Jamie Pickett came into the fight as the owner of a 2-6 record in his UFC career, so a loss could lose him his job- though having announced his retirement ahead of the fight, it appeared Pickett was ready to call it a career either way. However, one would have thought that to be the case already after losing four in a row before this. Former University of Alabama linebacker Eryk Anders had once main evented against Lyoto Machida, and though he had not lived up to that billing, he has had a solid UFC career in the years since and came into the fight against Pickett as a heavy favorite.

Anders pressed Pickett back and shot an early single leg takedown when the fight began, but Jamie defended. They grappled in the clinch for a long period before Pickett broke free. On the feet, Anders came forward again but right into a right hand from Pickett which rocked him for a moment. However, Anders went for another single leg and turned it into a double leg, which succeeded. Pickett got back up, bet Eryk got on his back with the body-lock. However Pickett escaped that position and immediately dropped Anders with a straight punch, but Anders reversed the position and got on top with an omoplata attempt-turned-sweep. Jamie Pickett got back up and the round ended soon after, putting him up 10-9.

Anders hunted for wrestling again to start round two but Pickett’s defense held up at first. However on Eryk’s second attempt he was able to land one. He tried to get on Pickett’s back but Jamie bucked him over his head to escape. Still, he could not get out of being controlled in the clinch and the dirty boxing of Anders began to do damage, as well as help him to set up takedowns. This time Eryk Anders took Pickett’s back with one hook in and landed ground strikes until the round ended.

Going into the third round, Anders likely had tied it up at one round apiece, leaving all to fight for in the final stanza. His momentum continued as he took Pickett down into half-guard immediately in round three, as Jamie appeared visibly tired. Pickett regained full-guard but ate elbows from there. He turned to his side and Anders took that opportunity to cut him open with elbows, but Pickett was able to struggle to his feet. However, Anders simply took him down once more. Eryk dominated his foe from top position for the rest of the round, in all likelihood sealing his victory.

When the judges’ scorecards were read out, Anders got the nod to nobody’s surprise, even receiving a 10-8 from one judge.

Official Result: Eryk Anders def. Jamie Pickett by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Rafael Dos Anjos

Former lightweight champion RDA has fluctuated between welterweight and lightweight in recent years ever since his hopes of regaining the belt seemed to falter. He has traded wins and losses, going 2-2 in his last four, while looking aged past his prime as well as clearly having some gas left in the tank. With his last two fights being at welterweight, it seems that Dos Anjos prefers to fight at 170-lbs and cut less weight, even if it leaves him at a size disadvantage.

There are a number of veterans at 170 who are not in immediate contention that would make fun fights for RDA. One such name is Alex Morono, who is 5-1 in his last six fights. Morono is not a punishing knockout artist, so this is a way to protect an aging veteran’s health somewhat while still putting Dos Anjos in an interesting fight against a savvy, experienced technician.

Dos Anjos’ Next Fight: Alex Morono

Hakeem Dawodu

Many viewers felt Dawodu was unlucky that the decision did not go his way after fifteen minutes of battling Cub Swanson in the UFC Vegas 78 co-main event. Regardless, the fight goes on his record as a loss, his second in a row and third in four fights. Dawodu still has potential at 145-lbs clearly, but now it’s time to fight another unranked opponent, one with a bit lower status than himself.

Melsik Baghdasaryan is one such fighter. At only 8-2 as a professional, the Armenian is relatively inexperienced but has a solid kickboxing background, much like Dawodu himself. A fight between them would appear to be an electric stand-up affair that could easily earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors on any card. Dawodu needs to right the ship, but at 6-4 still has a respectable record in the UFC, as does Baghdasaryan, who is 3-1 with the promotion.

Dawodu’s Next Fight: Melsik Baghdasaryan

Chris Daukaus

Once one of the most promising prospects at heavyweight, Chris Daukaus now finds himself on the wrong side of four straight knockouts. He moved down to light-heavyweight for his fight with Khalil Rountree, hoping to find more success, but changing weight classes did not improve his results. Daukaus is now 4-4 in the UFC and has to make a decision on which weight class to fight at. He did not appear oversized for light-heavyweight, so it could be the appropriate division for him.

