As first noticed by automated service UFC Roster Watch, which monitors the UFC’s fighter database, the following athletes appear to be out of the organization:

• Sijara Eubanks (7-7)
• Mike Trizano (10-3)
• Liudvik Sholinian (9-3-1)
• Marcelo Rojo (16-9)
• Jay Perrin (10-7)
• Alejandro Perez (22-9-1)
• Raulian Paiva (21-5)
• Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (13-2)
• Kevin Natividad (9-4)
• Vince Marales (11-7)
• Brandon Davis (14-10)

The removal of a fighter from the database does not necessarily mean they have been cut outright. As an example, a fighter may have fought out his or her current contract, and not been immediately re-signed (but could be brought back at a later date).

That having been said, some of the names revealed on Wednesday come as no surprise. Sijara Eubanks missed weight for her fight with Priscila Cachoeira just a week ago, resulting in the bout being scratched from the UFC Vegas 67 card. It was far from Eubanks’ first struggle with the scale: she lost her spot in The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, where she would have competed for the promotion’s inaugural women’s flyweight title, due to a weight cut gone wrong.

Another weight miss followed in 2018, prompting a move to bantamweight. Eubanks then returned to flyweight last year, posting a 1-1 record while missing weight for a fight with Melissa Gatto.

Trizano won The Ultimate Fighter 27 tournament in 2018, and has gone 4-3 inside the octagon including the TUF 27 finale win. He last competed in November, knocking out Seung Woo Choi. Trizano fought out his contract in that bout; he feels like one name that could be brought back under the right circumstances, but that doesn’t look to be the case in the immediate future.

Mexico’s Alejandro Perez was 1-3 in his last four, while Jay Perrin just suffered defeat at the hands of teen phenom Raul Rosas Jr.

27-year old Raulian Paiva’s exit comes as a bit of a surprise. Paiva, who endured personal tragedy as he started his UFC run, has been ranked at both 125 and 135 pounds. He’s lost his last two.

Ukraine’s Liudvik Sholinian, a TUF 29 alum, went 0-2 in the UFC at bantamweight, though given the circumstances with his home country at war with Russia, seeing him gone is unfortunate.

Marcelo Rojo, who spent time at both bantamweight and featherweight, went 0-3 in his UFC run. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev and Kevin Natividad were both winless in their time in the promotion, while Vince Morales had lost his last two. Brandon Davis had lost both his fights since returning to the UFC in 2021. He first competed for the company from 2018-19.

Morales, for one, confirmed the news in entertaining fashion.

https://t.co/Q23jHYdVl8 pic.twitter.com/Hj3X4etpxE

— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) January 18, 2023

The post Eleven Fighters Removed from UFC Roster Including TUF Alums Trizano, Eubanks appeared first on Cageside Press.

A double knockdown got the crowd to its feet early in Trizano vs. Choi, and the pace didn’t let up from there. They both made it back up, but Choi would wind up dropped again! The pair next came together in a clinch, knees and elbows fired. Somehow Choi had recovered, and even managed to fire a head kick that was blocked. A right hand by Choi hit the mark. He tagged Trizano again late, and surged forward throwing wildly! They tied up, with a full 90 seconds still to go in the round.

In the end, they wouldn’t need more than a round to finish things up. Instead, Trizano dropped Choi once more in the dying seconds of the round. He piled on with ground n’ pound to put the fight away with less than 10 seconds remaining! A huge, badly needed victory for the TUF winner, in his own back yard in New York City!

WHAT👏 A👏 FIGHT👏 @TheLoneWolfMMA Gets the finish in round 1!#UFC281 pic.twitter.com/vEt21a6gBt

— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2022

“I was not going to be denied,” Trizano exclaimed following the fight. The only damper on the affair was Trizano missing weight, leaving him ineligible for a post-fight bonus.

Official Result: Michael Trizano def. Seung Woo Choi by TKO, Round 1, 4:51

The post UFC 281: New York’s Own Michael Trizano Puts Seung Woo Choi Away in Style appeared first on Cageside Press.

