During Friday’s official weigh-ins, which Cageside Press was on hand for, UFC officials announced that due to weight management issues on the part of Jeong-yeong Lee, he would not be weighing in. As a result, his bout versus Gaston Bolaños is off.

Given the late nature of the development, no replacement fighter will be found for Bolaños.

Bolaños successfully weighed in towards the start of weigh-ins coming in at 145.5 for the featherweight fight.

A former Road FC fighter who made his way to the big show via Road to UFC, Lee is 2-2 inside the octagon to date, and has never previously missed weight.

UFC 326 is headlined by a “BMF” title fight between champ Max Holloway and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. The card now consists of the following match-ups as of Friday morning’s official weigh-in:

• Max Holloway (c) vs. Charles Oliveira – for the UFC “BMF” championship
• Caio Borralho vs. Reinier de Ridder
• Rob Font vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
• Drew Dober vs. Michael Johnson
• Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Xiao Long
• Donte Johnson vs. Cody Brundage
• Ricky Turcios vs. Alberto Montes
• Cody Durden vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
• Su Mudaerji vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar
• Rafael Tobias vs. Diyar Nurgozhay
• Luke Fernandez vs. Rodolfo Bellato

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Bolaños (8-4) run in the UFC thus far has him at 2-1. Coming off a decision victory over Cortavious Romious last November the Peruvian fighter hopes to continue the win streak for his country.

Le (8-2) has had a couple rough outings as of late dropping two fights in a row. Losses to Chris Gutierrez and Long Xiao had him possibly on the chopping block unless he got past Bolaños in Iowa.

Round 1 Bolaños came out firing on Le trying to discourage the takedown. That did not work at all as Le flew in and got a quick takedown and worked to keep Bolaños down. Le took the back early in the first round forcing him to fight the hands.

Bolaños was able to get back to his feet, but Le wasn’t letting him off the hook staying on him and taking him right back down. Le took the back as Bolaños continued to defend the position.

Round 2 Bolaños came out on fire throwing bombs at Le and forcing him to strike with him. He landed big shots on Le, but the got taken down rather easily. Le put pedal to the metal on the submission, grabbed the rear-naked choke and ended Bolaños’ night in the second round.

Official Result: Quang Le def. Gaston Bolaños via R2 SUB (RNC), 1:54

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In the main event, Carlos Prates continued to take the sport by storm, recording his fourth knockout victory of the year. Meanwhile in the co-main, UFC newcomer Reinier de Ridder submitted Gerald Meerschaert in what was a fun debut.

Carlos Prates

After already recording three KOs by August, Carlos Prates kept his activity levels going and got his biggest one yet on Saturday. For years, Neil Magny has represented a perfect litmus test for welterweight prospects. Always hovering around the number 15 spot, he has gatekept the rankings for what seems like forever. In recent years, fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Michael Morales passed this test with flying colours, while then-streaking Max Griffin, Daniel Rodriguez, Phil Rowe and Mike Malott couldn’t.

This was the type of matchup that fans needed to see Prates go through to really gauge what the division had in him. At 31 years of age, there was no need to take things too slowly with him, so a main event with a rankings spot on the line made sense, even in his rookie year. And the Nightmare made quick work of Magny. He defended all seven takedown attempts, even turning one into his own takedown. He dropped Magny with a short right hook, before then putting him unconscious with a glancing left straight with ten seconds left in the very first round.

After his impressive showing, Prates called for a fight with Jack Della Maddalena in Australia in February. While that is the kind of matchup that would have fans foaming at the mouth, he knew this might be unrealistic as JDM is ranked in the top5. So he had a nice backup plan in Geoff Neal, who for all intents and purposes, holds a Neil Magny-type role for the top10. This callout proves that Prates is making an effort to understand how matchmaking works and to stay up to date with his division’s power structure. It is a fun matchup, and realistic callouts should be rewarded as often as possible.  For those reasons, I’m inclined to give Prates what he asked for and give him Geoff Neal next.

Prates’ next fight: Geoff Neal

Reinier de Ridder

The former two-division champion in ONE Championship had an entertaining debut, going up against grizzled vet Gerald Meerschaert. He scored a knockdown in round 1 and got the submission in round 3 after GM3 looked exhausted.

With his pedigree as a former double champ in another major organization, some thought RDR would be getting a ranked opponent right away. At 34 years old, it’s not like The Dutch Knight has all the time in the world to rise up the ranks. However, he didn’t exactly run through Meerschaert in a way that screamed a top10 opponent has to be next.