Either way, he will have to fight an unranked opponent next, something he has not done in any of his last five fights. Fighters like Nicolae Negumereanu, Marcin Prachnio, and Maxim Grishin would all make sense for Daukaus next. Of those, Grishin has the worst record in recent outings at 2-3 in his last five, so he is probably the most appropriate option. As a fellow striker, Grishin would make for a fun fight against the boxing-heavy Daukaus.

Daukaus’ Next Fight: Maxim Grishin

Polyana Viana

After the knockout of a lifetime, Polyana Viana could not keep the momentum going against Iasmin Lucindo as she was choked out in the second round at UFC Vegas 78. Viana is now 4-5 in the UFC, but is also 3-2 in her last five, so there is promise there. Her next fight will be down in the rankings somewhat, against another fighter coming off a loss, like Jessica Penne. Penne has lost two in a row to bring her UFC record to 3-5, putting her in a similar spot to Viana and making them perfectly matched opponents.

Viana’s Next Fight: Jessica Penne

Tafon Nchukwi

Cameroon’s Tafon Nchukwi has now lost three fights in a row in the UFC and is 2-4 overall with the promotion. He may get another change, but not many fighters with that promotion record stick around. Nchukwi is a talented fighter, but it may be time for him to go outside the UFC and round out his game more before attempting to return to the top mixed martial arts promotion in the world.

Nchuwki’s Next Fight: Outside of UFC

Jamie Pickett

Jamie Pickett is now 2-6 in the UFC after his latest loss, his fourth in a row, and its honestly surprising he had not been cut before now. The fact that he accepted a fight against Bo Nickal may have something to do with that. However the UFC is not generally in the business of keeping fighters with three times as many losses as wins, so Pickett will have to fight outside the UFC and get a few wins if he wants to make a return to the promotion.

Pickett’s Next Fight: Outside of UFC

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“I just want to send my apologies to the UFC and to my opponent. I’ve never missed weight in my life. Being a wrestler all my life, being (in) mixed martial arts, I’ve never missed weight. I’m ashamed of myself for that,” Fremd told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

He was still able to get the decision victory over Pickett in a fight both men needed to win, but the finish is what Fremd really wanted.

“I’m not stupid, I’ve watched this sport my entire life, I knew where I stood. I know where I stand right now, and I know I needed a finish. I needed a dominant win, I didn’t get that, but I won,” he said.

“It was weird. I didn’t feel any pressure. In the back I was even a little nervous. Why didn’t I feel these butterflies that I normally feel, and I think that’s just part of me growing in the sport, knowing that I belong here.”

Fremd revealed that this was the last fight on his contract, but he hopes to re-sign with the UFC and return to action as soon as possible.

“I’m 2-2, that was the last fight on my contract, I had my opportunity to go out there and finish the fight. I feel like I should have, I didn’t, so right now it’s up to my manager. It’s up to Mick (Maynard), Sean (Shelby), Dana (White), if they want to re-sign me,” said Fremd.

“I’m on a two-fight win streak, and I know I can perform better. They re-sign me I want to fight one more before the year is out. I want three this year.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Josh Fremd above.

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Fremd (10-4) comes off a submission victory over Sedriques Dumas in March, but that’s about all that will help his case following a bad weight miss on Friday.

Pickett (13-9) may be fighting for his job as he take on Fremd while riding a 3-fight losing streak. To his credit Pickett has been a company man taking fights that nobody else wants including against Bo Nickal at UFC 285 in March.

With both men needing an impressive finish in this one to save their roster spots most fans were expecting an exciting bout.

Round 1 Fremd used his size to put pressure on Pickett who was trying to get his jab game and calf kicks going, but was quickly clinched and put on the fence. Most of the round was Fremd with the pressure on the fence.

