Belal Muhammad

(#11) Gabriel Bonfim looked like he was in the matrix on Saturday as he cruised to 50-45 unanimous decision victory over (#5) Belal Muhmamad in the main event. Belal is now riding a three-fight losing streak originating from his unsuccessful title defense against Jack Della Maddalena in May of 2025. The other name in that skid was Ian Machado Gary, who Belal lost to via unanimous decision in November of 2025.

Given the circumstances and the performance from Belal on Saturday, he deserves respect but given he’s turning 38 years old in just a month, will he ever make it back to title contention? That’s for Belal to answer.  But a fight that makes a lot of sense right now is letting him take on a name like Shavkat Rakhmonov.

The pair were originally supposed to fight in late 2024 but Belal broke his foot. Instead, Shavkat took on and defeated Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision. Due to injury Shavkat has been on ice since that appearance. He’s completely slid out of the rankings due to inactivity. Shavkat still has that notoriety at 7-0 in the UFC but needs a way to insert himself back into the division. What better way than matching these guys up to see where both stand? Fight Night main/co-main event where the winner gets a relevant ranking and an eventual path towards the title.

Muhammad’s next fight: Shavkat Rakhmonov

Edmen Shahbazyan

(#4) Brendan Allen logged an entertaining victory against Edmen Shahbazyan in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 118 to position himself closer to a title shot. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Shahbazyan that saw him defeating Dylan Budka, Andre Petroski, and Andre Muniz. The 2018 Contender Series alum is now 9-6 with the UFC. Shahbazyan was scheduled for a fight against Jun Yong Park in April, but the bout was cancelled after Park was injured.

That Park fight could be a good backup, but with that performance, Edmen should draw the loser of (#15) Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferriera. That fight goes down on June 27 so the timing would work. Ikram has won two in a row since getting smoked by Robert Whittaker in 2024. He’s 4-1 in the UFC. And his most recent fight was a victory against Jun Yong Park in October of last year. Ferreira is 6-3 with the UFC and coming off a devastating first round KO at the hands of Gregory Rodrigues. Shahbazyan drawing the loser of this huge fight is an excellent, but dangerous, matchup. Could be on the main card of a Fight Night or the undercard of a PPV. Winner fights a ranked name.

Oh, and deviating from a previous loser’s article pick of Israel Adesanya here. It’s not something completely outside of the realm of possibility, but at the movement, just feels like a little too harsh of matchmaking for Izzy, all things considered. Just doesn’t work as well right now.

Shahbazyan’s next fight: (#15) Ikram Aliskerov vs Brunno Ferriera loser or Jun Yong Park

Fares Ziam

Tom Nolan completed the mild upset of Saturday with his unanimous decision victory of (#14) Fares Ziam. The loss snapped a 6-fight win streak for Ziam who now falls to 8-3 with the UFC. Absolutely devastating outcome for Ziam who had finally climbed into the shark infested rankings of the lightweight division.

Ziam’s next scrap should be against a fighter like MarQuel Mederos. The 2023 Contender Series alum is 3-0-1 within the UFC. MarQuel has defeated Landon Quinones, Austin Hubbard, and Mark Choinski before he fought Chris Padilla to a majority draw in his most recent outing. MarQuel is on the climb and giving him a recently ranked fighter in a guy like Fares Ziam makes perfect sense. On the other side of the coin, Ziam needs to reset, a solid win against a respected fighter, preferably a finish, that’ll draw him another shot at the rankings. Only thing off here is that MarQuel last fought on April 11, so maybe the timing doesn’t matchup the greatest. Backup here is Chris Padilla (MarQuel’s last opponent), who is 4-0-1 but missed weight in his last outing.

Ziam’s next fight: MarQuel Mederos or Chis Padilla

Santiago Luna

Bryce Mitchell submitted his short notice replacement, Santiago Luna, in the final 10 second of their bout on Saturday. Considering the circumstances, short notice, and his second fight with the UFC, against a high-profile opponent, Luna had a decent showing. It’s still a bitter pill to swallow for Luna, as that was the first defeat of his professional MMA career. Santiago is now 2-1 with the UFC since being signed in September of 2025.

Good next fight for Luna would be to match him up against John Yannis. John fought on the undercard on Saturday and also lost. Yannis was taking on a tall task in formerly ranked fighter, Marcus McGhee (who was coming off a main event loss to Petr Yan). So, the timing would match up well here. Yannis is 1-2 with the UFC but his losses are to McGhee and Austin Bashi. Very respectable defeats. Excellent fight to make here, offering both guys a litmus test that is more in line with their trajectories.

