Both men were looking to get back in the win column, with Kenan coming in off a loss to Kevin Jousset. The Chinese fighter was 1-3 in his last four fights, while Glenn was 0-2-1 in his past three, last competing in October 2023 in a loss to Drew Dober.

The fight began with the two fighters exchanging leg kicks before immediately getting down to business. Glenn was able to clip Song with a left hand and sat him down. Song found his feet a short time later and the two fighters exchanged some dirty boxing in the clinch. Glenn again waded in, led with the left hook and reengaged with the clinch against the fence.

Song attempted to gain the upper hand and tried to get off the fence firing off some short shots in the meantime. But Glenn kept the pressure up against the fence in the clinch. Two minutes into the round and Song was finally able to disengage from the clinch. Both men looked a bit fatigued as they moved back into space. Midway thru the round and Song started to throw his hands more and landed some solid strikes. Glenn tried to clinch up and looked a little frantic, but Song was able to keep distance and clip his opponent.

Ricky desperately looked for a single leg which Kenan defended. Ricky turned it into a body lock and was able to successfully suck Song into the clinch once again. Glenn wasn’t able to land anything meaningful in the position, however. And after disengaging from the clinch, with half a minute left in the round, Kenan landed another stunning punch in the standing exchange to end the round.

To start round two Glenn landed an inside leg kick and narrowly evaded a head kick from his opponent. Song landed a pair of solid body kicks and forced a shot out of Glenn. Song was able to defend the shot and the one that followed and uncorked a huge 1-2 combination against the fence. Some of the cleanest shots of the fight. Glenn started to duck his head obviously reacting from the punches. Ricky was able to survive the storm momentarily and clinched against the fence.

As the two moved back into space Glenn’s face looked a mess. Ricky returned to the clinch again, but this time ate an elbow from Song which caused him to disengage again. A few seconds later, Song uncorked another multi-strike combination that stung his opponent from all angles. With nearly a minute left in the round Kenan defend yet another halfhearted takedown. Song looked like he couldn’t miss any of the punches that he was throwing and kept his hands down while fending off another desperate takedown to end the round.

To start the final round Ricky’s massive hematoma on his forehead was clearly visible. Song went right at Glenn landing a short vicious punch and elbow laced combination and hip tossed his foe. Ricky was able to work back up to his feet ate a knee. The moment Glenn got free he shot for an unsuccessful double leg against the cage. As the two fighters moved back to space Song returned his hands to his sides. Glenn attempted another takedown and ate a well-timed knee to the body on the way in. Song was landing everything in space, sidekicks and single punches as well as combos.

With two minutes left in the round Ricky opened up threw a couple strikes and was again stung by Song. Kenan landed a glancing jumping knee that Glenn shook his head at as he continued to move forward. With a minute left in the fight Song partially landed a head kick as Ricky kept coming forward with looping strikes. With 24 seconds left in the fight Glenn took an eye poke from Song which caused a momentary pause in the action. As the fighters reengaged Glenn struck into the clinch and forced Song to the cage. Song returned with short punches and elbows that blasted Glenn out of the clinch adding an exclamation mark on his performance as the final bell sounded.

Official Result: Song Kenan def. Ricky Glenn by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 20-26, 29-28)

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Unfortunately for Glenn, his body had other ideas. A groin injury caused him to pull from the fight, and it wasn’t a pretty one.

“It was quite the injury. It was a complete tear of the adductor longus tendon where it attaches at the pelvis bone,” Glenn explained. “It just suddenly happened, so it was a big halt on my momentum.”

While the injury happened suddenly, it was something the Iowa native had been dealing with for some time. Small indications that something might be wrong faded quickly, until it went from 0 to 100 in no time flat.

“It was something that I noticed in the past. Twisting and dipping too much with that leg, it felt like a stinger or like a muscle strain and then it’d go away when you warm up,” he said. “I was warming up and doing some wrestling stuff and I went to kick someone over and it just snapped. It felt like I got stabbed in the groin. It was pretty painful and I couldn’t lift my leg.”

The recovery involved surgery almost right away. Then he was off the mats for about six months before easing back into things.

Now back at full strength, Glenn is looking to get some of that momentum back. A fight this weekend at UFC Vegas 71 would be the first step – and he’s bringing his same violent self to get it done.

“My mindset has always been kill or be killed,” Glenn shared. “Just get in there and be nasty and be violent.”