Where does Rozenstruik go from here? We’ll try to answer that, and play matchmaker for the losing side of the UFC Vegas 56 main card.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Jair Rozenstruik remains something of a conundrum ten fights into his UFC career. At times, he has been hesitant in fights where he should have been aggressive. In others, he’s opted to swing for the fences. At UFC Vegas 56, he went up against something of a rarity — an opponent bigger than himself. Ultimately, he was tagged a few times, and the ref waved the fight off. While Rozenstruik immediately protested the stoppage, those protests don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. On paper, a loss is a loss, and athletic commissions simply will not overturn that sort of result, given the ref was doing his job and protecting the fighter.

The end result is that Rozenstruik is on the first losing streak of his career. He remains a threat thanks to his kickboxing and knockout power, but he’ll need to pull out of this slump.

Coming up, Derrick Lewis is fighting Sergei Pavlovich. Should he lose, Lewis will be on a similar two-fight skid. That’s a fun fight. If Pavlovich comes up short, that works as well. So give Rozenstruik the loser of that match-up.

Rozenstruik’s next fight: Lewis-Pavlovich loser

Dan Ige

Thanks to a split decision win over Edson Barboza back in 2020, Dan Ige began to be looked at as a real player in the featherweight division. In hindsight, that may have been premature. Many had Barboza winning that fight, and while Ige is as game as they come and puts on exciting fights, he’s been losing them more often than not. Since the Barboza fight, Ige is 1-4, with losses to Calvin Kattar, The Korean Zombie, Josh Emmett, and now Movsar Evloev. The only win in that span came against Gavin Tucker, who has struggled to fight consistently.

Ige probably needs a step back at this point, and some time to regroup. There’s no way you cut the Hawaiian despite three straight losses, but give him an opponent in a similar spot. Doo-Ho Choi was once the next big thing at featherweight, but has lost three straight fights. He was supposed to return last year against Danny Chavez, but pulled out due to injury. If he’s ready to go, that fight could be fireworks — and serves as a rehabilitation project of sorts for the winner.

Ige’s next fight: Doo-Ho Choi

Michael Trizano

History has not been kind to some of The Ultimate Fighter’s more recent winners. Jesse Taylor, Nicco Montano, and Brad Katona are no longer with the promotion, while Michael Trizano, who won on the same season as Katona, has struggled to stay active, and relevant.

He suffered another setback at UFC Vegas 56, losing to promotional newcomer Lucas Almeida — a fighter who came up short on the Contender Series. Trizano is now 3-3 in the UFC, including his win at the TUF 27 finale. While he won the show at lightweight, he’s now at 145, but that hasn’t panned out either.

That sort of uninspiring run means Trizano’s next fight will be a must-win, and pairing him up with another Contender Series fighter might be the play. Tucker Lutz is 1-1 in the UFC, and coming off a loss to Pat Sabatini that has aged better than most. He was supposed to fight in March, only for his opponent to drop out. Book this one.

Trizano’s next opponent: Tucker Lutz

Poliana Botelho

A 1-4 record in her last five fights, and three straight losses, may end up with Poliana Botelho being shown the door. But if the UFC opts to give her one more go, then try her against Mariya Agapova, who is coming off a loss back in March.

Botelho’s next fight: Mariya Agapova

Zarrukh Adashev

It’s obvious now that Zarrukh Adashev jumped to the UFC way too early in his MMA career. While he has a kickboxing background, he arrived with a record of 3-1 in MMA. Not even five fights. While his three wins to that point had come under the Bellator banner, he wasn’t exactly fighting top guys over there. Bellator has some real killers, but Adashev didn’t so much as sniff them.

Now, he’s 1-3 through four UFC fights. Assuming he was on a four-fight deal, if they bring him back, it feels like the right play is to book him against an up-and-comer. Jake Hadley just suffered a considerable setback in his promotional debut, against a far more experienced opponent in Allan Nascimento. Adashev might be more his speed at this point.

Adashev’s next fight: Jake Hadley

Askar Mozharov

Ukraine’s Askar Mozharov became the most talked about fighter on the UFC Vegas 56 card, but not for any of the usual reasons. Rather, what can now be called “record-gate” saw his pro MMA record drop from 25-7 to 21-11 to 19-12 in the days leading up to his fight with Alonzo Menifield. The UFC certainly took notice, adjusting his record on the broadcast. The controversy stemmed from online record keepers Sherdog and Tapology discovering Mozharov had multiple profiles under different names, and had over the years attempted to have his record changed. Allegedly, of course. Sherdog’s FF Files has a pretty good breakdown of what they believe transpired, and have labelled Mozharov a fraud.

