Matt Sayles Archives - Cageside Press

UFC Vegas 45: Jordan Leavitt Submits Matt Sayles With An Inverted Triangle

Josh Evanoff — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 21:33:32 +0000

Jordan Leavitt got back into the win column at UFC Vegas 45, adding another submission to his record with an inverted triangle win over Matt Sayles.

After being the victim of the 2019 Submission of the Year (via Twister against Bryce Mitchell), Matt Sayles returned two years hence at UFC Vegas 45 on Saturday.

Opposite Sayles in his return to the octagon was Jordan Leavitt, looking to bounce back from a June loss to Claudio Puelles.

Sayles was moving up to lightweight for the fight, but Leavitt had no problem spoiling his return to the weight class.

Leavitt came out active with kicks early, throwing a variety of kicks to the body and head of Sayles. Sayles quickly adjusted and began walking him down and putting his back against the fence. However, Leavitt quickly shot for a takedown but was caught in a guillotine choke by Sayles. Leavitt escaped, and then landed on top after a scramble. Leavitt began to dominate Sayles on the mat, and Sayles quickly got caught in a front choke attempt. Sayles was able to battle out of the choke and saw the end of the round.

Sayles began pressuring Leavitt once again to start round two. Sayles stuffed the first and second takedown attempts but was briefly forced to the mat when Leavitt pulled guard during a guillotine attempt. In a scramble, Sayles slammed Leavitt down to the mat but was quickly stuck in an inverted triangle attempt. Sayles was caught, wasn’t able to get out of the choke, and was forced to tap.

Early submission attempt by @JoJo_MonkeyKing 👀

[ #UFCVegas45 ] pic.twitter.com/fARczWnPzN

— UFC (@ufc) December 18, 2021

A great submission win by “The Monkey King.” Only the third submission victory by an inverted triangle in the UFC’s history, not a bad way to get back into the win column. Sadly for Matt Sayles, he’s once again on the wrong end of a rare submission.

Official Result: Jordan Leavitt def. Matt Sayles by submission (inverted triangle), Round 2, 2:05

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The Weight Cutting Chronicles: UFC Vegas 45

Bryson Hester — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 03:52:36 +0000

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 select 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.

Diego Ferreira (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC)

Lightweight (155lbs): Missed weight 2x in UFC

Diego Ferreira has been in the UFC since 2014.

Ferreira missed weight for the first time in the UFC back in 2019. Ferreira came in at 157lbs for the bout and was able to win a unanimous decision against his opponent, Rustam Khabilov, the following day.

In Diego’s next scheduled fight, just three months later, he was slatted to take on Francisco Trinaldo. Unfortunately, Diego had to withdraw from the fight thanks to kidney stones during the official weigh in ceremony for the card. The Brazilian athletic commission deemed Diego medically unfit to compete in the bout, so as a result, it was cancelled.

Ahead of Diego Ferreira’s most recent fight, against Gregor Gillespie, he missed weight when he came in at 160.5lbs for the bout. Diego also lost to his opponent when he was finished in the 2nd round of the fight via ground and pound.

Ferreira is now 36 years old, and at 5’9″ with a 74″ reach it would be very difficult for him to move up in weight to the 170lbs division that is so heavily stacked.

Diego is definitely heavy for the weight class and recently suffered from an injury that made him pull out from his latest scheduled fight against Grant Dawson back in October.

Ferreira will be a fighter to watch on the scale and in the cage for UFC Vegas 45.

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Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles Set For December 18 UFC Event

Alex Behunin — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 01:56:58 +0000

A pair of UFC lightweights will be looking to get back into the win column at the end of the year.

On Saturday, Matt Sayles announced on his Instagram that he will be fighting Jordan Leavitt on December 18 at a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Leavitt would confirm the booking on his own Instagram account shortly after.

After having an excellent 2020, Leavitt (8-1) suffered his first professional loss in his last outing. In June, he lost a unanimous decision to Claudio Puelles. Before his loss, he went 4-0 in 2020, in which he won a UFC contract on season four of Dana White’s Contender Series and then viciously knocked out and retired Matt Wiman.

