In the co-main event, ranked lightweights put on a violent battle that concluded with Mauricio Ruffy being submitted by Benoit Saint-Denis. No French fighters on this edition of losers as the countrymen completed the clean sweep. On the other side of that coin, we have a couple of names from the Brazilian Fighting Nerds fight camp gracing this loser’s edition. Lots of former regional champions too!

Caio Borralho

Nassourdine Imavov bested Caio Borralho over the course of five rounds to win a unanimous decision at UFC Paris on Saturday. This was a huge opportunity for Caio, as he entered the fight ranked at #7 within the middleweight division while Imavov was ranked at #2. The loss halted untold amounts of momentum for Borralho as the two-time Contender Series competitor was a perfect 7-0 under the UFC banner heading into the fight.

Because Caio was flawless heading into this matchup, it makes sense to give him a fighter like Israel Adesanya. Izzy is currently ranked at #5 in the division, but fans can expect that ranking to potentially slide in coming months. Israel’s last fight came in February and was also against Nassourdine Imavov. Israel was finished early in the second round of that bout. Caio and Israel also share a common opponent in Jared Cannonier and they both defeated him. This matchup is an easy main event for a fight night card although the timing doesn’t match up the best. Fans would love this fight as its guaranteed to be a striker’s delight.

Caio’s next fight: Israel Adesanya 

Mauricio Ruffy

Benoit Saint-Denis submitted Mauricio Ruffy with a nasty face crank in the second round of the co-main event on Saturday. Ruffy entered the fight ranked at #15 within the lightweight division while his opponent was ranked at #13. Ruffy, a 2023 Contender Series product, now falls to 3-1 within the UFC. This was Mauricio’s first loss in nearly six years, dating back to his days of fighting of the Brazilian regional circuit.

For his next fight, Ruffy should take on Brian Ortega. This matchup was mentioned in a previous edition of losers, and it still looks like it’d be a good match-up. The former featherweight title challenger missed weight and looked drained in his most recent fight against Aljamain Sterling last month. Ortega lost a unanimous decision; he’s lost four of his last five but is still ranked at #7 within the featherweight division.

If Ortega elects to move to 155lbs. permanently, this would be a perfect true welcome the division type of fight. A win would do some heavy lifting for both fighters. It’d also give Ruffy another chance to prove himself against an opponent with strong grappling. Dynamic striking vs submission-based grappling, a match made in heaven, for fight fans.  This could easily be a co main event on a fight night card.

Mauricio’s next fight: Brian Ortega

Paul Craig

Modestas Bukauskas delivered a violent buzzer-beater finish over Paul Craig at UFC Paris on Saturday. The massive elbow at the buzzer forced the ref to call off the fight- going down officially as a KO at 5:00 of the first round.

Craig, with the loss at UFC Paris, is now 9-10-1, 1 NC with the promotion in nine years. Paul is 0-4, 1 NC in his last five fights. Following the loss, Craig announced his retirement from professional MMA.

Paul’s next fight: Retirement 

Bolaji Oki

Mason Jones battered and stopped Bolaji Oki in the second round of their fight on Saturday at UFC Paris. The result brings Oki’s record with the UFC to .500, as he’s now 2-2. The 2023 Contender Series alum has been finished in both of his losses, while both of his victories were decisions. Oki made waves on the regional scene before that, winning the Atomic Fighting Championship before getting a call to the CS.

Good matchup for Bolaji would be Harry Hardwick. Harry just made his promotional debut on the undercard of UFC Paris on Saturday. Hardwick’s calf was brutalized by his opponent, Kaue Fernandes, as he was TKO’d in the first round. Harry was a Cage Warriors featherweight champion, last defending his belt in March. This would be a matchup of unproven European regional champions. Both fighters are in their primes and have had success on the regional level but have been stopped in the UFC. Who can come out on top? Could see this one as a higher-level fight on a preliminary card.

Bolaji’s next fight: Harry Hardwick

Rhys McKee

Axel Sola made the most of his UFC debut and finished Rhys McKee with strikes in the final round of their fight on Saturday. Mckee is now the owner of the abysmal promotional record of 1-5.

McKee made his promotional debut back in 2020 against Khamzat Chimaev, and after another loss he was bounced from the promotion. Fast forward a couple years and the Khamzat loss aged beautifully. McKee is brought back for a second stint. Rhys is now 1-3 said second stint. The former Cage Warriors welterweight champion’s lone victory with the UFC came earlier this year in April against Daniel Frunza.

