All in all a fantastic card. Unfortunately, the main event was extremely anticlimactic as the most accredited man in combat sports, Henry Cejudo, made his return to the sport at 38 years old just to suffer a technical decision defeat thanks to an eye poke from Song Yadong. In the co-main event, it was a rematch over seven years in the making as Anthony Hernandez grinded out Brendan Allen in an extremely entertaining grappling affair. Some high-ranking fighters and upcoming prospects, especially for a fight night card, on this edition of Losers.

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo lost a technical decision to Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle after he could not continue due to a double eye poke. Despite taking the entire five minutes of allotted injury time, Cejudo informed the ref and doctor that he could not see out of one eye triggering the end of the fight. It was a disappointing outcome for Cejudo as he has now lost three fights in a row beginning with losing his belt to Aljamain Sterling in May of 2023.

Cejudo entered the bout ranked at #7 in the UFC’s bantamweight division while his opponent was ranked at #8. While one wouldn’t say that running this one back would be the only thing that makes sense in this situation, it certainly makes the most sense. Especially hearing Song’s immediate reaction to the outcome of the fight in his post-fight octagon interview. If Song’s down for the immediate rematch, this would still be the fight to make, as the scrap was competitive up until the fouls were committed. Dana White doesn’t like it, but he’s changed his mind before.

Cejudo’s next fight: Song Yadong rematch 

Brendan Allen

Brendan Allen lost a back-and-forth unanimous decision to Anthony Hernadez in a fight that saw the southern-bred fighter gain the upper hand in virtually every striking exchange. It was Allen’s second loss in a row after dropping a unanimous decision to Nassourdine Imavov in last September. Before that, Allen was riding high on a seven-fight win streak that featured five finishes. He was eyeing a title shot. Not anymore.

Allen entered the fight ranked at #9 in the UFC’s middleweight division while “Fluffy” was ranked at #12. These two first met back in January of 2018 at LFA 32 for the middleweight championship. That bout actually went eerily similar to this (except it was five rounds) as Hernandez wore down Allen on the ground, winning a decision.

Brendan should take on Roman Kopylov in his next fight. Kopylov is ranked at #14 and riding a two fight win streak including Allen’s most recent victory, Chris Curtis. Roman’s most recent loss was also opposite of “Fluffy” as well. Though Kopylov lost by submission in the second round instead of going the distance. This would be an interesting one as Allen’s striking looked good Saturday while Kopylov is known for his dynamic striking.

Allen’s next fight: Roman Kopylov 

Jean Matsumoto

Jean Matsumoto suffered his first defeat in professional MMA career Saturday, when Rob Font stunned the youngster stealing a split decision nod. Matsumoto, a 2023 Contender Series alum had scored two victories with the UFC since joining the promotion a couple years ago. Matsumoto submitted Dan Argueta in his promotional debut before snagging a unaimous decision over Brad Katona last October.

Undoubtedly, this wasn’t the outcome Jean was hoping to have for a big fight at UFC Seattle. But the 25-year-old had an excellent showing on short notice (stepping up for an injured and now retired, Dominick Cruz) against the #9 ranked bantamweight, having more than a few moments in the fight. But the veteran turned it up in the final round out damaging Jean to steal the fight. A huge favor done for the promotion and a banger fight.

Matsumoto, who entered the fight unranked, is worthy of another shot of earning a ranking next to his name, especially if someone in #10-15 range is available and the timing makes sense. A fight against a guy like Jonathan Martinez could make sense. Martinez has lost his last two fights- both against ranked opposition in Jose Aldo and Marcus McGhee. Before that, he was on a six-fight winning streak featuring two finishes.  Jonathan is dangerous, established in the promotion at 10-5, and has a little bit of a name. So, the winner of this bout could easily be looking at a matchup against someone in the rankings.

Matsumoto’s next fight: Jonathan Martinez

Melsik Baghdasaryan

Melsik Baghdasryan was dropped and finished by Jean Silva in the first round of their bout on the main card of UFC Seattle. The finish was brutal and Melsik had been out of action since July of 2023, tearing his labrum and having three fights cancelled in that time period.

