Insert “Let’s go!,” “It’s time!” or some other MMA-related catchphrase here, then read on.

Yes, Gregor Gillespie Is Still with the UFC

It seems someone jumped the gun recently, and declared that Gregor Gillespie had been cut by the UFC. That’s after UFC Roster Watch, an automated service (read: script based) noted he’d been removed from the rankings pool.

Many a time, that indicates a fighter has been cut. Not in this case. While legitimate media will verify such things with their own sources, social media began spreading the word that Gillespie was out.

He’s not. Gillespie confirmed as much on his own social media accounts, after no doubt being bombarded with messages. To make a long story short, Gillespie is out of the rankings due to inactivity, which he attempted to explain in his post. You can read that below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdlwsvYuNQf/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ef80c671-420a-4b8d-b6c3-46f8f8081626

Remember, if you’re getting your news off social media, you’re not really getting the news at all. It’s like trying to stay up to date on politics by asking your neighbor’s drunk uncle Lenny what the latest from Washington is.

Tony Ferguson Turns Down Charles Oliveira Training Offer

Charlie Olives… sorry Charles Oliveira extended his hand and offered some training to former opponent and fellow lightweight Tony Ferguson recently. “El Cucuy,” however, has declined, as he’s still chasing a rematch with the champ.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Ferguson explained that “I have to really reflect on what he said, because Chute Boxe is a very good school. But he is in my weight class. I’m one of the only fighters that he hasn’t finished, and I went into that fight practicing zero jiu-jitsu. I didn’t do too bad. I didn’t do as bad as Dustin Poirier just sitting there laying there. I stayed active and I went for submissions everywhere. It’s not like I practiced really hard.”

“I’ve got to really think about that one, because I see myself competing against him again,” Ferguson added.

It’s highly unlikely Ferguson lands a fight with Oliveira any time soon, as one is the uncrowned king of the lightweight division, while the other is on a four-fight skid.

Ferguson Says McGregor Fight Couldn’t Happen Due to Legal Hurdle

At the risk of this becoming the Sunday “El Cucuy” Quick Hits, here’s another gem from T-Ferg. According to Ferguson, who was on The MMA Hour last Monday, a much-sought after fight with Conor McGregor couldn’t happen, because McGregor allegedly is part-owner of Paradigm Sports. The firm previously represented Ferguson, although that’s no longer the case.

“There’s a Miller-Ayala act that says an active agent is not allowed to compete in the same sport as the person you’re representing. I would ask my management if he [McGregor] was the owner of the company. They kept straight up lying to me,” Ferguson told the show (h/t Sportskeeda). “They lied to me a lot… Everyone else is telling me he is, but they’re telling me he isn’t… There’s a lot of things going on and some people are probably gonna get called to court.”

McGregor and Paradigm founder Audie Attar were business partners and owners of Eire Born Spirits, which brought the world Proper 12 whiskey (the company was bought up by Proximo Spirits/Becle, makers of Jose Cuervo tequila, last year). However, no public acknowledgement of a McGregor ownership stake in Paradigm has ever been made.

Gian Villante Lands a New Gig

Former UFC light heavyweight/heavyweight Gian Villante, who retired last year, has a new gig. He’s now the head coach of the varsity football team at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, Long Island.

St. Dominic’s is about to have the most well-behaved players for miles.

Very excited to be the new Head Football coach @stdomsathletics Time to get to work. Great things ahead!!! pic.twitter.com/ZqXUbv08AV

— Gian Villante (@GPVillante) May 16, 2022

Valerie Loureda May Also Have a New Gig

Back in April, Valerie Loureda had a tryout with the WWE, per ESPN (and her own social media). A Bellator “It Girl” with a massive following on social media, the 4-1 flyweight apparently impressed enough to get a further look by the pro wrestling (sorry, “sports entertainment) behemoth.

“Remember the name,” Loureda wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, attaching a shot of the WWE Performance Center. We’re assuming that’s not a Belal Muhammad reference. In addition to working at the Performance Center, Loureda reportedly made a visit to NXT last week. Her management team at First Round Management also promoted the move.

remember the name pic.twitter.com/SSsIJgSQcF

— Valerie Loureda (@lolavicewwe) May 18, 2022

Loureda, who attended this year’s WrestleMania in Dallas, has some decent mic skills, at least based on her post-fight interviews. She’s naturally athletic, and has a look the WWE would most certainly be keen to promote. On the flip side, she’s probably not making all that much from MMA (if Paige VanZant says she makes more on Instagram than from fighting, it’s no doubt true for Loureda as well). If that’s the case, this might be a smart move — but unlike rival AEW, the WWE has not been open to its workers actively fighting in the cage (yes, we know, except that time).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb6ItNuucLV/

Michael Chandler Gives His Side of Fighter Pay Debate

You’d have to imagine that the UFC loves hearing fighters give this sort of take. Michael Chandler turned up on How U Livin’ with J Piven this week, and we learned two things: one is that actor Jeremy Piven abuses the English language worse than most teenagers. The other is that Michael Chandler, while not making any more money with the UFC than he did with Bellator, doesn’t have an issue with his pay — because of the opportunities the UFC platform has given him.

