Hussein, originally booked against Muin Gafurov, was entering the promotion off a win over UFC vet Tyson Nam on the regional circuit. Gibson was stepping up on short notice, and it almost certainly had a role in how the fight played out.

The fight started with Gibson firing away from range. He mixed up his straight punches and kicks well, landing a good right hand and securing a nice takedown. As Hussein tried to scramble, Gibson locked in a guillotine. It was incredibly tight, but Hussein refused to give up. Gibson adjusted his grip several times, yet Hussein somehow stayed calm and escaped the submissions.

Hussein ended up on top, but Gibson used a leg lock to work his way back to his feet. They separated with about two minutes left, and Hussein was on the gas. Gibson landed a few straight punches and tied Hussein up to slow him down, but Hussein kept coming forward, landing short combinations. He turned the final two minutes into a gritty fight, staying on the inside and connecting with punches, elbows, and knees. When the bell rang, Gibson looked like he was feeling the pace.

Round two started with Hussein pressing forward. Gibson threw a body kick, but Hussein caught it and dropped him with a right hand. Gibson briefly gave up his back and nearly got caught in a guillotine. Hussein threatened to take mount, forcing Gibson to move. He also attempted a D’Arce choke from side control but couldn’t get the right angle. Gibson did a good job of constantly moving and never staying still, but Hussein was all over him. Gibson worked back to his knees, but an anaconda choke from Hussein put him right back down. With a minute left in the round, Hussein stayed on top, controlling Gibson while keeping a steady pace with his offense.

Entering the final round, Gibson looked exhausted while Hussein looked fresh. Hussein continued coming forward, backing Gibson to the cage and mixing up his offense with jabs, knees, and beautiful combinations, especially his uppercuts. Gibson fired back with a barrage of body shots and timed a leg kick that briefly swept Hussein. Hussein quickly scrambled, secured a takedown, and that was essentially the end for Gibson. Gibson survived for a bit, even getting back to his feet momentarily, but after Hussein dragged him down again, he locked in an arm-triangle. He didn’t even need to pass to the side before Gibson tapped fully.

Official Result: Abdul Hussein def. Cody Gibson by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 3:07

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On Friday, the UFC’s Canadian social media presence confirmed the booking of Matt Frevola vs. Kyle Nelson, while also revealing a fight between Cody Gibson (21-11) and Aoriqileng (25-12, 1NC). The card is set for October 18, 2025 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Gibson, 37, won his way back into the UFC by going to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 31, where he would eventually lose to Canadian “Multimate Fighter” Brad Katona. Gibson has gone 2-2 since his return, and will enter the Vancouver card off a loss against Da’Mon Blackshear.

The American went 1-3 with the company in his first stint with the UFC from 2014 to 2015. Gibson is no stranger to fighting on Canadian soil and picked up a victory over Chad Anheliger at UFC Edmonton in November 2024.

China’s Aoriqileng, known as “The Mongolian Murderer,” will also be looking to bounce back from a loss, against blue chip prospect Raul Rosas Jr.

Headlined by middleweights Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez, the UFC Vancouver card on October 18 features the following reported and announced match-ups:

• Reinier de Ridder vs. Anthony Hernandez
• Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
• Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Charles Jourdain vs. Davey Grant
• Bruno Gustavo da Silva vs. Park Hyun-sung
• Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
• Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos
• Kyle Prepolec vs. Drew Dober
• Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui
• Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira
• Melissa Croden vs. Tainara Lisboa
• Matt Frevola vs. Kyle Nelson
• Cody Gibson vs. Aoriqileng

The post Cody Gibson vs. Aoriqileng Announced for UFC Vancouver appeared first on Cageside Press.

Several undefeated fighters also lost their 0s on Saturday. The six-fight main card had four fights end with stoppages. This included back-to-back kimura submission finishes. In the main event, a middleweight rematch, Roman Dolidze bested Marvin Vettori over the course of five rounds. And in the co-main event, Elizeu Zaleski suffered a rare stoppage defeat courtesy of Chidi Njokuani. A pair of TUF Season 31 vets are featured on this edition of losers matchmaker as well.

Marvin Vettori

Saturday, Marvin Vettori lost a competitive unanimous decision to familiar foe in Roman Dolidze. Marvin entered the fight ranked at #8 in the middleweight division while his opponent was ranked at #12.

The two men first fought almost two years ago with Vettori walking away with the unanimous decision nod (though that bout was only a three rounder). Saturday was the Italian fighter’s first time losing two fights in a row in his pro MMA career. Marvin is 2-3 since losing his title shot against then middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, in 2021.