Luna’s next fight: John Yannis

Junior Tafa

Iwo Baraniewski stayed undefeated on Saturday with his first-round destruction of Junior Tafa to open the main card of UFC Vegas 118.

Iwo was originally scheduled to take on Billy Elekana who is 3-1 with the UFC. After Billy withdrew, Tafa answered the call. Junior is now 3-6 with the promotion and has lost three of his last four fights. Tafa is in a sticky situation as if he wasnt in such a shallow division, he likely would have already been cut.

Best fight to make here is to rebook one of Junior’s fights that have been cancelled. A scrap with Ibo Aslan seems like exactly what the doctor ordered in this situation. The pair were originally supposed to fight in September of 2025 before Tafa suffered an injury. Tafa is 1-2 since that fight fell through. Aslan is 0-1 since it was booked. But that loss was also to Iwo Baraniewski. And it was also a first round finish. So, this matchup works great- and considering Ibo is riding a 3-fight losing skid, the loser of this bout will likely be facing the axe.

Junior’s next fight: Ibo Aslan 

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Seven finishes and some exciting fights gave those who tuned in something to stick around for, with Ketlen Souza getting the ball rolling with a head kick finish in her rematch with Ariane Carnelossi.

Souza didn’t end up with a Performance of the Night bonus on Saturday, but main card opener Iwo Baraniewski did. His finish of Junior Tafa was set up with a nasty leg kick that spun Tafa right around; a deluge of punches to the downed Tafa followed.

Edgar Chairez picked up the other Performance bonus at UFC Vegas 118, for his submission of Bruno Silva. Set up with a knockdown, Chairez pounced, took the back and locked up a rear-naked choke for the win.

Fight of the Night honors at UFC Vegas 118 went to Brendan Allen and Edmen Shahbazyan, who made up the night’s co-main event. The spirited affair saw Allen come away with a unanimous decision win.

The remaining finishers on the card all pick up $25,000 extra. Those are Souza, Joanderson Brito, Chelsea Chandler, Alessandro Costa, and Bryce Mitchell. Brito called for a bonus after his win, a move that more often than not results in the UFC passing fighters over for a performance bonus.

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After fending off the dangerous striker in a back-and-forth middleweight battle, Allen used his post-fight interview to call for a showdown with middleweight champion Sean Strickland, setting the stage for a potential grudge match between two of the division’s most outspoken contenders.

Round 1 – Allen and Shahbazyan wasted no time planting themselves in the center of the Octagon and letting their hands go. Allen’s jab was snapping out like a piston, landing clean and often, while Shahbazyan answered with jabs of his own that simply didn’t carry the same sting.

Every time Shahbazyan threw a shot or two, Allen came right back with a combination. It became a game of “your go, I go,” except Allen’s defense was a step ahead, slipping and avoiding many of the attacks coming his way while still finding openings to fire back.

Allen shot in for a takedown midway through the round, but Shahbazyan stuffed it and briefly forced Allen against the fence. Shahbazyan quickly circled back to the center, where both men were clearly most comfortable exchanging.

As the round entered the final minute, Allen appeared to slow ever so slightly and Shahbazyan immediately took notice. The former title hopeful started opening up with heavier combinations and found more success as he pushed forward. Allen tried to change levels for another takedown, but once again Shahbazyan shut the door.

Sensing momentum swinging his way, Shahbazyan began unloading powerful combinations and forcing Allen to react. Allen mixed in leg kicks to slow him down, but Shahbazyan continued circling and looking for openings. In the final seconds, Allen launched forward with a flying knee attempt, only to get clipped by a sharp Shahbazyan combination before the horn sounded to end an entertaining opening round.

Round 2 – Round 2 opened with Allen immediately pushing the pace, landing a quick flurry while Shahbazyan stayed patient and looked for opportunities to counter. The slower tempo seemed to frustrate Allen, who wasn’t interested in giving Shahbazyan time to settle into a rhythm and repeatedly forced exchanges whenever the action stalled.

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It’s a fight that came together seemingly overnight, with Allen claiming that Dricus Du Plessis had declined to fight him. “I said yes immediately,” Shahbazyan (16-5) said of the UFC’s offering of Allen during this week’s UFC Vegas 118 media day. “The fight got done quick.”

Shahbazyan, as is well known, came into the UFC hot after appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. He was fighting out of Glendale Fighting Club, Ronda Rousey’s old home. Four straight wins, including one against veteran Brad Tavares, had him sailing.

Then came the downturn. Three losses, then a 2-2 stretch. It took a while, but Shahbazyan once again has three straight wins. He wouldn’t change a thing.

