“I think the fight pretty much went according to plan. The only reason it did not finish is because I did not work hard enough,” Nurgozhay (11-2) said following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “There were moments here I could finish him.”

Nurgozhay took full responsibility on Saturday for not being able to finish his opponent, adding that it wasn’t a mental block.

“From what I understand, his nose is broken, something else he broke. I think that we put as much damage as we could on him. Yeah, it did look kind and back-and-forth a little bit, I got a little tired, but I think the only reason it wasn’t finished is because of me, I should have pressed a little harder. But other than that, I think we excecated what we were supposed to do, and I feel great about the win.”

“Not because of mental at all. It’s more like I wasn’t able to hit the right shot, wasn’t able to get him the right way. Maybe he moved away, or maybe I didn’t land it clean,” he suggested.

Diyar Nurgozhay also addressed a low blow that the Kazakh said never actually happened. At least, he wasn’t the one landing low, he explained.

“If you keep looking at it, that shot wasn’t there, that’s why the ref didn’t notice it. Because where I aimed and where I hit him was somewhere around the bellybutton area. So if you look at the stoppage, if you look at the replay, they’re saying ‘oh he fouled him,’ and then they showed me being kneed in the groin area. They didn’t show a shot that I did.”

“If I did hit him illegally in the groin, I would not try to keep on going and keep on punching him. That’s not sportsmanlike,” Nurgozhay finished.

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Diyar Nurgozhay above.

The post Diyar Nurgozhay Addresses UFC 326 Low Blow appeared first on Cageside Press.

At 0-2 under the UFC banner, Nurkozhay was looking for his first win in the company, and had not fought since 2023.

The fight opened with Tobias struggling to find his range. Diyar Nurgozhay had early success with his kicking game, landing teeps and chopping leg kicks while Tobias loaded up on nearly every strike he threw. Nurgozhay’s timing was sharp, consistently catching Tobias as he tried to close distance.

In a surprising moment, Nurgozhay briefly went for a takedown of his own. Soon after, he landed a low uppercut followed by a flurry of punches, but the referee halted the action awkwardly after ruling the initial shot a low blow. Once the fight resumed, Nurgozhay quickly reasserted control, cracking Tobias with a big left hand and landing another shortly afterward that left Tobias looking disoriented. In the final minute of the round, Nurgozhay added a short counter right as Tobias pressed forward desperately, clearly a step behind throughout the exchanges.

Tobias badly needed a turnaround in round two, but Nurgozhay continued to dictate the rhythm. Another heavy left hand landed, and he successfully defended a deep single-leg attempt. Recognizing he needed to bring the fight to the mat, Tobias forced the action against the cage. Nurgozhay briefly grabbed the fence without receiving a warning, but Tobias stayed persistent and eventually broke through, landing two hard hooks before securing a takedown.

With Nurgozhay visibly tiring, Tobias advanced quickly to mount. However, the Brazilian grew a bit complacent, allowing Nurgozhay to reverse the position. When Tobias tried to elevate him again, Nurgozhay answered with heavy ground-and-pound as the round closed, both fighters clearly fatigued heading into a compelling final frame.

For Tobias to have any chance, he needed to turn the fight into chaos. Nurgozhay continued to find success with the teep early in the third, much like in the opening round. Tobias’ aggression, however, began to fade, and his output lacked urgency. Nurgozhay continued to land the left hand and teep almost at will while Tobias marched forward without a clear plan for finding his openings.

With a minute remaining, Tobias finally shot for a takedown and managed to secure it, taking the back in the process. Nurgozhay was suddenly in serious danger as Tobias locked in a suloev stretch, but the horn sounded before he could force the finish.

Official Results: Diyar Nurgozhay def. Rafael Tobias by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 326: Diyar Nurgozhay Finally Picks Up First UFC Win, Over Rafael Tobias appeared first on Cageside Press.

As it happened, the Shanghai show would be opened and closed by the 205lb division, with Johnny Walker and China’s own Zhang Mingyang headlining.

Saturday’s prelim opener, however, found both Kyrgyzstan’s Satybaldiev and Kazakhstan’s Nurgozhay looking to pick up their first UFC win. Satybaldiev had debuted up a weight class in a heavyweight scrap with Martin Buday, while Nurgozhay had been submitted by Brazilian Brendson Ribeiro in a fight that had seen the Kazakh miss weight.

Nurgozhay and Satybaldiev circled early as the action got underway, trading the occasional low kick and single strikes. Satybaldiev held center, and about 90 seconds in, dropped Nurgozhay! From there, Satybaldiev got on top, and chased a kimura, which Nurgozhay escaped. From there, showing shades of Aleksei Oleinik, he slowed wrapped up an Ezekiel choke from the top! Nurgozhay tapped, and that was the fight, a rarely seen Ezekiel choke finish to kick off UFC Shanghai and give Uran Satybaldiev his first win inside the UFC octagon.

