As first noticed by automated service UFC Roster Watch, which monitors the UFC’s fighter database, the following athletes appear to be out of the organization:

• Sijara Eubanks (7-7)
• Mike Trizano (10-3)
• Liudvik Sholinian (9-3-1)
• Marcelo Rojo (16-9)
• Jay Perrin (10-7)
• Alejandro Perez (22-9-1)
• Raulian Paiva (21-5)
• Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (13-2)
• Kevin Natividad (9-4)
• Vince Marales (11-7)
• Brandon Davis (14-10)

The removal of a fighter from the database does not necessarily mean they have been cut outright. As an example, a fighter may have fought out his or her current contract, and not been immediately re-signed (but could be brought back at a later date).

That having been said, some of the names revealed on Wednesday come as no surprise. Sijara Eubanks missed weight for her fight with Priscila Cachoeira just a week ago, resulting in the bout being scratched from the UFC Vegas 67 card. It was far from Eubanks’ first struggle with the scale: she lost her spot in The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, where she would have competed for the promotion’s inaugural women’s flyweight title, due to a weight cut gone wrong.

Another weight miss followed in 2018, prompting a move to bantamweight. Eubanks then returned to flyweight last year, posting a 1-1 record while missing weight for a fight with Melissa Gatto.

Trizano won The Ultimate Fighter 27 tournament in 2018, and has gone 4-3 inside the octagon including the TUF 27 finale win. He last competed in November, knocking out Seung Woo Choi. Trizano fought out his contract in that bout; he feels like one name that could be brought back under the right circumstances, but that doesn’t look to be the case in the immediate future.

Mexico’s Alejandro Perez was 1-3 in his last four, while Jay Perrin just suffered defeat at the hands of teen phenom Raul Rosas Jr.

27-year old Raulian Paiva’s exit comes as a bit of a surprise. Paiva, who endured personal tragedy as he started his UFC run, has been ranked at both 125 and 135 pounds. He’s lost his last two.

Ukraine’s Liudvik Sholinian, a TUF 29 alum, went 0-2 in the UFC at bantamweight, though given the circumstances with his home country at war with Russia, seeing him gone is unfortunate.

Marcelo Rojo, who spent time at both bantamweight and featherweight, went 0-3 in his UFC run. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev and Kevin Natividad were both winless in their time in the promotion, while Vince Morales had lost his last two. Brandon Davis had lost both his fights since returning to the UFC in 2021. He first competed for the company from 2018-19.

Morales, for one, confirmed the news in entertaining fashion.

https://t.co/Q23jHYdVl8 pic.twitter.com/Hj3X4etpxE

— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) January 18, 2023

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Roughly one hour into Friday’s weigh-in window, UFC officials announced that due to “weight management issues,” women’s flyweight fighter Sijara Eubanks was off the card.

Eubanks had been scheduled to face Priscila Cachoeira at the event. The Brazilian had already successfully made weight for the fight.

It’s not the first struggle with weight for Sijara Eubanks, who notoriously missed out on a chance at fighting for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title due to a weight cut gone wrong. After suffering kidney failure ahead of The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale in 2017, Eubanks was pulled from the card and replaced by Roxanne Modafferi in a fight with Nicco Montano.

Eubanks also missed weight for UFC 230 in 2018, and again in her most recent outing, against Melissa Gatto in December of 2021.

UFC Vegas 67 moves forward with 11 fights at the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 14, 2023. The card now consists of:

• 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
• Javid Basharat vs. Mateus Mendonça
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
• Mateusz Rębecki vs. Nick Fiore
• Allan Nascimento vs. Carlos Hernandez
• Daniel Argueta vs. Nick Aguirre
• Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson

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The latest fight added to the January 14, 2023 event — the promotion’s first of 2023 — sees Sijara Eubanks (7-7) face off with Priscila Cachoeira (12-4).

The women’s flyweight fight was first reported by Canal Encarada’s Carlos Antunes. Cachoeira later confirmed the booking on social media, while Eubanks also revealed she would be fighting on the 14th.

Eubanks returns to the octagon looking to shake off a loss to Melissa Gatto just over a year ago, in a fight that also saw The Ultimate Fighter alum miss weight. Eubanks is 1-1 after returning to flyweight in July 2021, after a stint as a bantamweight that had been all but forced on her due to struggles making the 125lb limit.

The 37-year old is 5-5 since joining the UFC by way of TUF 26, which crowned the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion. Eubanks was expected to compete in the show’s finale, but suffered kidney failure cutting weight, leading to Roxanne Modafferi, her semifinal opponent, facing off with Nico Montano.