“I wouldn’t take back anything that happened in the past. I think, just God’s timing. And here we are. I’m a lot better fighter today. More mature, more established, and Saturday night’s going to be a good night, I promise.”

As to what will get him back in the right spot, not just winning but standing out, “always a good finish or a good win,” noted Shahbazyan. “That’s what’s going to get you there.”

The key to winning Saturday, Shahbazyan told Cageside Press this week, is establishing his kind of fight right from the opening bell. “For sure, yeah. I gotta establish myself from the beginning of fight and keep it that way all the way.”

And while his advantage might be on the feet, Edmen Shahbazyan feels he’s being overlooked, or at least underestimated, to some extent in other areas.

“A lot of people will say it’s on the feet, but I think people underestimate every other part of my game. Come Saturday night, if the fight goes anywhere else, they’ll see.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 118 media day appearance by Edmen Shahbazyan above.

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“To go from unranked to top five is a huge jump, and I’m sure he’s super motivated. It’s kind of like dangling right in front of his face, and my job is to go steal it back,” Allen told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“I asked for it. He was the next guy in line that didn’t have a fight. Everyone else had a fight or didn’t want to fight me I guess so he was just the next guy. On a win streak so give him the opportunity. Let’s see.”

Allen (26-7) accepted the matchup with Shahbazyan despite his opponent being unranked and Allen currently holding the #4 spot in the middleweight division. The booking has left many fans questioning why Allen would take such a significant risk against a dangerous opponent with little upside in the rankings.

“I like money. I don’t like sitting out. Sitting out doesn’t do me no good it’s only going to make me worse. I’m only getting older by the day. If I’m not really fighting I’m not training as much or as hard. I need to stay growing, I need to stay improving, stay relevant,” he said.

Allen said he was originally targeted to face former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC Vegas 118, but according to Allen, the matchup never materialized after du Plessis declined the fight. That offered some context as to why Allen ultimately accepted a bout against the unranked Shahbazyan despite the risk to his position in the division.

“I was supposed to have Dricus (du Plessis) for this one but he’s a b*tch. Didn’t want to fight,” he said.

When asked why he thinks du Plessis said no to a bout with him Allen cracked a smile.

“Because he’s a b*tch.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Brendan Allen above. He faces Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 118 on Saturday night.

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That’s in stark contrast to the rough patch Shahbazyan went through just a few years ago.

“I feel great. That’s three in a row this year. I’m happy, it was a first-round finish,” Shahbazyan (16-5) said while speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “Yeah, we’re going to keep moving forward.”

Shahbazyan doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to return to action, despite having three fights, with two finishes, in 2025.

“We’re going to take it one fight at a time. Keep getting better,” he stated. “I don’t want to get too ahead of myself right now, I just want to take it one fight at a time.”

That’s how the Xtreme Couture fighter is looking to handle his career moving forward, in fact. One fight at a time.

“I think it’s going to be the approach I’m going to take for the rest of my career. Because when I do it that way, I feel like I’m focused. I’m getting better and strategizing better for a single opponent, my next opponent. And I feel like it’s better for my mindset.”

Watch the full UFC 320 post-fight press conference with Edmen Shahbazyan above.

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Shahbazyan entered at 3-1 across his last four fights, his most recent win a decision over Andre Petroski. Muniz found himself on the opposite trajectory, 1-3 in his own last four.

It’s been an up-and-down journey in the UFC, to say the least, but the 27-year-old Shahbazyan, winner of his last two outings, was looking to finally get a run going. Meanwhile, the Brazilian Muniz was trying to gain back the momentum he once had from when he went 5-0 in his first five UFC bouts.

ROUND 1: Muniz got his kicking game going right away, using the open stance matchup to throw headkicks and lead leg kicks. Shahbazyan stuffed Muniz’s first takedown attempt and landed a left hook once they got back into open space. Muniz was clearly looking to clinch, but Shahbazyan was doing a good job of staying on his feet. A nice switch combination by Muniz landed and pushed Edmen back to the fence. A nice flurry up top from the Brazilian opened up Shahbazyan’s hips for a takedown. Shahbazyan used a switch to get back to his feet and immediately landed a left hook that stunned Muniz. Smelling blood, the 27-year-old pounced on a compromised Muniz and used elbows from top position to force Mark Smith to put a stop to the fight in the dying seconds of the round.

After going through a roller coaster during the last four years, juggling wins and losses, Edmen Shahbazyan is now on his first three-fight heater since winning his first four UFC fights more than half a decade ago. Is “The Golden Boy” finally putting is all together?

