Ige (19-9) seemed to rock Woodson forcing the much taller to shoot for a takedown. Ige went to work looking for the finish which he eventually got when the ref stopped the fight, but most felt it was a very early stoppage.

Woodson seemed to be standing back up.

“I got to watch the fight back, but in the moment my thoughts were, I hurt him,” Ige told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I hurt him pretty bad. I was ripping his body and he shot for a takedown which you never see him do. I would have probably just kept hitting him. I don’t get to choose when the ref jumps in so I just keep punching until the ref says stop.”

So what’s next for 50K now that he’s back in the win column? Many in his position would have a list of names to throw out, but Ige just wants to keep on moving up.

“No one in particular. I just want to keep climbing. I just want to keep winning, keep racking them up, get some momentum again. I want three wins. It doesn’t matter who. Started tonight with Sean Woodson, but let’s get two more, and then we’ll talk about some big names and whatnot,” he said.

“If a name comes across the table I’m not going to say no. I’m going to fight. That’s what I do. What’s who I am. I’ve fought the best of the best and I am one of the best.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Dan Ige above.

The post Dan Ige: “I don’t get to choose when the ref jumps in.” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ige (18-9) is a fighter’s fighter with how he stepped in on just hours on fight night against Diego Lopes at UFC 303. He lost that bout which no one blinked an eye at, but then went on to lose against Lerone Murphy last October. ’50K’ Ige needed a victory to avoid the dreaded 3-fight losing skid.

Woodson (13-1-1) is technically on a 6-fight win streak with a draw against Luis Saldaña the only smudge on the record, but not a loss. Wins over Fernando Padilla, Alex Caceres, and Charles Jourdain could push him into contention with a win over Ige.

Round 1 Woodson’s height and reach advantage was insane in this one. Ige was hitting arms with some of his punches early on in the round. Ige worked to get Woodson to the fence and attack, but was landing some good leg kicks early.

Woodson used his length to keep Ige at range. That jab was a good weapon for him and he followed it up with right hands as well. Ige stopped attacking leg kicks for some reason as he tried to get in close to land shots up top.

Round 2 Ige came out on a mission to land the right hand. He would step in, accepting that he’d eat a shot, in order to land his own. Ige had some success early in the round getting in close and landing, but nothing heavy was thrown. He shot in for a single leg, but there was nothing he could do with it so he let it go.

Woodson continued to stay active and move a lot in order to not be a stationary target for the nuclear hands of Ige. Ige was eventually able to get a takedown, but Woodson got back to his feet rather easily.

Round 3 Woodson finally got loose throwing hands at range. Ige finally landed a big shot that put Woodson on skates and Ige went after him to finish the fight. Woodson was defending himself when the ref suddenly came in and stopped the fight.

Questionable stoppage, but Ige walks away with the TKO finish.

Official Result: Dan Ige def. Sean Woodson via R3 TKO, 1:12

The post Dan Ige Rocks Woodson In The Third, Questionable Stoppage Mars Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

“After I beat (Charles) Jourdain I was told that I was likely going to fight a ranked guy. Then I got matched up with (Alex) Caceres. When I signed the contract for Caceres he was ranked at the time,” Woodson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Couple weeks before we fought he got bounced out of the rankings. I beat him and then after that I was for sure told I was going to get a top 15 guy. I was told I was going to fight (Edson) Barboza in December. I was waiting on the confirmation for that. It never happened.”

Woodson (13-1-1) may have been a bit frustrated with how things played out at that point.

Until he got Padilla’s name offered to him.

“They came to me with Fernando. I just knew though like him being the finisher he is, I feel like the company still had a lot of hype behind him. I just know I’m due for a ranked guy now,” he said.

If he wasn’t clear about what he wants in 2025, he made sure to clarify for everyone in the room.

“A ranked opponent. I will go anywhere in the world. At first I was big on ‘I don’t want to fly overseas’ and all that. I will go anywhere, I will fight anybody, rank me,” he said.

“Dana’s big on ‘earn what you kill’. I heard him say that a lot. I feel like I’ve set myself up for a big fight. I’ve earned it and I deserve it.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Sean Woodson above.

The post Sean Woodson Says He Embraced, “Earn what you kill”, Wants Ranked Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Woodson was having a strong 2024, having picked up victories against Charles Jourdain and Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres. Padilla was coming off a submission win against Luis Pajuelo which had improved his UFC record to 2-1.