There is a middle ground, here, where RDR can get a high profile, yet unranked matchup in his next fight. This upcoming Saturday, there is a fight between uber prospect Bo Nickal and veteran Paul Craig. Nickal is a massive favourite, but it is unclear as to whether he would be getting a ranked opponent next even after a statement win at UFC 309. Unlike de Ridder, the UFC actually has plenty of time to take things slowly with Nickal. RDR is both the logical next step to test Nickal’s grappling and a nice opportunity for Nickal to showcase any form of striking improvement since that isn’t really de Ridder’s forte.

And hey, if Paul Craig actually wins that fight, then we still get a super fun matchup.

de Ridder’s next fight: Nickal/Craig winner

Gaston Bolaños

The former Bellator fighter moved to 2-1 in the UFC after earning a hard-fought decision over debuting Cortavious Romious. His grappling was tested, as he was slammed a couple times, but he managed to fend off every submission attempt.

Bolaños doesn’t look like someone who will ever challenge for a title, especially not in a division filled with sharks like bantamweight. However, he does fit in a very important category of fighters that deliver exciting fights every time they go out there. Win or lose, and as long as they match him up correctly, the UFC can count on Bolaños to put on fun fights.

Another fighter who fits perfectly into this category is one who made his divisional debut just last week: Charles Jourdain. With both coming off wins and having fought just a week apart, the fight makes sense and the timelines should align.

Bolaños’ next fight: Charles Jourdain

Gillian Robertson

Despite already having 18 UFC fights and holding the record for most submissions at flyweight, Robertson is still only 29 years old. She is now on a three-fight win streak and is 4-1 since dropping down to strawweight.

After she will move up a bit in the rankings, a fight that makes sense for her would be Marina Rodriguez. After being so close to a title shot, the 37-year-old is now 1-4 in her last 5 and has dropped all the way to number 9. However, there is no doubt that she is still a good test for anybody. Her current two-fight skid is deceiving as both are split decisions that very much could have gone her way.

Rodriguez is the perfect test for Robertson at this juncture of their careers.

Robertson’s next fight: Marina Rodriguez

Mansur Abdul-Malik

The undefeated 27-year-old made short work of Dusko Todorovic, knocking him out in the first round to keep his 100% finish rate. Abdul-Malik clearly packs a heavy punch. Everything he landed on Todorovic echoed in the Apex. He still looks green in some facets of his game, but seems to be getting better quickly as he already looked improved from his Contender Series outing.

There is no rush here for a prospect this young and someone like TUF finalist Robert Valentin would make sense. Valentin can test Abdul-Malik’s overall game while also being a very winnable fight for Mansur. Also, there is no way that fight would be boring.

Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Robert Valentin

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A former Bellator talent, Bolanos was looking for his second UFC win, while Romious was making his promotional debut following his win on the latest season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Round one started with both fighters firing heavy kicks at each other, using the openings from the open stance matchup (Bolanos orthodox, Romious southpaw). A big explosion from Romious resulted in a slam that took the fight to the ground. However, he chased the armbar too quickly. Bolaños was able to defend the rushed submission attempt and ended up on top before disengaging and standing up. The next couple minutes were spent on the feet with Bolanos doing the better work and being the busier fighter. Bolanos appeared hurt at the end of the round, though it was revealed to be more of a stumble than a true knockdown. 10-9 Bolaños after one.

Big slams from Romious again to start the second round and while Bolanos came close to a reversal, Romious ultimately got a back take. Romious kept trying to lock in a rear-naked choke, but the Peruvian fighter managed to defend and work his way out of this bad position. He then managed to thoroughly outs-trike Romious for the remainder of the round. Romious won the first half of the round through control time, though there is very little doubt that Bolanos dished out more damage throughout the entirety of the round. Bolanos took the round 10-9 once again.

Romious was still looking to grapple in round three. They ended up in a strange position after Romious appeared to attack with a calf-slicer attempt. Bolanos ended up on the bottom, but a triangle choke attempt allowed him to reverse positions. Trying to hop around the back, Romious inadvertently put himself on the bottom after Bolanos denied the attempt. With both fighters breathing heavy in the latter half of the third round, strikes have less heat behind then and takedown attempts come easier. Romious successfully gets a takedown in the last minute, but Bolanos, assuming he is up on the scorecards, opts to close his guard, limit risk and wait for time to expire.