He’ll be nasty and violent when he faced Christos Giagos as part of the ESPN+ prelims, which get started at 4:30pm EST.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 37:53.

The post UFC Vegas 71’s Ricky Glenn Details Groin Injury, Previous Withdrawal appeared first on Cageside Press.

Brady Hiestand Interview (1:13)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC bantamweight, Brady Hiestand. Despite looking much more ripped in his last fight, Hiestand explains that he was actually lighter than he has ever been. While he feels like featherweight might be a move in the future, he’s sure he has plenty of time in his current weight class. He also discusses the top of that weight class and gives us a pick for who the toughest out is for current champion, Aljamain Sterling. Finally, he helps to break down his UFC Vegas 71 fight with Danaa Batgerel.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 71(25:21)

As always, we’re bringing you the breakdown of the event you’ve come to know and love. We’re giving you our picks for all the top fights on the card this Saturday including  the heavytweight clash that tops this one off. Will Curtis Blaydes take a step closer to the coveted title shot, or is it Sergei Pavlovich’s time. Plus, we’ve got an underdog and a parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend, so come tail us for Saturday’s action. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Ricky Glenn Interview (37:53)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC lightweight, Ricky Glenn. Glenn discusses the brutal groin injury that caused him to pull out of his last fight and put him on the shelf for a year and a half. He also shared how the second big stint out effected him mentally and what it was like when he could get back to working out. Now fully healthy, Glenn is looking forward to UFC Vegas 71 and his fight with Christos Giagos. We get his thoughts on that matchup and what to expect from him going forward at 155lbs.

The post TTP Ep. 374 with Brady Hiestand, Ricky Glenn, and UFC Vegas 71 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cageside Press confirmed the booking with a source familiar with the situation on Wednesday, following an initial announcement by Iridium Sports Agency. The management firm represents Glenn.

The veteran pairing sees Glenn coming off a draw against Grant Dawson back in October. Prior to that, he picked up a win over Joaquim Silva in his return to lightweight at UFC Vegas 29 — a fight that also marked his return to the octagon after an absence of over two years.

In his past two fights, Drew Dober has not found the results he’s been looking for. He had a three-fight finishing streak snapped by Islam Makhachev at UFC 259 in March, then lost a unanimous decision to Brad Riddell at June’s UFC 263. That fight, at least, earned Dober his second Fight of the Night bonus.

The UFC’s March 12, 2022 event does not yet have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced. The following bouts have been reported for the card thus far:

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Guido Cannetti vs. Kris Moutinho
Trevin Jones vs. Javid Basharat
Song Yadong vs. Marlon Moraes
Alex Pereira vs. Bruno Silva
Damon Jackson vs. Joshua Culibao
Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Cody Brundage
Sabina Mazo vs. Mandy Bohm
Alex Caceres vs. Sodiq Yusuff
Tafon Nchukwi vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Drew Dober vs. Ricky Glenn

The post UFC: Ricky Glenn vs. Drew Dober Set for March 12 Fight Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

The difference was, Dawson was undefeated in his UFC career to date, which Glenn had been trading wins and losses recently.

After 15 minutes of what ended up being a ground war, the judges came back with a majority draw decision. One judge had it 29-28, and the other two 28-28.

For the first two rounds it seemed as though Dawson was going to be able to grind out a decision win with his wrestling being his main weapon. However a 10-8 round in favor of Glenn in the third after what was a dominating round for him ended the fight in a draw.

The play-by-play is available below.

Round 1: Glenn came out early with leg kicks that Dawson barely even acknowledged before landing some of his own. Glenn continued with calf kicks and then landed a nasty one. Dawson had enough, shot the takedown, Glenn scrambled before Dawson adjusted and got Glenn on his back.

Dawson worked side control with Glenn using his left leg to try and stop Dawson from passing. Dawson was content to land ground and pound from side control, but Glenn continued to block the mount entry. Dawson worked the knees to the body since Glenn was pushed up against the cage stopping any mount attacks. Dawson tried to pin Glenn’s left arm with his right knee before Glenn gave up his back and Dawson happily took it.