Baghdasaryan, a 2020 season Contender Series alum, is now 3-2 with the UFC. But those two losses have come in his past three fights. Melsik is an accredited striker with pro kickboxing and boxing experience despite his rather green, 8-3 pro MMA record. A good matchup for Melsik would be another fighter who lost on Saturday, Andre Fili. Andre was submitted in the first round of his first against Melquizael Costa, and has lost three of his last five. Fili is a UFC featherweight staple with a 12-11, 1 NC with the UFC in his 12+ years tenure with the promotion. Andre’s victories in that time were a first-round finish against Lucas Almeida and most recently a split decision fight of the night against Cub Swanson last June.

Fili is always game for a scrap and more than competent standing. Couldn’t see any way that a fight between these two would not be a back-and-forth affair that has equal chances of going the distance or come to a sudden and brutal stoppage. Winner would be right in the middle of the featherweight traffic moving upwards with two or three wins away from getting a ranked fight.

Baghdasaryan’s next fight: Andre Fili 

Julius Walker

Julius Walker dropped a split decision to #15 ranked light heavyweight, Alonzo Menifield, to kick off the UFC Seattle main card on Saturday. It was Walker’s debut in the UFC as the former Synergy and Peak Fighting light heavyweight champion competed on the regional scene as recently as December.

The 25-year-old light heavyweight is still extremely early on in his career at 6-1. Walker’s barnburner with Menifield earned him fight of the night honors. Fans should keep tabs on this fighter as 205lbs continues to struggle to find new, young, and exciting talent.

Walker should take on another fighter who lost last night, Ibo Aslan. Ibo lost to UFC vet Ion Cutelaba by first round submission. Aslan is 2-1 with the UFC since coming off the Contender Series in 2023. Back then, he was an 11-1 fighter that had faced just three opponents with winning records. Aslan has more than proven himself since then, stopping his first two opponents including an undefeated 11-0, Raffael Cerqueira. Aslan also had his first fight with the organization win fight of the night honors. A fight like that has the potential to be a nail bitter for fans.

Walker’s next fight: Ibo Aslan 

The post What’s Next: UFC Seattle Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Damn dude it’s actually very tough to talk about this,” Silva told Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight presser.

“It’s something that I have to, and I need to, deal with on a regular basis. On a daily basis. My wife knows this because I go to the bathroom every day when I wake up and I just stay there. It could be hours. Just dealing with emotions, and it’s not in a bad sense. A lot of good stuff, but you need to be able to control that. Not to be a problem.”

Silva (15-2) showed quite a bit of emotion during fight week, but he says it comes from a place of gratitude and not sadness. His life has changed dramatically since joining the UFC.

“When I hear Bruce Buffer say my name do you understand the number of people that would like to be in my place? There are many people that do what I do, that been in this game, that dedicate themselves as much as or even more than I do. That put in the work that cannot be here so it’s so much that goes into it,” he said.

“All those emotions just come out at that moment.”

His wife, Carol, is his rock in an ever-changing game that is fighting. He began to get very emotional when speaking about her.

“I do not remember the time in my life and the life that I had before her. I was a problem. I was a problem of a man. I met her and she believed in me, and she got me back into school, to study and to finish my studies,” he said.

“She got me back into that. She was my first teacher. We met training. She was the first person that trained me. I just kept saying, I still keep saying to her, ‘do not give up on me’.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jean Silva above.

The post Jean Silva Pulls The Curtain Back On Emotions, ‘Do not give up on me’ appeared first on Cageside Press.

The surging Silva had finished the likes of Drew Dober and Charles Jourdain, while Melsik had posted his own 3-1 record under the UFC banner. This was Baghdasaryan’s first trip to the octagon since July of 2023, as he has been plagued with injury. A big contrast from Silva, who made a name for himself in 2024 in part due to his activity level.