Brazil’s Cachoeira has won two straight fights, and four of her last five, with her only loss in that span coming against Gillian Robertson. Most recently, Cachoeira stopped “Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski via TKO.

The UFC’s January 14, 2023 Fight Night card will take place at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by middleweight action, as Kelvin Gastelum looks to fend off the surging Nassourdine Imavov. The following bouts have been reported for the date:

• Nassourdine Imavov vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson
• Allan Nascimento vs. Carlos Hernandez
• Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
• Ketlen Vieira vs. Raquel Pennington
• Jarno Errens vs. David Onama
• Omar Morales vs. Mateusz Rębecki
• Daniel Argueta vs. Isaac Dulgarian
• Punahele Soriano vs. Roman Kopylov
• Dan Ige vs. Damon Jackson
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
• Javid Basharat vs. Mateus Mendonça
• Priscila Cachoeira vs. Sijara Eubanks

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Multiple sources have confirmed to Cageside Press that Eubanks vs. Moroz will be moved from July 9 to September 17, which is a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Eubanks would confirm the new date on her Instagram.

Moroz (11-3) returned to action after a two-year layoff earlier this year at UFC 272 and submitted former teammate Mariya Agapova winning Performance of the Night. The Ukrainian fighter is riding a three-fight win streak and on the cusp of getting back into the top 15 rankings.

Eubanks (7-7) will look to rebound from her last loss to Melissa Gatto at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus in 2021. Prior to that, she spoiled Elise Reed‘s UFC debut by battering her to win a first-round TKO. “Sarj” is 1-3 in her last four and missed weight at her second fight back at flyweight.

The UFC’s September 17, 2022 event does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan officially announced. However, Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong is rumored to headline the UFC fight night in a pivotal bantamweight match-up.

The card looks like this so far:

• Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
• Louis Cosce vs. Trevin Giles
• Trey Ogden vs. Daniel Zellhuber
• Nikolas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp
• Sijara Eubanks vs. Maryna Moroz

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Moroz (11-3) has been lined up to face Ultimate Fighter alum Sijara Eubanks (7-7) at a UFC Fight Night event on July 9, 2022. Ariel Helwani was first to report news of the match-up, which Moroz later confirmed on social media.

Moroz has been on a tear, winning three straight and capturing post-fight bonuses in her last two appearances inside the octagon. Those fights came two years apart however: Moroz took home Fight of the Night against Mayra Bueno Silva in March of 2020, then returned to action this past March at UFC 272, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for an arm-triangle choke submission Mariya Agapova.

After that most recent win, Moroz made an impassioned speech in support of her homeland, which remains under attack by Russian forces. She also brought the Ukrainian flag to the cage — which will not be allowed come July. UFC officials recently implemented a flag ban, barring all fighters from bringing flags to the octagon.

Dana White confirmed the ban at UFC 274 over the weekend, but refused to elaborate on the reason behind it. “You guys know why,” he told media members in Phoenix. “Let’s not even play that f*cking game.”

Flags have not been much of a controversy, and fight kits tend to be tailored to the nationality of the fighter — yellow and green for Brazil, red and white for Canada, etc. But shortly after Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, Brian Kelleher asked permission to walk out with the Ukrainian flag. He later changed it to the World Peace flag, but his request was denied.

Eubanks, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from a loss to Melissa Gatto in the fight. “Sarj” is 1-3 in her last four fights, and missed weight for the Gatto bout.

The UFC’s July 9, 2022 event has the following fights reported for it thus far:

• Ronnie Lawrence vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov
• Nina Nunes vs. Cynthia Calvillo
• Antonina Shevchenko vs. Cortney Casey
• Josh Fremd vs. Tresean Gore
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
• Jamie Pickett vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
• Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan
• Rani Yahya vs. Cody Garbrandt
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
• Maryna Moroz vs. Sijara Eubanks

The post Maryna Moroz vs. Sijara Eubanks Lined Up for UFC’s July 9 Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sijara Eubanks’ second stint in the UFC women’s flyweight division hit a snag Friday when she missed weight for her UFC Vegas 45 bout with Melissa Gatto.

For Eubanks, it was her second time missing weight in the division. That’s discounting being pulled from The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, losing out on a shot at the inaugural 125lb title in the process.

Up against Eubanks was the aforementioned Gatto, still undefeated and entering the second fight of her run with the organization.

