On Thursday, promotion officials announced a pair of bouts set for the Fight Night card, which takes place at the Paycom Center on July 18, 2026. In a middleweight match-up, Jared Cannonier faces off against England’s Christian Leroy Duncan, while at welterweight, Kevin Holland takes on Jacobe Smith.

Holland (29-15, 1NC) will be fighting for the second time in 2026 when he takes on up-and-comer Smith. “The Trailblazer” enters the match-up off an April victory over Randy Brown that went the distance and saw Holland snap a two-fight skid.

Since returning to welterweight last year, Holland is 3-2 through five fights. Smith (12-0), meanwhile, is undefeated in his professional MMA career and 3-0 in the UFC to date. All three of those wins have come inside the distance.

A former title challenger who came up short against Israel Adesanya, Jared Cannonier (18-9) is 1-3 in his last four and looking to bounce back from a loss to Michael “Venom” Page. Now 42, another setback could spell the end for Cannonier; like Holland, he gets an up-and-comer in Christian Leroy Duncan (14-2). A former Cage Warriors star, “CLD” has won four straight including fights against Eryk Anders and Roman Dolidze.

While not officially announced, middleweights Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman have been rumored to headline the event. Reported thus far for UFC Oklahoma City are the following match-ups:

• Brad Tavares vs. Marc-André Barriault
• Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez
• Veronica Hardy vs. Dione Barbosa
• Amanda Ribas vs. Fatima Kline
• Alvin Hines vs. Allen Frye Jr.
• Felipe Franco vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr.
• Kevin Holland vs. Jacobe Smith
• Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
• Stewart Nicoll vs. Alden Coria

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Risers Jacobe Smith, Melquizael Costa and Uros Medic all kept their win streaks alive with thunderous knockouts while the night was capped off by Sean Strickland putting on what might be his best performance since winning the title back in 2023. With UFC Houston now in the rearview mirror, let’s look at what’s next for Saturday’s winners.

Sean Strickland

While there will be a lot of fan appetite for a Chimaev/Strickland title fight, I do believe that meritocracy needs to prevail on some levels. For that reason, I think Nassourdine Imavov should still be awarded the next shot. In the meantime, there’s no question that Strickland has earned himself a big fight. The winner of the upcoming Seattle main event would produce the kind of opponent Strickland should be looking for. Either it’s an Israel Adesanya rematch, which is unquestionably still big business, or Joe Pyfer, which would make for an all-American number one contender fight, something the U.S. market badly needs.

Strickland’s next fight: Adesanya/Pyfer winner

Uros Medic

The man they call “The Doctor” is now officially on his first UFC three-fight win streak. Not only has Medic never gone to the scorecards, he has only gotten out of the 1^st round four times in his 16-fight career. With the promotion seemingly favouring more action-oriented matchups since signing their new broadcast deal with Paramount, it’s no wonder they wasted no time giving the Serbian fighter a shot at the rankings. It’s easy to see why a fighter with such a style would get a push by the promotion, and I don’t see this push slowing down any time soon. I think a fight with former champion Leon Edwards could be in play. The Englishman is now barely holding on to a top10 spot, while Medic will enter the rankings and look upwards. Winner of three straight verses loser of three straight: a true crossroads fight.

Medic’s next fight: Leon Edwards

Melquizael Costa

This Brazilian fighter keeps impressing in new ways. At the start of 2025, he was gathering momentum with his activity level, fighting three times in three months. More recently, it’s been the nature of the finishes that have kept his momentum going. Back-to-back sensational head kick KOs will help boost anyone’s profile, but Costa is doing it as the level of competition keeps rising. Dan Ige is a man who’s fought a ridiculous level of competition for years, but it’s now Melquizael Costa who can claim to be the first to ever finish him. I think the UFC should look to keep pushing him forward. A fight inside the top10 should be on the table and I think a name like Arnold Allen makes a lot of sense.

Costa’s next fight: Arnold Allen

Serghei Spivac

A win is a win, but this kind of forgettable win won’t do Serghei Spivac, or the heavyweight division, any favours. It’s good for the 31-year-old to get back in the win column after dropping two straight, but the division is in such a place where it’s hard to see any meaningful matchup on the horizon. For the time being, a meeting with Rizvan Kuniev probably makes the most sense.

Spivac’s next fight: Rizvan Kuniev

Jacobe Smith

Jacobe Smith’s elite athletic abilities were on full display as he reversed a takedown from Josiah Harrell mid-air before proceeding to absolutely drill the then fellow undefeated Harrell into the canvas. While Smith faced more adversity than anticipated last June against Niko Price, he should still be viewed as a blue-chip prospect. If there is one thing that all blue-chip welterweight prospects seem to have in common is that they all had to face Neil Magny at some point. I think Smith has reached the chapter of his career where he has to pass the all-important Magny test.

