The “spring cleaning” is the latest round of roster trimming, after the UFC parted ways with over a dozen fighters back in late February/March.

The full list of fighters removed from the roster, first identified by automated service UFC Roster Watch on Twitter, breaks down as follows:

• Ike Villanueva
• Fares Ziam
• Luigi Vendramini
• Kazula Vargas
• Mark Striegl
• Jesse Strader
• Bruno Souza
• Devonte Smith
• Rong Zhu
• Kris Moutinho
• Brandon Jenkins
• Austin Hubbard
• Mike Grundy
• Michael Gillmore
• Cameron Else
• Kevin Croom
• Dean Barry
• Gina Mazany

Several of the fighters released have since confirmed the news on social media.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Barry, who is now one-and-done as a UFC fighter. Ireland’s Barry competed against Mike Jackson last month, a part-time fighter and MMA journalist best known for being brought into the promotion to face Micky Gall and pro wrestler CM Punk. Jackson lost to Gall, beat Punk in a boring three-round affair that was later overturned to a No Contest, and somehow kept his roster spot. In a foul-filled affair, Jackson would win a DQ against Barry, who has now been shown the door as a result.

The timing is perhaps particularly cruel in the case of Mike Grundy and Ike Villanueva. Grundy last competed at UFC London in March, and announced at the event that his father was terminally ill. Villanueva, meanwhile, suffered a grade 3 MCL tear in his fight against Tyson Pedro last month.

Another surprise, Kris Moutinho, who faced Sean O’Malley on short notice last year, winning a Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts. While he was knocked out in his second UFC fight this past March, stepping up on short notice, and winning a bonus in the process usually gives a fighter a bit of breathing room. Not so in this case.

Confirming his release on social media, Jesse Strader vowed to return to the promotion.

“I’ll be back, baby. I’m only getting better & I’m in love with this journey I’m on!!!” he wrote.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdJxPPTF_LP/

With the release of Vargas and Vendramini, both of Paddy Pimblett’s UFC opponents to date are no longer with the promotion.

The post 18 Fighters Removed from UFC Roster as Promotion Does Some Spring Cleaning appeared first on Cageside Press.

Klein was looking to snap a two-fight skid that had seen him fall to TUF champ Mike Trizano and Nate “The Train” Landwehr, while Smith was coming off a single loss to Jamie Mullarkey.

Two push kicks from Smith started off the fight after a tough of the gloves. A left hand from Klein missed. A 1-2, followed by a body kick from Klein landed. Smith answered with a body kick of his own. Klein partially landed a high kick that got Smith’s attention. Smith landed an oblique kick. Klein landed a straight left that rocked Smith and pounced on him. Smith smartly clinched with him to survive. Klein started throwing knees and shoulder strikes in Smith’s clinch. Marc Goddard separated the pair with 30 or so seconds left in the round. Klein landed a head kick and 1-2 to end the round, and Smith was saved by the bell.

Round two opened with a body kick and two high kicks from Smith. Another two high kicks from Smith got Klein’s attention. Klein then clinched with Smith and put him against the fence. They finally broke apart with three minutes left, and Smith landed a low kick. Smith caught Klein’s body kick and tried for a takedown; however, Klein stuffed it and put him against the fence again. Some dirty boxing between the two fighters while they were against the fence. Goddard separated them again, and Smith shot for a takedown. Klein defended the takedown perfectly and put Smith against the fence again to end the round.

Round three started with Smith landing two high kicks. Klein landed a front kick that hurt Smith, but Klein decided to clinch with Smith against the fence. Smith landed an elbow off the clinch break. Klein landed a straight left got a reaction from Smith. Three minutes left in the round, and Klein clinched with Smith yet again. Just over two left, and Smith wobbled Klein with a punch that made him shoot for a takedown, but nothing happened. Smith landed a knee and elbow. Klein put Smith against the fence again with less than a minute left. Smith escaped, and both fighters landed a kick to end the fight. It would go to the scorecards, with Klein earning the split decision victory.

