Max Holloway

(#3) Charles Oliveira out grappled and bested (#4) Max Holloway in the pair’s rematch over a decade in the making, in order to capture the BMF belt. Holloway is now 2-2 since moving up to the lightweight division in 2024. Holloway has only fought elite competition in the division including Justin Gaethje, Illia Topuria and Dustin Poirier.

Max should take on either (#8) Dan Hooker or (#5) Benoit Saint Denis next. Both fights would be absolute bangers as both gentlemen would be willing to stand and trade with Holloway. Easy main event booking for either fighter. Hooker is coming off a pair of stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint-Denis. Dan was last in the octagon on January 31 so the timing would also matchup. Hooker is 2-2 in his last four similar to Max.

BSD on the other hand has won four fights in a row and has stopped all four of those guys (Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker). Holloway would be an excellent elite level litmus test for BSD. and Benoit would be a welcome and fun scrap to get Holloway back on the right track (and close in rankings).

Holloway’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis or Dan Hooker

Reinier de Ridder

(#7) Caio Borralho landed the more damaging shots to win a unanimous decision over (#8) Reinier de Ridder on Saturday in the co main event of UFC 326. It was a heavy-lifting matchup for the division a with the Fight Nerd product coming out on top. RDR has now lost two fights in a row and is 4-2 with the promotion since joining in late 2024.

Walking back a previous loser’s article pick for this one. RDR has to take on (#6) Anthony Herandez next. Fluffy just got stopped by Sean Strickland in the third round of their bout on February 21. The timing would work. Not to mention, RDR was scheduled to take on Hernandez back in October before Fluffy got injured and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Both guys are now coming off of losses and after the performance Saturday, this fight makes more sense than ever. Could be a main event or co main event of a fight night card or high up on the main card of a PPV card. Winner is knocking on the door of a title eliminator bout with a flashy finish.

de Ridder’s next fight: Anthony Hernandez

Rob Font

Raul Rosas Jr. smothered and shut out #13-ranked Rob Font on Saturday as Font just was not able to get his boxing offense going before repeatedly ending up on the canvas in grappling exchanges. This was a changing of the guard fight, with the youngster passing with flying colors. 38-year-old Font now falls to 12-9 under the promotional banner and he has now lost two in a row.

The perfect next fight for Font would be to give him the winner of Adrian Yanez vs Ricky Simon. That fight goes down on March 28 so the timing would match up. Ricky is 10-6 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts. Yanez is 6-3 with the promotion and has dropped three of his last four. The winner of this fight might draw a ranked matchup if it’s a thrilling finish, but if not, they may need another fight before getting a ranked matchup. Font will likely slide just outside of the rankings and would offer a perfect opportunity. Of course, either fighter that Font draws offer him another opportunity to prove he isn’t over the hill and still belongs within the ranked bantamweight fighters. This fight could land on the main card of a fight night card.

Font’s next fight: Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez winner

Michael Johnson

Drew Dober smoked Michael Johnson with a beautiful left hand in a fight where ‘The Menace’ was looking really quick and sharp to start out. After finding some stability in the form of a 3-fight win streak (Darrius Flowers, Ottoman Azaitar and Daniel Zellhuber) a loss like this was the absolute last thing that the 39-year-old needed. Johnson now sits with the peculiar record and stint of 16-16 over 16 years with the promotion.

Good next matchup for ‘Mr. I’ve Fought Everyone on the Roster’ would be against the loser of Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson. That fight is scheduled for March 28 so the timing could be okay depending on Johnson’s recoup time. Both guys are extremely entertaining fighters. McKinney is 7-5 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four. He has yet to hear the final bell in one of his UFC fights. Kyle Nelson is 5-5-1 and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Great matchup whichever way this goes, but the ideal matchup here would absolutely be Johnson vs McKinney. That bout has a real chance for fireworks. This is for relevancy and keeping your head above the shark infested waters of the UFC’s lightweight division. This fight could be on the main card of a weaker fight night card or potentially a feature prelim- very likely to be a banger.

Johnson’s next fight: Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson loser

Brunno Ferreira

(#13) Gregory Rodrigues flatlined (#15) Brunno Ferreira with one of the first punches he threw in the pair’s rematch on the main card of UFC 326 Saturday. The finish earned Robocop a bonus while Ferreira had a 3-fight win streak snapped and all his momentum halted. The 2022 Contender Series product is now 6-3 with the UFC.