The fight started with both fighters feinting a lot, being mindful of the striking skills of their opponent. Through the first minute and a half, they kept exchanging kicks, trying to take advantage of the open stance matchup. As they kept trying to draw openings, Silva was the first to land with authority, catching Baghdasaryan with a right hook. A step-in elbow from the Brazilian barely missed, which was then followed by a right hook from Melsik. Silva then landed a massive 3-2 combination that dropped Baghdasaryan flat on his back. Silva looked at the ref, warning him to stop the fight, but he didn’t. Perhaps a regretful decision from Kevin MacDonald, as Silva then landed some punishing elbows to Melsik’s body, forcing him to put a stop to the action.

The Fighting Nerds product now moves to 4-0 in the promotion, all of which coming by knockout. He called out Bryce Mitchell in his post-fight interview and while it is uncertain if he will get that fight, you have to imagine that ranked opposition is next for him.

As for the Armenian, this was a tough comeback after a nearly 20-month layoff. He will look to bounce back later on this year.

Official Result: Jean Silva def. Melsik Baghdasaryan by TKO, Round 1, 4:15

The post UFC Seattle: Jean Silva Cracks Melsik Baghdasaryan in Latest Stoppage Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

Baghdasaryan (8-2) has been dealing with a series of injuries that kept him out of action up until this weekend.

“I got three serious injuries. One I broke my hand, one partial labrum tear, and then one time I got sick,” Baghdasaryan told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Never been sick in my life like that. I was even talking by myself like couple days. My daughter was sleeping (in) a different room. I was talking to her at like 1am. I don’t even remember couple days. (My) wife and family telling me ‘you did this, you did that'”

The featherweight didn’t even realize how sick he was. He thought his family was joking about him doing different things.

“I’m like ‘you guys joking?’ they said no. That took my like more than a month, month and 10-20 days, I don’t know what that was. I always training,” he said.

He didn’t stop training or at least working out as he found ways to work around the first two injuries.

“I have broken hand I do like running or I do bike. I do whatever I can. It doesn’t stop me,” he said.

“That always was my problem. I always want to fight like back to back. You have to fight, fight, fight to be in the game. Just fight back to back. That’s my goal.”

Watch the entire Melsik Baghdasaryan media day scrum above. He takes on Jean Silva at UFC Seattle on Saturday night.

The post Melsik Baghdasaryan Dealt With Injuries, Illness, In Long Layoff appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Fighting Nerds, the cool thing about it is, it adds up. Everybody just coming in. Everybody has something to contribute,” Silva told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“It adds up now to what is literally the best team in the world. We literally won an award. It’s amazing to be a part of this. The journey’s been amazing. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of this.”

Silva (14-2) has seen a lot of success alongside his Fighting Nerds teammates, and they’ve become more of a family than anything. Silva became emotional speaking about them.

“Very intense about things. What I feel when all this happens, and to be here in the greatest event in the world living a dream, is that dream is nothing compared to doing it. To see everyone wearing this jacket. To see everyone behind me. Seeing my wife right here. I’m very grateful to be here. I’m living a dream and it’s amazing,” said Silva.

It’s not just living a dream alongside his teammates, but the guidance of Caio Borralho as the team works together for the betterment of everyone involved.

“We talk a lot about business. The company is trying to succeed. It’s not conversations about someone’s worth because it’s very hard to put price on people. It’s more of a value and what the decisions go into and what things you do to make those decisions,” he said.

“Your decisions will lead to being paid more in this company.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Jean Silva above. He takes on Melsik Baghdasaryan on Saturday night.

The post Jean Silva Is All About The Fighting Nerds, ‘Living a dream’ appeared first on Cageside Press.

Baghdasaryan was the originally scheduled opponent for Muhammad Naimov, who will now face Lima this Saturday instead. The fight is expected to be contested at featherweight.

News of the switch was first reported by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff. Oktagon officials confirmed to Cageside Press that Lima, their reigning bantamweight champ, has been released by the company, per the terms of his contract. An update on future plans for the promotion’s bantamweight title is expected shortly.

Lima (12-1) defeated Jonas Magard in July of 2023 to capture the Oktagon bantamweight crown. He had been expected to face Magard for a second time in a rematch next month, a fight that will no longer transpire with Lima inking a deal with the UFC.