Smith’s next fight: Neil Magny

Michel Pereira

Streaky seems like an understatement when describing Michel Pereira. After dropping two straight fights early in his UFC tenure, Pereira then won 8 consecutive bouts before then losing his last three. He was facing Zachary Reese in a fight that may have cost him his job had he not gotten his hand raised. It was a split decision, but Pereira still managed to stop the bleeding. I think his fight style seems like a perfect match for a guy like Shara Magomedov. To me, a meeting between “Bullet” and “Demolidor” sounds like a lot of fun in Macau in late May.

Pereira’s next fight: Shara Magomedov

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On a card with just five finishes, four Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded, with the main card producing all four winners.

Among them was main event winner Sean Strickland, who had a vintage showing against Anthony Hernandez across two and a half rounds. The end came care of a knee, which “Fluffy” immediately reacted to. As he tried to recover, Strickland swarmed, unloading lefts and rights and finishing with a few strikes while Hernandez was on the ground.

The co-main event, which saw Uros Medic put away Geoff Neal with a lightning-fast KO, produced another bonus winner. It took all of a minute and 19 seconds for Medic to get the job done, arguably the biggest win of his career.

Melquizael Costa also earned a Performance bonus, dispatching Dan Ige with a perfectly placed spinning back kick. And Jacobe Smith, who smashed through Josiah Harrell, was the final Performance of the Night bonus winner.

Per UFC President and CEO Dana White, UFC Houston took in a $3.3 million U.S. gate, with 17,160 fans in attendance at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday, a sellout.

All four bonus winners earn $100,000 U.S. for their efforts. The remaining finish at UFC Houston, which saw Joselyne Edwards submit Nora Cornolle (who suffered a shoulder injury off a slam takedown), will earn a $25,000 finish bonus. No Fight of the Night was awarded at the event.

The post UFC Houston Sees Four Performance Bonuses Awarded, All On Main Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Smith has been touted as a future star by the promotion, who has put him front and center and media days early in his career. Harrell was actually signed by the UFC in 2023, but a brain scan detected an abnormality, and his career was iced for a time.

After undergoing complex brain surgery and being on the mend for a year, he worked his way back to fighting, and back to the UFC, stepping up to replace Seok Hyeon Ko on short notice in the fight against Smith.

With identical 11-0 records coming into UFC Houston, barring a draw or no contest, someone’s 0 was about to go.

Round one opened with Harrell shooting first, but Smith easily shrugged it off and immediately started finding success with heavy outside leg kicks. Smith mixed in a clean body kick and briefly got the fight to the mat before securing another takedown moments later, tossing Harrell down with authority.

Harrell refused to settle on bottom and worked to create scrambles, clearly bothered by the damage to his lead leg. He shot for his own takedown and completed it, but Smith instantly reversed the position. From side control, Smith unleashed a barrage of brutal elbows. Harrell was out cold from the strikes, and the referee (Kerry Hatley) stepped in late to wave it off. Real late, and when he did, he physically shoved Smith with considerable emphasis to get him out of the way. Hatley appeared irked with Smith initially, but in reality, the call was late.

Not a great call, and not a popular one online among fans. Added to some bad stoppage and a slow stoppage in Edwards-Cornolle, it was not a good night for officiating at UFC Houston.

Kerry Hatley watching Harrell take 12 unanswered punches while completely unconscious: pic.twitter.com/99nYj5rxUh

— MacMally 🍀 (@MacMallyMMA) February 22, 2026

Official Result: Jacobe Smith def. Josiah Harrell by knockout (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 3:01

The post UFC Houston: Jacobe Smith Finishes Josiah Harrell, Ref Criticized for Late Stoppage appeared first on Cageside Press.

Smith (11-0) was originally booked opposite Seok Hyeon Ko, who was forced out of the event due to a rib injury. Despite the switch in opponents, which tends to favor the existing fighter, “Cobe” is taking his opponent no less seriously.

“I feel at this point in my career, every fight is, when you’re in it, the seriousness is, take this moment, this is the moment,” Smith told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC Houston media day, adding “but I’ve not felt the championship fight feeling. Outside of that, all the other ones is, when I’m in it, I’m in it, and I’m taking this guy as serious as possible, as he’s the best in the world right now. He’s stopping me, I’ve got to get through him to get to any step after him. So we take it very serious.”

Smith was an NJCAA national champion at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and later an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler. It’s going to take something special to eclipse the feeling of his wrestling success, he noted.

“I’d say that title is what it’s going to take to beat that feeling, just due to the fact that, I didn’t enter this fight game to go win a title. I got into the fight game to give my family opportunities, to break the curses that we got in the past,” stated Smith.

As to what those curses are, he elaborated by saying that it was “just the typical, you know, growing up in the ghetto. The struggle. Mom still living in the Section 8 apartments. Food stamps, all that.”