McKee’s next fight should either be against Andreas Gustafsson or the loser of Rodrigo Sezinando vs Daniil Donchenko. The Sezinando vs Donchenko fight takes place on September 13th. The timing would be perfect, and both men are making their UFC debuts. Both fighters have also held titles on the regional scene (Doncheko-NFC, Sezinando-BFL).  Leaning towards giving him the loser of that bout, but if that doesn’t materialize, Andreas Gustafsson is a good backup. Gustafsson was finished in 54 seconds on the undercard of UFC Paris Saturday. The 2024 Contender Series product is now 1-1 with the UFC and would make a fine matchup for Rhys as well. Loser has got to be on the short list to be cut.

McKee’s next fight: Andreas Gustafsson or Rodrigo Sezinando vs Daniil Donchenko loser

Robert Ruchala

William Gomis defeated Robert Ruchala via unanimous decision to open the main card of UFC Paris Saturday. The bout was Robert’s UFC debut coming over from Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). Robert was even a multiple time interim champ with KSW. With that context, fans might better understand why UFC matchmakers elected to Robert such a tall task for his promotional debut.

Next fight for Robert should be against the loser of Jack Jenkins vs Ramon Taveras. That fight goes down on September 27th, so the timing would match up. Jack Jenkins is 3-2 in the UFC but has lost two of his last three. His only win in that stretch came against Herbert Burns, who is no longer with the promotion. Ramon Taveras is 1-1 with the promotion but is coming up from bantamweight after missing weight in his debut. Both fighters are Contender Series guys that have double digit victories in their pro MMA careers. Loser of this bout would be an excellent litmus test for Robert after he took a fighter like William Gomis to a decision in his debut. A matchup against either fighter should be entertaining and could produce the type of fighter that fans love to watch.

Robert’s next fight: Jack Jenkins vs Ramon Taveras loser

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Craig (17-9-1) was on a 3-fight losing streak before some of the most unique fight circumstances paved his way to Paris. A fight with Rodolfo Bellato did not materialize in May due to the Brazilian dealing with a health issue.

The fight was rebooked for June, but it ended in a no contest due to an illegal, albeit accidental, up kick from Craig hurt Bellato. Bellato was seemingly knocked out by the illegal shot at the octagon doctor said he couldn’t continue.

Craig must now save his roster spot against a very tough Bukauskas in Paris.

Bukauskas (18-6) comes in on a 3-fight win streak with victories over Marcin Prachnio, Raffael Cerqueria and Ion Cutelaba. The 205er is making the best of his second run in the UFC as he inches closer to a ranking.

Round 1 – Craig employed a kick to the lead leg early on to try and keep Bukauskas at bay. It didn’t do much with Bukauskas rushing him repeatedly with flurries and landing. He’d then clinch Craig on the fence and land in close before bailing out and getting back to striking.

Near the end of the round he ran in on a flurry and landed shots on Craig. Craig looked for a takedown, but couldn’t get it. Craig jumped for a sub, ended up on his back, and Bukauskas went off with ground and pound.

A last second elbow put Craig out and the fight was called.

Bukauskas asked for a shot at the top 15 and Craig retired following the bout.

Official Result: Modestas Bukauskas def. Paul Craig via R1 KO, 5:00

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UFC officials announced the pairing on Monday, with Craig finding his back against the wall in the bout, having posted a 1-5 record, plus a No Contest, in his last seven fights. It’s that No Contest that Craig is coming off of, after Rodolfo Bellato was rendered unable to continue following an illegal upkick landed by the Scotsman in the opening round of their UFC Atlanta fight last month.

Bellato was heavily criticized for not continuing on in the fight, with some accusing him of looking for a way out.

Prior to that, Craig had dropped a trio of fights to Bo Nickal, Caio Borralho, and Brendan Allen.

With a 5-1 record on his second run with the UFC, Modestas Bukauskas will enter the fight on a three-fight winning streak. Most recently, “The Baltic Gladiator” earned a split decision win over Ion Cutelaba. Bukauskas, 31, is a two-time Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion.

UFC Paris takes place at the Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 6, 2025. The card is headlined by Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in middleweight action, with the following match-ups reported for the event to date:

• Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho
• Andreas Gustafsson vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
• Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija
• Bolaji Oki vs. Mason Jones
• Kennedy Freeman vs. Yuneisy Duben
• Shauna Bannon vs. Sam Hughes
• Brendson Ribeiro vs. Oumar Sy
• Paul Craig vs. Modestas Bukauskas

The post Paul Craig Booked Opposite Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Paris appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bellato (12-2-1) withdrew from the bout on fight night due to a medical issue. He came into UFC Atlanta off a majority draw bout against Jimmy Crute at UFC 312.

Craig (17-9-1) was in need of a win pretty badly. Although his three consecutive losses came against high-level opponents it’s still the dreaded 3-fight skid. He came into Atlanta looking to right the ship and save his roster spot.

Round 1 Bellato came out fast with rather reckless and wide hooks off the rip. Craig employed his usual possum-style offense staying close to the fence and throwing kicks. Inviting Bellato to take him down for sure.

