Brandon Moreno

Brandon Moreno was out-struck and looked a step behind at times in his unanimous decision loss to Lone’er Kavanagh in the main event of UFC Mexico City on Saturday. Massive upset here, as #6 ranked Moreno fell to Kavanagh who is unranked and has only been with the promotion for less than two years. Moreno is now on a two-fight losing streak and is 2-3 since losing his belt to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023.

No need to reinvent the wheel here for the 32-year-old Mexican born fighter, either rebook the Almabayev fight or give him the winner of (#13) Charles Johnson vs (#14) Bruno Silva. With the latter making more sense. Bruno was originally going to take on Kavanagh on March 14 before Almabayev was injured and withdrew from his main event with Brandon, resulting in the matchup fans watched Saturday.

If (#8) Asu Almabayev is all healed up and timing makes sense, that’d be a good second option. But giving Moreno either the fighter that handed Kavanagh his first and only loss (via finish as well) in Johnson, or a fighter Kavanagh was matched against, in Silva, is more appealing. Both men are ranked and it’d still be a solid co-main or main event on a Fight Night card.

Moreno’s next fight: Charles Johnson vs Bruno Silva Winner or Asu Almabayev

Marlon Vera

David Martinez held off Marlon Vera to win a unanimous decision on Saturday, utilizing his quick movement to ensure the largest victory of his career to date. Martinez entered the fight ranked at #10 while Chito was at #9. Marlon is now on a four-fight losing streak stemming from his March of 2024, unsuccessful title attempt opposite Sean O’Malley. Marlon’s last win came in August of 2023 against Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision.

The perfect next fight for Vera here would be against (#12) Kyler Phillips. Kyler is on a two-fight skid after losing a pair of unanimous decisions to Rob Font and Vinicius Oliveira. His last victory came in March of 2024 against one Pedro Munhoz by way of unanimous decision. Great fight to make here, two strikers that have been in nothing but back and forth decisions recently. Both guys need a win, obviously Chito a bit more, but this would be an excellent main card fight, nonetheless. Winner hangs on to a ranking.

Vera’s next fight: Kyler Phillips

Daniel Zellhuber

King Green proved once again that he’s still here to compete as the 39-year veteran wobbled and stopped 26-year-old Daniel Zellhuber to secure the second round TKO victory on Saturday. Zellhuber now falls to 3-4 with the UFC and has dropped his last three fights. All is not lost for the 2021 Contender Series fighter, who had an amazing 2024 calendar year (including a Fight of the Year candidate against Esteban Ribovics). Daniel needs a reset type of fight but winnable and with a solid striking skilled name.

Excellent fighter would be a guy like Edson Barboza. Edson is a respected veteran with 32 fights with the promotion. Barboza is winless since 2023 and has lost his last three including his lightweight debut in his last fight to a returning (from mini-retirement) Jalin Turner. Barboza was finished midway through the first round with punches. Daniel would be a great next opponent.

Hate to make it seem like Zelhuber is beating on the older dogs of the division, but this is too sweet of a matchup to pass up. Barboza poses a lot different of a challenge than Green on the feet, and it’d keep Zellhuber in a standup firefight for fans. Good Fight Night main card or feature prelim bout with the winner getting back on the right track as this fight would do some heavy lifting for Barboza too.

Zellhuber’s next fight: Edson Barboza

Felipe Bunes

Edgar Chairez and Felipe Bunes engaged in a spirited back and forth scrap that eventually saw Mexican born Chairez edge out his opponent at UFC Mexico City. 36-year-old Bunes now falls to 1-3 under the promotional banner and is on a two-fight losing skid. Granted, Felipe’s debut was against now flyweight champion Joshua Van, back in early 2024. But Felipe’s only win in the UFC came against Jose Johnson via first round armbar.

Easy booking here as Bunes might get into some trouble here hanging onto his spot with the promotion. Let Felipe fight Kevin Borjas who fought and lost just before him on the main card of UFC Mexico City. Borjas is in a similar position to Felipe with the promotion and had the same UFC debut opponent. They are also now 1-2 in their last three and the timing would match up. With loser likely facing the axe from the promotion.