Official Result: Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Muniz by TKO, Round 1, 4:58 

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Kamaru Usman

“The Nigerian Nightmare” had to wait a long time, but he finally got his hand raised once again. After dropping three fights in a row and taking a 20-month layoff, Usman stopped the streaking Joaquin Buckley in his tracks. “New Mansa” was on a six-fight heater since dropping to welterweight, but he had no answer for Usman’s takedowns.

Though he called for a title shot next, I doubt the UFC is looking to invest that much into a 38-year-old Usman. This was a nice win, but in a title picture as crowded as the one at 170 currently is, we have to imagine he’s at least one more win away from a shot. I could see the promotion try again to use his name value against a young up-and-comer such as Ian Machado Garry, but I do think they’ll choose something else. There’s a bad blood matchup between Usman and Belal Muhammad that has been brewing for some time. Now that the two former champions aren’t holding the belt anymore, there’s a clear window to make this fight.

Usman’s next fight: Belal Muhammad

Rose Namajunas

With a unanimous decision victory over rising contender Miranda Maverick in the UFC Atlanta co-main event, Namajunas moved to 3-2 since making her move to flyweight. Her only losses came to Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield in hard-fought bouts. Rose’s popularity will always work in her favor, meaning she’s never that far away from a number one contender fight. Getting back on track with this win means she can fight upwards right away and get a chance to insert herself back into the division’s top5. I think a fight with fellow former champion and fellow former strawweight Alexa Grasso makes sense and would be interesting. Can Rose make the turnaround for the Noche card San Antonio?

Namajunas’ next fight: Alexa Grasso

Edmen Shahbazyan

Shahbazyan’s fights are predictable in that they often end one of two ways:

• Scenario #1: He either gets the 1^st-round KO
• Scenario #2: He gets finished later in the fight after failing to achieve scenario #1

This time, his UFC Atlanta fight with Andre Petroski went the distance marking his first time seeing the judges’ scorecards since his bout with Jack Hermansson in 2021. This also marked his first time winning consecutive fights since 2019.

Someone as exciting as Shahbazyan should be facing fighters who can match his style and deliver fireworks. The upcoming fight between Shara “Bullet” Magomedov and Marc-André Barriault is a great example of that. Shahbazyan can fight the winner later this year.

Shahbazyan’s next fight: Magomedov/Barriault winner

Raoni Barcelos

Barcelos was always looked at as one of the most underrated fighters of his division, but after going 1-4 between 2021 and 2023, which included a brutal KO loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, it looked like age was catching up to the Brazilian. Since then, he bounced back with a submission win over Cristian Quiñonez, a massive betting upset over Payton Talbott earlier this year, and now a unanimous decision win over a former champion in Cody Garbrandt.

Is this enough to get him the shot at the rankings he was never granted? I doubt so, but a fight against Ricky Simón, another highly respected fighter in this loaded division, should produce a win streak worthy of a ranking.

Barcelos’ next fight: Ricky Simón

Mansur Abdul-Malik

The highly touted Abdul-Malik may have seen the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his professional career at UFC Atlanta, but somehow, he still didn’t go the distance. A rare technical decision due to a clash of heads saw a decision being read while still having completed the full 15 minutes of scheduled cage time.

At 27 years of age and just 9 professional bouts, Abdul-Malik is still so young for a UFC middleweight. The physical attributes would make any coach salivate, but he’s still obviously so green that his level of competition shouldn’t be raised for the foreseeable future. An opponent like Ozzy Diaz is what the promotion should be looking at.

Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Ozzy Diaz

Alonzo Menifield

They weren’t exactly exceptional performances, but that is now twice in a row that the veteran Menifield has given the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag to an undefeated fighter. After defeating Julius Walker in February, “Atomic” now snatched the Frenchman Oumar Sy’s 0 as well. Like I said, these weren’t contests that will go in the pantheon of exciting fights, but a win is a win. Now officially back on a win streak and having defended his ranking twice, the 37-year-old has earned another shot at someone ranked above him. Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang are fine options, but I prefer the idea of those two facing each other. So I went with the loser of the upcoming Nikita Krylov vs Bogdan Guskov fight instead.

Menifield’s next fight: Krylov/Guskov loser

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Edman was coming off a knockout win over Dylan Budka while Petroski was riding a three fight win streak of his own into this contest.

The first round started with each fighter gauging distance and taking a cautious approach. Shahbazyan controlled the center of the cage threatening with body kicks and quick jab early. Shahbazyan was able to put more volume on Petroski in the opening five minutes, jumping out to an early lead.