Both hooks in and Dawson began the slow process of softening Glenn up for the rear-naked choke. Glenn defended well enough but Dawson knew how to switch sides and attack from the other. The body triangle was in for Dawson and Glenn ate shots to the head from the position. Any time that Dawson attacked the chin Glenn was able to defend 2 on 1 and stop it. A quick scramble attempt was stopped by Dawson and he retained the back with the body triangle. Glenn gator rolled repeatedly looking for an out from the body triangle, which is exhausting to deal with in itself, and Dawson was happy to keep the position.

Constant rolls to try and get Dawson off his back were unsuccessful but Glenn managed to survive the first round.

Round 2: Glenn looked for the body kick early which Dawson was able to block mostly before shooting and getting Glenn down momentarily. Glenn was able to roll and get Dawson off him twice and both ended up going back to the striking. Dawson shot the single leg which Glenn stuffed. Dawson attacked the single leg with a trip but Glenn was wise to it. Dawson picked Glenn off the canvas and then attempted a trip takedown in midair.

Knees to the body of Glenn followed before Dawson dumped him on his back and got side control. Dawson stayed heavy on Glenn in side control landing knees to the body and short right hands to the face. Glenn defended well and got his full guard established. Dawson stayed heavy on top of Glenn with pressure. Glenn continued to try and find his way to a shrimp escape position but Dawson stayed on top landing short shots before attempting to advance, getting to side control again.

Right hands landed for Dawson but they didn’t pack much power due to the position. Glenn defended from the mount with the left knee up on Dawson’s hip. Dawson continued to land right knees to the body. Dawson tried to step over to mount while landing shots, but Glenn was able to stop him at quarter guard. Round ended with Dawson landing short shots from top.

Round 3: Leg kicks continued for Glenn which Dawson ate before shooting twice. Both were stuffed with one allowing for a knee for Glenn. Dawson shot, got stuffed and Glenn ended up on top with Dawson looking for a leg entry which Glenn avoided. Glenn landed shots to the body of Dawson before Dawson was able to get back to the feet and shoot at the same time but got stopped again. Glenn ended up on top of Dawson in half guard landing damage from top. Dawson tried to get out of the position with an over hook over the head but Glenn shed it. Glenn attacked a head-and-arm choke but he wasn’t on the right side of the body to finish it. He tried to muscle it by squeezing and putting pressure on Dawson but Grant was able to defend well.

Glenn tried to posture to land shots with Dawson continuing to defend the position. Glenn got his body to the right side for a second but Dawson was quick with the defense and got back to full guard. Glenn tried to slice with his left knee but was stopped all while trying to land ground-and-pound. Glenn got to the crucifix position and rained down elbows and hammer fists to the face of Dawson. Glenn needed a finish at this point still so he stayed aggressive.

A late submission attempt for Glenn, but Dawson is giving thumbs up til the end 👍👍👍 #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/PQ0uuzKH82

— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021

Glenn remained on top landing short shots, hammer fists and elbows. He hurt Dawson for a second and Glenn got in a d’arce choke attempt but the fight ended.

After the buzzer, Glenn pointed at Dawson saying he believed Dawson was out and that he needed to get up. Dawson did get to his feet.

Official Result: Grant Dawson vs. Ricky Glenn ended in a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28

The post UFC Vegas 41 Results: Grant Dawson and Ricky Glenn Fight To A Draw appeared first on Cageside Press.

The former WSOF champ, meanwhile, had been trading wins and losses over his past several fights.

New look Ricky Glenn didn’t take long getting the job done on Saturday however. If a wise man once said only fools rush in, apparently, Joaquim Silva didn’t hear it. He did just that on Glenn, meeting a right hand for his troubles. Down went Silva, though he would struggle back to his feet. That valiant survival effort was met with a barrage of strikes from Glenn, and before too long the ref had seen enough. He dove in, pushing Glenn off and making the save.

The Gladiator gets it done in 1️⃣!#UFCVegas29 live on ESPN2 and @ESPNPlus. pic.twitter.com/uuHV1dGSnP

— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2021

For Silva, who hadn’t fought since 2019, it was a rude welcome back to the octagon. But Ricky Glenn got just the result he was looking for, with his own downtime even longer — with Glenn’s last bout coming in 2018. Quite the return by ex-WSOF champ Glenn.

Official Result: Ricky Glenn def. Joaquim Silva by knockout, Round 1, 0:37

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Then there’s those like Rick Glenn.

Glenn grew up with fighting, and that’s not to say that he grew up with martial arts. From a young age, Glenn had been throwing down in street fights as if it was second nature to him.