We’re not here to pass judgment on any fighter, nor should any media outlet really. And we say that as one of the few outlets who actually has a writer who has stepped into the cage. Still, Mozharov’s “preposterous” record, to borrow a term Menifield himself used ahead of the fight, may see him cut from the UFC as a result. He was smashed by elbows and put away early, and fought very much like a fighter with a padded record.

On the flip side, all publicity is good publicity, right? If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying, so on and so forth. We’re talking about a promotion who booked Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson in 2022, so maybe they give Mozharov another shot, in the hopes that people will tune in to see him smashed again.

Caio Borralho won a technical decision in his UFC debut, thanks to illegal strikes he committed that ended the fight early. He’s fighting fellow Contender Series winner Armen Petrosyan next. Give Mozharov the loser, if he sticks around.

Mozharov’s next fight: Borralho-Petrosyan loser

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 56 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

The featherweight match-up found Trizano looking to bounce back from a loss to Hakeem Dawodu. Almeida, meanwhile, said ahead of the bout that he planned to prioritize excitement.

Early on Almeida was getting after it. His hands were super quick and was getting off some good kicks and combinations with his hands. Trizano not rushing anything and almost halfway in engaged in the clinch. Nothing came from it and Almeida escaped. Almeida landed a beautiful combination going to the head, body, and ended it with a nasty leg kick. In the last minute, Trizano hurt Almeida bad with a left and sat him down with an uppercut. Not enough time to finish but Trizano ended the round on top.

In round two Almeida didn’t seem shaken as he was still throwing well. He kept focused on that lead leg of Trizano. Trizano was more patient and was looking to pick his shots countering Almeida. Almeida this time countered Trizano with a left hand and dropped him. Almeida jumped in guard. Almeida stood up in the guard and as he dove back down he headbutted Trizano cutting him wide open. Trizano did manage to get back to his feet and Almeida ended the round with a big punch.

In the final round, Almeida started chopping again at that lead leg of Trizano. Trizano was throwing and Almeida slipped a few punches and counted with a left hook. It dropped Trizano and Almeida jumped on him with hammer fist. Trizano culled up as Almeida kept firing and the ref eventually stepped in.

How about THAT for your UFC debut?!? 😤

[ #UFCVegas56 | Main Card LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/rOvQd2UsoL

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2022

Lucas Almeida def. Mike Trizano by TKO (left hook and ground and pound), round 3, 0:55

The post UFC Vegas 56: Lucas Almeida And Mike Trizano Put On Show, Almeida Wins Via TKO appeared first on Cageside Press.

Trizano (9-2) went up against Hakeem Dawodu in February, only to come up short. Now, he returns against the debuting Lucas Almeida, looking to bounce back and recognizing that there are no easy fights at this level of the game.

“The last couple of years have been inconsistent. I just want to get back in there every three, four months. That’s always been my goal,” Trizano told media outlets including Cageside Press during the UFC Vegas 56 media day on Wednesday. “I’m finally like 100% healthy, everything’s going well with all my training camps. I made the most of an opportunity to fight somebody top 15, it didn’t go my way, that’s life; you gotta just rebound from it and that’s it. I’m back in here, trying to get a couple more by the end of the year and that’s it, man.”

Trizano sees Almeida as another tough customer, even if he doesn’t have the same recognition as Dawodu. “Everybody’s tough. There’s no easy fights. Not taking him for granted, just going to go in there and execute my game plan that I put together with my coaches, and get my hand raised.”

Timing is everything in MMA, and some wins at least on paper matter more than others. Trizano is focused less on that, and more on just getting the job done.

“I want to win, that’s the bottom line,” he stated. “However it happens— I want a finish, I’m sick and tired of these decisions, but you never know what’s going to happen in there. But again, it comes down to who makes the least amount of mistakes; I’m going to go in there, pick up the volume and do my thing.”