This was a competitive bout especially factoring in the eye pokes by Dolidze. Realistically, Vettori and Dolidze are 1-1 thru two pretty competitive bouts as ranked middleweights. On Sunday, Vettori even reluctantly tweeted that he would be in favor of a trilogy.

While I could see a trilogy sometime in the future, an immediate one just doesn’t seem like fans want right now. The rematch between these two fighters might have even been a little premature.

Instead, Vettori should fight the winner of Bo Nickal vs Reinier de Ridder. That bout is scheduled for May 3rd. Both fighters are skilled grapplers though they boast different styles of grappling. Nickal, arguably one of the most hyped UFC additions ever, was a storied wrestler at Penn State and has absolutely dominated in MMA. Bo went 2-0 on the 2022 season of the Contender Series before racking up four wins with the promotion.

Reinier de Ridder is the #13 ranked UFC middleweight. Reinier is the former ONE FC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. de Ridder went 7-2 with ONE FC before he was picked up by the UFC late last year. Reinier’s last win came in January with a first-round sub over Kevin Holland. Bo’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory opposite of Paul Craig last November. It was Nickal’s first time hearing the final bell while competing in the sport.

These are two very talented prospects that a lot of fans have eyes on. Whoever makes it thru that May 3rd bout will need a fight against someone that has seen a good amount of elite UFC-level competition. Marvin would be the perfect matchup for the winner of the bout and fans would get a good grappler-striker matchup no matter what. It’d be a great opportunity for Marvin to show that he still has what it takes to be with the elites of the division. A finish of either fighter would be a huge statement.

Vettori’s next fight: Winner of Reinier de Ridder vs Bo Nickal

Elizeu Zaleski

Elizeu Zaleski was violently stopped by Chidi Njokuani in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 104, Saturday. The loss was just the second time that Elizeu has been finished in his 10-year, 17-fight UFC tenure. Elizeu, who turns 39 later this year, started out 7-1 with the promotion. And although Elizeu is 1-2-1 in his last four bouts, he always puts on a good scrap.

Chidi, Zaleski’s opponent, missed weight ahead of this bout so that’s an aspect that needs to be factored in as well.

Elizeu’s next opponent should be Bryan Battle. Bryan, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 in 2021, has gone 7-1, 1 NC while with the UFC.

It’s worth noting that Battle is also a guy that has struggled with his weight. “The Butcher” won TUF at middleweight but has since moved down to welterweight following his UFC debut. Bryan’s lone loss is to Rinat Fakhretidnov in 2022 who Elizeu fought to a draw the following year. Battle’s most recent fight was against Randy Brown who he defeated by split decision last December. (Though he missed weight for that bout by 4lbs.) Brown fought Zaleski in his fight prior to that one and defeated the Brazilian by unanimous decision. This fight makes too much sense not to happen as the trajectories of both fighters make this one a no-brainer. This fight has fun striking battle written all over it and the winner would be looking for maybe one more win to push towards a shot at the rankings.

Zaleski dos Santos’s next fight: Bryan Battle

Kurt Holobaugh

Kurt Holobaugh dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Hernandez on Saturday at UFC Vegas 104. Holobaugh, who has experienced chance after chance with the UFC, is now 2-6 with the promotion. Kurt has lost two of his last three fights since defeating Austin Hubbard to win Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Next fight for the 38-year-old should be against Viacheslav Borshchev. Viacheslav is a 2021 Contender Series veteran that has yet to be in a boring UFC fight. “Slava Claus” is 3-4, 1 NC, thru his 8-fight UFC stint. With three performance bonuses, Borshchev always brings the striking action. Borshchev lost a unaimous decision to Tom Nolan in his most recent fight on February 8th. This would be a solid lightweight scrap between two former Contender Series guys that put on entertaining fights but are clawing to remain on the UFC’s crowded 155lbs. roster.

Holobaugh’s next fight: Viacheslav Borshchev

Cody Gibson

Cody Gibson was submitted via kimura late in the second round of his UFC Vegas 104 fight against Da’mon Blackshear Saturday. Gibson is 2-2 since losing the tournament championship of Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter to Brad Katona in 2023.