Brunno should fight Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio next. The pair are actually scheduled to fight on May 9. Timing may not appear like it’d match up, but that was a nasty knockout that Ferreira suffered on Saturday, so he could very well be on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Kopylov would be the matchup that we’re leaning towards here. Roman is 6-5 with the UFC and is riding a two-fight losing skid. The loss was against Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues (Costa was originally slated to fight Ferreira on Saturday before withdrawing). Perfect matchup.

Marco Tulio could be a good fight too, he 2-1 with the UFC and his loss is to Christian Leroy Duncan. This matchup could easily be on the main card of a fight night card or even a feature prelim of a PPV card. Brunno is going to slide out of the rankings so the winner of that scrap would likely draw a ranked opponent.

Ferreira’s next fight: Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio 

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Both fan favorites, both capable of engaging in wars, the fight was a promising one, and felt like a possible candidate for Fight of the Night. Johnson was riding a three fight win streak into the contest, while Dober had finished Kyle Prepolec his last time out.

Both southpaw fighters met in the middle of the cage to start the opening round. Johnson was the first one to land clean, with a solid leg kick on the inside. Dober responded with a kick to the body, but Johnson was able to counter with a three punch combo. Dober seemed hesitant to throw in the first two minutes as Johnson seemed to be finding a rhythm. Dober crashed forward with a solid right hook, his best punch of the round so far. There seemed to be a significant speed advantage for Johnson in the opening round.

In the second, Dober came out more aggressive looking to land a big left hand. Dober landed a solid kick to the body and narrowly missed on a spinning back kick. Moments later Dober landed a picture perfect straight left hand that separated Johnson from consciousness. The 11th knockout win in Dober’s career, he should earn himself a high level fight next time out.

Official Result: Drew Dober def. Michael Johnson by TKO, Round 2, 1:53

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Back at UFC 324 in January, the debut of the UFC on Paramount+, Johnson was booked opposite Alexander Hernandez. A promising fight, with Johnson on a three-fight win streak. Then, it slipped out that sportsbooks were seeing irregular betting activity connected to the bout. After enduring two other betting scandals in recent years, the promotion quickly pulled the plug.

“It’s crazy. Literally right when we got off the stage for the ceremonial weigh-ins, I got the bad news. It was crazy,” said Johnson (24-19) during Wednesday’s UFC 326 media day. Neither “The Menace” nor Hernandez have been accused of wrongdoing; the going belief, not confirmed, is that news of an injury slipped out from one of the camps.

“It’s just the world we live in now where things like this can get a fight pulled, and we just gotta move forward. I didn’t hear too much in detail. I understand where the UFC came from, or why they had to pull the [fight], so I definitely respect that. And now we’re back here, so no harm, no foul.”

Johnson, 39, is a veteran of both MMA and the UFC. He turned pro in 2008, and appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 12 back in 2010. He now gets the “old fighter” tag, something that began recently.

“That’s funny. Sh*t, I guess the last few years. Once I get the ‘unc’ and ‘aww man, old guys are doing good,'” Johnson said when asked just when he started being referred to as a veteran. “I’m not that old. I’m not even 40 year. We’re pushing it, but we’re not there yet.”

Against Dober, Johnson has drawn another popular figure at 115lbs. And he certainly has a picture in his mind of how he wants the fight to go.

“I’m looking to finish Drew. That’s what I’m looking for, but I’m going to enjoy the process. That’s what I’m here for. The finish can come, it can’t come, I’ll look for it. But as long as I stick to my basics and do what I need to do to win the fight, I’ll come out victorious.”

Watch the full UFC 326 media day appearance by Michael Johnson above.

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News of the bout’s cancellation was announced mid-afternoon, Eastern time, on Saturday. Promotion officials offered a brief statement via the official UFC website, stating only that “The lightweight bout between Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez has been canceled from tonight’s event.”

However, in the hours before the bout’s cancellation was announced, concern around betting irregularities in connection to the fight had been made public.

BetOnline.ag, for one, announced Saturday that “Due to some irregular betting patterns, we will be keeping the limits lower than usual on tonight’s Michael Johnson vs Alex Hernandez bout. Additionally, there will not be props on this fight.”