Round 2 was more of the same but Pickett was able to take advantage of the positions and possibly stealing the round.

Round 3 Pickett came out a lot more aggressive looking to land shots on Fremd, then shot and got him down, but had a tough time making something happen with the take downs early.

Fremd was able to sweep Pickett, worked ground and pound in half guard, but Pickett wasn’t quitting. Pickett was able to get back to his feet, but Fremd wasn’t about to let him fire off any strikes and kept him on the fence.

The rest of the fight went the same way as Fremd chose to not give Pickett any room to fire anything off that could possibly end the fight.

Official Result: Josh Fremd def. Jamie Pickett via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

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“Do or die,” Pickett told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Go out there, put hands on him, get him out of there. Get him out of there fast as possible.”

Pickett comes off a submission loss against Bo Nickal at UFC 285 in March. Prior to the finishing sequence Pickett claimed that Nickal hit him in the groin with a knee which the Nevada State Athletic Commission saw no evidence of.

“I’m sure everybody saw it. I mean…I don’t really b*tch about things. I don’t really say much about anything. Stuff happens. It is what it is,” he said.

With three straight losses Pickett knows his roster spot is in jeopardy, and he offered an explanation of sorts for those fights.

“I’ll just say I took a lot of these fights short notice or taking them right after a fight because I was asked. The Bo Nickal fight I was trained and ready to go, then things happened, things just didn’t happen in my favor,” Pickett said.

“I don’t blame anybody, but the UFC offered me a chance to redeem myself and I’m going to take that and run away with it.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Jamie Pickett above. He takes on Josh Fremd at UFC Vegas 78 on Saturday night.

The post Jamie Pickett Says Fight With Josh Fremd Is “Do Or Die” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Fighters like Neal, Shevchenko, and Ciryl Gane will now be looking to bounce back — here’s what could lie ahead for them.

Ciryl Gane

Gane seemed clueless in defending the takedown and guillotine submission of Jon Jones as he lost in the first round of UFC 285’s main event. This puts him into a spot he has been in before, being a top contender with a loss to the champion.

The French heavyweight now goes back to the drawing board and perhaps even goes to train elsewhere, in search of wrestling coaches. In the meantime, one Tom Aspinall will be putting the finishing touches on his healing plan, giving these two highly talented heavyweight athletes — both have been touted as the ‘new breed of heavyweight’ — the perfect opportunity to fight each other next. With the rest of the top six at heavyweight either being booked, being set for a title fight, or having already fought Gane, this fight makes perfect sense.  As a bonus, the bitter rivalry between France and England would be reignited for this fight, which would make a perfect main event for a UFC London Fight Night.

Gane’s Next Fight: Tom Aspinall

Valentina Shevchenko

Long-reigning women’s flyweight champion Shevchenko was slightly ahead on the scorecards when Alexa Grasso submitted her in the fourth round of what would have been a record-setting eighth title defense. Valentina immediately called for the rematch while still in the octagon, and her achievements are such that it cannot be denied to her if she wants it in a fitting time frame. Can Valentina improve like her rival, Amanda Nunes, did after losing her belt in an upset? Can she improve and dominate a rematch with her new rival, Alexa Grasso, as Nunes did to Julianna Pena last year? It remains to be seen.

Shevchenko’s Next Fight: Rematch vs Alexa Grasso

Geoff Neal

At UFC 285, Geoff Neal shocked the world, despite losing, because of how great of an account he gave of himself against the monstrously talented Shavkat Rahkmonov. Neal defended all of the takedowns from the Kazakh fighter but still had all he could handle on the feet, eventually getting hurt and submitted in the final round. He lost, but won Fight of the Night — and despite missing weight, making him ineligible to win the $50,000 in bonus money, he impressed Dana White enough that he broke that rule.

Neal lost but his stock may never have been higher, similar to one Gilbert Burns. Burns is set to face Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287, which is a perfect timeline for Neal to step in and face the winner at the end of the year in what would be a high profile welterweight bout no matter who wins between Burns and Masvidal.