And in the end, it’s the toughest fights he wants anyway. The toughest guys. “This is what I want to do, I want to test myself.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 56 media day press scrum with Mike Trizano above. More coverage from the event, which takes place at the Apex on Saturday, June 4, 2022, can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 56: Mike Trizano Looking to Stay Active, Test Himself appeared first on Cageside Press.

“When I lost the fight at Contender I actually told that to myself, ‘I’m coming back’. I came here to make my history and I’m going to really show you who’s the real me,” Almeida told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

Following the loss Almeida (13-1) fought for Jungle Fight one more time before finally getting the call to the UFC.

“Dana came to us in the locker room and he told me, specifically, ‘You get another fight outside the UFC, we’re going to put you in’. I went back to Jungle Fight, I defended my title, got a submission, and I knew that was it. In a matter of months I’m back at it and I came here to put on a show,” Almeida said.

Across the octagon from Almeida will be Trizano (9-2) who is coming off a decision loss back in February.

“I think that the matchup falls real well with me because he’s a striker, I’m a striker too, I like to get into that kind of game. I think it fit really well. Come on, watch this fight on Saturday because there’s going to be a lot of striking,” said Almeida.

Almeida knows he’s in the UFC to win, but he wants to put on a show doing it.

“Of course the win is really important. In every fight I try to win and convince. It’s so much that I try to win and convince that even in my loss the big boss liked me. So that means I’m doing something right,” said Almeida.

“So that’s why I came here. I came to win and convince as we say (in Brazil).”

Watch the full media day scrum with Lucas Almeida above. Almeida faces Mike Trizano on the main card portion of UFC Vegas 56 on June 4th at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV.

The post UFC Vegas 56: Lucas Almeida Here To “Win And Convince”, Ready To Make History appeared first on Cageside Press.

One of four Canadian fighters on the UFC Vegas 47 card, featherweight “Mean” Hakeem Dawodu was paired up with Ultimate Fighter winner Mike Trizano.

Dawodu had seen his five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, dropping a decision to Movsar Evloev. Trizano, meanwhile, was looking to build off a win against L’udovit Klein in his last fight.

Round one was a relatively clean frame for Dawodu. He completely dictated the fight, as he found a perfect home for his calf kicks as well as a right straight. Trizano had a good jab going, but refused to follow up on it by throwing anything but the jab. Dawodu dominated the first frame, but Trizano showed some heart going into the second round. The first round also saw some insane output from the Canadian, as he landed over 40 strikes in the first five minutes alone.

Round two was more of the same from “Mean” Hakeem. His output from the first carried over into the second, as he began drilling away to the body of Trizano as well. Trizano tried to string together combinations but ate big shots nearly anytime he took a step forward. Dawodu’s beautiful shot selection paved the way to a big lead on the judges’ scorecards heading into the third and final round.

Trizano tried to bring the pressure in the final round, but Dawodu clinched his larger foe to slow down the pace. Trizano was able to score a big takedown and briefly got the back with a rear-naked choke attempt before Dawodu spun out and got back to the feet. After surviving the submission attempt, Dawodu began ripping to the body once again. Trizano had his moments in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to get the finish or sway the judges his way.

Official Result: Hakeem Dawodu def. Mike Trizano by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC Vegas 47: Hakeem Dawodu Dominates Mike Trizano In Decision Victory appeared first on Cageside Press.

Among those long suspensions is the opening bout’s winner Carlston Harris. Harris, who submitted Christian Aguilera in the first round, appears to have sustained damage to his rib cage. The damage is reported to have happened on the left side of his ribs. As a result, he’ll face 180 days on the shelf.

Another winner who is looking at a longer time off is Mike Trizano, who beat Ludovit Klein in a close and possibly controversial decision. In doing so, he has potentially injured his right hand and will need x-rays to clear him to fight. Like Harris, that layoff would be 180 days otherwise.

And finally, Maurice Greene is also looking at 180 days without a fight. His injury, which came during his fight against Marcos Rogerio De Lima, is to his right knee. As is standard protocol, the NSAC will expect him to get an MRI to have it checked out.

All of these suspensions can be shortened if the fighter is cleared by the appropriate doctor.