Official result: Gaston Bolanos def. Cortavious Romious by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

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“Very tough. He’s like a tough person right? Like my hands hurt from hitting him. He took some shots I didn’t think that he was going to be able to take. Kudos to him for sure,” McGhee told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum on Saturday.

“Super tough, super durable, super impressed by him.”

Going into the fight many believed that Bolanos’s kickboxing skills would be too much for McGhee to handle. McGhee seemed to turn that into motivation to out-strike the striker.

“It was definitely still a tough fight, but yes. I don’t blame them, but a lot of folks wanted me to just go out there and grapple him. My grappling’s coming along a lot and when I get ready to start showing it off it’ll be nice,” McGhee said.

“But I am a striker and I believe I can out-strike the best strikers in the world. I really believe that. I have a lot of faith in myself, we put a lot of work in, I have some great coaches that I work with. And I’m constantly evolving. It was great to go out there and do exactly what I wanted to do. Out-strike the striker.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Marcus McGhee above.

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The UFC decided to pit these bantamweights against each other after Bolaños won his promotional debut and McGhee won his first two UFC fights. Bolaños is a Peruvian kickboxer with a penchant for spinning elbow knockouts, having won with that specific strike three times in just seven professional MMA wins. McGhee came in with a more rounded skillset, but still with a tendency towards violent striking, which made many fans circle this bout as one to watch on the fight card. In the end, it was McGhee who got the best of the action.

Marcus McGhee came out southpaw against a switch-stance fighter in Bolaños . They felt each other out on the feet for a while, neither finding many shots, until McGhee took him down two minutes in. Bolaños bounced back up, but McGhee controlled him with both underhooks in the clinch. Yet when Marcus went for a mat return, Bolaños spun free. Bolanos came forward with kicks and punches but McGhee cracked him with a clean three-piece in the pocket. Gaston began to look hurt and frequently became unsteady when getting punches. McGhee took him down again, this time racking up several good ground strikes in the final minute of the round.

After a shaky end to the opening round, Gaston Bolaños came out aggressive in the second. His chin seemed to have recovered at first but he still was on the losing end of most striking exchanges, as McGhee was able to pick his spots well. When Marcus went first he landed, and when Bolaños went first McGhee was able to counter. With two minutes left in the round a tight left hook from Marcus McGhee dropped Bolaños face first. Gaston caught himself before he hit the canvas, but he then got swarmed. McGhee even threw a spinning wheel kick in attempt to finish the job, which landed partially before rocking Bolaños with one final punch that forced the referee to step in.

Marcus McGhee won his third straight UFC fight, and in impressive fashion. At 9-1 as a professional McGhee has won all nine of his fights by finish, and should see an increase in strength of opposition in his next fight in a stacked bantamweight division.

Official Result: Marcus McGhee def. Gaston Bolaños by TKO (punches and wheel kick), Round 2, 3:29

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Bolanos went the distance with a game Aaron Phillips, who was returning after an extended layoff. Both fighters had their moments, but Bolanos did far more damage overall, coming away with a unanimous decision win in his first fight to go the distance.

“I expected this fight to be tough. I knew Aaron was going to be a tough fight,” Bolanos (7-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “I thought I had him there a couple of times. I probably could have finished him, but it was a great three-round fight, which is something I’ve been looking for for a while.”

“I’ve never won like that, so it was very satisfying.”

Getting in that sort of cage time just ten fights into his MMA career is invaluable, Bolanos agreed.

“It was, it really was. It showed me a lot, especially my first one with a big crowd like that in Kansas City.” Bolanos added that he’s thankful to get that sort of cage time, and wouldn’t mind adding additional minutes to his resume. “I’m looking for more.”

In terms of his performance, “that was not only my UFC debut but it was my bantamweight debut,” Bolanos noted. “I felt great, I felt great making that cut.” Bolanos credited his nutritionist for helping him through the 12 week process to making 135lbs, and later dedicated the win to his coach. He now feels he’s put the weight class on notice.

“A lot of people didn’t think that I was ready for this, and I think I showed today that I belong. I’m ready for more. The bantamweight division I believe is on notice now. That wasn’t the most impressive, I guess, finish, you could say— but I showed my toughness, I showed that I belong.”

Watch the full UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference with Gaston Bolanos above.