A BetOnline rep added that “This is a standard measure, not a judgement on the fight’s integrity, possible injury, etc. However, to protect both the bettors and the house, we will err on the side of caution. If you choose to bet this fight: ALL BETS HAVE ACTION.”

Betting irregularities have kicked off a pair of scandals in recent years. The first saw concerning betting action in the Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke fight at UFC Vegas 64 in 2022. Minner’s coach, James Krause, was later found to be working for an off-shore sportsbook, and linked to allegations of leaking injury info about Minner, who went down early in the fight. Jeff Molina, a student of Krause (himself a UFC fighter) at Glory MMA and Fitness, as well as Krause himself and Minner, were all banished by the promotion and suspended by the NSAC.

No charges or criminal convictions have been announced to date, despite authorities conducting their own investigation.

In November 2025, Isaac Dulgarian was released by the promotion after being heavily criticized for his loss to Yadier del Valle. Despite being a favorite in the fight, Dulgarian was easily submitted, leading to allegations of fight fixing. Dulgarian’s team later cut ties with the fighter, while the FBI investigated the matter.

Thus far, there have been no allegations in regards to Johnson or Hernandez, and the irregular betting action may simply be a coincidence. Neither fighter has been accused of any wrongdoing. The UFC does work with a betting integrity partner, IC360 (formerly U.S. Integrity).

Both lightweights are longtime veterans of the promotion. “Betting irregularity” can include large, unexpected shifts in moneylines, and may stem from something as simple from word slipping out of an athlete entering a bout injured.

The post Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez a Last-Minute Scratch from UFC 324, Follows Reports of Betting Irregularity appeared first on Cageside Press.

Barring any withdrawals or last-minute additions, the card looks to be a solid numbered event, with two previously announced title fights, and several former champs and title challengers. Headlined by Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett vying for an interim lightweight championship, UFC 324 takes place on January 24, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kayla Harrison versus Amanda Nunes in a women’s bantamweight title fight, another previously announced match-up, serves as co-headliner. Nunes will return from retirement for the fight, which pits two of the best female mixed martial artists of all time against one another.

Nunes is a former UFC double champ (bantamweight and featherweight, often called the female GOAT). Harrison is an ex-two time PFL women’s lightweight champ, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, and the current 135lb champion in the UFC.

Among the fights confirmed by the UFC on Wednesday, ex-flyweight title challenger Alex Perez will meet Charles “Inner G” Johnson, in a battle of the #11 and #13 ranked 125’ers in the promotion. Veteran Michael Johnson will take on Alexander Hernandez at lightweight, while #13-ranked light heavyweight Nikita Krylov takes on former Cage Warriors star Modestas Bukauskas.

Bukauskas, on his second stint with the UFC, will almost certainly crack the top 15 with a victory in January.

The full slate of fights officially announced for UFC 324 stands as follows:

• Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett – for the interim UFC lightweight championship
• Kayla Harrison (c) vs. Amanda Nunes – for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship
• Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
• Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
• Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva
• Natalia Silva vs. Rose Namajunas
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
• Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
• Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson
• Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez
• Josh Hotkit vs. Denzel Freeman
• Ricky Turcios vs. Cameron Smotherman

The post Full 13 Fights Confirmed for UFC 324 As Promotion Prepares for Paramount+ Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

Max Holloway

As Max said right after his hand was raised, this moment is not about him. So I won’t go too deep about what this win meant for his career, I’ll get right to the matchmaking.

In the UFC 317 edition of What’s Next, I had Ilia Topuria fighting Paddy Pimblett as I felt the UFC was still in need of big crossover fights. The only non-title fight I could see scratch Justin Gaethje’s fighting itch enough not to retire is a re-booking of the Dan Hooker matchup. That would leave Max with either Arman Tsarukyan or Charles Oliveira as potential dance partners. With Max just going 25 minutes with the hard-hitting Poirier, I doubt the timeline for his return matches Tsarukyan’s, who’s been on the shelf for a while now. That means I see “Blessed” returning in the first quarter of 2026 in a rematch against the former champion Oliveira.

Holloway’s next fight: Charles Oliveira

Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa didn’t have a single victory over a current UFC fighter on his record. He was in desperate need of a solid win to restore some of the name value he previously held. The Brazilian not only defeated a ranked contender under 35 who was 6-1 in his last 7 fights, he out-struck Kopylov more than two-to-one. An impressive win over a relevant contender in this division was precisely what the doctor ordered. Now, “The Eraser” can once again look up the rankings for his next opponent. I’ve always thought a fight between Costa and Jared Cannonier would be a lot of fun. It just so worked out that Cannonier is fighting Michael “Venom” Page on the very next Pay-Per-View.