Official Result: L’udovit Klein def. Devonte Smith by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

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Just a day after original opponent Erick “Ghost Pepper” Gonzalez announced that an injury had forced him out of the fight with Smith, Eurosport reported that Ludovit Klein will be stepping in as a replacement.

Klein later confirmed the booking on social media.

Slovakia’s Klein (17-4) joined the UFC in 2020, winning his debut via head kick against Shane Young as part of UFC 253. He’d then drop his next two fights, losing a decision to TUF winner Mike Trizano before being submitted by Nate Landwehr last October.

He’ll look to snap that two-fight skid against Smith (11-3), who will also be seeking a return to the win column in the fight. Smith fell to Jamie Mullarkey in his last outing.

UFC 272 is set to unfold at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 5, 2022. The following fights have been reported for the card thus far:

• Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
• Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
• Sergey Spivak vs. Greg Hardy
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Maryna Moroz vs. Mariya Agapova
• Jalin Turner vs. Jamie Mullarkey
• Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
• Michał Oleksiejczuk vs. Dustin Jacoby
• Devonte Smith vs. Ludovit Klein

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On Thursday, the fighter known as “Ghost Pepper” announced that due to an injury requiring stitches to the bottom of his foot, he’d been forced to pull out of his bout with Devonte Smith.

“Hey everyone just wanna reach out to let you know I will no longer be fighting March 5th. I suffered an injury that involved me having to get 3 stitches to the bottom of my foot,” Gonzalez wrote on social media. “Thank you for all the support and love I have been receiving during camp, Ill be back soon as I can.”

A Combate Americas standout, Gonzalez (14-6) joined the UFC last year, only to find himself knocked out at the hands of veteran lightweight Jim Miller. The Smith fight was to be his sophomore trip to the octagon.

Prior to joining the UFC, Gonzalez had strung together a four-fight winning streak.

Smith (11-3) is 3-2 inside the octagon to date. Most recently, he came up short against Jamie Mullarkey, losing their October contest via TKO.

It’s currently unclear as to whether the promotion will seek a replacement opponent for Smith.

UFC 272 goes down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 5, 2022. The following fights have been reported for the event to date:

• Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
• Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
• Sergey Spivak vs. Greg Hardy
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Maryna Moroz vs. Mariya Agapova
• Jalin Turner vs. Jamie Mullarkey
• Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
• Michał Oleksiejczuk vs. Dustin Jacoby
• Brian Kelleher vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

The post Erick Gonzalez Says He’s Out of UFC 272 Fight Against Devonte Smith appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Wednesday, Erick “Ghost Pepper” Gonzalez and his management group announced that he’d be fighting Devonte Smith at the March event. The fight finds both lightweight fighters looking to get back in the win column.

Gonzalez (14-6), long a staple of Combate Americas (now known as Combate Global), entered the UFC on short notice against Jim Miller last year. He wound up knocked out in the second round, snapping a four-fight win streak.

Devonte Smith (11-3) was also finished in his most recent outing. That came against Jamie Mullarkey last October. Overall, the Contender Series alum is 3-2 inside the octagon. None of his fights, win or lose, have gone the distance.

UFC 272 is expected to take place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Currently, the card is headlined by Jorge Masivdal vs. Colby Covington, with a bout between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier also in the works.

The originally planned title fights for the card, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3, and Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2, have shifted to April’s UFC 273. With Holloway out due to injury, The Korean Zombie is expected to face Volkanovski on that card.

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The match-up screamed fireworks. It did not disappoint.

Both men took the center of the octagon after a glove touch. Both men threw out jabs to find the distance. Smith landed a left jab while Mullarkey landed a heavy leg kick. A right hook missed for Mullarkey. Smith landed a quick 1-2 that got Mullarkey’s attention. Mullarkey in turn landed a body kick and then ate a beautiful combo that appeared to wobble him. With roughly half the round remaining, Mullarkey landed a leg kick. Smith landed a knee that backed Mullarkey up, and Smith rushed him but backed off after eating a counter shot. One minute left, and Mullarkey missed a leaping-in hook. Smith landed a knee to Mullarkey’s body. Mullarkey landed a takedown with 20 seconds left, but Smith popped back up; Mullarkey kept a hold of Smith as the round ended.