Bunes’s next fight: Kevin Borjas

Kevin Borjas

Imanol Rodriguez stayed undefeated as he dropped and finished Kevin Borjas on the main card of UFC Mexico City on Saturday. Despite a valiant early effort, Borjas now has the misfortune of owning the abysmal promotional record of 1-4. Kevin Borjas should take on Felipe Bunes, it could land anywhere on a card. Both men come to fight regardless of their win/loss rate with the UFC. Borjas, like Felipe, also had his UFC debut against the now flyweight champion Joshua Van (though it was in late 2023).

Borjas’s next fight: Felipe Bunes

Angel Pacheco

Kicking off the main card on Saturday, Santiago Luna stayed perfect as he turned in a stellar 15 minutes of work, defeating Angel Pacheco in draining unanimous decision affair. 34-year-old Pacheco is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed following his 2023 Contender Series loss to Danny Silva. This was also his first fight since March of 2024.

Unfortunately for Pacheco, it’d be extremely surprising if he wasn’t released here. Luna is now 2-0 with the UFC. His first opponent, Quang Le, has since been released. Even Coalan Loughran, who beat Pacheco, is no longer with the organization.

Angel should have to look no further than the undercard of UFC Mexico City for his next opponent (That is, as long as both of these aren’t cut anyways). Pacheco should move back up to 145lbs (as he did for his Contender Series fight) and take on Erik Silva. Erik was choked out by Francis Marshall in the first round of their bout. The 2022 Contender Series veteran is 0-3 with the UFC, though he did win his DWCS fight (sorry Angel). Also worth noting, Silva has yet to make it to the final bell in a UFC fight.

Pacheco’s next fight: Erik Silva

The post What’s Next: UFC Mexico City Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chairez, 2-2 in the UFC to date, was entering off a victory over CJ Vergara roughly 11 months ago; Bunes was hoping to shake off a loss against Rafael Estevam back in August.

Going into the beginning of the first round, both gentleman were feeling each other out trying to find their rhythm and range. Chairez was able to establish the jab early on and really played the counter game, having an answer for everything Bunes was throwing out— until Bunes was able to jump the back of Chairez, finding the body triangle while Chairez was still on his feet. Bunes was able to keep this position for most of the round, landing strikes and raining down elbows to the shoulders and arms of Chairez. Bunes ended round one with the score cards on his side.

Chairez opened the second round pressing the action, really mixing it up with his strikes going upstairs and downstairs with his boxing. Showing beautiful head movement and finding a lot of success on his feet. In the last 30 seconds of the second round Bunes began to bait Chairez in almost a “Bring It On” manner, where he shortly after landed an accidental kick to the groin of Chairez. That required him to take the time out, of which he only took less than a minute to recover. As they got back to work, Chairez ended the round in a good way, landing a spinning back fist followed by a flurry of shots to the bell.

Bunes entered the third and final round with much more urgency, still signaling to Chairez to bring on the fight. His gestures were similar to the Holloway point down, just not quite to that extent. Bunes was able to hit the snatch single in the first minute of the third round, although he was unable to keep Chairez down long. Chairez kicked Bunes away and found his way back to his feet landing a nice, crisp spinning elbow. Although Chairez was one step ahead in the striking department, he was also the one wearing more of the damage.

That being said, Chairez really could not miss his jab tonight! He was having much success landing that to the body and head. Bunes was nowhere near backing down from the fight; nearing the end of the third he was still signaling to Chairez to bring the fight. And getting just that— Chairez closed the fight landing a spinning back kick followed by a flying knee in the final seconds of the third round.

A back and fourth fight, very well matched with Edgar Chairez being just one step ahead in this chess match of the two flyweights.

Official Result: Edgar Chairez def. Felipe Bunes by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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Bunes (14-7) comes into UFC Vegas 108 with the full support of the Pitbull Brothers Fight Team. After dropping his UFC debut against Joshua Van last January he bounced back with an armbar finish over Jose Johnson in January. The 35-year-old has no time to waste recently telling Cageside Press’ Eddie Law that he planned to call out former champ Brandon Moreno following UFC Vegas 108.

Estevam (13-0) won’t make that callout easy. Since entering the UFC from the Contender Series he’s put together a two-fight win streak. Victories over Charles Johnson and Jesus Aguilar may have him on the verge of a ranking in a competitive 125-pound division.

Round 1

Estevam had to deal with the height and length advantage of Bunes who worked teep kicks, leg kicks and push kicks early on. Estevam flew in on a takedown attempt that Bunes was able to reverse it and end up on top.