Gibson’s next fight should be against the loser of Davey Grant vs Daniel Santos. That fight is scheduled for April 5th. Cody has had just one canceled fight during this stint with the UFC, and it was against Davey Grant. Davey is 7-6 with the UFC since 2013. Grant has won three of his last four fights only losing a split decision to Daniel Marcos in 2023. Daniel Santos is 2-1 with the promotion but last fought in 2023 with his unanimous decision victory over Johnny Munoz Jr. Santos has had five cancelled fights since he entered the UFC (with four of those cancellations being because of him) so it’s unfortunate that Gibson likely won’t be in a position to step in for this one should something happen pre-fight.

Winner of this fight would be looking to get a foothold on their UFC career, everyone here is fighting to stay above .500.

Gibson’s Next fight: Loser of Daniel Santos vs David Grant

Diyar Nurgozhay

Diyar Nurgozhay suffered the first defeat of his professional career Saturday when he was submitted by Brendson Ribeiro. Nurgozhay entered the fight with a perfect 10-0 pro MMA record. A veteran of Dagestan, Russia’s Eagle Fighting Championship, Diyar won the EFC light heavyweight championship in 2022. Nurgozhay impressed on last year’s season of the Contender Series with his second-round head kick finish that earned himself a UFC contract.

Diyar missed weight ahead of this fight (by 4.5lbs.) so losing his undefeated record and being finished on top of that, really has to sting. And that first round didn’t go the greatest either, it was an all-around rough debut for Nurgozhay. I’m reasonably confident that the 6’2″, 27-year-old will stay at 205lbs. as he has competed at as light as 185lbs. in his pro MMA career.

Diyar should fight the loser of Navajo Stirling vs Ivan Erslan. That fight is set to go down on the undercard of UFC 315 on May 10th. Navajo Stirling is a 27-year-old prospect out of City Kickboxing. Stirling earned a UFC contract last year with his second round KO on the Contender Series. The undefeated striker won his UFC debut last year with a unaimous decision victory over Tuco Tokkos. Ivan Erslan is a 33-year-old former KSW standout. Erslan dropped his first UFC fight, losing split decision to Ion Cutelaba last September. Whoever loses that fight should get Diyar. All three fighters have potential though Erslan is noticeably farther in his career than both the Contender Series vets.

Nurgozhay’s next fight: Loser of Ivan Erslan vs Navajo Stirling

Seung Woo Choi

Seung Woo Choi was flattened and finished in round one of his bout with Kevin Vallejos to kick off UFC Vegas 104’s main card. Choi has now lost five of his last six fights dating back to late 2021. And to add insult to injury, Seung has been finished in four of those five losses.

Choi’s record with the UFC now sits at 4-7 though he’s only lost two in a row. Seung is in real danger of being cut here. But at 32 years old, and competing in the featherweight division, Seung still has some tread left on the tires. And the South Korean has certainly had some difficult competition in his tenure with the promotion.

Seung Woo Choi should face Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in his next fight. Shayilan is 3-3 with the UFC since being signed in 2021. The Chinese fighter has lost his last two fights being finished by Steve Garcia and most recently, Melquizael Costa, last June. Nuerdanbieke also has a unanimous decision defeat to Josh Culibao. Choi is now also just one fight removed from being finished by Garcia. And Seung also lost a decision to Josh Culibao who has since been released by the UFC (more evidence of how close Seung is to being cut). This would be a striker vs. grappler matchup with the loser on the hot seat.

Choi’s next fight: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke

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Blackshear’s last two fights had resulted in post-fight bonuses, while Gibson had won his last two, sans bonuses.

Gibson started out on fire threatening a takedown attempt while landing solid shots in the clinch. Gibson landed a big right hand over the top that forced Blackshear to cover up. After eating multiple punches to the body Blackshear was able to defend against a takedown near the fence. Blackshear worked back to the center of the octagon as both fighters landed low leg kicks. Gibson crashed forward looking for a takedown but Blackshear was threatening a guillotine choke. Blackshear reversed position and ended up in top control. After a slow start to the round, Blackshear looked tremendous with his submission attempts near the end of the opening five minutes. Round one was highly competitive, with wild grappling exchanges and fast pace action on the feet.

In the second, Blackshear pressed forward and landed a jab and kick to the body. Gibson tried to get the fight in the clinch and landed an elbow on the break. Two left hooks from Gibson got the attention of Blackshear on the inside. Gibson was doing his best work from the clinch landing a few shots to the head before securing a takedown. Blackshear again reversed position and ended up on top with three minutes left in the round. In complete control on the ground, Blackshear had a significant advantage in his jiu-jitsu game. Working to the crucifix position, Blackshear landed damaging elbows before grabbing the arm of Cody Gibson. Damon secured a Kimura on the ground and cranked the arm of Gibson forcing a tap out. The Kill Cliff FC product earned his 11th career win by submission, winning his second fight in the a row.