By the time Sayles (8-3) enters the octagon in December, it will be more than two years since he last competed. In his last outing, he was submitted by Bryce Mitchell via the ultra-rare twister. Sayles will be moving up to lightweight after going 1-2 in the featherweight division.

No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been officially announced for the December 18 event, but UFC President Dana White said that all Fight Nights would be staying at the Apex in Las Vegas, NV.

The December 18 card only has two other fights scheduled thus far.

Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Ansaroff
Anthony Hernandez vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian
Raphael Assunção vs. Ricky Simón
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles

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UFC San Diego Gets Jared Gordon vs. Matt Sayles

Jay Anderson — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 13:35:37 +0000

If it goes down as planned, a featherweight scrap is on deck for UFC San Diego.

The promotion returns to California in May, and 145lb’ers Jared Gordon and Matt Sayles are expected to join the card. MMA Junkie was first to report the news.

Sayles (8-3) has gone 1-2 in the UFC to date. Most recently, he became the victim of one of only two twister submissions in UFC history, care of Bryce Mitchell. Prior to that, Sayles had picked up his first win inside the octagon, against Canada’s Kyle Prepolec at UFC Ottawa.

This will be a hometown show for Sayles, who fights out of San Diego and trains with Alliance MMA.

Jared Gordon (15-4) has been with the UFC since 2017, and has gone 3-3 in that stretch. ‘Flash’ Gordon holds wins over Michel Quiñones, Hacran Dias, and Dan Moret in the promotion. Last time out, he was finished on the feet by the surging Charles Oliveira (who picked up a seventh consecutive stoppage win at UFC Brasilia this past weekend).

UFC San Diego (UFC Fight Night 175) is expected to take place May 16, 2020 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The following bouts have been announced for the event:

Ariane Lipski vs. Luana Carolina
Punahele Soriano vs. Anthony Hernandez
Cortney Casey vs. Lara Procopio
Alex Perez vs. Kai Kara-France

While nothing is official, Dan Hooker vs. Dustin Poirier is being looked at to serve as the main event.

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UFC DC Results: Bryce Mitchell Hits First-Round Twister on Matt Sayles

Dan Doherty — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 01:04:02 +0000

Bryce Mitchell did the unthinkable. In the first round of his bout at UFC DC, “Thug Nasty” caught Matt Sayles in a twister. The second one in promotional history.

Bryce Mitchell was part of the Undefeated season of TUF, coming in with a 9-0 record. He went 1-1 on the show, falling to eventual winner Brad Katona. Mitchell is 2-0 since then, defeating Tyler Diamond and Bobby Moffett, pushing his official record to 11-0. Sayles entered the UFC through the Contender Series in 2018, winning by first-round stoppage. He is 1-1 in the Octagon thus far, coming off a submission victory over Kyle Nelson.

Mitchell started the fight with a side kick to the body. Sayles pushed forward with a punch, then Mitchell drove him across the Octagon with a single-leg takedown. Mitchell got to side control, but Sayles worked his way to half guard. “Thug Nasty” pushed through to full mount and Sayles was in early trouble in just over two minutes. Mitchell went to taked the back, but Sayles resisted, keeping Mitchell in mount. Sayles turned to escape, but this time, Mitchell got the back with a minute to work. Sayles tried to escape, but a window opened for Mitchell. He locked up a leg and placed the opposite arm behind his head, grabbed the head of Sayles and cranked like there was no tomorrow. Sayles was forced to tap and Mitchell landed the second twister in UFC history.

UFC HISTORY 📝

🇺🇸 @ThugnastyMMA records the second twister EVER in the Octagon!

➡️ Action continues on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/vN85j7AAxC

— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2019

Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles by Submission (Twister) in Round 1 (4:20)

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UFC Ottawa: For Matt Sayles, Brother’s Struggle Bigger Than UFC Win

Jay Anderson — Sun, 05 May 2019 23:39:50 +0000

Everyone has their own fight. Matt Sayles had his in the octagon Saturday against Kyle Nelson, but his brother’s struggles were never far from his mind.

Ottawa, ON — On a card stacked with Canadian fighters — ten of them, in fact — at UFC Ottawa on Saturday, Matt Sayles had the unenviable task of taking on Kyle ‘The Monster’ Nelson on enemy turf, just down the highway from Nelson’s home in Huntsville, Ontario. That Sayles was not alone in that position was no doubt of little comfort. Yet in the end, he got the job done.