“I came from that growing up, and I’m to the point where I’ve never been able to use food stamps as an adult because I’m pretty well taken care of with the job that I have, and my wife,” continued Smith. “But I’m trying to get to the point where I can provide jobs for my family and put them in positions where they don’t have to reply on Section 8 or the government, and this and that. Because being around that your whole life, it’s a sticky situation, and it’s tough to get out on your own.”

Watch the full UFC Houston media day appearance by Jacobe Smith above.

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The post Josiah Harrell Says He’s ‘Made Peace’ With Risks Before UFC Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

Perhaps that is why the promotion had him address the media ahead of this week’s DWCS 2025 Episode 6, taking place as always at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Smith is still circling another fight, after submitting Niko Price at UFC 317 in June. “Looking for another fight. Waiting for that call,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press on Tuesday.

Looking back to the Price bout, “I overcame a lot, not only in the cage, but outside in preparing for that fight,” he recalled. “Fight camp wasn’t easy. A lot of bumps in the road, but I think I handled it well.”

His last two fights coming relatively short notice, you’d expect Smith to want a full fight camp next time out. He remains as flexible as always, however. “I’m at a stage in my career where whatever comes, you know? No set anything. Whatever comes, I’ll be ready for it.” After appearing at the big UFC 317 card in June, another expectation might be to appear at another marquee event, say in New York or Las Vegas. Again, however, Smith is open-minded, if realistic about his finances.

“At the moment, I believe give me a fight as quick as possible. Place doesn’t matter, but also I am being smart with money on the back end, and taxes are a motherf*cker.”

That might rule out trips abroad and places where Jacobe Smith might be double-taxed. Still, he’s hounding his management to get him back in action.

“I’m reaching out to my management team weekly to see what they can do to get me out there as quick as possible. I know my fans miss me. I’m ready to get out there and make a little bit more money for my family. So whatever comes. Obviously I’m patient, smart, and I’m being collectively thoughtful about how fast I run my career.”

Smith has been called wrestling’s best hope in the UFC, and he touched on the importance of the discipline on Tuesday.

“With wrestling being the most dominant form of fighting, expectations are huge. Wrestling helps not only with control but how much damage I’m coming in and out of that fight with,” he observed. “And the more I can save my body, the longer my career can be.”

Watch the full media appearance by Jacobe Smith at DWCS 2026 Week 6 above.

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“It was a little bit more than I expected. Usually when I slam people like that they turn into their belly trying to get up. He throwing hammer fists this way, that way, left, right,” Smith told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“They’re connecting giving me eggs on my eyes. Definitely had something that I’ve never seen before. I’m proud of myself for overcoming and performing the way that I did.”

Smith (11-0) realized he was in a dog fight when Price hit him with an elbow that cut him wide open. When that happened Smith went to a different place.

“I’m not sure if the first elbow he threw is what had me leaking or with me slamming him our faces collided. Everything happened so fast I just know I seen blood and I knew it was mine. Then that shark instinct kicked in and I was like WOO let’s get it baby! Let’s show the world, let’s get this bonus hopefully,” he said.

UFC 317 all wrapped up with a victory Smith looks ahead to the rest of his year. Just not too far ahead.

“I want to go home and hug my daughter and my son. Recover to the point where I feel good and then we’ll talk,” he said.

“But right now I’m just going to live this moment.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jacobe Smith above.

The post Jacobe Smith, “Shark instinct kicked in” When He Saw Blood appeared first on Cageside Press.

Price was something of a fan favorite, who had fought the likes of Robbie Lawler, Michel Pereira, Geoff Neal, Cowboy Cerrone, Vicente Luque and others in a UFC run dating back to 2016. In other words, a big fish for Smith in just his second UFC fight.]

Price came out with his usual kill-or-be-killed, forward-pressure style in round one, but the younger Smith was ready for it and landed a solid left hook that sent him stumbling back. Smith then picked up Price and slammed him down. Not giving Price an inch, Smith used his top pressure to batter his opponent relentlessly. Price finally scrambled his way back to the feet, and managed to land a few good shots. After a failed spinning back-fist by Price, Smith landed a stiff jab that stunned Price. He followed it up with a head kick, but Price was saved by the bell.

Being 10-0 with seven first-round finishes, it was going to be interesting to see how Smith fared in a second round against a battle-tested veteran like Price. The frantic pace of the opening round may have gotten to Smith, who was visibly more tired. A caught kick allowed Smith to take Price to the ground. Smith was able to hold top position for a considerable amount of time, but wasn’t dealing nearly as much damage as he was in the first round. Price momentarily got to his knees, but Smith forced a scramble that allowed him to take the back. He immediately sunk in the rear-naked choked and got the tap out of the exhausted Price.

Jacobe Smith kept his undefeated record intact, but not without adversity as Price proved to be a bigger test than Smith’s promotional debut.

Official Result: Jacobe Smith def. Niko Price by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:03

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