The fight started quickly with Sean landing a high kick that partially landed. Padilla immediately followed up with aggression swinging looping punches backing Sean up against the cage. Woodson was blocking a lot of the strikes with high guard. Padilla lost his footing with his aggression and Woodson jumped on him. Padilla and Woodson exchanged positions on the ground but not much damage was landed.

When the fight returned to the feet, Padilla kept up the relentless pressure on Woodson. Walking him down, non-stop pressure then output. Sean managed to negate some of the forward pressure and stunned his opponent with a solid jab-cross in the center of the octagon. The most damaging shots of the fight to that point. At the mid-way point of the round, Woodson was holding his mouth open slightly as a result of the constant onslaught of strikes and defensive footwork. With about 90 seconds to go in the round, Woodson sat his opponent down with a leg kick triggering a pop from the crowd. Fernando recovered quickly and went back to walking forward before being dropped again seconds later. Once the fight back on the feet, Padilla kept on his gameplan. Cornering Woodson, throwing punches, keeping in his face and keeping him fatigued. In the final seconds of the round Woodson got space from the fence and landed a looping upper cut-cross combo that badly hurt Padilla. Woodson dropped his retreating opponent with a follow up two pieces. Sean swarmed and bounced his foe off the canvas with follow up shots before the ref stepped in to stop the fight.

After the result, Woodson took to the mic in his post-fight interview. “He overwhelms guys” the St. Louis native remarked, speaking on his foe, “I wasn’t going to let him go through me.” Sean capped his massive win off with a huge statement saying, “Rank me and run me my 50. That dude is a lethal finisher, and I finished him.” The victory capped off a massive 2024 for Sean as he went 3-0 in during the calendar year.

Official Results: Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla via TKO, 4:58, Round 1

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UFC Tampa (UFC on ESPN 63 for those keeping track of such things) takes place December 14, 2024 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Woodson vs. Padilla’s addition to the card was first reported by ESPN Deportes. Woodson later confirmed the booking on social media.

Woodson (12-1-1), a.k.a. “The Sniper,” has had a strong 2024 thus far. He’s 2-0, starting the year with a split decision win over Charles Jourdain, and following that up by going the distance with Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Cacares, taking the victory on all three scorecards.

Not currently ranked, Woodson is undefeated since 2020, with a record of 5-0-1.

Padilla (16-5) is 2-1 in the UFC to date, having linked up with the company last year. He holds wins over Julian Erosa and most recently Luis Pajuelo. The 27-year old from Mexico also fought some seriously tough competition prior to joining the UFC, including bouts with UFC vets Spike Carlyle, Darrick Minner, and current star Dan Ige.

UFC Tampa is still in search of a main event, but features the following reported bouts:

• Joel Álvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
• Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
• Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino
• Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick
• Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
• Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
• Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Marcos
• Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla

The post Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla Added to UFC Tampa appeared first on Cageside Press.

Derrick Lewis

The UFC’s all-time knockout record holder showed that he has more left in the tank at 39 years old by knocking out Rodrigo Nascimiento in the third round after losing the first two. Lewis is currently ranked twelfth at heavyweight but will move up when the rankings update.

The man he should fight next currently sits one spot above him. Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a similar fighter to Lewis in a lot of ways, a massive figure who has some of the best knockout power in the division, but lacks depth in certain skills, like wrestling. Fans have wanted to see the two fight for a few years, but now that they are both coming off a win it is the perfect time.

Lewis’ Next Fight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Joaquin Buckley

By extending his win streak to four fights, making him 4-0 as a welterweight, Joaquin Buckley is a legitimate danger to top 15 170-lbers. No ranked welterweights are currently scheduled to fight (except Kevin Holland, for a fight in the weight class above) so the options are wide open for the St. Louis native.

One matchup which would be electric is Buckley against Geoff Neal. Neal is on a two-fight losing streak after facing two of the best prospects in the division, but he would be a real test for Buckley, better than anyone he has fought so far at welterweight. The pair both have some of the heaviest hands in the division as well, and leave it all on the line, which will make for an excellent brawl.