That was not the battle he was concerned with following the fight, however. After addressing the bout back stage with reporters including Cageside Press, Sayles spoke, openly and honestly, about a brother living on the streets, struggling with addiction.

A far bigger fight than fifteen minutes in the octagon.

Sayles had a message for his brother Saturday: “If you see this Steven, I love you.”

“Sadly, my brother is homeless and struggles with addiction,” he explained. “A lot of my family has before. He was actually shot and almost lost his life on the streets. So dealing with that, coming off a loss, it was tough to see him go through that, so I’m just glad to get that W.”

When it comes to helping those who might not want it, Sayles’ advice is to “just stay tough. If they’re not ready for the help, you can’t help them. Just show them the love anyway because you don’t know if they’ll be there tomorrow.”

These sorts of struggles, suggested Sayles, have shaped his approach to fighting. “Since the beginning, fighting, it’s been my goal to make it a platform and share my feelings with the world and be raw with it. Be who I am and hopefully inspire others to follow the same footsteps,” he explained.

And there was never a thought of pulling out of the fight, despite the heartbreaking situation. “I didn’t want to let something like that drag me down. If he sees this, Steven, you can be here too man.”

As for the fight itself, Nelson weathered an early storm, and many were surprised the fight wasn’t stopped at that point, with the Canadian covering up. “I was [expecting a stoppage],” Sayles admitted. “He went for the leg lock and I was able to stay heavy on top of him. I thought for sure I’d be able to put him away. I just punched my heart out. Literally. In the second round, I felt it. Not putting him away, I was a little upset with, but I was able to get the job done.”

In the end, the submission came later in the bout. Sayles said he was confident and hungry coming into the night, looking to avenge a loss in his debut. A loss that left him with a torn retina.

“I think for the fans, it’s a great fight,” he said of his overall performance. “It shows a lot of what I’m about. That second round was tough, I had to battle through adversity. He had a really good, deep choke in there and I was able to defend it. That’s what I’m about. I can come through the worst of it and still come back and get a win. I’m just glad it when that way because now the fans know what I’m about.”

“Throughout this camp and before, that’s one submission I’m good at,” he noted of the finish. The arm-triangle choke, once finally in place, left little room for escape. “He was off-balance from that shot on the underhook. I was able to step over to mount when I saw the opportunity. I was thinking, ‘strike, strike, strike.’ His arm just came across and my left arm was underneath, then I recognized the position and just went for it and gave it my all and finished him.”

There was some question after as to whether Nelson had gone out, despite tapping. “I saw him get up after and start stumbling around. I heard him wheezing and breathing. He tapped, but I didn’t let go right away because the ref didn’t pull me off. Possibly, those chokes are really tight and you never know,” Sayles recalled. “I did see him after and he looked a little wobbly but you don’t know. Your brain’s really messed up after a fight so I couldn’t say for sure.”

With his first UFC win under his belt, Sayles, now 8-2, intends to get back to work. After a little time to wind down. “I want to go home. I want to eat. Enjoy my time with my family for a week and get right back into the gym and hopefully get back in here in three-four months and get another W. There’s no particular opponent I have my eyes set on. Whoever the UFC gives me, I plan on beating and working my way up the ladder fairly.”

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UFC Ottawa Results: Matt Sayles Gets Late Submission of Kyle Nelson

Keith Shillan — Sat, 04 May 2019 23:00:31 +0000

Matt Sayles picked up the first submission win of his career with a third-round head and arm choke against Kyle Nelson at UFC Ottawa.

Kyle Nelson is coming off a loss to Carlos Diego Ferreira in what was a short-notice promotional debut last December. The Canadian was 12-1 before signing with the UFC with a win over former Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins. Of his 12 career victories, four are by knockout and four are by submission. Check out our interview with Nelson here.

Matt Sayles also fell in his promotional debut, dropping a decision to Sheymon Moraes in August. Sayles fought his way to the UFC through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, winning by TKO in just under two minutes. The Californian trains at Alliance MMA amongst fighters like Dominick Cruz, Jeremy Stephens, etc., and has knockouts in six of his seven victories.