Estevam popped back up, threw some strikes, then got taken down. Again back to the feet and Estevam got the takedown he wanted shortly after. Bunes tried some submissions, including a triangle attempt, but Estevam stuffed that easily and passed to side control.

Bunes threw up a buggy choke, but Estevam stayed very calm refusing to react to the attempt. Estevam was able to survive and make it to the next round.

Round 2

Estevam came after Bunes throwing strikes and forcing Bunes to the fence. He got Bunes on the fence, clinched for a bit, and then started throwing big shots. Bunes retaliated with massive shots landing on his opponent including a knee that Estevam ate while getting a takedown.

Estevam working ground and pound very carefully moving Bunes’ arms out of the way to land clean shots. Bunes continued to look for submissions off his back, but he was eating way too many shots in this position.

Bunes was able to get back to his feet, but Estevam gave him maybe 2 seconds before taking him right back down. Bunes went to his hands and knees, Estevam tried taking the back, but wasn’t able to get his hooks. Instead he landed shots up top until Bunes was able to get to his feet.

The round ended with Estevam going for another takedown.

Round 3

Bunes came out looking to land, but was clearly fading. Estevam took advantage getting him back to the ground. Bunes used what he could to get back to his feet. Heavy exchanges followed before Estevam decided he had enough and took Bunes right back down.

Estevam got to the back, a bit too high, but Bunes was unable to shake him off. Estevam began to try and wrap his opponent up like an anaconda. Now fully on the back with a body triangle in place he began to punish Bunes to the head.

The rest of the round was all Estevam landing on Bunes and Bunes not being able to find a way back to his feet.

Solid victory for Rafael Estevam.

Official Result: Rafael Estevam def. Felipe Bunes via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post Rafael Estevam Uses Wrestling To Control Bunes To Decision Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

The victory was Bunes’ first in the promotion; he’s now 1-1, and explained afterwards that despite the chaotic scene in the cage, he’s really a very patient fighter.

“I’ve been at this for quite some time, 22 years in jiu-jitsu, and I’m a very patient fighter. I just try to be very calm, patient, taking my time. I’ve tried to be aggressive before, but it’s not in me. It’s not in my nature,” stated Bunes, who seemed to use Johnson’s own momentum against him as long as the fight lasted. “My nature is just to wait on, and to figure out the opponent. If the opponent does not give me the opportunity, I’ll create the opportunity.”

“So you’re always looking for something out there, and at that point he gave me the arm and I was able to take advantage of it.”

Bunes also explained, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press, that he used a little bit of Royce Gracie’s technique in setting up the finish.

“I like to feel positions when I’m down there. Obviously he got out of the first one [arm-bar], so I’m looking at him. And I always try to feel where somebody’s going. I’m a fan of Royce Gracie, so I just always try to touch my heel to his lower back, just so I see ‘is there a movement here?’ trying to feel.”

“Then, he moved a little bit in position, he postured up a little bit, there was the triangle attempt, right? And when you get the triangle, that’s one other thing. I have never encountered somebody that escapes my triangle and does not leave the arm. The arm always gets left. I knew that when he postured up and tried to escape, that arm was going to be there. And when the arm’s there, I’m on it.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 101 post-fight appearance by Felipe Bunes above.

The post Felipe Bunes Channeled Royce Gracie at UFC Vegas 101 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Opposite Johnson, who is believed to have competed in upwards of 80 amateur bouts, was Felipe Bunes. The Brazilian was looking to bounce back from a loss against Josh Van.

The towering Johnson looked to use his length early, fighting from the outside and mixing in kicks with some long punches. Bunes did catch a kick, but Johnson broke free, and when Bunes launched into a takedown, Johnson rolled, using the momentum to come out on top. A Bunes arm-bar attempt didn’t pay off, and Johnson settled into Bunes’ guard – only to end up in another arm-bar attempt! It was nasty, and Johnson fought hard, rolling with it more than once only to end up caught in the submission again and forced to tap!

A quick finish for Felipe Bunes, who secures his first win and finish under the UFC banner and improved to 1-1 in the promotion, and 14-7 overall.

“Believe in your dreams,” Bunes urged fans following the fight, speaking with analyst and former welterweight champ Michael Bisping. Speaking via translator, he would later call out Tim Elliott. “It would be my honor to fight you.”