Costa’s next fight: Cannonier/Page winner

Daniel Rodriguez

The 38-year-old D-Rod came into UFC 318 as a massive betting underdog against a Kevin Holland that looked rejuvenated at welterweight. After a massive second round where he knocked down “Trailblazer” twice, he then had to weather the storm in round three where he was hurt multiple times. After a three-fight skid, Rodriguez is now on a three-fight win streak and will enter the rankings once again. While I could see the UFC booking the veteran Rodriguez against the youngster Gabriel Bonfim who also just entered the rankings last week, I’d rather put D-Rod in a battle of the southpaws against the loser of the upcoming Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates bout at UFC 319.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Neal/Prates loser

Patricio Pitbull

It was years in the making, but we finally got to see Patricio Pitbull get his hand raised in the UFC. He defeated the perfect featherweight litmus test in Dan Ige at UFC 318. While his recent loss to Yair Rodriguez probably told us a lot more about Pitbull’s true ability to contend at this stage of his career, he should still be provided the opportunity to face known names in this division. Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling will be facing off in Shanghai next month. While the winner will most likely be looking upwards in the rankings, there’s nothing stopping the UFC from booking Pitbull against the loser.

Pitbull’s next fight: Ortega/Sterling loser

Michael Johnson

The enigma that is Michael Johnson is the gift that keeps on giving. A 39-year-old man with wins over Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier, who not too long ago was on a bad-looking four-fight skid, just cleanly defeated a highly touted 26-year-old as a nearly 6-to-1 underdog? Yes, that sounds exactly like something Michael Johnson would do.

While I’ve been wishing for Johnson to fight King Green for years, it seems the timing never aligns for those two to fight. Green, who is fighting Diego Ferreira next month, would still be my first choice if he wins. An Edson Barboza rematch could also be fun, now that the Brazilian is coming back up to lightweight. Ultimately, I went with another young prospect who will look to bounce back after a loss. Zellhuber was meant to get back in the win column against a recognizable name, but Johnson spoiled those plans. Can Ignacio Bahamondes do what Zellhuber couldn’t and get past the savvy veteran?

Johnson’s next fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

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Johnson (24-19) dealt with a wardrobe malfunction very early into the first round after his shorts tore forcing a timeout from the ref. A piece of his shorts had torn so he tore that off, threw it, and got back to fighting.

“I was like yeah it’s a good thing I had something under my shorts. That was funny. When I ripped them off I could hear (Eric Nicksick) in the corner say ‘What are those, tear aways?’ I had to turn and laugh at him,” Johnson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“You never know what is going to happen in an MMA fight.”

Taking on the younger Zellhuber a lot of fans picked against Johnson who is 13-years his senior. ‘The Menace’ feels like he shut a lot of people up including Zellhuber.

“I’m really happy. I wanted the finish, but I think a 15-minute fight was very great. He talked a lot of trash and just for me to go in there and show everybody ‘Hey I can fight for 15-25 minutes at this age’,” he said.

“You guys are counting me out for the wrong reasons. It feels great to go on a three-fight win streak again and get some steam behind me.”

With the win secured Johnson looked towards his next challenge, and a hell of a challenge at that.

“I want to get in by the end of the year. Hopefully soon. I’ve been throwing the idea around of me and Max Holloway,” said Johnson.

“He’s one of the best fighters (that) ever came across the division. I told everybody I want to fight the best of the best. Max Holloway’s one of the best.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Michael Johnson above.

The post Michael Johnson Happy To Shut People Up, Aims At Holloway appeared first on Cageside Press.

The lightweight fight found Zellhuber looking to bounce back from a loss to Esteban Ribovics at Noche UFC last September, a bout that had earned Fight of the Night at the award-winning event. As for Johnson, the 39-year old had won two straight.

Oddly, Johnson’s shorts tore after a Zellhuber kick caught them in the opening minute of the fight. The ref called time, then ruled that the shorts would be replaced between rounds. Well, that was a new one. Action resumed, Johnson jabbed to the body, and Zellhuber circled, with the action playing out pretty much dead center of the cage. Zellhuber fired off a body kick, while Johnson, still working the body with his hands, fired a calf kick. Lots of kicks in an active opening round.