Eubanks started off quick, rushing across the cage and getting a big takedown to land in full guard. Gatto kept an extremely active guard and as a result, Eubanks couldn’t get anything off from the top in the way of strikes. Gatto from her back was threatening tons of submissions, throwing up everything from an armbar, to a triangle, to an omoplata attempt off her back. She wasn’t able to get anything secured and ate a big flurry of strikes to end the round.

Eubanks was more active on the feet to start round two. She was able to land a few combinations before getting a big slam takedown halfway through the round. However, Gatto used a kimura to roll and get on top in half guard. Gatto dominated the round in terms of position but wasn’t able to get off a whole lot in terms of strikes. However, she did end the round throwing a nice flurry to send the action to the third frame.

Eubanks came out active to start the third round. However, Gatto eventually found her biggest strike of the fight, as she landed a front kick to the body of Eubanks that sent Eubanks down. Gatto jumped on with some ground and pound to seal the deal and keep her undefeated record intact.

What a front kick finish by @MelissaGattoUFC 💥 #UFCVegas45 pic.twitter.com/aHMvNb1EhY

— UFC (@ufc) December 18, 2021

Official Result: Melissa Gatto def. Sijara Eubanks by TKO, Round 3, 0:45

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A full three fighters missed weight for the event, including one in historic fashion.

First up, the good news: Both Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus made weight, making the main event official. What’s that, you say? Heavyweights always make weight?

Not so fast. Earning the dubious distinction of becoming the first heavyweight to ever miss weight for a UFC fight, Justin Tafa came in at 267lbs for his fight with Harry Hunsucker. Previously, Greg Hardy had come in heavy on an initial attempt, but was able to make weight after being granted extra time to complete his cut.

No such luck for Tafa. He wasn’t alone on missing weight Friday, however. Macy Chiasson, who won The Ultimate Fighter 28 at featherweight then immediately dropped to bantamweight, missed the mark for her return to the 145lb division. She stepped on the scales 2.5lbs over the limit for her fight with Raquel Pennington.

Sijara Eubanks also missed weight for her flyweight bout with Melissa Gatto. Though just 1.5lbs heavy, it’s the second miss for “Sarj” at flyweight officially. That’s on top of being pulled from The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, where she would have fought for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight championship, were it not for a weight cut gone wrong.

Cageside Press was on hand in Las Vegas on Friday for the official UFC Vegas 45 weigh-in — results and a gallery of highlights can be found below.

UFC Vegas 45: Lewis vs. Daukaus Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis (265) vs. Chris Daukaus (235.5)
Welterweight: Stephen Thompson (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.5)
Women’s Strawweight: Amanda Lemos (115) vs. Angela Hill (115.5)
Bantamweight: Raphael Assunção vs. Ricky Simón (135.5)
Lightweight: Carlos Diego Ferreira (156) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (155.5)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (145.5) vs. Darren Elkins (145.5)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Dustin Stoltzfus (185.5) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (185.5)
Bantamweight: Raoni Barcelos (135.5) vs. Victor Henry (136)
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa (267)* vs. Harry Hunsucker (238.5)
Women’s Flyweight: Sijara Eubanks (127.5)** vs. Melissa Gatto (125)
Featherweight: Charles Jourdain (145.5) vs. Andre Ewell (145)
Women’s Bantamweight: Raquel Pennington (145) vs. Macy Chiasson (148.5)***
Heavyweight: Don’Tale Mayes (256.5) vs. Josh Parisian (262)
Lightweight: Jordan Leavitt (155.5) vs. Matt Sayles (155.5)

* Tafa misses heavyweight limit by 1lb, becomes first heavyweight in history to miss weight

** Eubanks misses flyweight limit by 1.5lbs

*** Chiasson misses featherweight limit by 2.5lbs

UFC Vegas 45 Official Weigh-In

UFC Vegas 45 Face-Offs

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“SarJ” picked up her first finish in the octagon at UFC Vegas 32 on Saturday when she smashed Elise Reed to pick up a first-round TKO. The win over Reed snapped Eubanks two-fight losing streak, and likely saved her job.

This marked Eubanks’ first fight in the flyweight division since her UFC debut against Lauren Murphy, where she picked up a unanimous decision win. She also fought three times at flyweight on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter. After her win over Murphy, she missed weight in her next fight and spent six fights in the bantamweight division.

During her post-fight interview, she revealed to Cageside Press and other reporters that the decision to move back to flyweight was made last year.