Official Result: Felipe Bunes def. Jose Johnson by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 2:04

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Bunes was originally scheduled to face Denys Bondar at this event, but Van stepped right in when Bondar withdrew, despite surely being able to face a higher-profile opponent for his next fight if he chose to. Felipe had just won the LFA flyweight title with a knockout over Yuma Horiuchu in his last fight before signing with the UFC. He knew coming in that if he could upset Van then it would propel his career to new heights. Yet at only 22 years old, the potential of Van seems sky-high.

The two orthodox fighters faced off in the center in a striking match in four-ounce gloves to begin with. Van marched forward but Bunes exploded off of his back foot to land a few right hands. He also consistently touched Joshua with low kicks. Van did not really let his hands go for the first two minutes, but then began to find his mark more and more, building throughout the fight like his other two UFC outings. Bunes was not to be outdone though, as he landed a right hand midway through the first round that would have knocked out most other flyweights, but not Josh Van.

Bunes circled to avoid Van’s pressure as much as he could and then shot a takedown with two minutes left, but Van defended like a veteran. As they jockeyed for position against the fence, Van landed an inadvertent knee to the groin of Bunes, pausing the action. They restarted action in the center of the cage, per Bunes’ request. Felipe began to use a stabbing front kick to poke at Van’s midsection, then tripped him after a great entry. Van created a scramble in the final seconds of the round, but the bell stopped the action.

The fighters traded in the pocket to start the second round before Bunes shot another takedown. Van defended into a clinch situation, but was unable to escape from there for a good thirty seconds. When he did, he hurt Bunes almost instantly, forcing Felipe to shoot again. He landed it at first, but Van scrambled to his feet and began a violent barrage that made Bunes look weak for the first time. Van then shot a takedown of his own and got into full guard. He dropped monster elbows while Bunes failed an armbar from his back.

After a minute, Van let his opponent to his feet again. There, Bunes looked tired and frequently turtled up before an onslaught of blows from Van, who mixed in his infamous body punches. Bunes shot a desperate takedown but Van broke free and put it on him once more. After the final minute began, the shots got even more brutal. Some of the knees and punches Josh Van landed made it seem impossible that Bunes could stay standing. He did keep his footing for a while, but fell awkwardly to his back at last. There, Josh Van was able to land enough blows to force Mark Smith to step in.

In violent fashion, Joshua Van notched his first UFC finish and his third UFC win in just three fights. He may have the highest ceiling in the sport of anyone at, 10-1, at only 22 years old, and after training in MMA for less than three years. Who knows what he will look like with ten years of experience under his belt, when he is in his physical prime?

Official Result: Joshua Van def. Felipe Bunes by TKO (punches) Round 2, 4:31

The post Joshua Van Gets First Octagon Finish Over Felipe Bunes at UFC Vegas 84 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Felipe “Felipinho” Bunes
Standing at five-foot-seven
Fighting at 125 lbs (flyweight)
34-years-old
Fighting out of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Training out of Pitbull Brothers
A pro record of 13-6
3 KO/TKOs, 8 Submissions

How Bunes will fare in the UFC:

Felipe Bunes was signed to the UFC after winning the LFA flyweight title but his UFC debut is coming a year later. He was supposed to fight in June of last year but had to pull out due to medical issues. Denys Bondar was supposed to be the opponent for Bunes at UFC Vegas 84 but he pulled out and now Bunes is fighting Josh Van.

On paper, Bunes doesn’t come off as a good signing. His record isn’t too stellar as he’s lost six times already. He’s also 34 in a young man’s division. If you look deeper into it however you will find out he’s in exciting fights and has basically proven himself. He fought for ACA/ACB for three years taking on tough competition. Bunes has a few good wins and has improved over the last few years.

How he matches up against Van:

Bunes is just outmatched in this fight by a large margin. On the feet, Van clears. His jab, leg kicks, and body work will add up against a more stationary Bunes. Van is just cleaner, faster, and stronger in the striking department. Bunes may have to use his grappling, and it’s still an area where Van is questionable at. He has improved his takedown defense in a big way and Bunes isn’t much of a wrestler however. I’d be surprised if Bunes won this.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Felipe Bunes appeared first on Cageside Press.

When Denys Bondar dropped off of the first card of the year, the UFC called Felipe Bunes and his management team with the name Joshua Van. Not only was the Brazilian happy to stay on the card, but was glad to get a chance to throw down with someone he already feels connected to.