Bellato landed a big right hand on Craig who definitely felt it and then fired off a spinning side kick to the body. Craig shot in for a takedown which Bellato easily stuffed.

Craig shot a couple more times after, and got a quick trip takedown, but Bellato popped right back up to his feet. Craig shot again, but ended up on his back with Bellato on top in half guard landing short shots.

In the final seconds of the first round Craig fired an up kick that knocked Bellato out so badly he thought he was still fighting when the ref came to help and check on him. The replay showed that Bellato was a downed fighter and the up kick was illegal.

Replays also showed Bellato looking at the ref on the way down, and then go out. Very strange sequence to end the fight. Third booking?

Official Result: Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato declared NO CONTEST due to accidental illegal up kick. 

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Promotion officials announced the news during the UFC Vegas 106 broadcast, much to the dismay of fight fans. Craig vs. Bellato was looked at as a big step up for Bellato, who was being tested against a veteran in Craig who had hit something of a rough patch in recent times.

Perhaps the only silver lining is that, per the UFC Vegas 106 broadcast team, the promotion is attempting to rebook the fight, for either later this month, or early June. May 31, which has a Fight Night card slotted in for the UFC Apex, is one potential landing spot for Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato.

An illness suffered by one of the fighters was cited as the reason behind the co-main event’s cancellation. The development underscores the perils of thinly booked UFC Fight Night cards housed at the Apex – even the UFC Vegas 106 main event had to be hastily shifted from UFC 315, where Gilbert Burns and Michael Morales were originally scheduled for fight.

The cancellation sees Sodiq Yusuff and Mairon Santos land in the co-main event spot on Saturday as a result.

The post UFC Vegas 106 Loses Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato Co-Main Event Last Minute appeared first on Cageside Press.

“That move to middleweight, at the time, was a great idea. After that victory against Andre Muniz in London was incredible,” Craig told reporters on Wednesday.

“I didn’t really get a chance to get running as a middleweight. That’s because I had three high-level opponents in front of me. I had Caio Borralho, Brendan Allen and Bo Nickal. They’re no slouches in this game and to lose to them it’s not an embarrassment.”

Craig (17-9-1) dropping three fights to top middleweights isn’t an issue, but he’s clearly on the hot seat at this point. He hopes the move back to 205 will be a factor in winning the fight against Bellato.

“It’s difficult to pick yourself up after three losses because this sport is about entertaining. If you’re not entertaining, you’re not winning, then the UFC have no right to keep you. I know that myself,” he said.

“I’m not under any illusion that a loss come Saturday night would potentially result in me not having a UFC contract on Monday morning. That for me is fire. That’s what I think I need.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Paul Craig above. He takes on Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Vegas 106 on Saturday night.

The post Paul Craig Knows Roster Spot Is On The Line Against Bellato appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I judge myself based on my effort, my performance, how I feel like I did personally,” Nickal told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I was able to take a guy who’s a veteran of the sport, dominate him for 15 minutes, shut him out. He didn’t have any big moments in that fight. I feel like I showcased a lot of development (and) improvement.”

Nickal (7-0) ended up engaging in a striking affair with Craig who is a grappler himself and not known for his striking.

“I came in open and as I’m winning the striking battle, I’m not really feeling a lot of resistance from him, I’m not feeling any takedown attempts. I had a big advantage on the feet so I kept it there,” he said.

“I didn’t see any sense in taking him down putting him in his best position making what, to me, would have been a bad decision a low IQ decision. So I kept it on the feet, dominated the whole time, and got the win.”

The crowd definitely didn’t see it that way as they let the boos rain down on Nickal following the fight and the announcement of the decision. He didn’t see it that way.

“I was pumped dude. ‘BO!’ like how many times does MSG chant your name for that long. So I’m pumped about it,” Nickal said with a shy smile.

“It was great.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Bo Nickal above.

The post Bo Nickal Happy With ‘Dominant’ Victory Over Craig appeared first on Cageside Press.

Craig, a former light heavyweight, was well known for finding success off his back, the perfect pairing, in theory, for Nickal’s stifling wrestling. Still, Craig was a heavy underdog coming into the fight, and in need of a win having dropped four of his last five.

Fight fans were excited to see a potential battle on the ground between these credentialed grapplers, but we got a much different fight then expected. In the first round Nickal pressed forward in the southpaw stance looking to back Craig up against the cage. Craig threaten kicks to the body and legs of Nickal to keep the young prospect off of him. Nickal out-landed Craig in the first round jumping ahead on the judges scorecards.

Round two was the closest round of the fight but Nickal again was able to outsrike Craig in a largely uneventful five minutes. Nickal for the first time in his career was met with boo’s from the tough New York crowd. Over the course of this fight neither Nickal or Craig attempted a single takedown. Instead of making this matchup a potential 50/50 affair on the ground, Nickal elected to stand and trade with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt the entire fight.

