Flick and Maness were both coming off single wins and looking to put together the start of a win streak.

Maness started the fight by establishing the jab right away, while Jimmy looked to use head movement and cover up. Flick threw kicks at multiple targets, body and head, with success to the body. With nearly three minutes left in the round, Flick went for a single leg takedown, but Maness was able to clamp down on the guillotine while pinned against the fence. Flick released the single leg and the two returned to exchanging in the center of the octagon. Maness was looking very composed still throwing the jab and landing to the body and head.

With one minute left in the round Flick, threw combinations and attempted to enter on the single leg once again. After a little resistance, Flick took Maness to the ground where his opponent elected to hang on to the guillotine. Flick looked for the von flue choke in the final seconds of the round but was unsuccessful.

To open the second round, Maness uncorked a couple of combinations looking for the body of a retreating and circling, Flick. But Jimmy was able to come forward with some solid punches to the midsection and leg kicks, all while still moving his head to evade some of the incoming jabs. Nearly halfway thru the round and Maness still looked in control, poking his opponent with single punches and successfully keeping him away from a shot and locking in a D’arce momentarily. Jimmy escaped and continued the scramble, looking for a body lock takedown against the fence. Jimmy didn’t get the takedown and ended up back against the fence and dropped for a guillotine. Maness was able to pop his head out of the guillotine and rain down some punishing shots on Flick in the closing seconds of the round.

Maness came out again flicking the jab finding the head of Flick a little earlier to start the third.

Flick was stalking Maness with his guard high, waving on his opponent, and trying to strike into the clinch.  Midway through the round, Flick attempted yet another single leg takedown off of a nice overhand. Maness was able to defend the takedown once again and turn Flick around against the cage.  Nate had Flick up against the cage and was landing some nasty short punches and knees. Maness was able to maintain control in the clinch and in the final seconds, a bloodied Flick unsuccessfully went for the guillotine landing on his back and absorbing some ground n’ pound before time expired.

All three judges would award the fight for Nate Maness.

Official Result: Nate Maness def. Jimmy Flick by unanimous decision (30-27 30-27, 29-28)

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The lightweight pair headlined Saturday’s UFC Vegas 80, with the promotion once again holed up at the UFC Apex rather than out on the road. Quite the shame, because Saturday’s main card had plenty to crow about, and no doubt would have been a hit with fans in any building able to house more than a handful of them.

It was Green capping off the night with a 33-second KO of Dawson, care of a straight left hand than seemed to put the budding prospect down out of nowhere. Coming on the heels of a win over fan-favorite Tony Ferguson, the Dawson stoppage has Bobby “King” Green poised for great things — though if he gets his way, he’ll simply take another fight in December, looking to stay busy.

Still, in an era of fighters being marched in off the Contender Series conveyor belt, an outspoken veteran with the quirks of Green is exactly the sort of fighter the UFC needs out front and center at the moment. And in front of fans.

For his efforts at UFC Vegas 80, Green picked up one of four Performance of the Night bonuses. No Fight of the Night was awarded; instead, the promotion dished out extra cash to Joe Pyfer, Nate Maness, and Drew Dober.

Dober set a lightweight record with his latest knockout, against Ricky Glenn (technically a TKO); he now leads the 155lb division with nine. Nate Maness cashed in for a first-round TKO of Mateus Mendonca in the pair’s flyweight fight, while co-headliner Joe Pyfer collected the final bonus.

Pyfer, one of the bigger stars to come off the Contender Series in more recent years thanks to Dana White’s “Be Joe Pyfer” line, put away fellow hard-hitting middleweight Abdul Razak Alhassan. Blessed with a bit of personality (though maybe not to the extent of Green, but really, few can say that), Pyfer a.k.a. “Bodybagz” has the potential to be another star for the promotion, should he keep piling up the wins. And bodies.

All four bonus-winners will pocket $50,000 for their efforts on Saturday, on top of show/win money.

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Mendonça was undefeated as a talented Brazilian prospect, and though the talent remains, he lost his ‘0’ when he was matched up with Javid Basharat in his UFC debut. The move to flyweight raises a lot of questions for Mateus just as it did for Maness when he moved down earlier this year, only to get finished by Tagir Ulanbekov. With both men being talented strikers who cut extra weight to make the 125-lb limit, it remained to be seen how their chins would hold up against each other.

