Paul Craig

Scottish submission savant Paul Craig got utterly stymied in his first main event opportunity, and his second middleweight fight in the UFC, when he ran into Brendan Allen. Craig still is ranked at 185-lbs and should fight another ranked middleweight with his 1-1 divisional record.

The only option ranked under him currently who is not booked is Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez. ‘Fluffy’ has a similar style to Brendan Allen in some ways; he can strikes but prefers to press forward, wrestle, and hunt a finish on the ground. Craig is more than willing to engage their due to his jiu-jitsu, but has been beaten there a few times now. To stay ranked he will need to prove he can grow as a fighter and overcome this hurdle.

Craig’s Next Fight: Anthony Hernandez

Jake Matthews

Matthews continued his recent streak of trading wins and losses when he lost by decision to undefeated prospect Michael Morales in UFC Vegas 82’s co-main event. The Australian has been a mainstay of the UFC welterweight division for a long time, building an impressive 12-7 record in the promotion. He has long put on exciting fights, making him a man consistently tapped for relatively big fights given his unranked status.

He will have to rebound from this loss, but the options are endless. Fighters like Max Griffin, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Daniel Rodriguez have all lost two of their last three fights, just like Jake. All of these fighters could make for an exciting striking battle but also have well-rounded skills. Perhaps most sensible would be Max “Pain” Griffin, who also lost to Michael Morales in his last fight, putting him and Jake on a relatively even playing field in terms of their divisional position.

Matthews’ Next Fight: Max Griffin

Jordan Leavitt

Jordan ‘The Monkey King’ Leavitt chased a leg lock against submission specialist Chase Hooper, got his back taken, and got choked out to lose. He took it in good spirits as ever, made easier by his still-winning record in the UFC of 4-3. Leavitt could fight any number of athletes in the stacked lightweight waters.

Chilean fighter Ignacio Bahamondes has a similar record in the UFC of 3-2, but brings an entirely different style to the table with his electric kickboxing. That fight would be a true clash of styles and give one man back an upward trajectory in the division after both lost their last fight.

Leavitt’s Next Fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

Nick Aguirre

Aguirre had success early but ultimately lost to prospect Payton Talbott in his second of two UFC bouts. His back is against the wall now and he will need to win his next fight in order to keep his job with the promotion. He will be matched against a fellow inexperienced fighter again, many of whom just won contracts on the newest season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Victor Hugo was meant to debut two weeks ago against Daniel Marcos but his weight miss caused the bout to be canceled. Marcos still needs to compete in his first UFC fight, and if he can get his weight in order then perhaps Aguirre would be a good opponent.

Aguirre’s Next Fight: Victor Hugo

Luana Pinheiro

Ninth-ranked strawweight Luana Pinheiro lost for the first time in the UFC to hard-nosed veteran Amanda Ribas. After comfortably winning the first round, Pinheiro lost all momentum as Ribas’ pace, pressure, and toughness wore her down until Amanda got the finish in the third. Pinheiro still has a future at strawweight, especially since the fight before this was a win over veteran contender Michelle Waterson-Gomez, but will probably need to dip her toes into the unranked waters before coming back to fighting ranked foes.

Two unranked strawweights on two-fight UFC winning streaks are Loma Lookboonmee and Viktoria Dudakova. Lookboonmee is a Muay Thai specialist who is developing a well-rounded skillset and got her first career submission in her last fight. Dudakova is undefeated at 8-0, two fights into her UFC contract. With under ten fights, perhaps it would be better to build Viktoria up slower and give Lookboonmee the opportunity to fight for a ranked spot against Pinheiro.

Pinheiro’s Next Fight: Loma Lookboonmee

Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić’s two-fight winning streak was snapped as he lost for the first time in his new division, welterweight, against short notice debutant Myktybek Orolbai Uulu. Medić old weakness to grappling got exposed as the Kygystani fighter took him down and submitted the Serb in the second round.

Medić’s fight before this one still proved he can be a force in the division as he beat the more experienced and strongly favored Matt Semelsberger in an all-out war. Uroš has shown to be all-action, just like fellow welterweight Li Jingliang, who would make a perfect opponent for his next fight coming off of his loss to Daniel Rodriguez. No matter what card it appears on, that fight would be a surefire ‘Fight of the Night’ shortlist member.

Medić’s Next Fight: Li Jingliang

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That might suggest they see a little star power in bantamweight Talbott, who certainly doesn’t lack in the personality department. Of course, it was what he could show in the cage that mattered.