Brazil’s Lima, 26, has not lost a fight since his pro debut in 2015, which remains as his first and only professional defeat.

Muhammad Naimov (11-2) has put together a three-fight win streak since joining the UFC, and has won six straight overall. He has not lost since back-to-back setbacks in 2020/21, outside of the UFC.

UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22, 2024 marks the promotion’s debut in the Kingdom. Just days ago, the card suffered a major blow when it was revealed that Khamzat Chimaev was forced out of his main event middleweight fight with ex-champ Robert Whittaker. Chimaev was subsequently replaced by Ikram Aliskerov.

With Lima stepping in against Naimov, the card currently features the following reported match-ups:

• Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
• Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
• Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby
• Kang Kyung-ho vs. Muin Gafurov
• Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
• Xiao Long vs. Lee Chang-ho
• Sedriques Dumas vs. Denis Tiuliulin
• Muhammad Naimov vs. Felipe Lima

The post Oktagon Champ Felipe Lima Steps In Against Muhammad Naimov at UFC Saudi Arabia appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lutz found some success with his kicks early in the opening round, landing a couple with an audible crack in the opening minute. Those kicks were keeping Baghdarsaryan at a distance, which resulted in Baghdasaryan firing back a kick or two of his own.

It was Lutz, meanwhile, who landed the first takedown of the fight, blasting in and planting Baghdasaryan, who soon had his back to the fence, looking for a way up. Lutz, however, stayed heavy on the legs, and was able to stall Baghdasaryan time and again as he tried to make it make up — which he only did in the dying seconds of the round.

Lutz opened the second with a low kick, while Baghdasaryan stayed outside, no doubt wary of the takedown. Baghdasaryan caught Lutz with a counter coming in, leading Lutz to retreat, and Melsik to chase him down, firing a bit wild but clearly aware that Lutz was compromised.

Unfortunately for Baghdasaryan, Lutz would recover — but Melsik had momentum behind him. Moments later, an unfortunate turn of events: Tucker was hit low, and staggered back, looking to the ref. As the ref moved in to call time, Baghdasaryan connected with a clean head kick. Luckily, it wasn’t full power, even if it was flush — and Lutz took only a few seconds to recover from the low blow.

Closing out the round with one more takedown, Lutz appeared to have survived a scare or two — but the second had been a much better frame for Baghdasaryan.

Round three was halted just as it got started, care of another foul by Baghdasaryan — an eye poke. When they did get going again, it was Lutz in on the legs, trapping Baghdasaryan against the fence. Melsik tried to use the cage for leverage, grabbed the cage, tried crawling away, but could not get Tucker Lutz off him. Not using a whizzer was a curious enough choice, but after Lutz took the back sitting and got one hook in, Baghdasaryan reversed and climbed out.

With two minutes remaining in the frame, however, Baghdasaryan needed to create some space. Instead, Lutz reversed, and went in on a single. Baghdasaryan dropped an elbow, and the pair jockeyed for position, ultimately making the round a fairly close one.

Come the scorecards, all three judges scored the fight for Melsik Baghdasaryan, who admitted that he “underestimated my opponent” following the fight.

29-28 across all of the scorecards 👏

🇦🇲 @Melsik_The_Gun is back in the win column! #UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/dRl6CP3hhf

— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2023

Official Result: Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Tucker Lutz by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 77: Melsik Baghdasaryan Wins Decision, Admits He Underestimated Tucker Lutz appeared first on Cageside Press.

Baghdasaryan was undefeated in the UFC, but had missed all of 2022. He looked to make up for lost time on Saturday, staying active early in the face of some Culibao kicks, and a thunderous Australian audience in attendance at the RAC Arena in Perth.

Sydney native Culibao nearly caught a kick about two minutes in, but the blow to the body still landed at least partially. Baghdasaryan ate a number of kicks to the thigh, pressing forward. Baghdasaryan mixed up his own kicking attacks, going high to the body and even flashing a front kick. Melsik was showing some redness on the thigh by the end of the round, while Culibao was bloodied by a Baghdasaryan hook.