Mendonça pressured forward to start the fight as Maness circled the outside of the cage. His Chuteboxe violent style was on full display at first but he changed it up when he shot a takedown thirty seconds in. Maness was able to keep his feet with a whizzer but Mateus kept clinch control. He tried to drop down again and failed but instantly turned it into a leg lock attempt. Maness was able to swivel and kick out but Mendonça chased after him and got in on a single leg takedown attempt again.

That failed, again. Maness landed some short punches and knees in the clinch to the body of Mendonça, who dropped down for a leg lock again. That only ended up with the Brazilian getting his face pounded in from the bottom position. He kept going after the legs like a dog after a bone and actually trapped both legs for a time in an awkward position. Maness defended it for a while and then just went back to tenderizing the body of Mendonça. Finally Nate was able to sit up and get free of the leg entanglement, getting heavy on top in his foe’s full guard. Some massive hammerfists landed and seemed to almost put Mendonça out. He may have actually been out but he woke back up mid-ground and pound. Maness did not let up and the referee eventually stepped in to stop it.

Nate Maness was able to get his first win as a UFC flyweight after suffering the first losing streak of his pro career. Now at 4-2 in the promotion, Maness has a bright future as one of the rare flyweights with serious knockout power. In his post-fight interview he declared himself a fighter to watch and called out CJ Vergara for his next fight.

Official Result: Nate Maness def. Mateus Mendonça by TKO (ground and pound) Round 1, 4:40

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Had Rodriguez picked up the win, we might be talking title shot. Now, she’ll need to bounce back, but against who? Let’s look at that, and what comes next for the losing side of Saturday’s main card.

Marina Rodriguez

Brazil’s Rodriguez would have been a lock for a title shot had she won this weekend, and Carla Esparza claimed victory next week. Esparza has never really moved the needle, but the rematch pretty much sold itself. Now, however, the strawweight standout needs a bounce back fight.

She has a few options. There’s Jessica Andrade, who she’s never faced, and another former champ in Rose Namajunas. While the rankings will likely be updated later this week, right now, Rodriguez is #3 and Namajunas #1 in the 115lb division. That seems like the fight to make, assuming Namajunas is ready to return sometime in early 2023.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Rose Namajunas

Daniel Rodriguez

UFC Vegas 64 wasn’t a great night if your name was Rodriguez. In the co-main event, Daniel Rodriguez fell to Neil Magny via D’arce choke, part of a historic fight that saw Magny surpass Georges St. Pierre as the UFC’s all-time welterweight wins leader.

“D-Rod” had been coming off a win over Li Jingliang, and had won four straight. He took the Magny fight on a little over a month’s turnaround, so this loss won’t set him back too much. Michel Pereira is ranked #15 at welterweight, one spot behind Rodriguez. Magny was one spot ahead of him. Pereira doesn’t have a fight booked; him and “D-Rod” would be lit.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Michel Pereira

Darrick Minner

Most of the talk surrounding Darrick Minner’s loss to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke has been regarding either his injury (and when it occurred), and/or the suspicious betting activity that transpired in the hours before the fight.

None of that should matter when it comes to Minner’s future, however. What should matter is that Minner dropped his third straight loss in the bout, and is now 2-4 in the UFC overall.

Minner may be on the bubble here. If he sticks around, a match-up with Chase Hooper would be interesting. Both are adept on the ground, with a lot of fun transitions expected. Hooper is coming off a recent loss as well.

Minner’s next fight: Chase Hooper

Nate Maness

Maness looked like death cutting weight for UFC Vegas 64. He wound up caught in a guillotine, suffering his second straight loss. The question now becomes, does Maness stick around flyweight? Saturday was his debut; if he can fine tune the weight cut, he might want to give it another go.

If he does stick around 125lbs, C.J. Vergara just suffered a setback, so the timing works.

Maness’ next fight: C.J. Vergara

Mark O. Madsen

Olympian Mark Madsen (that’s Mark O. Madsen, not Mark O’Madsen, which some people still haven’t twigged to) fell to Grant Dawson on Saturday. The submission loss is the first ever suffered by the Dane, who was unbeatable up to that point. Dawson missed weight for the fight, but the result is the same.

Let’s look to have Madsen bounce back in 2023 with a fight against Mike Davis. This forgoes the UFC’s usual winner vs. winner, loser vs. loser pattern outside of the top names, but Madsen has plenty of upside, and Davis has won three straight.