“I don’t have a problem with the quote-unquote ‘fighter pay’ argument. I think people think that we should make a lot more money because the UFC makes a ton of money on their shows. Well the UFC’s been at it since 1993. Dana White’s had 10,000 sleepless nights when most of us fighters are just showing up to practice, going to bed, laying our head on the pillow, getting after it, and getting paid a decent wage for what we do,” Chandler told Piven, who outright asked how his UFC pay compared to Bellator.

Chandler noted that while the UFC owns the rights to his likeness and fights, he can sell t-shirts, open up gyms, or even appear in Piven’s next movie, as an independent contractor.

“I always think that there’s people on the lower rungs of society always throwing rocks at the people above them, when it takes the same amount of energy to reach up and grab the next rung to pull themselves up,” Chandler later added.

He admits that this stance gets him flak from other fighters. It probably will again.

Lerone Murphy Has “Near Death” Experience In Cycling Accident

UFC featherweight Lerone Murphy just can’t catch a break. And we wish him a speedy recovery, after he landed in hospital following a cycling accident in which he was struck by a careless driver.

The worst part about this? He had to start off his statement with “another near death experience.” One is usually plenty.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdsebYVMtf2

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Chandler on Fighter Pay, Valerie Loureda to WWE? appeared first on Cageside Press.

The significance of the setting was not lost on Barnett, who improved to 22-7 with a spinning wheel kick KO that many half his size couldn’t execute. Even more impressive, he did it in enemy territory, with Villante hailing from nearby Long Island.

“That right there, Madison Square Garden, I knew I had to come with something. I had to come with something man, then UFC, MSG, CJB,” Barnett said pointing to himself at the end.

“It’s that aura when you walk into here. That feeling you get, you know what I mean. Not to take a jab at the Knicks or anything but I felt like [Michael] Jordan. When I came in here and I knew I had to do my thing in MSG. I thought I was going to be the enemy coming in but I got a lot of pop from here. They must have known that this was the first country I actually touched when I came from overseas.”

The UFC heavyweight walked into the arena for his fight dancing and happy as can be. If he was nervous he definitely didn’t show it.

“I got a good poker face, I’ll say. I’ve got a really good poker face. I’ve always lived by ‘Live, Love, Laugh’. Life it too short not to be happy. No matter where you are you can find something. If you can’t find something to make you happy, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe just look at me, you know? If all else fails *smiles big*. I’ll smile for you. Life’s too short to be angry.”

After the highlight KO of Villante is Barnett set for a bonus?

“Man, don’t get me excited over here now. I mean, I would love it!”

Watch the entire post-fight media scrum with Chris Barnett above and keep it here for more coverage from UFC 268

The post UFC 268 Standout Chris Barnett: “I Felt Like Jordan” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Gian Villante stepped into the UFC octagon for the final time at UFC 268 on Saturday.

Villante, a former Ring of Combat heavyweight champion who turned pro in 2019, had jumped to Strikeforce, and later the UFC, spending a full decade between the two powerhouse promotions. Most of that time had been spent at light heavyweight. At 36, however, he was calling it a career on Saturday, in a heavyweight fight against Chris Barnett.

Barnett entered the bout still looking for his first win in the promotion, after coming up short against “Big” Ben Rothwell. Barnett captured his first win in the walkout, as he went viral for his Israel Adesanya-esque dance walkout.

His star turn, however, came later in the fight.

Both men opened up with kicks, shockingly, with Barnett looking to take out the legs of the big man while Villante was blasting kicks to the body and upstairs. Villante had a good front kick up the middle as well, meanwhile, Barnett tried to bridge the gap with leaping hooks inside. The crowd began booing near the end of the round due to lack of activity, and Barnett answered them with a flurry followed by a spinning back kick to the body that landed. Overall, a weird first round.

Barnett came out wild to start round two, throwing another spinning back kick to kick off the round. Barnett was the more active man, as he landed a left hook to leg kick combination multiple times. Barnett’s wild ability worked for him as he got the finish soon after, knocking down Villante with a spinning wheel kick that sent Villante spiraling to the mat. Barnett jumped on with some massive ground and pound and that was it!