“Let me tell ya’ll something; I’ve been working on this weight class since the beginning of the year. I knew about halfway through my year last year; I think around the Julia Avila fight, I was like, ‘I think these girls are two big,'” Eubanks said. “And so I was already mentally preparing myself to go back down. It was a lot of: Can I do it? Should I do it? Is it healthy? You know, it was a lot of that. Once I got over that and started eating clean without a fight signed- I started losing weight with no fight signed. When I started seeing my body coming down, and I felt the way I felt during practice and felt the way mentally, I was sleeping better — I was like, yeah, this is the division for me.”

Eubanks said that the weight cut for Reed was one of the smoothest cuts of her career, which is a big positive for someone who has had trouble in the past.

“SarJ” had a name ready to go for who she wants next.

“The name to me that makes the most sense right now that keeps coming up is probably Jessica Eye, because we had signed to fight before. We just never got there. So, that is the first one that makes sense,” Eubanks said.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 32 post-fight press conference with Sijara Eubanks above.

The post UFC Vegas 32: Sijara Eubanks Knew She Was Going Back Down To 125, Wants Jessica Eye Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

Elise Reed
Standing at 5’3″
Fighting at 115 lbs (strawweight)
28-years-old
Fighting out of Princeton, New Jersey, US
Training out of Kickside Martial Arts
A pro record of 4-0
2 KO/TKOs

How will Reed fare in the UFC:

Elise Reed is a fun fighter to watch that is super well-rounded. On the feet, she brings a taekwondo background as she’s a third-degree black belt. Reed fights with output and in and out movement. She will lunge in with combinations and step back out of the way. Reed also has some good kicks in her arsenal but it’s more so her flow of offense that’s good. She does over-extend on her punches and gets hit quite a bit. She’s not the one to get overwhelmed though as she is the one that overwhelms her opponents.

Reed strikes well to close the distance and is a decent wrestler. Her grappling is even better from either on top or bottom. Reed doesn’t have the best takedown defense and seems to get caught in a lot of submissions. She’s still never lost by submission besides once in 2015 and off her back she moves well, throws elbows, attack subs, and create sweeps. I do see her having issues against a strong wrestler due to her small size. Reed has some impressive resilience fighting through bad positions and unloading damaging ground and pound.

• Striking: B
• Kickboxing: B-
• Clinch: B-
• Wrestling: C+
• Grappling: B
• Striking Defense: C
• Takedown Defense: C
• Cardio: A-
• Biggest Strength: Work-rate
• Biggest Weakness: TDD

How she matches up with Eubanks:

This is a poor sense of management letting Reed, who is more like an atomweight who will fight up two weight classes up against Sijara Eubanks who is a strong wrestler. Eubanks has taken down all but one of her UFC opponents. I have no doubt Reed will be taken down. Off her back she will most likely struggle against a stronger Eubanks. Reed will have to make the best of her moments on the feet. She by far has a volume and a striking advantage. If Eubanks can survive the striking of Julia Avila she can Reed. I’m picking Eubanks just because of the size advantage.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Elise Reed appeared first on Cageside Press.

MMA Junkie was first to report the news that Eubanks will now face CFFC strawweight champion Elise Reed on July 24 at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. Eubanks was originally scheduled to fight Priscila Cachoeira.

Eubanks (6-6) will be looking to snap the second two-fight losing streak of her career while also putting her No. 13 ranking in the bantamweight division on the line. “SarJ” fought four times in 2020, going 2-2. She defeated Sarah Moras and Julia Avila to start her year but then would lose to Ketlen Vieira at UFC 253 on ‘Fight Island,’ two weeks after fighting Avila. Eubanks would end her 2020 campaign by dropping a unanimous decision to Pannie Kianzad. With two straight losses and a .500 record, Eubanks needs a win.

Reed (4-0) is the current CFFC strawweight title holder and has defended the belt twice since winning it at CFFC 83, where she upset Jasmine Jasudavicius. Reed is coming off a second-round finish of Dana White Contender Series alumni Hilarie Rose last month at CFFC 97: Reed vs. Rose. She will be going up two weight classes when she faces Eubanks next month.

UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw will take place on July 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will be broadcast on ESPN.

For now, the Fight Night card looks like this:

• Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
• Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
• Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick
• Brendan Allen vs. Punahele Soriano
• Trevin Jones vs. Tony Kelley
• Raphael Assunção vs. Kyler Phillips
• Randy Costa vs. Adrian Yanez
• Mickey Gall vs. Jordan Williams
• Julio Arce vs. Andre Ewell
• Ian Heinisch vs. Nassourdine Imavov
• Darren Elkins vs. Darrick Minner
• Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus
• Sijara Eubanks vs. Elise Reed

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