He wound up showing plenty. Right away Aguirre shot in on the legs and got Talbott down pretty easily. Aguirre interlaced the legs and secured wrist control to get a better position on the mat. Talbott was working with his back against the cage but Aguirre was all over him. Aguirre was almost on the back but Talbott got back to his feet. With Aguirre still halfway on his back. Finally Aguirre ended up jumping on the back fully and got Talbott down. Tallbott was in a terrible position with Aguirre tight on his back. Back to his feet went Talbott but the round ended with Aguirre on his back.

Talbott was coming out first in round two with a right hand and a heavy kick to the body. Aguirre shot in for a takedown but was too far out and Talboot defended. Talbott was getting in his grove. Aguirre ended up pulling guard and letting Talbott on top. Talbott did good work there but wound up letting Aguirre back up. Aguirre timed a takedown entry very well and ended up getting the takedown. Like in round one, Talbott got back up but with Aguirre on his back. Aguirre was too high though and Talbott got top position. Aguirre was moving well off his back but Talbott did some damage right before the bell.

In the final round it was likely tied at one round a piece. Talbott was pressuring Aguirre with punches forcing Aguirre to shoot. Talbott defended and turned towards Aguirre getting into full mount. He unloaded with ground and pound and Aguirre gave up his back. It was the striker in Talbott that locked up the RNC and the grappler Aguirre tapped.

Official Result: Payton Talbott def. Nick Aguirre by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 0:58

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“I did quite a bit of research and he’s a wrestler. It’s like classic striker versus wrestler matchup,” Talbott told reporters on Wednesday.

“Did a lot of studying. Watched him talk in his interviews, and I got a pretty good feel for who he is.”

Talbott did see that Aguirre has respect for him and doesn’t just see him as a debuting fighter who he can easily add to his resume.

“I thought it was really refreshing to see that he has an accurate depiction of the fight, and he’s not just like writing me off as like another dude that he’s going to KO. So that was cool to see,” said Talbott.

“He’s prepared for 15 minutes of hell and I am as well.”

Coming off the Contender Series and making his debut at UFC Vegas 82 Talbott knows he’ll have to grow up in the promotion.

“There’s still a lot of room for improvement and I’m making improvements with every fight,” he said.

Talbott’s friends and family compare him to Sean O’Malley, who is Talbott’s dream opponent, and he spoke on the new bantamweight champ.

“I thought it was pretty cool to watch and extremely surprising. He was doing very small things throughout the first round that were paying dividends throughout the fight that Aljo just didn’t pick up on,” he said.

“I think it was very well deserved and I’m happy to see that he has the belt now with how cool and marketable he is as a person.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Payton Talbott above. He takes on Nick Aguirre at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Payton Talbott Prepared For 15 Minutes Of Hell appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m a huge underdog and I know that. Lot of the pressure is on him,” Aguirre told reporters on Wednesday.

“They expect him to make a highlight out of me. They keep comparing him to Sean O’Malley. I know what that is, and I just need to go out there and shut all that sh*t down.”

Even with the hype Aguirre was not backing down from the fight. It’s anyone, anywhere, and anytime.

“I’m down to fight anyone and I think I showed the UFC that. I took the (Dan) Argueta fight on 5 days notice. No questions right away,” Aguirre said.

“This fight, I know he’s the biggest hyped guy in the Contender Series this year. I took that fight in a second. I’m here to compete, I’m here to be the best, so I’m not scared to fight anybody.”

All the talk about hype and pressure aside Aguirre knows Talbott is very good and expects a tough fight.

“It’s going to be a dog fight. He is good. He has a lot of talent, but I’m real good too. I don’t know if he really thinks I am. I don’t know if he respects me that way, but I’m going to show him how much talent I have,” he said.

“It’s going to be a dog fight and I’m ready for 15 minutes of hell.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Nick Aguirre above. He takes on Payton Talbott at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Nick Aguirre Not Buying Talbott “Sean O’Malley” Comparisons appeared first on Cageside Press.

Aguirre was undefeated through seven fights as a pro, while Argueta was looking to bounce back from the first loss of his professional career.

It what turned out to be a grueling, wrestling-heavy affair, Argueta proved determined to take home the W.