Round 1

Sayles opens the action with an inside kick but gets blasted by a shot from Nelson. He regroups well and goes back to kicking Nelson’s legs several times. The Canadian slides into the pocket and hits Sayles with an overhand. He slides back in again but tastes a combination from Sayles.

They exchange big shots and Nelson briefly falls to the ground. Both guys are throwing hard! Sayles buckles Nelson’s leg. The DWTNCS backs up with foe with a right hand. He catches a kick from Nelson, but Nelson turns and stumbles out of the takedown. Sayles runs and throws a flying kick to Nelson’s gut.

Back in the center, Nelson is floored by a shot. Sayles charges at him and fires off tons of ground and pound. Nelson drops down for an ankle but eats a bunch of shots from the American. Sayles looks at the referee hoping he will stop the fight, but the Canadian uses the opportunity to roll for a kneebar, he switches to a toe hold but can’t lock it up. Sayles spins to the back of Nelson and fires off some really big shots. Nelson continually rolls away from the damage as the round ends but eats a bunch of punches.

Huge round for Sayles!

Cageside Press scored the round 10-8 Sayles

Round 2

Nelson takes the center and Sayles goes back to chopping the legs. The Canadian misses a takedown attempt and is cracked with a right hand. Nelson shoots in on a takedown but in a scramble finds a guillotine. He tries to grab the sub, but Sayles breaks free.

Back in the center, Sayles goes on the offense once again with several leg kicks. Nelson shoots in on a takedown and finally gets Sayles down. He tries to work to his feet but gives up his back in the process. The Canadian locks both hooks in and pulls Sayles on top of him. He starts looking for a choke, but Sayles defends the hands well. Suddenly he finds the opening and locks the rear naked choke in. Sayles looks in trouble. Somehow, Sayles breaks the lock and spends the remainder of the round defending the submission attempt.

Nice bounce-back round for Nelson.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 for Nelson.

Round 3

Nelson hits Sayles with a right hand and gets counter with an uppercut. He marches forward and shoots on a takedown. Sayles sprawls out and attempts a guillotine but Nelson defends it well. Nelson attempts an ugly takedown which Sayles easily dodges.

They exchange right hands. Nelson shoots in on a takedown once again which is blocked. Back on the feet, Sayles hits Nelson with a grazing spinning elbow. They exchange right hands and Nelson shoots in deep on Sayles’ hips.

He presses the DWTNCS alumni against the cage, but can’t get him down. They break and the American opens up with some shots. Nelson shoots in on a bad takedown and in a scramble, Sayles takes the mount. Sayles locks in a head and arm choke. He squeezes and Nelson is forced to tap out.

Matt Sayles def. Kyle Nelson by submission (head and arm choke) in Round 3 (3:16)

That's it!

Matt Sayles gets the late 3rd-round sub at #UFCOttawa on enemy soil! pic.twitter.com/XU9QN121Rq

— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2019

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Nordine Taleb vs. Siyar Bahadurzada, Kyle Nelson vs. Matt Sayles Added to UFC Ottawa

Jay Anderson — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 23:05:04 +0000

Canadians Nordine Taleb and Kyle Nelson have been added to UFC Ottawa, taking on Siyar Bahadurzada and Matt Sayles, respectively.

The UFC’s return trip to Ottawa continues to rely heavily on Canadian talent. Over the weekend, Kyle Nelson was announced making his return to the octagon. UFC officials revealed that the featherweight would take on Matt Sayles on the card, set to go down in May. And on Monday, the promotion added welterweights Nordine Taleb and Siyar Bahadurzada to the card.

Taleb (14-6), born in France but representing Canada, appeared on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. He turned up on both TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia, and on TUF 19. Despite being eliminated on each he was signed to the UFC, and has gone 6-4 since 2014. However, Taleb has struggled of late, losing two straight against Claudio Silva and Sean Strickland.

His opponent, Siyar Bahadurzada (24–7–1), is 4-3 in the UFC and coming off a loss to Curtis Millender. That snapped a three-fight win streak capped by a Performance of the Night bonus against Luan Chagas.