Madsen’s next fight: Mike Davis

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Tagir Ulanbekov is part of the wave of impressive Dagestani grapplers taking over the UFC. At UFC Vegas 64, he was looking to earn his third Octagon victory after dropping a decision against Tim Elliott. While seven of his 12 fights before joining the promotion ended with stoppages, all three of his fights had gone the full 15 minutes since his debut.

Nate Maness was making noise in the Octagon heading into the event with a 3-1 record. Stoppages against Luke Sanders and Tony Gravely had put him on the map, but a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov slowed his ascent. Following his first UFC loss, he was given another Dagestani beast to try and tame.

Tagir Ulanbekov wasted no time, immediately taking Maness down near the fence. Ulanbekov was controlling the fight from guard as Maness was trying to work his way up. Maness found a window about 90 seconds into the round and attempted to stand up. Ulanbekov followed him up and got an arm under the chin. He began cranking a high elbow guillotine. Maness’ resistance forced Ulanbekov to switch to more of a neck crank, which is what pulled out the tap from Maness.

Ulanbekov is teammates with Maness’ last opponent, Umar Nurmagomedov, and thanked him for showing him the right gameplan during training camp.

THAT GUILLOTINE WAS TIGHT 🔒 #UFCVEGAS64 pic.twitter.com/TPpK61D6a5

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 5, 2022

Tagir Ulanbekov def. Nate Maness by Submission (Guillotine Choke) in Round 1 (2:11)

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Ulanbekov (13-2) comes into UFC Vegas 64 off a decision loss to Tim Elliot at UFC 272 in March.

“Right after the fight I was extremely disappointed, and it took me a couple of days, maybe even weeks to get over it. Right now it’s already in the past, I forgot about it, and I’m focused on who I’m going to face on Saturday and on my new opponent. That is in the past now,” Ulanbekov told the media on Wednesday through a translator.

Ulanbevok was supposed to fight in the summer, but had to withdraw from that bout due to injury.

“I was supposed to fight on the same card with Umar (Nurmagomedov), but 12 days before the fight on my final sparring match I broke my rib. We spoke with the coaches, we spoke to the doctor, and we made the decision that it would be smart to pull out,” he said.

Now he faces a new, but not really new, opponent in Nate Maness who lost to Umar Nurmagomedov in his last fight.

“Nate is a very tough opponent. He’s very strong, but we already have a blueprint on how to beat him. My teammate Umar we have a tape on him, and how to do it exactly. We have a game plan. I’m just going to do what my teammate did, and get my hand raised,” said Ulanbekov.

“I really don’t care how’s he going to fight, what’s his game plan, I don’t think about that. My goal is to go out there, and get another win for our team. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

With a win over Maness, even though he’s unranked, would likely put a ranked opponent in front of him in his next fight.

“I’m sure we can all agree that if he was to fight any of the people in top 15 he’ll get couple wins there. It’s not like he’s not ranked and he’s a nobody. He’s a really, really good fight, and he’s worked to be in the rankings. Hopefully he will be one day, but after I beat him I’m pretty sure I’m going to go a couple numbers up,” he said.

Watch the entire media day scrum with Tagir Ulanbekov above. He takes on Nate Maness at UFC Vegas 64 on Saturday night.

The post UFC Vegas 64: Tagir Ulanbekov Looking To Move Up Rankings With Win Over Maness appeared first on Cageside Press.

The move to flyweight, for a man the size of Maness made some people question whether it was the right move for the former bantamweight.

“It’s a lot different I’m not going to lie to you, but I’m excited about it,” Maness told the media on Wednesday.

“The hard part’s fixing to come tomorrow (Thursday).”

Maness (14-2) detailed some of the work he’s done to make the cut easier on himself.

“I’m lower (in weight) than I’ve ever been. Things went real smooth. I’ve been working with Nicole at the PI here. I’m ready to make it, and I’m going to make it,” Maness said.

The move to 125 wasn’t random for Maness. Even with a 3-1 record at bantamweight Maness still felt like the move to flyweight was a necessary one.

“Just been getting smaller. The weight cuts are supposed to get harder, but I’ve been smaller getting into the cage every single fight since I’ve been in the UFC. I don’t know if that’s harder training or better diet, but I was the smallest I’ve ever been against Umar (Nurmagomedov),” he said.

“Everybody’s cutting weight and I think I just needed to do this and even out the playing field a little bit.”

Maness made sure he’d make it by starting his cut early.

“I started a little early, but I wasn’t sure how my body would react to it. I know now about when to start my diet and when to cut the calories and things like that. But it’s all a learning experience,” Maness said.