OH MY BEAST BOYYYYYYYYY 😤

[ #UFC268 | Early Prelims are LIVE on @UFCFightPass & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/cRf5Z3ocq6

— UFC (@ufc) November 6, 2021

Barnett even celebrated with a front flip, landing in a seated position. He also paid his respects to the retiring Villante post-fight, getting the crowd fired up once again.

Official Result: Chris Barnett def. Gian Villante by TKO (spinning wheel kick/punches), Round 2, 2:23

The post UFC 268 Results: Chris Barnett Knocks Out Gian Villante in Highlight Reel Fashion appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC 268 featured two title fights topping the card. The PPV portion of the show was also kicked off by a lightweight banger in Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler. You had Frankie Edgar returning against Marlon Vera.

Plus the retirement bout for New York’s own Gian Villante.

The grudge match between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, fighting for the second time, was the main selling point. But another rematch, between “Thug” Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang, was no less compelling.

Lightweight Al Iaquinta was also back in action, returning after a two-year hiatus to take on Bobby Green.

There were also five debuting fighters on the card, including DWCS alum CJ Vergara, LFA’s Bruno Souza, Irish prospect Ian Garry, and regional vet Chris Curtis. None, however, was as anticipated as the debut of kickboxing champ Alex Pereira, mainly because of his history with current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. In kickboxing, Pereira had defeated “The Last Stylebender” twice, knocking him out in their second meeting.

UFC 268 gets underway at 6PM ET, going down live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tune in come fight time for full results. Recaps of all the action will be linked below as well.

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 Results

Main Card

Kamaru Usman (c) def. Colby Covington by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) – for the UFC welterweight championship
Rose Namajunas (c) def. Zhang Weili by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) – for the UFC women’s strawweight championship
Marlon Vera def. Frankie Edgar by knockout (front kick), Round 3, 3:50
Shane Burgos def. Billy Quarantillo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin Gaethje def. Michael Chandler by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Preliminary card

Alex Pereira def. Andreas Michailidis by TKO (knee), Round 2, 0:18
Bobby Green def. Al Iaquinta by TKO, Round 1, 2:25
Chris Curtis def. Phil Hawes by knockout, Round 1, 4:27
Nassourdine Imavov def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO, Round 2, 4:42

Early preliminary card

Ian Garry def. Jordan Williams by KO (punch), Round 1, 4:59
Chris Barnett def. Gian Villante by TKO (spinning wheel kick/punches), Round 2, 2:32
Dustin Jacoby def. John Allan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Bruno Souza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ode Osbourne def. CJ Vergara by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC 268 is considered by many as the best UFC card of the year, with two championship fights already on tap with Kamaru Usman defending against Colby Covington, and another rematch as Rose Namajunas defends against Weili Zhang. The undercard also features a slew of fan-friendly fights, the most important of which may be by Michael Chandler taking on Justin Gaethje.

Since MMA was legalized in the state in 2016, the UFC has traditionally made their New York cards some of the biggest of their calendar schedule and this year is no different. With plenty of fan-friendly fights already announced, the event continues to grow, and will include another fighter from the area New York area.

First reported by MMA DNA, heavyweights Gian Villante and Chris Barnett are now set to throw down at Madison Square Garden. Cageside Press subsequently confirmed the booking with multiple sources familiar with the situation.

For Villante (17-3), the fight is his third since moving up to 265 in June 2020. Following that step up in weight, the Long Island native has had back-to-back losses against Maurice Green and Jake Collier. Prior to the move up, Villante was a light heavyweight mainstay, having been in the promotion since 2013 and having gotten wins over the likes of Corey Anderson, Ed Herman, and Sean O’Connell.

For Barnett (21-7), the bout against Villante is his second fight in the promotion. “Huggy Bear” made his debut in May against UFC veteran Ben Rothwell, and despite coming up short after losing in the second round via submission, Barnett made a fan out of many viewers for his fun fighting style after throwing many spinning techniques, which is rare for a man of his size.

Prior to being signed to the UFC earlier this year, Barnett was a regional MMA fan-favorite, having fought everywhere from UAE Warriors to RIZIN, to ROAD FC where Barnett would have his most success. He was recently hit with a suspension for marijuana use by the NSAC, grandfathered in as the commission recently changed their drug testing rules. However, by the time UFC 268 arrives, Barnett’s suspension will already be over.

The post UFC 268: Gian Villante vs. Chris Barnett Heavyweight Bout Added appeared first on Cageside Press.