Buckley’s Next Fight: vs Geoff Neal

Carlos Ulberg

City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg got the biggest win of his career when he put the lights out of an onrushing Alonzo Menifield in UFC St. Louis’ featured bout. The Kiwi will presumably take Menifield’s eleventh rank in the light-heavyweight division, and with a five-fight knockout streak and six-fight winning streak he will be looking to face another higher ranked opponent next.

Anthony Smith sits at tenth in the rankings. Although he won his last fight impressively, he is still 2-3 in his last five fights, and should still have to fight a contender ranked slightly below him, though not out of the rankings entirely. With almost sixty pro fights to his name, Smith will be by far the most experienced opponent Carlos has fought, and will not hand him a knockout on a silver platter like Menifield did.

Ulberg’s Next Fight: vs Anthony Smith

Carlos Diego Ferreira

One of Brazil’s most unheralded talents got a big win at UFC St. Louis by stopping up-and-comer Mateusz Rebecki in the third round. At age thirty-nine it is super impressive to halt a sixteen fight winning streak like that. That, along with his ‘Knockout of the Year’ candidate last year that also earned him a $50,000 bonus, should put the veteran in position for a good opponent next.

Drakkar Klose has the best win streak of any unranked UFC lightweight right now. For him, getting a win over a former ranked contender would be just the accolade that would get him a fight against a current contender. Both men are well-rounded and experience; this fight would show high-level skills in all facets of MMA.

Ferreira’s Next Fight: Drakkar Klose

Sean Woodson

The tallest featherweight in the UFC scraped by veteran Alex Caceres with a decision win on Saturday. Woodson has now not lost in his last six outings. Although two of those were split decision wins and one was a draw, it is still an impressive run.

The perfect opponent for Sean will be decided this week. Unranked featherweight Lerone Murphy takes on a legend, eleventh ranked Edson Barboza, in the UFC Apex event this Saturday. The loser of that fight will have to face someone below them, which is just the sort of opportunity Woodson deserves.

Woodson’s Next Fight: Loser of Barboza/Murphy

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

The boss may not have been impressed with Waldo’s decision victory over Olympian Robelis Despaigne to open the UFC St. Louis card, but he is nonetheless on a three-fight winning streak now. With a 5-1 record in a shallow heavyweight division, it may be time for the Dominican to dip his toes into the top-fifteen.

If he is to face a ranked foe, what better opponent than #15, the man who lost in this very card’s main event? Rodrigo Nascimiento would test Waldo’s defensive grappling, something he has not had to show much in his UFC fights thus far.

Cortes-Acosta’s Next Fight: Rodrigo Nascimiento 

The post What’s Next: UFC St. Louis Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Both fighters were tall and lanky with a tendency to fight at range, but few 145’ers were as towering as the 6 foot 1 Woodson.

The Enterprise Center crowd bellowed as the iconic Bruce Buffer introduced St. Louis’ hometown kid, Sean “The Sniper” Woodson.

Woodson started out strong, maintaining distance while landing a variety of calf kicks in the first minute of the bout. The two exchanged a few quick combinations throughout the latter portion of the round, though neither fighter sustained much damage during the opening frame.

Woodson’s unique and effective style began to pose problems for Caceres, working the body of his opponent while steering clear of the power punches coming his way. Caceres continued to move forward, though Woodson looked to be ahead on the scorecards headed into the third and final round.

Caceres fired on all cylinders deep into the third round, throwing a plethora of spinning attacks and utilizing his deep bag of tricks to frustrate Woodson. Caceres channeled his inner Max Holloway, pointing to the ground in the waning seconds of the bout and throwing caution to the wind.

The last fury wouldn’t be enough, however, as Woodson would weather the storm en route to securing a unanimous decision victory in front of a crowd filled with his friends, family, and supporters.

“I’m a dark horse in this division. I could be the best fighter in the world one day,” Woodson said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I want Bryce Mitchell next, then I want (the #10 ranked fighter in the division), then I want number five, and then I want a title shot.

Woodson extends his unbeaten streak to six, while Caceres drops his second fight in a row and looks to be in the final stages of a very successful UFC career.

Official Decision: Sean Woodson def. Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

The post UFC St. Louis: Fighting at Home, Sean Woodson Extends Streak, Tops Alex Caceres appeared first on Cageside Press.

Though he’s a local, Woodson (11-1-1) noted during this week’s media day that he hasn’t “fought here in god knows how long. Super-excited to fight here in the UFC, in my home town.”

