Monday evening — just as the spooky season was in full swing — UFC Roster Watch, an automated service which monitors changes to the UFC’s athlete database, noticed that nine fighters had been removed from the roster. Those fighters include a pair of Canadians in Jesse Ronson and Misha Cirkunov, as well as Diaz bros. team member Nick Maximov, who had been considered a promising prospect after entering the promotion via the Contender Series.

Cageside Press was able to verify several of the names let go from the promotion; the full list of fighters removed are as follows:

• Jason Witt
• Darian Weeks
• Cameron VanCamp
• Jesse Ronson
• Charlie Ontiveros
• Magomed Mustafaev
• Nick Maximov
• Louis Cosce
• Misha Cirkunov

While the names are no longer on the UFC roster, that does not necessarily mean they’ve been cut outright. Earlier on Monday, for example, Jason Witt (19-9) announced his retirement from MMA. Witt (19-9), who fought for the UFC on six occasions, broke the news on social media.

“I am closing this chapter of my life, but I’m very excited for what the future holds,” he wrote in his farewell message.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkXAC-8piqT/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=b6eca54c-76c2-462d-bd9f-66818d614e02

Louis Cosce (7-2), who won his way into the promotion alongside brother Orion on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, went 0-2 in the company, with a lengthy stint on the sidelines between fights.

Charlie Ontiveros (11-9) went 0-3 for the company, and may be best known for the scary neck injury he endured in his fight with Kevin Holland, which ended in a slam in March of 2020.

Cameron VanCamp (15-7-1) and Darian Weeks (5-3) were also winless inside the octagon, going 0-2 and 0-3, respectively. Canadian vet Jesse Ronson (21-12, 1NC) saw his only win under the UFC banner overturned due to a failed drug test, leaving him with an 0-2 (1NC) record.

Misha Cirkunov (15-9) started his UFC run on a tear, and seemed to be working his way up the light heavyweight division care of four straight wins. But as quickly as his success had blossomed, a contract dispute followed by some tough match-ups knocked him back down. Back-to-back losses to Glover Teixeira and Volkan Oezdemir halted his progress; after that, Cirkunov would post a 2-5 record between the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions.

Most recently, Cirkunov fell to Alonzo Menifield in his return to 205lbs.

Nick Maximov, who trains with the Diaz brothers, fought at heavyweight on the Contender Series, and middleweight in the UFC. He went 2-2 across four fights, losing his last two.

Magomed Mustafaev may be the most curious case of the nine names removed on Monday. Joining the UFC in 2015, he had fought just five times by 2020, going 3-2 including a win over Rafael Fiziev. Missing the last couple of years, he had been expected to return against Yamato Nishikawa at UFC 280, but the fight fell through. Though initially reported to be due to contractual issues with Nishikawa, the Japanese fighter later denied those reports.

Now, it appears Mustafaev is out as well.

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“Fighting close to my home, Tijuana, I feel the whole support of my hometown right? I’m happy! I can’t say anything. I feel happy for this win,” Benitez said.

Lightweight is a tough division to compete in, but it’s one that Benitez believes he belongs in.

“I want to stay in 155 right now,” he said.

The fight played out like most fans expected with both men throwing power shots, but Ontiveros threw a lot of spinning attacks that Benitez would have to deal with.

“I know this guy is kind of a taekwondo style. Is kind of weird, right? When you’re more striker and technical it’s difficult. This guy throw a lot of kicks and I expected but it was so fast. When I ate a couple of them I don’t feel too much damage. Then when I start laughing I go forward,” said Benitez.

“I feel like switching weight class that helps a lot. If I’m fighting 145 maybe I feel dizzy or something like that.”

Watch the entire post-fight media scrum with Gabriel Benitez above.

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Benitez had also lost two straight, and four of his last five. He corrected course on Saturday, however, making a statement in San Diego at Ontiveros’ expense.

Gabriel Benitez opened with a kick but Ontiveros fired back with number of his own before the two engaged in the clinch and went to work against the cage. Benitez landed a solid combination on the break and Ontiveros hit the mark with a nice right hand and a nice axe kick.