Collier’s transformation from a 185lb fighter to a heavyweight clocking in just north of 264lbs was shocking to say the least. Gian Villante’s move up was less striking, given he’d competed at heavyweight prior to his UFC run. But both men were in need of a win at UFC Vegas 16. Collier, in particular, needed to make up for a disheartening loss to Tom Aspinall earlier this year.

Plenty of kicks and plenty of leather were thrown early in the night’s only heavyweight tussle. Most of the offense early came from Collier, with Villante checking kicks, and countering while Collier landed his jab repeatedly. But it was Collier cut open first, a trickle of blood running down from his forehead, over the bridge of his nose. Villante found some success with his right hand, but Collier mixed things up, with high kick attempts, a liver shot, and a left hand that clipped Villante and sent him reeling. Villante escaped as Collier charged forward, but the message had been sent. Collier would connect once or twice more by the opening round’s end.

On wobbly legs!@JakeCollier88 stings Villante and continues to pile on 👀

[ Action live on #ESPNPlus & ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/VLb8EkBNH6

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020

Collier was still leaking blood to start the second round. He continued to mix up his combinations, stepping into his jab, going to the body, and working in leg kicks. Villante was answering at times with his own jab, but not often enough. Collier landed his left again late in the frame, but had slowed a bit, and Villante was able to eat a number of shots. Collier managed a spinning back fist in the final minute, but missed; Villante landed a more conventional combination a moment later.

Round three saw Collier find more success with his left. The round played out similar to the first two, with the pair going the distance. There were no surprises on the scorecards, with Collier earning his first UFC win as a heavyweight.

Official Result: Jake Collier def. Gian Villante by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC Vegas 16 Results: Jake Collier Tops Gian Villante in Decision Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

As first revealed (by Villante himself) on the Quick Talks podcast, Villante is expected to face Jake Collier at a UFC event on December 5. That date, which has not been officially announced by the promotion, is expected to feature Bethe Correia’s retirement fight, as well as an important middleweight match-up between Darren Till and Jack Hermansson.

Villante (17-12), a teammate of Chris Weidman at Serra-Longo, is best known as a light heavyweight, although he did fight at heavyweight earlier in his career. He returned to the weight class, making his UFC debut in the division, back in June, when he was submitted by Maurice Greene at UFC on ESPN 12.

Overall, Villante is 2-3 in his last five bouts, and has lost two straight.

Collier’s move up to heavyweight has been even more extreme. In fact, the 31-year old started his UFC career in 2014 at middleweight. He moved to light heavyweight in 2017, going 1-1 in the weight class. Earlier this year, he jumped up to heavyweight against Tom Aspinall, and was knocked out in just forty-five seconds. Collier has traded wins and losses across his entire UFC career.

The post Gian Villante Will Face Jake Collier on December 5 UFC Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

With his back to the wall after two straight losses, TUF 28 alum Maurice Greene was set to welcome Gian Villante to the UFC’s heavyweight division Saturday. Their main card fight at UFC on ESPN 12 was Villante’s first heavyweight scrap since an appearance way back in the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, in an alternate bout.

Greene opened up the round with a front kick to the body to keep distance. He followed up with an elbow on the inside and quickly circled out. Greene utilized short low kicks and kicks to the body in an attempt to keep Villante at bay. Villante was extremely patient, looking to get in the pocket in order to unload one of his patented power shots. An accidental low blow from Greene temporarily stopped the action. When action resumed, Greene continued his low kick approach.

Villante ate a hook on the top of the back of his head but responded with several leg kicks. A big head kick from Greene was blocked by Villante, but it moved Villante quite a bit. Villante got off a nice inside leg kick. Villante stunned Greene a bit with a body shot that visibly hurt Greene. Villante’s lead leg showed the results of having it battered by Greene for the first four minutes of the fight. The round came to a close off a blocked head kick from Greene.

Greene started the second round with a nice kick to the body, but Villante responded with a hard leg kick. A big counter hook from Villante just missed, and Greene responded with a big uppercut and knee. Greene did really well fighting at distance as Villante struggled to get the fight inside the pocket. Villante unloaded a huge leg kick of his own before beginning to walk down Greene, who exploded forward with a combination to back him up.

Greene caught Villante with a hook, shot to the body, followed by another hook to end a nice combination. Villante landed another leg kick, which seemed to hurt Greene. Villante caught Greene with a big head kick while Greene was blocking low. Another front kick to the body landed for Greene, who followed up with a jab. Villante timed a nice lead hook off the jab and continued to attack Greene’s leg. The round came to a close with Greene circling out and jogging away from Villante.