Round two started with both men retaking the center of the octagon. Mullarkey landed a nasty heavy kick which seemed to hurt Smith. Mullarkey went back to the kick but only partially landed. Two minutes into the second round and Mullarkey was walking Smith down, catching him with a punch where the knuckle appeared to graze the eye. Mullarkey clinched Smith and started dropping knees. Mullarkey dug into the body and landed a combo that hurt Smith while he was against the fence. From there he unloaded on him, which made the referee step in and wave off the fight.

What a comeback by @Jamie_Mullarkey 🇦🇺

[ #UFCVegas38 | Prelims LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/WOzMYDbvM6

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2021

Great comeback win for a clearly improved Mullarkey. That is two straight wins for the Australian, both by stoppage.

Official Result: Jamie Mullarkey defeated Devonte Smith via TKO (punches) Round 2, 2:51

The post UFC Vegas 38 Results: Jamie Mullarkey Stops Devonte Smith In Round Two appeared first on Cageside Press.

But what a lot of people don’t know about the Ohio-native, is that he started paving the way for his eventual UFC career on the mats.

“I wrestled from 9th all the way to 12th grade. I actually started wrestling to be in the UFC,” Smith shared. “My older brother wrestled for Euclid, [Ohio] and I wrestled for Bedford High. You know, it was martial arts for free. Your mom had to pay for shoes and stuff, but it was free martial arts. It was basically fighting after school without getting into trouble.”

For Smith and his bother, who didn’t have much money, that was everything, because from a young age he knew he wanted to fight. In his early teens, he and his brother had seen an iconic highlight and was instantly sure that it was something he was going to do with his life.

“[At] 14, me and my older brother used to watch Pride a lot, and I saw, I don’t know if it was the fight or the highlight, Rampage. He was in a triangle choke and he picked the dude up, slammed him, knocked him out and just started hitting him,” he remembered. “For whatever reason, I was like ‘I can do that.”

From there, it was all that Smith could think about. It was all he could talk about. Sometimes, he joked, even to his own detriment.

“I would always talk about it… I didn’t even know how to hold conversations if it had nothing to do with wrestling and lifting weights and stuff,” he said with his trademark laugh. “So you can take a wild guess how that went with girls.”

While he wasn’t making any waves with the ladies, he immediately started working hard on the mats to begin his career in the best (and cheapest) way that he knew how. Not only was wrestling for his local high school, but he and his brother started to work on even more – knowing one day he’d be where he is today.

“Also, me and my brother we used to be in the basement sparring all the time – trying out jiu jitsu moves, wrestling moves,” he said. “At 14 that’s when I was like, ‘this is what I’m going to do.”

He’ll continue to fulfill that prophecy this weekend when he faces Jamie Mullarkey. That fight takes place on the prelims of UFC Vegas 38 on ESPN+.

You can hear this entire interview below at 1:56.

The post UFC Vegas 38’s Devonte Smith Came to MMA Thanks to Rampage appeared first on Cageside Press.

Also worthy of note, six fighters faced no medical suspension, which is a much higher number than typical. Unsurprising, both winners from the main and co-main event were among them. Alexander Volkov took little damage in his bout with Alistair Overeem, and Frankie Edgar hardly had a chance to land a strike on Cory Sandhagen. Others facing no suspension were Lara Procopio, Molly McCann, Martin Day, and Ode Osbourne.