Round two started with Petroski showing an increase sense of urgency. Petroski landed a good right hook upstairs. Edman continued to march forward landing a combination to the head and body. After the second round the Atlanta crowd started to rain down boo’s due to lack of activity in the fight. While not the most entertaining matchup, Shahbazyan was more than likely up two rounds.

A clash of heads started of the third round as referee Kevin Macdonald momentarily stopped the fight. When action resumed Petroski attempted a takedown but was unsuccessful. A massive kick to the body from Shahbazyan dropped Petroski in the middle of the third. Petroski was able to recover as Edman elected to have his opponent stand again. Petoski shot in for another desperation takedown but Shahbazyan successfully defended. Edman landed a nice low leg kick with 40 seconds left in the fight cruising to a unanimous decision victory.

Shahbazyan improved his record to 8-5 in the UFC and looks to be in top form.

Official Result: Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Petroski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Jared Cannonier

It wasn’t without adversity, but the ‘Killa Gorilla’ showed he still has enough left in the tank to fend off fighters of Gregory Rodrigues’ calibre. Cannonier was staring down the barrel of three-fight skid and with him turning 41 next month, this was a must-win if he wanted to keep getting relevant matchups.

Despite the nice rebound victory, I highly doubt the UFC will be looking to throw him back into the title picture so quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if his next booking is in the same vein as this one (i.e., another younger, unranked contender). However, I’m hoping the promotion tries to squeeze every drop of action Cannonier still has in him. And is there a more fun, explosive matchup for him than Paulo Costa?

Cannonier’s next fight: Paulo Costa

Youssef Zalal

‘The Moroccan Devil’ did what ‘Robocop’ couldn’t as he defeated the top10 ranked veteran on a losing streak to enter the rankings. Zalal comfortably won the first two rounds and got on his bike for the entre third round, knowing Kattar needed a finish. Though he got the win, and that is the most important thing for him, the third round left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. For that reason, I doubt he gets rewarded with a matchup that will help keep climbing the featherweight ladder. While anticipating writing this article, I expected to match Zalal up with Aljamain Sterling next, but after this performance, I think he will get tasked with defending his ranking against an unranked opponent, just like Kattar just had to do.

Steve Garcia’s fight with Edson Barboza next week in Seattle just fell through after the Brazilian pulled out. Why don’t just switch those fights up? The two veterans Kattar and Barboza can fight each other, while Garcia gets to fight a ranked opponent after all in Zalal.

Zalal’s next fight: Steve Garcia

Edmen Shahbazyan

The still surprisingly young Shahbazyan got a 95-second knockout at UFC Vegas 102 over the type of opposition he’s expected to beat. It was a sweet highlight to get him back in the win column. He has faced a lot of growing pains throughout the years, but at still only 27 years of age, I believe the correct route for the UFC is to keep booking him in fights where he can rack up more than one or two of these KOs in a row.

Despite having lost four straights, Warlley Alves is a fighter who is always game and brings his ‘kill-or-be-killed’ fighting style in every bout he’s in. Exactly the type of opponent ‘The Golden Boy’  should be getting right now.

Shahbazyan’s next fight: Warlley Alves

Nazim Sadykhov

Sadykhov was coming off a 15-month layoff after his draw with Viacheslav Borshchev back at UFC 295. He didn’t get the friendliest of matchups in his comeback as fans know how skilled the Bonfim brothers are. It took him some time to find the right shot, but ‘Black Wolf’ landed a nice question mark kick that damaged Bonfim’s eye and forced a doctor’s stoppage in between rounds.

This is Sadykhov’s second UFC win via doctor’s stoppage and after just a 5-minute fight and a long layoff, he should be looking to get back in the octagon in the coming months. There have been talks of a fight night card in Perth around June or July. It’s a perfect opportunity to have him fight another lightweight prospect in Tom Nolan

Sadykhov’s next fight: Tom Nolan

Andre Petroski

Petroski was an over two-to-one betting underdog in this UFC Vegas 102 fight, but his stellar takedown defence and superior power helped him squeak out a victory over the decorated grappler Rodolfo Vieira. This is Petroski’s third consecutive win, but he hasn’t scored a finish since May of 2022. That is why despite the win streak, I don’t expect Petroski to get rewarded with a matchup with the likes of Bo Nickal, who he called out in his post-fight interview. Instead, I believe he will be tasked with another tough matchup until he can muster up a win streak that makes him an undeniable candidate for a ranking. Marco Tulio, who has knocked out his last three opponents and hasn’t lost since 2018 fits that bill to a tee.

Petroski’s next fight: Marco Tulio

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