Benitez kept moving forward and throwing, but Ontiveros circled and looked to counter, while peppering in kicks. Benitez ducked under another axe kick and got the clinch against the cage, where he worked elbows until the ref stepped in due to a low blow on Ontiveros from a knee.

After a time out, a touch of the gloves and the two exchanged again with Benitez landing a crushing punch that hurt Ontiveros and sent him reeling back into the cage. Benitez pounced on a hurt Ontiveros and landed a combination before getting the take down and slammed Ontiveros to the mat. There he took the mounted position and hammered down punches onto Ontiveros that forced the referee to step in and call the fight.

Official Result: Gabriel Benitez def. Charlie Ontiveros by TKO, Round 1, 3:35

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However, “The American Bad Boy” is finally ready to reintroduce himself to the UFC audience.

It hasn’t been the best UFC run so far for Texas fighter Ontiveros (11-8). In his UFC debut, he fought Kevin Holland on less than five days’ notice up a weight class. The fight ended in less than three minutes due to Ontiveros suffering a freak injury. In his second fight, after dropping his opponent Steve Garcia twice, he would end up losing in the second round.

But it was the Holland loss that has haunted the 31-year-old since it happened because it the injury in his neck lingered.

“I tore the muscle in the neck from the slam. They said the arm being right underneath the neck when I got slammed had something to do with it. I was already just having neck issues even before that,” Ontiveros told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview recently.  “That fight, I kind of half-assed the physical therapy, you know, the bare minimum, and then I re-injured it again in my last fight with Garcia.”

Due to the seriousness of the injury, “I went in, got a new chiropractor, new specialist, and found out my neck was actually curving the opposite way of what it’s supposed to,” Ontiveros continued. “They were like ‘if we don’t start fixing it now, we’re going to need surgery.’ So I’m like, alright, well, let’s get on it, and yeah, dude, I went through like four months of physical therapy.”

On top of the reoccurring injuries that caused long layoffs, the slam caused Ontiveros PTSD.

“It was very depressing, and it doesn’t sit well with me. I wish I could fight more, but like, the injuries put me in a dark place for a little while. The UFC has their own mental coaches, and that’s been working tremendously too, like, life-changing,” Ontiveros revealed. “Like I went from borderline PTSD from the Holland fight because it’s like, I thought I was gonna be paralyzed. Like, for like 20 seconds, my whole life was changed. So going through that, that was tough. Made me almost want to quit fighting. I was really contemplating just hanging up the gloves.”

Now that Ontiveros can see the light at the end of the tunnel, he is ready to put on a show, especially because he finally gets to experience the real UFC crowd. Prior to this Saturday at UFC San Diego, Ontiveros has only fought at the UFC Apex with a limited crowd. To say he is excited is an understatement.

“I get to have a f*cking crowd! Like, being at the UFC Apex is cool, but you can pretty much hear your own f*cking thoughts. It is not cool,” Ontiveros said. “Like in the walkout, you’re just like, Oh, hi. Oh, hey, there’s another person. But I’m going to have a f*cking crowd. I get to feel for their energy; it’s f*cking differently…I don’t even care if it’s f*cking booing. I just want to f*cking hear something.”

Ontiveros faces Gabriel Benítez at UFC San Diego in what could be a candidate for Fight of the Night. Both men love to come forward and throw caution to the wind, but Ontiveros believes his opponent is going to turn into a wrestler at some point.

“It would be cool if we have a stand-up war, but in the back of my head, I know they’re going to try and take me down,” Ontiveros said. “If he’s gonna try his wrestling, then we could probably have a three-round fight, but if he’s gonna stand there, I don’t think it’s going out of the first round, and it’s no disrespect to him.”

“The American Bad Ass” is just excited to perform in a healthy mindset and with a much healthier neck.

Watch the rest of our interview with UFC San Diego’s Charlie Ontiveros above.

The post UFC San Diego: Charlie Ontiveros Ready To Make An Impression After Being Stuck In A Dark Place, Dealing with PTSD appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Thursday, Iridium Sports Agency announced that their client Charlie Ontiveros will fight Gabriel Benitez at UFC San Diego on August 13.