“I’ve been scrapping for years – just growing up as a rougher neighborhood kid, you know, we’re fighting on a daily basis,” he recalled. “Whether it was my brother or some other kids just trying to punk you out, I’ve had well over fifty childhood, street-type fights.”

While Glenn described most of those fights as “not serious” there were some that fell out of that category. Thinking back on them, the ones that turned out to be a bit more than what he bargained for led him, and his family, to reevaluate what he was doing.

And that’s where Glenn’s path veered a little bit closer to the clichés. He started working out at a local boxing gym at 14. Images of old boxing movies flashed in his mind as a beautiful end goal for what he could do once he turned 18 and could legally take an amateur fight. However, even though he and his family were waiting for that day when the law would yield it self to his desires, the debut wouldn’t wait any longer

“My first [amateur fight] is kind of funny. My first one I took on just a couple hours’ notice. I left my job at Staples, where I was working in the furniture department,” Glenn said, pointing out that a friendly promoter he knew from his gym had called him during his shift. “My wife, girlfriend at the time, Jenny, I called her up and she brought my gear and took me to the show from there.”

At just 17-years old, Glenn was riding in his girlfriend’s car on the way to his first fight with no coach, no fans, nobody to even corner him. However, none of that was a deterrent as he was sure he’d find some friendly faces in the dark corners of the local show.

“I didn’t even have time to call anyone and tell them. I just went there. I knew there’s going to be people that would corner me or that I could trust and just throw me some water or something,” he said, luckily pointing out that his uncle just happened to be in attendance and supportive of his last minute decision. “In between rounds, we didn’t even have water. My uncle looked over to a friend he knows and says ‘hey give me your water’. So he tossed it over the cage and I got a swig of water.”

Of course the cherry on top of this all is the image of arriving at the arena. Stepping out of the passenger side of Jenny’s car, Rick was still decked out in full Staples swag. He even entered the arena still wearing it.

“I still had my shirt tucked in, my Staple uniform, and I go into the restroom and used the bigger handicap stall. I changed real quick and they said ‘you’re up soon’. So I did a couple of hamstring stretches and went in there,” Glenn said.

That night ultimately went well for Glenn. After dishing out some damage in the second round, the opposing corner called it off before their fighter could come out for the third round. An excited Glenn celebrated in the cage with his uncle, just hours after having left Staples.

Of course, one’s first amateur fight doesn’t allow them to quit their day job. Luckily, Rick returned to Staples later that week looking no worse for the wear. In the future though, he pointed out he would occasionally come in with a black eye or a large bruise somewhere, prompting questions out of his co-workers.

“I try to be a nice person and I’m very friendly. [My coworkers] were like “how can you go in there and beat the shit out of someone and then come in here and be so nice?” he laughed. “It’s a different thing – time and a place.”

The next time and place for Rick Glenn was expected to be this weekend at the Apex in Vegas. After nearly two years away, Glenn was booked to step into 29th professional fight against Carlton Minus. However, Glenn was unfortunately forced to pull out of the card Wednesday.

You can hear the entire audio of our interview with Rick Glenn here.

The post Staples to the Cage: The Story of Rick Glenn’s MMA Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

The final bout of The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale card in Las Vegas Friday featured Rick Glenn and Kevin Aguilar meeting at a catchweight after Glenn missed weight. Rick Glenn entered the night coming off of a win over Dennis Bermudez, taking the split decision when the two met at UFC Boise. Kevin Aguilar stepped up to take the fight after Glenn’s original opponent Arnold Allen pulled out of the contest due to a cut he received during training. Aguilar was a Contender Series vet, earning a split decision over Joey Gomez on the show.

Glenn opened the with a head kick and looked to keep moving forward. He followed up with a body kick and Aguilar answered with a kick of his own followed by a shot to the body. Glenn continued to work the kicks as he kept Aguilar on the outside. Aguilar answered by jumping in and landing when he could, but Glenn looked to meet him with a kick. Aguilar jumped back in and caught Glenn with solid punch combo that badly hurt Glenn. Glenn looked to have recovered quickly but his right eye showed the damage done. Aguilar again stepped in and landed the uppercut, he pushed the action to run out the round with a combo finished with a body kick as the horn sounded.