In his post fight interview with Michael Bisping, Blackshear said the he knew he would have a grappling advantage in the fight and was not surprised how the fight transpired. He did not specify on who he wants to face next, but the bantamweight division is stacked with potentially entertaining matchups for Blackshear on the horizon.

Official Result: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Cody Gibson by submission (kimura), Round 2, 4:09

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“I’m a little disappointed in my performance. I’ll have to go back and watch it, but you’re always calculating position over submission, risk versus reward,” Gibson (21-10) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout at the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. “I felt like I played it a little safer than I needed to tonight.”

That, despite receiving a 10-8 from one judge in a unanimous decision win that saw Gibson dominate much of the fight, especially on the mat. Still, it’s not the type of bonus-winning performance Gibson is looking to put on in his fights.

“I’m trying to hurt somebody. I’m trying to go in there- I’m not making a million dollars a fight. So my silver lining is the bonus. Obviously you want to win fights, that’s important to stay here, winning. But I’m here to put on exciting fights for the fans, I know Chad was looking for it. So I’m a little disappointed in myself, that’s all.”

Then there’s the fans to consider, and Gibson appeared to have a very positive experience during fight week, meeting up with a number of UFC faithful.

“Think about how starved these people are for watching live fights. You come to a place like this, a fight town, I’ve met a lot of cool people since I’ve been here.” Gibson even gave tickets away to local fans, including a firefighter. “You want to put on a show.”

Cody Gibson now sits on a two-fight win streak, on his second stint with the promotion. His first, which kicked off in 2014, saw his debut come against none other than Aljamain Sterling. Yet despite how losses like Aljo, and one to Douglas Silva de Andrade (still with the UFC to this day) have aged, Gibson admittedly lacks confidence.

“I’m still good friends with Aljamain, he was texting me earlier today with advice because one of his teammates fought this guy that I fought tonight,” Gibson revealed. “So he had some words of wisdom, ‘hey look for this, look for this.’ So it’s great to stay in contact with him. And that’s what you would think, right? I’ve fought the who’s who, I’ve fought multiple guys who have fought for the belt, you would think I’d be oozing with confidence, but I’m not. And that’s the reality of it.”

“It’s something I’ve got to continue to work through in my head— why I don’t think I deserve the things that happen I think is something that, it’s one of those things you’ve got to deal with internally. Still something I’m working on for sure.”

Watch the full UFC Edmonton post-fight press conference with Cody Gibson above.

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Anheliger (13-7) fought on home ground coming off a decision victory over Charalampos Grigoriou in March. The victory snapped a two-fight losing skid, and likely saved his roster spot. He looked to make it two-in-a-row against Gibson.

Gibson (20-10) held a 2-5 record in the UFC, but coming off a submission victory against Brian Kelleher in July. He looked to improve his promotional record against Anheliger

Round 1 Gibson came out firing smart using his height and length to his advantage. Anheliger met him with his own game plan however loading up right hands. He would bait Gibson to come forward and then unleash that right hand like a missile.

Gibson took Anheliger down and took top position looking to land damage. Anheliger, on his back, opted for some heel strikes to the left calf of Gibson. Anheliger was able to avoid too much damage, got back to his feet, but was returned to the mat quickly.

The round ended with Gibson looking to secure a d’arce choke, but ran out of time.

Round 2 Gibson, now knowing he has the upper hand on the ground, shot right in for a takedown and secured it quickly. He opted for body shots with Anheliger covering his head. Anheliger tried to create a scramble by going to his back, and just ended up getting mounted. Gibson tried for two arm triangles, but the very tough Anheliger was able to defend and get out of those submissions.

The round ended with Gibson on the back and Anheliger looking for answers for the third round.

Round 3 Anheliger came out more aggressive knowing he was down two rounds. Throwing big shots he landed on on Gibson that may have rocked him, but he ended up taking Angeliger down and dominating the rest of the round in the grappling department.