Again in round three Nickal pressed forward finding a home for his straight left hand. Craig was unable to avoid many of the strikes of his opponent and was falling behind in terms of volume. In the final moments of the fight Nickal started to open up on Craig against the fence, landing his most significant strikes of the night. Following the fight, Nickal went over to talk to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk who were in attendance. Nickal explained to UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he “felt great” about his performance and will only continue to grow as a fighter. All while receiving more jeers from fans at MSG.

Official Result: Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)

The post Crowd Lets Bo Nickal Hear It After Going Distance with Paul Craig at UFC 309 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I think that it’s just a step up in competition for me. Who I fight doesn’t matter as much as the way I’m developing and improving in the sport. I think he’s a guy that has a ton of experience,” Nickal told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“He’s a guy that poses a lot of danger and some interesting problems to solve. It makes for my career and where I’m at. It’s not really anything personal at all. It’s just another challenge and another step in the direction that I’m headed. I’m excited for it.”

Nickal (6-0) has said before that no amount of wrestling in camp would help Craig be able to deal with his grappling. Craig echoed the same statement about his Jiu-Jitsu.

“The guys that I’m training with and that I’m working with in jiu jitsu…they’re not good at jiu jitsu for MMA. They’re the best guys in the world in the sport of Jiu-Jitsu. I think he would be surprised how good my overall submission grappling is,” he said.

“The first grappling match I ever took was against Gordon Ryan who’s the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, and he couldn’t submit me for 13 minutes. That was with three training sessions in that sport. We can do grappling match after that’s no problem. As far as this fight goes I’m going in there to fight.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Bo Nickal above. He takes on Paul Craig at UFC 309 on Saturday night.

The post Bo Nickal Not Worried About Craig’s Jiu-Jitsu At UFC 309 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bo Nickal might be a great wrestler, but come UFC 309, they won’t be competing in wrestling.

“He might have that credential in the world of wrestling, but this sport is not wrestling. It may incorporate wrestling, [but] it’s like only having a knife in a gun fight. You need to have all the tools,” Craig (17-8-1) told media outlets assembled in New York, including Cageside Press. “I believe that my tool belt is much more equipped than his, but only Saturday night can show that. And I do believe that route to my victory is going to be that jiu-jitsu base.”

Nickal has gone on record to state that he started training in jiu-jitsu relatively recently. Craig, asked how much anyone can train in a particular discipline in such a short amount of time, suggested that “I don’t believe you can prepare for- you can prepare, but I don’t believe you can learn everything there is to know.”

“I’m never ever going to out-wrestle Bo Nickal. We know that, and we went into camp knowing that,” admitted Craig. “So what you need to do is prepare adequately. Will Bo take me down? Yes. Will that be a bad idea for Bo? I do believe so. I believe if you pin me on my back, that’s where I’m most dangerous.” Craig cited his fights with Jamahal Hill and Nikita Krylov as examples thereof. “This is where I’m most dangerous, so I do believe his game plan should not be to take me down and have me flat on my back.”

Craig acknowledged that Nickal is a good striker with power in his hands, “but I do believe my striking is just a little bit longer, and I can use that range. The reason we moved down to middleweight is to gain that advantage and size.”

A decorated collegiate wrestler, Bo Nickal sits outside the UFC’s middleweight top 15, as does Craig himself. The veteran wasn’t surprised with the booking, and should all go well on Saturday at UFC 309, he has his eye on the recently announced UFC London card in March of 2025.

“Yeah London is a good stomping ground for me, I’ve had some of my biggest wins in London. Always good to not travel, and it’s always good to give back to U.K. fans, so I’d love to be involved in that,” Craig told Cageside Press. “But as you said, it’s about getting the job done Saturday night first and foremost.”

Craig also gave his response to Nickal apparently being a bit chummy with U.S. President Elect Donald Trump.

Paul Craig jokes that he’ll see President Donald Trump at his golf course in Scotland even though he supports his opponent Bo Nickal at #UFC309

🎥🎤: @JakeNoeckerMMA pic.twitter.com/5kCpmUiayR

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) November 13, 2024

“I imagine [Trump] probably is rooting for the Scottish guy to lose, but I’ll be waiting at his golf course for him in Scotland,” joked Craig. “But no, it’s good that it’s bringing eyes to the sport. A guy like Bo Nickal, with all his credentials, of course he’s going to get a lot of respect from media and presidents and everybody else. But what you need to remember is that this sport is not wrestling, it’s mixed martial arts and it’s the UFC mixed martial arts, it’s at the highest level. And I do believe he hasn’t faced an opponent quite as hungry as me.”

Watch the full UFC 309 media day appearance by Paul Craig above.

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