The second frame saw Zellhuber fire a spinning kick, but he was in too close and Johnson took advantage, firing off a quick combination. Zellhuber kept firing his kick to the body, one of which landed with a crack just about a minute in. Johnson, undeterred, kept walking forward. And as the round wore on, he began letting his hands go more and more. Zellhuber answered back, ripping off another high kick with two minutes on the clock. He then feinted a couple more kicks, keeping Johnson guessing. Then came a trio of kicks to the body and arm by Zellhuber, different heights. Johnson came back over the top, throwing leather in response.

The stand-up battle continued in the third, with the body shots continuing for Michael Johnson, and body kicks still flowing for Daniel Zellhuber. Zellhuber’s length was becoming a factor as well, as a spin kick followed by a front kick kept Johnson outside. Johnson would go after a takedown late in the third, only to slip off the attempt, putting himself at the mercy of the Mexican fighter. Zellhuber ended the round with a solid right hand, and they headed to the scorecards after fifteen minutes.

The judges awarded triplicate 29-28 scores to Michael “The Menace” Johnson in the end, proving he’s still a menace at nearly 40.

Official Result: Michael Johnson def. Daniel Zellhuber by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 318: Michael Johnson Still a Menace, Wins Decision Over Daniel Zellhuber appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Every fighter evolves in each fight. He’s not the exception. He’s still evolving,” Zellhuber told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“After all these fights as you say we can always expect to see the same version or at least kind of like the same things in his fighting style. That doesn’t mean that he is not a dangerous fighter, but it’s just that at this point I know what he’s going to try.”

Zellhuber (15-2) respects Johnson, but doesn’t want to be fighting at 39-years-old because he needs to. If he’s still fighting at that point it has to be because he wants to.

“I don’t envision myself only as a fighter. I like to do investments. I don’t want to be one of those fighters, like Michael Johnson, that I need to be fighting at 39-years-old,” Zellhuber told Cageside Press.

“If I want to fight at 39-years-old I want to do it because I want (to). Not because I need to.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Daniel Zellhuber above. He takes on Michael Johnson at UFC 318 on Saturday night.

The post Daniel Zellhuber Knows What To Expect From Johnson At UFC 318 appeared first on Cageside Press.

He might be “The Menace” inside the cage, but Johnson (23-19) has been a good boy outside of it, at least on that front. As a UFC fighter who pre-dates the USADA (and now CSAD/Drug Free Sport) era, Johnson has definitely seen a change in the UFC since the onset of drug testing.

“Yeah for sure. I’ve definitely seen it. Before they came in, I think a lot of guys were getting away with ‘supplements’ I’d say,” Johnson said with a laugh. “You could tell, you could obviously tell in the way that these guys fought, how they train, and how they looked. Now when USADA and the Anti-Doping Program came into place, a lot of those guys got smaller, a lot of those guys weren’t able to win fights, and the playing field became very even.”

Johnson will be in action this Saturday at UFC 318 in New Orleans, a card whose main event features the retirement fight of Dustin Poirier, in a third meeting with Max Holloway. Johnson and Poirier have history; “The Menace,” in fact, holds a win over the former interim lightweight champ. That came in 2016, in Poirier’s first main event. Johnson landed the knockout blow that night.

“The first thing I said was like ‘God I hope that doesn’t take attention away from Dustin.’ I’m pretty sure they won’t show my highlights this week,” Johnson said about being booked on Poirier’s retirement card. “It’s incredible to be on this card, to share Dustin’s last card with him is incredible. Him and Max Holloway are both living legends of the sport, and I think it’s going to be incredible to see his last dance.”

As for a predictions, “I think he stays 3-0. He’s beat this guy twice already, I don’t see any difference in this. But Max did have a great fight against [Justin] Gaethje. People’s retirement fights, if they announce their retirement before, it doesn’t really seem to go their way. So we’ll see what happens.”

Then there’s Michael Johnson’s own tussle with Daniel Zellhuber. While Johnson admits that Zellhuber has some skills, “I think they’re pushing him a little too fast, too quick,” he suggested. We’ll find out of that’s the case come Saturday.

Watch the full UFC 318 media day appearance by Michael Johnson above.

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