Official Result: Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

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Kelleher had a comfortable winning record for most of his UFC run until his last three losses, all by finish against top talents, brought him to an 8-8 promotional record. At age 38 he was one of the only bantamweights who could fight 36-yera-old Cody Gibson and be the elder. Despite losing the first two UFC fights of his second run with the promotion, Gibson impressed in his TUF Finale loss to Brad Katona which was ‘Fight of the Night’ for UFC 292. Coming into the bout, Gibson was the favorite, and he lived up to that by dominating Kelleher en route to a first-round finish,

Gibson began the fight with heavy punches and long kicks, marching down a retreating Kelleher until Brian was able to regain respect. One minute in, Cody ducked under a blitzing Kelleher’s arm, got to a rear body-lock, and then progressed until he got the takedown. Kelleher built up from half-guard along the fence to stand, but Gibson’s height advantage was such that he had the leverage to easily hold Brian there and work on mat returning him. When Gibson broke, he unloaded on Kelleher, avoided the counter, and then got to a strong clinch position again. On the break the second time he flash dropped Kelleher, who fought back up and jumped a guillotine which ended up with him in bottom-half. Gibson instantly worked his way to an arm-triangle choke and a beat-up Kelleher tapped, even while still holding half-guard.

With that win, Gibson saved his job, and the current high school teacher was surprisingly calm in his post-fight interview, after arguably the biggest win of his career. His cerebral approach to the game was clear as he talked Daniel Cormier through his perception of the fight, and credited training in Las Vegas with fighters like Aljamain Sterling and Patchy Mix to his success.

Official Result: Cody Gibson def. Brian Kelleher by Submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 1, 3:58

The post Cody Gibson Dominates, Submits Kelleher With Arm Triangle appeared first on Cageside Press.

The opening round of the bout saw the pair quite active, with some chasing and working along the fence. The biggest moment of the opening round came when Johns, a.k.a. “Chapo,” got the fight to the ground, settling into Gibson’s guard. Cody proved to be quite agile off his back, and when he was done threatening from the bottom, gave up his back to scramble free, successfully.

That left 30 seconds or so on the clock, with Johns working in a clinch along the fence. Then, another boost for Miles Johns, as he caught Gibson recklessly charging in, and made him pay for it, dropping the TUF vet.

Round two was Cody looking to put there pressure on early. Johns would answer back with an uppercut about 90 seconds in, and suddenly Gibson was retreating— and appeared to roll his ankle. Moments later, he was in on a wild takedown, but despite being bloodied he managed to land it, take the back, and get a body triangle in place. Johns, meanwhile, appeared to have hit a wall, or emptied his gas tank. But after avoiding a rear-naked choke, Johns was able to reverse, get on top, and pin an arm, dropping some ground n’ pound on a momentarily helpless Gibson.

Now, it was Miles Johns turn to put the pressure on, but Cody didn’t stay down long, escaping to his feet moments later. Though he still had to contend with Johns grappling along the fence, and several uppercuts that followed. Soon, Johns was chasing his opponent, landing at least one solid right hand before transitioning to another takedown attempt against the fence, landing it. Gibson, once again, didn’t stay down long, but when he popped back up, his mouth was open as he sucked back air.

Miles Johns went back to the well in round three, pursuing the takedown along the fence. Cody at times defended with elbows, but was eating more uppercuts, particularly off the break. At range, Gibson worked a kick or two into his arsenal, and fended off another takedown attempt. But Johns again caught him coming in with a right hand, though this time, Cody stayed upright. Time was becoming a factor, with Johns likely ahead on the scorecards.

No surprises from the judges in this one, with Johns taking the win on all three cards.

Official Result: Miles Johns def. Cody Gibson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Gibson and Katona had a somewhat mild but still present feud in the TUF house, with Gibson calling the SBG Ireland fighter a boring tape study. Their final at the TD Garden in Boston was anything but boring, however. Rather, Katona and Gibson had a back-and-forth war, with both men both inflicting and absorbing damage. Surprisingly, despite Katona’s grappling prowess, the fight played out pretty much entirely on the feet, with Katona taking home the win.

The night’s top two fighters picked up Performance of the Night at UFC 292. In the co-main event, Weili Zhang put on a dominant beatdown of Brazilian title challenger Amanda Lemos. The Chinese strawweight champ schooled Lemos on the ground early, and held her own on the feet as well.

One fight later, Sean O’Malley completed his ascent to superstardom, knocking out bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling, who had been on a record-setting nine-fight win streak. Many had doubted the “Sugar Show” fighter, expecting Sterling’s wrestling to come into play. It wasn’t the case.

All four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their bonus-winning efforts. Attendance at the TD Garden, meanwhile, was 18,293 for a gate of $7.25 million.

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