Neal’s Next Fight: Winner of Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal

Jalin Turner

Jalin Turner showed a mixed bag at UFC 285. He was able to avoid eating a lot of damage when taken down but he was still beaten there, though the decision is arguable. Wrestling still seems to be a weakness for Turner, but perhaps not as much as it was when he lost to Matt Frevola in 2019. Now, perhaps, more than ever is the time for Turner to fight the man he was originally meant to fight: Dan Hooker. Hooker has fallen on rough times but rebounded in his last fight, which is the exact opposite of Turner. Dan Hooker is a fan favorite who would have a chance to recapture his former glory if he could beat Turner. The opposite would mean a 5-0 record for Turner against fighters from Australia and New Zealand.

Turner’s Next Fight: Dan Hooker

Jamie Pickett

Jamie “The Night Wolf” Pickett was thrown to the wolves on Saturday — it is certain in hindsight that he did not have the wrestling to withstand the onslaught of Bo Nickal. Although he did the promotion somewhat of a favor by even taking the fight, his UFC record was 2-4 going into the fight and it seems likely he will be cut after now having lost three in a row. His overall record has been brought to 13-9 and he will now likely test LFA or another organization as he tries to fight his way back to the top. If the UFC opts to give him one more go, an incoming DWCS fighter is probably the best bet.

Pickett’s Next Fight: Out of UFC or newcomer

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Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, and captured both the U.S. National championship and Under 23 World Championship in 2019. Making Pickett, fair or not, something of an afterthought in the fight.

The match-up played out pretty much as expected, with Nickal absolutely living up to the hype.

The fight opened up with Nickal shooting a takedown after Pickett slipped. Pickett was defending well, at least at first. However, Nickal was able to snap his head down and grab the front headlock to pull him down. In a scramble, Nickal took the back and then in half guard was threatening an arm-triangle. Nickal had the choke in for a while but wouldn’t go to side control to get the proper squeeze. He still had the strength to end up forcing Pickett to tap.

The future is EXTREMELY bright for @NoBickal 👏 #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/p1w0V1wBBd

— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023

“I feel at home. I’ve been training my whole life for this,” Nickal said following the fight, speaking to UFC analyst Joe Rogan. “I’m 4-0, I’m 27, I’m young. I’ve been doing MMA for a year and a half, and I’m on the main card of a UFC Pay-Per-View. That’s insane. So I’m just going to keep getting better, keep dominating. And you can bet your ass I’m getting that belt, and I’m going to be the pound-for-pound number one fighter by the time my career is done.”

Official Result: Bo Nickal def. Jamie Pickett by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 2:54

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“I’m just really excited you know. Obviously a big opportunity for me being on this card, being on the main card, very cool. I’m just excited overall. Excited and grateful,” Nickal told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

Pushing the fight from the original UFC 282 date to UFC 285 was a tough but necessary decision for Nickal.

“It was tough. I love competing I want to compete as much as I can and get out there as much as I can. It’s my favorite thing that I get to do. Pushing it back was difficult, but it was a good decision. I’m 100% now, ready to go, had a long camp, and put a lot of time and effort into it,” he said.

While Nickal comes into UFC 285 with a lot of hype behind him following his collegiate wrestling career, and subsequent MMA career including his stint on DWCS, there are plenty of fans who say he doesn’t deserve to be on the pain card of a big pay-per-view.

“Yeah it’s kind of a funny question because it’s not really my decision. I’m not the one that makes that call, but obviously the UFC thought that it was the right move. Personally, if it does come to my opinion, I think it’s the right move too,” said Nickal.

“I think that there’s a lot of people that want to watch me. A lot of people that want to see how I fare, and I think it makes sense. Obviously they agreed with that and if other people disagree then, you know, it’s not really up to you either.”

For Nickal this Saturday is not only a chance to shut the doubters up, but to make a defining start to his UFC career.