In the dying seconds of the frame, kickboxer Melsik Baghdasaryan fired a spinning back kick — landing with the heel to Culibao’s groin. Culibao immediately went down in pain; he was given five minutes to recover, but took just over two. On the restart, both fighters fanned on kicks up top.

An axe kick saw Baghdasaryan open round two with flair. The duo traded kicks, though whether it was wise for Culibao to play to Baghdasaryan’s strengths was a question. Takedowns, however, had been an afterthought in the fight, if they had been thought of at all in the early going.

The tide turned in a heartbeat. A kick for Culibao was followed immediately by a jab, which took Baghdasaryan off his feet. The Australian was immediately all over him! Culibao locked up a tight rear-naked choke, hooks in, and while Baghdasaryan fought the hands briefly, he was forced to tap while the crowd in attendance roared in approval.

JOSH CULIBAO HAS NO QUIT 😤@CulibaoMMA taps Baghdasaryan after dealing with adversity in Round 1! #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/bbDsfTO732

— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023

Official Result: Josh Culibao def. Melsik Baghdasaryan by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:02

The post UFC 284: Josh Culibao Endures Low Blow, Subs Melsik Baghdasaryan appeared first on Cageside Press.

Promotion officials announced the pairing, which will take place at the UFC’s April 16, 2022 Fight Night event, on social media Thursday. The duo were originally scheduled to face off as part of UFC 268 last November, only for Canada’s Laramie to withdraw due to an MRSA infection.

Baghdasaryan (7-1) instead faced former LFA champ Bruno Souza, earning a unanimous decision victory. The Armenian fighter, who won his way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, debuted on the big stage with a head kick win against Collin Anglin.

Laramie (12-4), a fellow Contender Series winner from the class of 2020, came up short in his one and only UFC fight to date. That came against Darrick Minner in September of 2020, just a month after he won his way into the promotion. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak for the Windsor, Ontario-based fighter.

The UFC’s April 16, 2022 event does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan announced. To date, the following match-ups have been reported for the card:

• Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
• Drakkar Klose vs. Brandon Jenkins
• Miguel Baeza vs. Dhiego Lima
• Jesse Ronson vs. Rafa García
• Chris Barnett vs. Martin Buday
• Caio Borralho vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
• Lina Länsberg vs. Pannie Kianzad
• Uriah Hall vs. André Muniz

The post Let’s Try This Again: T.J Laramie vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan Back on for April 16 UFC Event appeared first on Cageside Press.

That means there are plenty of UFC athletes to keep an eye on. We’ve got our top 20 compiled, consisting of unranked fighters with five fights or less inside the UFC cage.

First, here is a recap of the 20 UFC prospects we chose last year:

• Movsar Evloev (2-0 in 2021 and now ranked #13)
• Arman Tsarukyan (2-0 in 2021 and now ranked #13)
• Ilia Topuria (1-0 in 2021)
• Sean Brady (2-0 in 2021 and now ranked #9)
• Mudaerji Su (1-0 in 2021 and now ranked #13)
• Kyler Phillips (1-1 in 2021 and FOTN bonus)
• Miguel Baeza (0-2 in 2021 but both FOTN bonuses)
• Brad Riddell (1-1 in 2021 with both FOTN bonuses while now being ranked #14)
• Mounir Lazzez (0-1 in 2021)
• Guram Kutateladze (Didn’t fight in 2021)
• Duško Todorović (1-2 in 2021)
• Lerone Murphy (2-0 in 2021)
• Damis Ismagulov (1-0 in 2021)
• Alexander Romanov (2-0 in 2021)
• Ludovit Klein (0-2 in 2021)
• Tafon Nchukwi (1-1 in 2021)
• Makhmud Muradov (1-1 in 2021 with a POTN bonus)
• Jack Shore (2-0 in 2021)
• Joe Solecki (1-1 in 2021)
• Mariya Agapova (1-0 in 2021)

Now, let’s take a look at this year’s 20 UFC prospects to watch out for.

The post 20 UFC Prospects To Watch For This Year appeared first on Cageside Press.