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Known as a purveyor of flashly spinning attacks, Bolanos had what on paper was a favorable match-up with Phillips, who had not competed since a loss to Jack Shore in July 2020.

The fight started off with a blasting straight right hand from Bolanos. Bolanos wasn’t landing anything clean with the kicks but was keeping Phillips on the outside. Over the course of the round Bolanos found his range with his right hand. More than a few times he landed that right as Phillips wasn’t moving his head nearly enough. Bolanos mixed up the patterns with his kicks going to the body and the inside leg. A clear round for Bolanos as Phillips never got started.

In round two Phillips took the advice of his corner and shot for a takedown right away. Bolanos seemed like he could’ve escaped but tried to take the back, and instead ended up on his back. Bolanos was able to quickly get back to his feet. Bolanos worked with his kicks before Phillips exploded forward and got the trip then went right into mount. Phillips did end up taking the back going for the RNC. Bolanos fought the wrists well and escaped the body triangle, scrambling back to his feet. Bolanos did land some good punches standing over Phillips. The round ended with Phillips against the cage and Bolanos landing a lot of volume making up for lost time.

In the final round, both men were visibly tired and their striking was more labored. Not even a minute in Phillips shot in on a single leg. Bolanos defended it and as Phillips tried to take the back Bolanos landed on top. Bolanos was very active in the guard landing a ton of ground and pound. When they returned on the feet Bolanos threw that sloppy spinning elbow allowing Phillips to time a takedown and take the back. Phillips had the body triangle in for the last bit of the round, but ultimately it made no difference.

Official Result: Gaston Bolanos def. Aaron Phillips by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

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Gaston “The Dreamkiller” Bolanos
Standing at five-foot-seven
Fighting at 145 lbs (featherweight)
30-years-old
Fighting out of Lima, Peru/Dublin, California
Training out of Combat Sports Academy
A pro record of 6-3
6 KO/TKOs

How Gaston Bolanos will fare in the UFC

The Bolaños signing was a surprising one. All his pro fights have been for Bellator and he is 1-2 in his last three fights. Although he’s provided a few highlight-reel knockouts he should never lose to Bellator prelim-level fighters. I’d imagine the UFC went after him due to his high violence upside.

Bolaños comes from a muay thai/kickboxing upbringing. I remember watching him fight for Lion Fights back in the day on AXS TV. He even went 2-0 in Bellator kickboxing as well.

How Bolanos and Aaron Phillips match up:

Still surprised Phillips was signed back to the UFC after going 0-2 in 2014. He’s lacked that one good legitimate win to prove he’s UFC level. He hasn’t fought in almost three years and is coming off a loss to Jack Shore. This is a fight made to set up Bolanos for a win. You want a wrestler to beat Bolanos and Phillips hardly wrestles enough. On the feet, Phillips is low-volume and isn’t the best defensively. Not super confident but this is a perfect stylistic match-up for Bolanos.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Gaston Bolanos appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hatley Jr. (8-2) is coming off a split decision victory over Gaston Bolanos in his promotional debut in February where the 23-year-old was tabbed as a 3 to 1 betting underdog. Looking to play the role of spoiler again, “The I.R.S. Man” believes Pico is very susceptible to being knocked out.

“He’s a real great wrestler, he has ok boxing (but) he’s kind of got that Cody Garbrandt chin,” Hatley Jr. told Cageside Press. “I see him striking with me for a little bit. Soon as he gets hit, he’ll start going for takedowns. I do see me finishing him either at the end of the first round or beginning the second round.”

Hatley Jr. added, “‘I’m gonna try my best not to make this go to the decision because I believe him being who he is … they’re probably gonna give him the win. I know the politics of MMA. I mean beating Bolanos is one thing, I wasn’t surprised, but this is Aaron Pico.”

Pico (5-3) rebounded from back-to-back knockout losses by picking up a submission victory over Daniel Carey at Bellator 238 in January. The 23-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA product is one of the most talked-about fighters in the promotion and Hatley Jr. knows what role he’s playing in this match-up.

“I really think Bellator put me against him because they want him to get back to the win column,” Hatley Jr. said. “You know since I’m an upcoming prospect and just beat Bolanos, It’s like if he beats me, then it’s like, ‘Oh yes, he is everything we said he was’ type s–t but this is my opinion on it.”

Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. UFC veteran Sergio Pettis faces Ricky Bandejas in the main event.

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