The third round started off with a clinch that was immediately separated. Villante connected with a big right hand but Greene circled away when Villante rushed forward. An accidental eye poke from Greene temporarily stopped the action. Greene resumed action with a leg kick, but Villante countered with a huge shot that dropped Greene. Villante swarmed on top for the ground-and-pound, and what relentless ground-and-pound it was. Punches and elbows reigned down from the former linebacker, but Greene continued to attempt to fight his way back to his feet. Villante remained in top position in Greene’s half guard, but apparently, Greene was choking Villante from the bottom, and he tapped out.

Official Result: Maurice Greene def. Gian Villante via R3 submission (arm-triangle choke, 3:44)

WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! 🤯@TheCrochetBoss submits Villante w/ just a minute to go!

📺 Action concludes on @ESPN. #UFCVegas4 pic.twitter.com/ziU21wwTUI

— UFC (@ufc) June 28, 2020

The post UFC on ESPN 12 Results: Maurice Greene Tops Gian Villante With Stunning Submission appeared first on Cageside Press.

On the other hand, he got to spend quarantine with his newborn son and girlfriend. Maybe not such a bad trade-off.

At the UFC on ESPN 12 media day, ahead of his pending fight against Maurice Green, Villante explained what happened with the Rothwell match-up.

“I was very close. I was. I mean, I accepted and said let’s go,” Villante explained. But after talking to both his coach and manager, he got a different take. “They were very much against it. I have asthma, I have had pneumonia probably like seven out of the past 10 years. I don’t have the best lungs, so if I got [COVID-19] I probably might die. So they kind of convinced me not to do it. Being a new father like me, [you need to] be a little bit more cautious here. So didn’t do it. I stayed in the whole isolation and containment for a couple months there, and then said ‘all right, I had enough of this. Let me get back out there, I need to work’ and contacted the UFC, and they were able to find me an opponent.”

Having a newborn at that time, however, “was awesome. I got to spend every minute of it with him.”

Now, it’s back to work. Villante is set to face Greene, a TUF 28 competitor on a two-fight skid among the heavyweight ranks. Friday morning, they both hits the scales at 255lbs. Villante, with a record of 17-11, will have the clear edge in experience. But there is one area he feels Maurice Greene might have the advantage: the empty arena.

“It’s gonna be interesting. I don’t really know, I’ve never done it. Maurice might have a little bit of an advantage there, being on Ultimate Fighter. There aren’t much fans at those things. It’s gonna be interesting, gonna be weird, but should be fun. I mean, we’ll see how it goes.”

Watch the full UFC on ESPN 12 media day scrum with Gian Villante above.

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Like it or not, weight-cutting is deeply rooted in mixed martial arts. MMA adopted its weight-cutting from the sport of wrestling, where it is presumed to be very advantageous to be the biggest and strongest in your weight class. Known as the ‘fight before the fight,’ most UFC fighters cut anywhere from 5-25 pounds, with some fighters even in excess of 30 pounds.

Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower. Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight. In this series, we will shine a light on fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming match-ups. Basically, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (25-6, 1 NC (UFC), 17-5, 1 NC UFC)

Featherweight (145lbs): 8-3 (UFC)

Lightweight (155lbs): 9-2, 1 NC (UFC), UFC Lightweight Title Challenger

Dustin Poirier is not far away from his 10 year anniversary in the UFC. And a lot has changed for Poirer since he made his UFC debut at just 21 years old at UFC 125, as a featherweight. Dustin actually had a 12-fight stint at featherweight in the promotion, in which he was able to amass a good amount of momentum with his quality boxing and entertaining fight style. But Poirer’s momentum was derailed when he was finished in the first round by Conor McGregor in 2014 and it forced him to evaluate the weight class that he was competing in. In hindsight, this fight turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Poirier had become too big for the weight class, and cutting the amount of weight that he had to cut was too draining. However, Poirier and his team believed he could be successful and his power would translate to a divisionthat is 10lbs heavier.

And man were they spot-on with that prediction. Dustin has more power at lightweight than he ever had at 145lbs and he has developed even more as a fighter as well. Save for a blemish to Michael Johnson in 2016, Poirier stormed through the UFC’s deep lightweight division taking out Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, Eddie Alvarez, and a few other high ranked fighters before getting a title shot. Though Dustin was finished by the lightweight champion Khabib Nuramagomedov in his last fight, he without a doubt made the right choice for his UFC career to move up in weight and a comfortable fighter is a dangerous one. Now, he returns Saturday at UFC on ESPN 12 against another tough foe.

The post The Weight Cutting Chronicles: UFC on ESPN 12 appeared first on Cageside Press.