Kyle Nelson (12-2) jumped into the UFC on short notice at UFC 231 in Toronto. Though he came up short against Carlos Diego Ferreira that night, he’ll get a second look at UFC Ottawa (UFC Fight Night 150). There, he’ll face Matt Sayles (7-2), who appeared on the Contender Series before losing his promotional debut at UFC 227 against Sheymon Moraes.

UFC Ottawa takes place May 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, ON. The card airs on ESPN+, and TSN in Canada.

Update, 4/19/2019 — Due to a change in UFC broadcast plans, UFC Ottawa is now UFC Fight Night 151/UFC on ESPN+ 9

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UFC 227 Results: Sheymon Moraes Wins Controversial Decision Against Matt Sayles

Josh Evanoff — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 00:42:22 +0000

A featherweight battle between Matt Sayles and Sheymon Moraes kicked off the FX Prelims of UFC 227.

Matt Sayles is another one of the Contender Series fighters that are attempting to make their mark on the UFC, and a win his debut would absolutely show his ability. That’s what Sayles was looking for at UFC 227 on Saturday night in L.A. The man standing in his way was one Sheymon Moraes, who had lost his only UFC fight to date against Zabit Magomedsharipov last November. Moraes was attempting to get on the winning track against Sayles in his first fight of 2018.

In the end, it was Brazil’s Moraes who came out on top, but not without a bit of controversy.

In the earlier moments of the fight, Moraes was throwing some really hard shots and appeared to be landing more than Matt Sayles. However, Moraes’ best strikes of the fight were a series of multiple eye pokes on Matt Sayles. Despite the ref not taking a point, they clearly had an effect on Sayles. It’s as if getting poked in the eye four times hurts, who knew? Sayles was showing clear discomfort with his eye as the fight progressed. Yet despite the eye pokes, Sayles made a fight of it and kept moving forward the entire bout.

The first two rounds were quite close frankly. However, the third round clearly belonged to Sayles. Even after all the eye pokes and shots he ate, he kept coming forward and landing blow after blow on Moraes. Sayles showed great heart and cardio in this fight, while opponent Moraes displayed a really high level striking game. A fun fight all around, however a point should’ve been taken for Moraes repeated eye pokes. It wasn’t, and instead, Moraes came out ahead in a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.

🗣 By Unanimous Decision!@SheymonMoraes gets it done in his second Octagon appearance. #UFC227 pic.twitter.com/FzbpSjUdkc

— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2018

Sheymon Moraes def. Matt Sayles by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Greg Hardy Returns to DWTNCS in August, Matt Sayles Added to UFC 227

Staff — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 11:06:14 +0000

DWTNCS veterans Greg Hardy and Matt Sayles have their next fights set, but only one will actually be in the UFC.

A couple of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series winners have had their next bouts set, under very different circumstances. On the DWTNCS 12 broadcast Tuesday, the UFC announced that Matt Sayles had been booked to appear at UFC 227. He’ll face Sheymon Moraes at the Los Angeles card, which takes place next month. Meanwhile, disgraced former NFL star Greg Hardy, who won a developmental deal with his appearance on DWTNCS, will appear on the show again, rather than head to the UFC with just a 1-0 record. Per a report by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Hardy will appear for the second time this season, on the August 7 episode.

Hardy (1-0), unlikely to ever live down the domestic violence charges leveled against him, was 3-0 as an amateur before defeating another former NFL star, Austen Lane, on the Contender Series back in June. It was Hardy’s first fight, Lane’s fifth. Hardy, however, scored the knockout in just over a minute.

That earned him a developmental gig with the UFC, meaning the company would look outside the promotion to get him some seasoning. But rather than head to a friendly promotion like LFA, they’re opting to keep Hardy more or less in house in this instance. Hardy will face Tebaris Gordon (3-0) in his next bout, a North Carolina heavyweight who clocks in just shy of the heavyweight limit. Gordon also boasts three finishes in three fights.

Sayles (7-1), meanwhile, beat Yazan Hajeh a week after Hardy’s appearance on the Contender Series. Sayles was one of four lucky winners on the June 19 edition of the show to pick up contracts, a first for DWTNCS. His opponent, Sheymon Moraes, is 9-2 in his pro career to date but dropped his UFC debut to Zabit Magomedsharipov.

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