“I feel good. I’ll be ready.”

Maness isn’t jumping into flyweight taking on a prospect. He’s drawn #15 ranked Tagir Ulanbevok for his first fight at 125.

“I’m excited about it, and I get another shot at Team Khabib. My last performance wasn’t the best so I’ve got to get that one back, and I want to be ranked. I think I’m going to make a splash in this division,” he said.

“I think I’m big for the division. Happy it’s Tagir. He was #15 when we signed the bout so I’m excited about it.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Nate Maness above. He takes on Tagir Ulanbevok at UFC Vegas 64 on Saturday night.

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Nate Maness was a sizable underdog heading into his bantamweight bout against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Vegas 57.

The question was, how much of that was based on Nurmagomedov’s name value alone?

Umar Nurmagomedov started the fight with a leg kick and Maness charged in with a flurry but did not connect with anything. Nurmagomedov quickly took Maness down after the latter overcommitted on some strikes and began working in guard. Nurmagomedov was stacking his opponent to try and create space. A strong left landed for Nurmagomedov as he backed Maness to the fence. Nurmagomedov passed to half guard, then full mount. He threw ground and pound to the bell.

Nurmagomedov quickly got Maness down and briefly had side control. He regained the position, then began working for full mount. Maness was able to stop Nurmagomedov from getting mount several times. It took some time, but Nurmagomedov was able to take the back of Maness. Nurmagomedov threw heavy hands, but was not able to get the stoppage as we went to a third round.

Nurmagomedov landed a pair of head kicks to start the final round as he showcased his striking following two dominant rounds of grappling. Nurmagomedov smoothly dodged a head kick from Maness. The fight hit the floor again as Nurmagomedov took down Maness once again. Nurmagomedov happily stayed in guard to land big elbows here and there as he continued a dominant performance.

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Nate Maness by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)

The post UFC Vegas 57: Umar Nurmagomedov Dominates Nate Maness, Stays Undefeated appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sure, it’s a little disrespectful, but Maness (14-1) understands the name Nurmagomedov is an attraction. He’s been paired up with Umar Nurmagomedov, a cousin of former lightweight champ Khabib, this Saturday.

“He’s great, I don’t think anybody can watch him and say that he’s not great,” Maness told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s media day. “The odds are a little bit disrespectful to my side I think, just because of that last name. I’m coming to fight. He’s great, but these are the fights that I want. If you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, they only get harder and you only fight better guys.”

Like many of us, Maness was hyped up when he learned of the match-up. “Aww man I was excited. I know he’s ranked 18, something like that so it’s a big jump ahead of where I am. If you’re doing what you’re’ supposed to be doing, the fights only get harder, so I’m excited about it.”

Nurmagomedov, who is undefeated, should be a solid test. If Maness passes, he knows exactly who he wants next: Adrian Yanez. The pair have been calling each other out for a while now.

“I think he looks good every fight. I’m a fan,” Maness said of his would-be opponent. “I love to watch him fight, I like his style, I think he’ll stand right in the middle with me, and we’ll put on a show.”

“Obviously Umar first, but yeah, I called him out a long time ago, we went back and forth for a year and a half now, yeah. Let’s do it.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 57 media day press scrum with Nate Maness above.

The post UFC Vegas 57: If He Gets Past Nurmagomedov, Nate Maness Wants Adrian Yanez Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

MMA journalist James Lynch was the first to report the news that Umar Nurmagomedov and Nate Maness will fight on June 25. Cageside Press was able to confirm the bantamweight fight.

Nurmagomedov (14-0) has been perfect in his two UFC fights so far, finishing both of his opponents. In his UFC debut, he submitted Sergey Morozov on ‘Fight Island,’ and then earlier this year; he submitted Brian Kelleher in less than a round at UFC 272.

Maness (14-1) has been perfect in the UFC like his opponent. In his rookie year, he defeated Johnny Munoz Jr. and Luke Sanders. In his only fight of 2021, he knocked out Tony Gravely in a Comeback of the Year performance. Maness told Cageside Press that he suffered a broken jaw in the first round of his Gravely fight.

The UFC’s June 25, 2022 event does not have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced. However, the event is rumored to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The card currently looks like this:

• Jinh Yu Frey vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Tim Elliott vs. Amir Albazi
• Josh Parisian vs. Alan Baudot
• Chris Curtis vs. Rodolfo Vieira
• Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
• Tyson Nam vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Raulian Paiva vs. Sergey Morozov
• Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Nate Maness

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