Aguilar came out  much faster for the second round and looked to put the action on Glenn. Glenn looked to go to his kicks again and establish range. Glenn backed Aguilar into the fence and looked to got for the take down, but Aguilar defended well and Glenn gave up on the attempt. The two exchanged and again Glenn looked to go for the take down; once again Aguilar cut him off. Aguilar stepped in and landed an uppercut. Glenn continued to mount his offense but for the moment Aguilar looked to have a counter prepared. Aguilar moved forward and the two exchanged with Aguilar looking for another uppercut, but Glenn landed a solid elbow. Glenn followed it up with a knee in the clinch before the men broke, he again tried the take down but Aguilar defended and spun to Glenn’s side, possibly looking for a take down of his own before the horn sounded to end the action.

Both men started the third round throwing kicks from range. Glenn looked to close the distance and Aguilar met him with a right hand. Glenn continued to come forward and ate a body shot but landed an elbow for his trouble. He followed up with a nice head kick that Aguilar answered with another right. Glenn fired a head kick but Aguilar countered with a hard right that dropped Glenn! Aguilar followed him to the canvas as he dropped fists and elbows. Glenn tried to defend but Aguilar took his back. Glenn spun again and eventually Aguilar ended up in side control. A bloodied Glenn looked to have mostly recovered, and he fought to his feet. Glenn threw a kick that Aguilar answered with his own leg kick — that wobbled Glenn. Glenn regained his balance and tagged Aguilar with a solid elbow, that made his legs give out for a moment just before the final horn sounded.

Kevin Aguilar def. Rick Glenn by unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27)

The post TUF 28 Finale Results: Kevin Aguilar Bests Rick Glenn appeared first on Cageside Press.

Giblert Gilbert Melendez will have to wait a little longer to get back in the octagon. On Monday, the UFC announced via social media that Melendez (22-7) had suffered an injury and was out of his TUF 28 Finale fight with Arnold Allen. Taking his place on just a few weeks notice will be Rick Glenn.

Gilbert Melendez is injured.

🇬🇧 @ArnoldBFA gets a new opponent @GladiatorGlenn on the #TUF28 Finale! pic.twitter.com/0Rc76Mc1FC

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 5, 2018

The nature of Melendez”s injury was not disclosed. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion has not fought in over a year, and has appeared just once per calendar year since 2013. Having lost four straight, most recently to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 215 in September 2017, ‘El Nino’ clearly has his back against the wall.

Replacement Rick Glenn (21-5) enters the night off a victory over Dennis Bermudez in July. Glenn, a former WSOF featherweight champion, is 3-2 in the UFC overall.

Arnold Allen (13-1), meanwhile, is perfect in the UFC through four fights. Most recently, he submitted Mads Burnell at UFC Liverpool.

The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale takes place November 30 at the Park Theatre in Las Vegas. The current season of the show features heavyweights and women’s featherweights.

The post Gilbert Melendez Out of TUF 28 Finale Following Injury appeared first on Cageside Press.

An intriguing featherweight match-up promised plenty of violence at UFC Boise on Saturday. Rick Glenn, 2-2 in his UFC run to date and a former WSOF champ, was facing Dennis Bermudez. ‘The Menace’ had been a promising, explosive fighter since his run on TUF. However, Bermudez had notably lost three in a row heading into the promotion’s debut in Idaho. Glenn was also coming off a loss, against Myles Jury at UFC 219. Both fighters needed a win here.

Round one was mostly a feeling out round. Glenn used his unusual feints and double jab to keep Bermudez on the outside and keep control. He also used constant movement, which prevented Bermudez from getting the takedown, as Dennis Bermudez was stuffed on all four attempts in the first.

The second finally saw Dennis Bermudez sticking to his game plan (and more importantly, said game plan working), taking Rick Glenn down four times and trying to land ground and pound. Although Bermudez was getting the takedowns, he couldn’t keep him on the ground. It also didn’t seem like he could figure out Glenn’s unusual striking, as Bermudez, usually game anywhere, didn’t look very comfortable on the feet. Despite this it seemed like round two was Bermudez’s.

Round three featured Dennis Bermudez putting tons of pressure on his opponent, taking Glenn down once again. Landing punches and elbows from the top helped bust up Glenn’s face. It was a very close fight that showcased both fighters, and both found success. Yet it ultimately went to the judges’ scorecards, who rendered a split verdict in favor of Rick Glenn.

Rick Glenn def. Dennis Bermudez by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

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