Leading to poor performances, and serious side effects.

“The amount of weight cuts is what messed me up. Because you see this with all the guys who did big weight cuts like I did to get to 185- you can do it twice a year, maybe three times a year, more than that it’s just not possible. Everything goes to sh*t, your body goes to sh*t, your hormonal levels go to sh*t. Everything goes in the trash.”

RDR added that after his fight with Brendan Allen, he had to stop training completely. “I was out of breath when I walked up the stairs.” And he had doubts, initially, if he’d ever make it back. “Those first six weeks just were terrible. Just doubt everywhere. Can I get my body back to normal at all.”

Facing Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento this Saturday, the Dutch star noted that the right kind of win could see him fast-tracked to the top of the 205lb division.

“If I do well and I put him away, I think it’ll give me a chance to fight in the top 10 next. It’s a new start, it’s basically like when I came into the UFC, I was fighting a vet in my first fight as well, and I feel the same. If I can put another run like this together, I’ll be up on the top quickly, hopefully.”

Watch the full UFC Sacramento media day appearance by Reinier de Ridder above.

The post UFC Sacramento: Reinier de Ridder on the Problems With Big Weight Cuts appeared first on Cageside Press.