“I would obviously love to get a finish. I like to fight exciting style and make sure that I put on a good show for the fans, but you know for me, really success is just being the best version of myself and performing to the best of my ability. Regardless of whether I finish him a minute or win a decision in 15 I think as long as I perform the best and I feel like I gave 100% then that’s a win in my book,” he said.

The push right into a PPV is something Nickal didn’t expect right away, but takes with a laid back approach.

“It’s already been a lot faster than I anticipated. I expected to have quite a few more fights before getting to this point. Obviously there were different plans for me and I’m just riding with it,” said Nickal.

Watch the entire media day scrum with Bo Nickal above. Nickal takes on Jamie Pickett at UFC 285 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The post UFC 285: Bo Nickal Not Worried About Making UFC Debut On PPV appeared first on Cageside Press.

“All the attention is on Bo. I kind of like it that way. I don’t really like, as you know, I don’t like cameras. All the attention is on him. I’m happy about it,” Pickett told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

It isn’t lost on Pickett that the hype is behind Nickal who has been thought of as the next great middleweight prospect.

“I see another athlete that’s ready to compete. I’m ready to compete he’s ready to compete. The UFC’s paying me for a test you know? That’s what I am. I’m a test for him. I’m not stupid,” Pickett said.

“People want to see if he can fare against somebody that’s good all the way around. I’m not really great at one thing, but I’m good everywhere. So they want to see how they deal with me. I plan on spoiling the party.”

Now that the bout is set Pickett knows that, while he feels he is a test for Nickal, that he fights his fight.

“I need to make sure that I remember who I am. The kind of athlete I am. Be athletic, be fast, be first,” he said.

Pickett has had to deal with a lot of Nickal fans on social media to the level that the “The Nightwolf” just can’t believe.

“These people are crazy. I mean I’ve never had this much hate mail. I was like dude, bringing my family in to it, I’m like it’s a fight guys calm down. He seems like a nice guy. I’m a very nice person so it won’t be any animosity or hate. We’re just two competitors we’re going to compete. The UFC wants to see where he’s at. I’m the test,” said Pickett.

“And in my humble opinion I don’t think he’s going to pass the test.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Jamie Pickett above. Pickett faces Bo Nickal on the main card of UFC 285 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The post UFC 285: Jamie Pickett Says He Is Test For Nickal That He Won’t Pass appeared first on Cageside Press.

Nickal (3-0) will face Jamie Pickett (13-8) in a middleweight contest at the event on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, allowing the fight to stay intact.

MMA Junkie was first to report the new date, shortly after the original fell through. UFC officials announced the match-up, along with several others, in a press release distributed on Wednesday.

Ahead of their original date at UFC 282 last month, Nickal, a highly decorated collegiate wrestler, was forced to withdraw due to injury. The 26-year old won his way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, appearing twice and finishing both fights.

While his first appearance on the show was arguably good enough to earn a contract with the company, due to his lack of seasoning, Dana White opted to bring him back, getting him an extra fight’s worth of experience in the process. But there has been little doubt that Nickal belongs in the big leagues since he first crossed over to MMA last year.

Through three wins, Nickal has amassed less than five minutes of actual fight time. His longest outing went 62 seconds. He holds two submissions, both on the Contender Series, and a knockout in that span.

Pickett, a.k.a. “The Nightwolf,” went 1-2 in 2022, but is coming off back-to-back losses against Kyle Daukaus and Denis Tiuliulin. A six-fight UFC veteran with over twenty professional fights to his name, Pickett marks a sizable step up for prospect Nickal.

UFC 285, set for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4, 2023, features the return of light heavyweight great Jon Jones, now moving to heavyweight. The card currently has the following fights reported for it:

• Jon Jones vs. Cyril Gane – for the UFC heavyweight champsionship
• Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso – for the UFC women’s flyweight championship
• Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Geoff Neal
• Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
• Jamie Pickett vs. Bo Nickal
• Julian Marquez vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
• Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Julio Arce
• Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
• Farid Basharat vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
• Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics

Brazilian outlet Combate has also reported that a women’s bantamweight title fight is in the works for March 4, between Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana.

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