🚨 #TeamIridium Fight News 🚨

Our man Charlie Ontiveros is ready to make a statement vs. Gabriel Benitez on Aug. 13 ✍🏽 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/FAkwI29Dc8

— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) July 15, 2022

Ontiveros (11-8) will be looking for his first UFC victory when he enters the octagon in August. “The American Bad Boy” made his promotional debut on short notice against Kevin Holland up a weight class but lost the fight when he suffered a neck injury due to a slam. In his second appearance, he returned to lightweight against Steve Garcia but lost via TKO in the second round.

Benitez (22-10) is looking to snap his two-fight skid. Earlier this year in February, “Moggly” was knocked out by David Onama, and prior to that, he was finished by Billy Quarantillo in his lone fight in 2021. In 2020, he received a Performance of the Night when he finished Justin Jaynes with a knee to the body.

UFC San Diego will take place on August 13 and will be headlined by Marlon Vera and Dominick Cruz.

The following fights have been reported for the card:

• Dominick Cruz vs. Marlon Vera
• Yazmin Jauregui vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bruno Silva
• Devin Clark vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Sara McMann vs. Aspen Ladd
• Martin Buday vs. Łukasz Brzeski
• Viviane Araújo vs. Alexa Grasso
• Allan Nascimento vs. Malcom Gordon
• Gabriel Benitez vs. Charlie Ontiveros

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UFC Vegas 39 might have been low on star power — you’ll probably hear that a lot this weekend — but it made up for it with some intriguing match-ups, at least on paper.

One of those came early on the Fight Night card in Las Vegas on Saturday, with lightweights Steve Garcia and Charlie Ontiveros facing off. Garcia, who had whiffed on the Contender Series, missing weight, was coming off his first win in the UFC after joining as a short-notice replacement. Ontiveros, meanwhile, was returning from a scary neck injury in a fight last year against Kevin Holland.

Ontiveros opened the fight quickly, knocking Garcia down within the first ten seconds after clipping Garcia with an axe kick. Garcia popped right back up but was soon dropped again after a quick right hook by Ontiveros. Ontiveros tried to blitz Garcia for the finish but Garcia recovered and got a big takedown to help clear his head. Garcia then dominated Ontiveros on the ground for the rest of the round, eventually making his way to north-south and busting Ontiveros open with a brutal elbow. The cut was on the temple and began spewing blood as Ontiveros was going back to the corner.

GROUND AND POUND FOR THE FINISH! 💥👊

🇺🇸@MeanMachine505 dominates in RD 2! #UFCVegas39 pic.twitter.com/sUb5pehfJh

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021

Ontiveros came out firing once again to start round two, dropping Garcia with a short shot before Garcia once again got the takedown. Garcia quickly moved to mount and began to rain down elbows to Ontiveros who by that point was looking like a horror movie victim. Garcia kept up the pressure with the shot and soon got the TKO finish. A great fight to kick off the UFC Vegas 39 prelims.

Official Result: Steve Garcia def. Charlie Ontiveros via TKO, Round 2, 1:51

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Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.

Mackenzie Dern (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC)

Strawweight (115lbs.): 6-1 (UFC), Missed weight 1x

Mackenzie Dern has been one of the standouts in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division since her much anticipated debut with the promotion in 2018.

At 5’4″ with a 63″ reach Dern has missed weight just one time in the UFC. It came in 2018 ahead of her fight against Amanda Cooper when she came in at whopping 123lbs. Fast forward a year to Dern giving birth to her first child in 2019, and despite that incredible feat, she has not missed weight again in the UFC. It seems as if Dern has clearly turned a corner.

Again, Dern hasn’t missed weight in over 3.5 years but she will remain a fighter to keep an eye on as she reaches the age that most people’s metabolism begins to slow down. Dern is now 28 years old and rapidly ascending the ranks at strawweight, but do not be surprised to see her move up to flyweight in the near future. (Reguardless of how well she is doing at 115lbs. at said time.)

The post The Weight Cutting Chronicles: UFC Vegas 39 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Andre Fili

Andre Fili lost a unanimous decision to Bryce Mitchell this past weekend. Fili is only 30 years old and should be looking to make a quick turnaround so that he can get back in the win column. Thomas Almeida would make for the perfect opponent for Fili. Almeida just returned after a two-year layoff with a decision loss to Jonathan Martinez at featherweight. Almeida should be in a similar situation as Fili, looking to bounce back and get back on track.