Back in 2017 when the UFC last visited the city, Woodson was on hand— as a fan. That experience drove him to set a goal of being on the card whenever the promotion returned. “Next time they come back, I’ll have the best seats in the house: in the octagon,” Woodson recalled promising himself. “That’s crazy and stuff.”

“I feel like I knew in my heart whenever they came back here, I would be on that card.” After his last fight, Woodson started hear talk of a UFC return to St. Louis, and immediately got his manager on the case, looking to get him on it. The only shock was that it took so long to get a fight booked, in this case against Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres.

“I didn’t think I’d have to do too much to get on this card, I thought I would have been one of the first guys on this card, ended up being one of the last. I was a little stressed for a second, I was like ‘are they really not going to throw me on this card?’ But yeah I’m thrilled to be on here. It’s a dream come true but at the same time I’m doing my best to treat it just like any other fight.”

Any other fight or not, Woodson is expected a heated battle against a veteran in Caceres.

“I was expecting to go to war with [Charles] Jourdain. That didn’t happen, I was surprised. I feel like he kind of accepted the range, he kind of accepted that he couldn’t get in on me. But I don’t see Caceres doing that. He’s a veteran, super-experienced. He’s a guy that when he’s in there, every moment of the fight he’s trying to win.”

Woodson believes Caceres will “keep trying, he’s going to keep trying.” In response, “keep denying him over and over again” is the plan. “He’s got a funky and weird style, I’ve got a funky and weird style, so I feel like this has no other option but to be an exciting fight.”

Watch the full UFC St. Louis media day appearance by Sean Woodson above.

The post Sean Woodson Says UFC St. Louis a “Dream Come True,” but Treating It “Like Any Other Fight” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I clearly heard them say ‘split-decision’. I heard that. I knew they read a card for me, they read a card for him, but at the end…I guess it was the crowd I don’t know,” Woodson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I couldn’t hear who they finally said. It sounded like they said ‘Charles’. Wasn’t sure.”

Nobody was sure after the card were read, but Woodson’s corner, and Daniel Cormier, let him know he had won the bout.

“I looked over and Charles and his team were celebrating. I knew it was a close fight so I just assumed that they, and I thought I did enough to win, but like I said I knew it was close. Could not hear who they said it for. I accepted the loss,” Woodson said.

“Shook DC’s hand and went to turn away and he kind of held my hand like, ‘He’s like you won.’ It’s just crazy. I went from being extremely low, like I said accepted the loss, then they told me I won. Elated, super happy, and yeah rollercoaster. Crazy.”

“When I say accepted the loss I mean for a brief moment after his team started celebrating. I was just like, ‘Oh damn I lost’. And then DC was like ‘You won’ and I was like this is crazy,” he said.

“I never experienced anything like that in my life. I’ll never forget it.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Sean Woodson above.

The post Sean Woodson Details Confusion Following Win At UFC 297 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Round one began with Jourdain landing kicks to the head and legs at a good clip, but Woodson chose to use his range to land away from his opponent. Jourdain worked hard to get inside and land to the body, but any time he tried to get in close Woodson was able to land the jab and angle out.

Woodson was able to turn on the strikes stopping anything from landing clean or causing any damage. Jourdain attempted a takedown after eating a knee up the middle, but nothing came of it before the round ended.

Round two Woodson was comfortable with the range and the pacing. Jourdain tried to rush in and land combos on Woodson, but couldn’t time the movement to actually get close. Jourdain tried a single leg, and Woodson hopped on one leg and landed some elbows, but wasn’t taken down.

Jourdain couldn’t get much going with the strikes and continued to shoot the single leg with no success. The rest of the round was more of the same until Jourdain landed a head kick at the end of the round.

Round three Jourdain was way more aggressive to start the round and landed on Woodson, but ended up in the clinch with his opponent on his back. Luckily for him he was able to get away and land on the break. Jourdain tried yet another take down, but Woodson was just too good on with his defense on the night.

With one minute left in the fight Jourdain clearly felt like he had to finish this fight, but instead it was Woodson who got aggressive. He shot in for a take down, got it, but got stuck in a guillotine for about a second. He was able to get out as the fight ended.

Confusion following the winner announcement as the referee raised the wrong hand, but Woodson was the victor.

Official Result: Sean Woodson def. Charles Jourdain via Split Decision (29-28×3)

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