Official Result: Uran Satybaldiev def. Diyar Nurgozhay by submission (Ezekiel choke), Round 1, 2:45

The post UFC Shanghai: Uran Satybaldiev Hits Rarely Seen Ezekiel Choke on Diyar Nurgozhay 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

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 104 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

The light heavyweight missed the mark by a full 4.5 pounds, resulting in a 210.5lb catchweight, and was probably thanking his lucky stars that the bout moved forward at all. Or maybe not, as the undefeated prospect did not have the debut he was hoping for.

The post UFC Vegas 104: Brendson Ribeiro Submits Overweight Diyar Nurgozhay, Takes 0 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Last year, Finney, an undefeated fighter out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, appeared on the show for the first time, submitting Yuri Panferov via rear-naked choke. It wasn’t enough to earn a UFC contract, however, despite every other winning fighter on his episode being awarded a deal, even those who went the distance.

Flash forward a year, and Finney returned, this time picking up a decision win over Cam Rowston. UFC President and CEO Dana White, however, was less than impressed, lamenting Finney’s lack of activity between seasons – during which time he had fought once. He suggested that Finney would be “decimated” in the UFC’s middleweight division, but invited him back for a third (and likely final) look on DWCS 2024 Week 8.

That fight arrives tonight, with Finney set to take on Spain’s Abdellah Er-Ramy, most recently seen fighting under the PFL Europe banner.

Where to Watch DWCS Season 8, Week 8

As always, this week’s Contender Series installment takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV and streams on ESPN+ in the U.S., and SportsNet/UFC Fight Pass in Canada. The action gets underway at 8PM ET, 5PM PT. Full results can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 8 Results

Light Heavyweight: Diyar Nurgozhay def. Bartosz Szewczyk by KO (head kick), Round 2, 3:32
Featherweight: Alberto Montes def. Carlos Calderon by submission (anaconda choke), Round 2, 2:38
Bantamweight: David Martinez def. Xavier Franklin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight: Torrez Finney def. Abdellah Er-Ramy by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:10
Welterweight: Jacobe Smith def. Christien Savoie by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 2, 2:55

Contract Winners: Smith, Finney, Martinez, Montes, Nurgozhay

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 8 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Week Eight rolls around on Tuesday, with Torrez Finney arguably the star of the show. This will be Finney’s third appearance on the Contender Series and he has never lost. Not on the show, not in his professional career. The problem is, he hasn’t done enough to impress Dana White and the matchmakers just yet. In particular, White was critical of Finney’s strength of schedule between his 2023 DWCS appearance and one earlier this season, where he fought just once.

Still, it was enough for Finney to be brought back a second time in 2024, for what may very well be his final shot at the UFC. That and other fights are looming so let’s break them down!

Light heavyweight, Diyar Nurgozhay (9-0) vs Bartosz Szewczyk (8-2-1)

Notable notes

• Nurgozhay is the first fighter from Kazakhstan to fight on the Contender Series.
• This will be the US debut for both guys.
• Szewczyk is the current FEN light heavyweight champion.
• Nurgozhay has seven first-round finishes.
• Nurgozhay has a win over PFL 2019 205-pound champion Emiliano Sordi.
• Szewczyk recently avenged the last loss on his record.
• Nurgozhay is the former Eagle FC light heavyweight champion.

Boxing: Szewczyk
Kickboxing: Szewczyk
Speed: Szewczyk
Output/Volume: Nurgozhay
Footwork/Movement: Szewczyk
Striking defense: Nurgozhay
Wrestling: Nurgozhay
Grappling: Nurgozhay
Gas tank: Szewczyk

Prediction: When it comes to Nurgozhay, he’s pretty limited with just about nothing to offer on the feet. His wrestling isn’t that good either, but he is a threat if he gets the takedown.

Nurgozhay is a bit of a submission threat but I wouldn’t bet he could hold a dominant position. He does throw some mauling ground and pound, that being his best weapon.

Szewczyk is someone I didn’t like at all when I first scouted him, but he’s improved a lot. His cardio and technique have improved a lot in particular. Not saying he’s great but he’s noticeably improved. Nothing sticks out technically but he hits hard and can come at opponents from anywhere. I really like the way he’ll attack and end a flurry with a head kick.

This a tough fight to call on DWCS this week and I can see it going a few ways. I can see Szewczyk just keeping Nurgozhay at bay and finding an eventual finish. I can see Nurgozhay just rushing in and catching Szewczyk. I can see Nurgozhay being able to get the takedown and smash the Polish fighter. To even my surprise I’m leaning towards Szewczyk. I’m just so not a fan of the stand-up, cardio, movement, and wrestling of Nurgozhay. I’ve seen Szewczyk stuff better takedown attempts and in a striking fight, I strongly favor the bigger, faster, and more athletic Szewczyk. I’ve got Szewczyk by third-round TKO and I’m 30% confident.

The post DWCS 2024: Episode 8 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.