Full list of medical suspensions:

Marina Rodriguez – 30 days
Michelle Waterson – 30 days
Donald Cerrone – 45 days
Neil Magny – 21 days
Maurice Greene – 180 days or until cleared by right knee MRI
Carlos Diego Ferreira – 45 days
Phil Hawes – 21 days
Kyle Daukaus – 60 days
Mike Trizano – 180 days or until cleared by right hand x-ray
Ludovit Klein – 30 days
Tafon Nchukwi – 60 days
Carlston Harris – 180 days or until cleared by left rib x-ray

Suspensions originally reported by Kirik Jenness. 

The post UFC Vegas 26 Medical Suspensions: Short on Fights and Suspensions appeared first on Cageside Press.

What resulted was a close fight, and some questionable scoring.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon to start, and Trizano backed Klein up. Kelin landed a right hand, and Trizano landed one back. With four minutes left, Trizano landed a nice right hand. Trizano followed that with a hook and front kick. The TUF winner doubled up on his jab, while Klein threw a heavy 1-2 but missed. Klein did land a right hand that snapped Trizano’s head back however. With 90 seconds to go, both fighters exchanged low kicks. Klein landed a takedown on Trizano with a minute left. Trizano got back to his feet, but Klein kept him against the fence. Trizano escaped with ten seconds left in the round and ate a low kick but fired back a right hand.

Trizano took the center of the octagon to start round two. Klein landed a nasty body kick very early on. Both fighters threw a front kick. Klein landed a backhand followed by a kick which stung Trizano. Klein shot for another takedown, but Trizano defended. They regrouped at center. Klein tagged Trizano with another left hand. Just over two minutes to go, and Klein landed a spinning back fist, but it hit Trizano’s forehead. Under a minute, and Klein landed a takedown to seal the round.

Round three opened with Trizano landing a 1-2 that really hurt Klein, which led Klein to shoot for a takedown. Trizano then landed the same 1-2, which backed Klein up. Three minutes left, and Klein landed a body kick but missed a 1-2. Trizano caught Klein’s kick but ate a back fist for it. Two minutes left, and Trizano landed a heavy right hand which made Klein shoot for a takedown and land it. As the round wore down, Trizano got to his feet. Klein landed another takedown. Trizano slapped on a tight guillotine choke and looked to be on his way to a last-minute submission, but the bell saved Klein.

Foot on the gas! 😤@TheLoneWolfMMA came out swinging in round 3️⃣. #UFCVegas26 pic.twitter.com/Cr7cts4Inw

— UFC (@ufc) May 8, 2021

A very strange decision, with one judge awarding a 30-27 in a fight that really shouldn’t have had one. Nevertheless, Trizano is back in the win column, and Klein loses in the UFC for the first time.

Official Result: Mike Trizano def. Ludovit Klein via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

The post UFC Vegas 26 Results: Michael Trizano Takes Questionable Decision Over Ľudovít Klein appeared first on Cageside Press.

MMA DNA was the first to report the news that The Ultimate Fighter season 27 winner Mike Trizano will fight Ľudovít Klein on May 8. Both fighters would confirm the fight booking via social media.

Trizano (8-1) hasn’t been in action since his 2019 loss to Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee. He would lose the fight via submission. The loss to Dawson would be the first of his career. Trizano was scheduled to return in February of his year against Rafael Alves, but an injury forced him out of the fight.

Klein (17-2) burst onto the scene against Shane Young at UFC 253 on ‘Fight Island.’ The Slovakian would knock Young out in the first round with a head kick followed by punches. Klein would miss weight in his UFC debut. “Mr. Highlight” is riding an eight-fight win stream, with seven of those wins coming by seven.

As of now, the fight card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. With this last addition, the UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw lineup contains the following bouts:

• Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
• Donald Cerrone vs. Diego Sanchez
• Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal
• Angela Hill vs. Amanda Ribas
• Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit
• Julianna Pena vs. TBD
• Maurice Greene vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Christian Aguilera vs. Carlston Harris
• Francisco Figueredo vs. Jimmy Flick
• Roxanne Modafferi vs. Taila Santos
• Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jun Yong Park
• Damir Hadzovic vs. Nikolas Motta
• Philipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell
• Mike Trizano vs. Ľudovít Klein

The post Mike Trizano vs. Ludovit Klein Set For May 8 UFC Event appeared first on Cageside Press.