Fili’s next fight: Thomas Almeida

Maurice Greene

Maurice Green was knocked out by Greg Hardy in the second round at UFC Vegas 12. This loss makes Greene 4-3 in the UFC. Greene should be looking to fight someone with similar experience and good striking. Greene has amazing submissions but as of right now his only question mark is his striking defense. He has been known to be able to land some power shots, but it is no surprise that he has to work on his head movement and footwork. Greene should be looking to fight someone like Yorgan De Castro in his next fight. De Castro has the same experience level as Greene and has five of his six wins via knockout. De Castro is also on a two-fight losing streak so this fight will definitely determine who wants to make a name for themselves. They’ve both also dropped fights to Hardy.

Greene’s next fight: Yorgan De Castro 

Charlie Ontiveros

Charlie Ontiveros suffered a gruesome neck injury in his loss to Kevin Holland this past weekend. He was slammed to the ground and verbally submitted a short time after. He had to be removed on a stretcher after the fight. It would be unfair to discuss Ontiveros’ next fight without knowing the severity of his injury. In the meantime, we wish him well.

Bobby Green

Bobby Green has had one hell of a year this year. Going 3-0 leading into Saturday’s fights. At UFC Vegas 12 he fell short and lost a unanimous decision to Thiago Moises — in a fight that many thought he won. It’s safe to say that Green will bounce back pretty quickly and look to get back to his winning ways. A perfect opponent for Green would be Vinc Pichel. Pichel is riding a two-fight winning streak at the moment, with wins over Jim Miller and Roosevelt Roberts in his last two fights. Pichel has eight of his 13 wins via knockout. Making for a perfect stylistic matchup for Green.

Green’s next fight: Vinc Pichel 

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 12 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

After that game of musical opponents, the fight was going to be all about who could adapt best, because game plans were pretty much out the window.

A massive favorite, Holland took a big swing then missed to open the fight. And almost wound up in a seriously bad spot when Ontiveros answered with a spinning back fist. Holland then executed a takedown, with the two ending up in a North/South position. Holland then moved to side control, and worked the body a little. Ontiveros would make it back up, but Holland forced the fight back down. Holland got on top, and looked to be working for a choke, when the ref stopped the bout.

Make it 4️⃣ victories in 2020!

🗣 @Trailblaze2top keeps his electric year going.

[ #UFCVegas12 – LIVE on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/RuxVTTAqDN

— UFC (@ufc) October 31, 2020

Ontiveros had verbally submitted. To what wasn’t exactly clear. He was in obvious pain afterward, and was removed from the cage by stretcher, although he was conscious.

After the fight, Kevin Holland started jawing at middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, who was sitting cageside. In his post-fight interview, Holland revealed that Ontiveros had hurt his neck, leading to the submission. Per the UFC broadcast team, Dana White later confirmed that Ontiveros had feeling in all his extremities. He was expected to be transported to hospital for further examination.

Official Result: Kevin Holland def. Charlie Ontiveros by verbal submission, Round 1, 2:39

The post UFC Vegas 12 Results: Bizarre Finish Sees Kevin Holland Win After Charlie Ontiveros Injured appeared first on Cageside Press.

Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.

Charlie “The American Badboy” Ontiveros (11-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Welterweight (170lbs): 10-5 (MMA), Missed weight 1 time

Catchweight (174lbs): 1-0 (MMA)

Middleweight (185lbs): 0-0 (MMA), Making UFC and Pro debut at UFC Vegas 12

Charlie Ontiveros stands at 6’2″ tall, with a 76″ reach, and is 29 years old. Ontiveros will be making his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 12 on short notice after Kevin Holland‘s original opponent Makhmud Muradov was forced to pull out on Wednesday. Charlie barely missed weight for a welterweight fight back in April of 2016. Charlie will be moving up in weight to 185lbs in order to make his debut and it will be his first professional fight in the weight class. Ontiveros has faced Michael “Venom” Page in the past and is a veteran of Bellator, LFA and Fury FC promotions.

The post The Weight Cutting Chronicles: UFC Vegas 12 appeared first on Cageside Press.