“He’s a very opportunistic guy. He’s always ready. He was going to fight on the Contender Series, but signed with the UFC to replace me against Zhalgas [Zhumagulov],” Bunes said through an interpretor. “It seems like this was meant to be.”

When watching the style of Van, Bunes enjoyed what he saw. On one hand, he bring a fight at all times and is exciting to watch. On the other hand, he saw enough issues with his game that he felt like he could exploit.

“He likes to move forward and pressure. He seems strong and aggressive,” he said. “But I see a lot of flaws in his game, especially in his grappling. He doesn’t seem to have much of a grappling game.”

But even though he sees weaknesses on the ground, and he himself is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, that doesn’t mean that he sees the finish coming with a submission. In fact, Bunes sees his UFC debut going a bit differently and didn’t hesitate to share the big prediction.

“I see myself finishing him by either KO or submission,” Bunes states. “But judging by the way that he fought his last fight – I see myself catching him with a knee.”

Bunes will look to bring that prediction to fruition when he steps into the cage this weekend at UFC Vegas 84. His fight with Joshua Van will take place on the preliminary portion of the card, which starts at 4pm EST on ESPN+.

The post UFC Vegas 84’s Felipe Bunes Predicts Big Finish appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC Vegas 84’s Felipe Bunes Interview (2:17)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC Vegas 84 flyweight, Felipe Bunes. The Brazilian discusses his long road to the UFC and how he never really lost faith that he belonged in the big show. Plus, he talks about how his original debut was delayed by a tainted supplement and how he managed to clear his name and get on the first card of the new year. Now he’s ready to show the world what he’s made of against short-notice opponent Joshua Van.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 84 (22:30)

After closing out a successful year with UFC 296, the UFC is now back in the new year with UFC Vegas 84. Despite not having the name value of some of the upcoming fight cards, this one has plenty of fights that will bring the action. Most of which is the light heavyweight main event between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. The two will run back their first effort after an illegal knee caused an early end to the first contest. We’ll break down that fight and a few of our other favorites on the main card. Plus, as always, we’ll give you an underdog and a parlay to make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

UFC Vegas 84’s Joshua Van Interview (31:06)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC flyweight, Joshua Van. Despite picking up two big wins at the end of 2023, Van never stopped preparing at the gym. As a result, he was ready when the UFC called with a short notice fight against Felipe Bunes. He also discusses his quick rise in the division and what kind of noise he expects to make in 2024. Plus, he gives us a prediction for the fight this weekend including an ending you might not expect.

The post TTP Ep. 411 with Felipe Bunes, Joshua Van and UFC Vegas 84 appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Thursday, it appeared Zhumagulov had had yet another fight fall through, with opponent Felipe Bunes dropping out of UFC Vegas 75 the day before weigh-ins. That’s the third straight opponent flyweight Zhumagulov — who has also had a string of close decisions go against him — has seen withdraw.

The Kazakh fighter announced the news himself on social media, proving that despite the string of bad luck, his sense of humor remains intact.

This haircut is 2-0 in ufc even without appearing in the octagon. Another opponent doesn’t want to take his chance and pulled out 🤦🏻‍♂️ 😡 pic.twitter.com/kwvoFIsx2i

— Zhalgas Zhumagulov (@ZhakoZhumagulov) June 15, 2023

However, per a report by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff, Zhumagulov will now fight Joshua Van at UFC Jacksonville next week. Van confirmed the booking on his Instagram Story on Thursday.

Van had been expected to appear on this year’s run of Dana White’s Contender Series, booked opposite Kevin Borjas in August. Going straight to the big show, however, feels like a much better option.

Zhumagulov has lost three straight fights, and at one point had announced his retirement. After reconsidering, he’s been trying to get back in the cage ever since. The last two of those losses came via split decision, and easily could have gone the other way.

UFC Jacksonville takes place June 24, 2023 with Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria headlining. The card airs on broadcast network ABC, and currently breaks down as follows:

• Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
• Amanda Ribas vs. Maycee Barber
• Punahele Soriano vs. Sedriques Dumas
• David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos
• Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva
• Neil Magny vs. Philip Rowe
• Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa
• Randy Brown vs. Wellington Turman
• Mateusz Rębecki vs. Loik Radzhabov
• Tabatha Ricci vs. Gillian Robertson
• Jamall Emmers vs. Jack Jenkins
• Tatsuro Taira vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
• Trevor Peek vs. Jose Mariscal
• Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Joshua Van

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