Argueta came forward quick with a leg kick and a punch to close the distance. Not even a minute into the fight Argueta got a single leg and slung Aguirre to the mat. Aguirre used a leg lock to create scrambles. Argueta was rolling well with him but eventually, Aguirre took the back. It seemed like Aguirre was going to hold on to the position but Argueta turned toward him to get on top. Argueta was staying busy on top with short elbows and used it to take the back. The round ended with Argueta on the back of Aguirre halfway.

In round two Argueta started off by coming forward with leg kicks and looping punches. He used his striking to close the distance and clinch up. Aguirre did separate and landed a few good long punches. Argueta did look winded but landed a few heavy outside leg kicks and re-clinched up. Aguirre got back to space briefly before Argueta got him to the cage and changed level to get his second takedown. Argueta took the back and went after the RNC. It looked tight for a second but Aguirre escaped. The round finished with Argueta on top dominating.

In the final round, Aguirre obviously needed a stoppage. Argueta was very sloppy with his striking but used his hands and pressure to close the distance. Aguirre continued to struggle to put anything together in the striking. Argueta crashed the pocket recklessly but still got in on the legs for the takedown. Aguirre did create a nice scramble but Argueta had heavy top control. With nothing left in the tank, Aguirre couldn’t get Argueta off him. Argueta ended the fighting dumping Agurrie on his head for a final takedown.

Official Result: Dan Argueta def. Nick Aguirre by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Nick “Slick” Aguirre
Standing at Five-foot-nine
Fighting at 145 lbs (featherweight)
26-years-old
Fighting out of Oswego, Illinois, US
Training out of Valle Flow Striking
A pro record of 7-0
3 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions

How will Aguirre fare in the UFC:

Aguirre is getting this fight on short notice, but it’s a surprise he was called up so soon. Talent-wise, just about everyone Aguirre has beaten you could find pumping gas at your local gas station. He has stood out against his competition however, finishing every opponent he’s faced in the first round.

Aguirre reminds you of a lot of fighters in the UFC in terms of style. He’ll remind you of Steven Koslow who debuted and fought on the last card of 2022. That style would be a one-dimensional fighter, who is primarily a grappler. A slick grappler but one whose wrestling is suspect. Also, his cardio is unproven just like Koslow, and it was exposed in his fight.

With all those first round finishes, that remains a question mark here.

It’s all up in the air how good Aguirre is. His grappling is definitely good but his wrestling is in doubt. It’s looked alright in the lead-up until now. I don’t expect it to look as good as he fights higher-level competition. Who knows how good his grappling is too because he’s submitting lower-tier guys. Aguirre is uncomfortable on the feet so when he can’t get those takedowns he’s in trouble.

How he matches up against Argueta:

Argueta’s constant forward pressure, his wrestling, and jiu-jitsu are going to give Aguirre problems. I think the strength of Argueta will be too much for Aguirre. Both men are grapplers first and foremost but Argutea I would think has the better striking. Argueta has the better wrestling as well. I wouldn’t be totally surprised at an upset but I like the more battle-tested Argueta in this one.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Nick Aguirre appeared first on Cageside Press.

With Isaac Dulgarian out of his fight with Dan Argueta (8-1), promotion newcomer Nick Aguirre (7-0) is stepping up to save the bout on short notice.

Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Aguirre, was first to report news of the switch on Tuesday.

Having picked up a submission win just last month, the 7-0 Nick “Slick” Aguirre remains undefeated in his professional career. Four of those seven wins have come via submission, and all seven have been stoppages, giving Aguirre a 100% finish rate.

Argueta, who appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 29, had won three straight under the LFA banner before arriving in the UFC last year, where he lost his debut against Damon Jackson. He’ll be looking to bounce back from that first career loss at UFC Vegas 67 this Saturday.

Taking place at the UFC Apex, UFC Vegas 67 features Sean Strickland stepping in on short notice against Nassourdine Imavov in the main event. The following bouts are expected to take place at the show:

• Sean Strickland vs. Nassourdine Imavov
• Dan Ige vs. Damon Jackson
• Punahele Soriano vs. Roman Kopylov
• Ketlen Vieira vs. Raquel Pennington
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
• Mateusz Rębecki vs. Nick Fiore
• Javid Basharat vs. Mateus Mendonça
• Allan Nascimento vs. Carlos Hernandez
• Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson
• Priscila Cachoeira vs. Sijara Eubanks
• Jarno Errens vs. David Onama
• Dan Argueta vs. Nick Aguirre

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