Full list of medical suspensions:

Alistair Overeem – 180 days or until cleared for nasal bone fracture
Frankie Edgar – 60 days
Clay Guida – 30 days or until cleared for forehead laceration
Michael Johnson – 21 days
Alexandre Pantoja – 180 days or until cleared by x-rays of both hands
Manel Kape – 180 days or until clear by examination of right thumb
Beneil Dariush – 60 days
Carlos Diego Ferreira – 60 days
Mike Rodriguez – 180 days or until cleared by MRI of left shoulder
Devonte Smith – 180 days or until cleared by x-ray of right hand and wrist
Justin Jaynes – 60 days
Karol Rosa – 180 days or until cleared by x-ray of left hand
Joselyne Edwards – 180 days or until cleared from left shoulder sprain
Seung Woo Choi – 21 days
Timur Valiev – 21 days
Jerome Rivera – 45 days

Full list of suspensions originally reported by Kirik Jenness.

The post UFC Vegas 18 Medical Suspensions: Seven Face Six Months Off appeared first on Cageside Press.

After going 1-2 to start his UFC career in 2020, “Guitar Hero” Justin Jaynes was looking to stave off the dreaded 0-3 slump on Saturday at UFC Vegas 18. In a 160lb catchweight affair, Jaynes was paired up with Contender Series veteran and heavy hitter Devonte Smith. Smith had yet to go the distance in a fight, with all of his contests, win or lose, ending via finish.

The forecast called for fireworks, in other words.

Smith started the fight by immediately backing Jaynes up to the fence. Jaynes was working in some low kicks and found a home for the straight left hand, but Smith was soon working his jab from the outside. Smith then began landing some kicks to the body, inside low kicks, and Jaynes began to have a tough time landing anything simply because he couldn’t get inside. However, Jaynes did land a shot with about 90 seconds left in the round, a huge right hand that briefly stunned Smith. Smith recovered and began stalking Jaynes along the cage wall once again, landing heavy jabs. Jaynes caught a kick near the end of the round, and Smith just unloaded on him to end the round.

Smith began the second round with a big takedown and landed in side control alongside the cage. Smith quickly moved to mount and then back mount, where he rained down blows and then moved to get the rear-naked-choke. Smith looked to have it in deep, but Jaynes was able to reverse position and get back to his feet. The referee then called time for the doctor to take a look at the eye of Jaynes, which was showing signs of swelling. A few moments later, and Devonte Smith was back in the win column.

😳😳😳

Our featured prelim is called after swelling on Justin Jaynes's eye. #UFCVegas18 pic.twitter.com/8HrtyXZmSI

— UFC (@ufc) February 7, 2021

Official Result: Devonte Smith def. Justin Jaynes by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 2, 3:38

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For UFC Vegas 18 we will take a look at some fighters with only a few (5 or less) fights in the UFC, rather than those fighters that are long-time UFC veterans with a bunch of finishes with the promotion.

Manel “Starboy” Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC)

Total Number of Pro MMA Finishes: 14

Via KO/TKO:  9

Via Submission: 5

Total Number of UFC Finishes: 0

Via KO/TKO: 0

Via Submission: 0

Manel Kape is a veteran of the RIZIN organization based out of Japan. Kape has faced some very high level competition in his MMA career thus far. Kape holds stoppage wins over UFC veterans Ian McCall and Takeya Mizugaki.

Kape is extremely fast and aggressive, with his hands and hand speed being one of his greatest attributes. Manel cuts some good angles, by utilizing his quick footwork, in order to set up good combinations on his opponents. Manel also knows how to pick his shots, and often goes to the body with punches before looking to land on the head.

Manel’s last fight was at the tail end of 2019, when he finished Kai Asakura (the man who KO’d Kyoji Horiguchi), in the second round via punches to earn the TKO. With the stoppage, Kape captured the RIZIN bantamweight title. Kape is going to be an interesting addition to the UFC, and opponents cannot only be on the lookout for his striking but his submission grappling as well.

Manel Kape promised a KO, and that's exactly what he did as he takes out the veteran Takeya Mizugaki with one punch in round two. #RIZIN18 pic.twitter.com/jKamYA4uKI

— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) August 18, 2019

The post Finishing the Fight: UFC Vegas 18 — Striker’s Delight appeared first on Cageside Press.

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