The San Antonio-based card saw longtime PFL vet Chris Wade paired up with Brazil’s Gabriel Braga, with the pair leaving it to the judges — and the judges leaving just about everyone wondering what fight they had watched. Following three hard-fought, closely contested rounds, a split decision was rendered, with scores of 30-27 for Braga, 30-27 for Wade, and 29-28 for the eventual winner, Braga.

That two judges in Texas watched fights that were apparently diametrically opposed would be surprising if it weren’t for the ongoing issues with judging in the sport. Close fights should be close, and split decisions will happen. Contrasting scorecards like that are another matter.

One fight later, #1 light heavyweight seed Josh Silveira made sure the judges were not required. Towards the end of the opening round of his semifinal with Ty Flores, Silveira initiated a clinch that allowed him to fire knee after knee until Flores was simply done; at least six knees landed before it came to an end. The son of American Top Team coach Conan Silveira was eliminated in the semifinal round a year ago; this year, the former LFA double champ has landed in the million dollar finale, opposite Kasanganay.

Likewise, Jesus Pinedo left nothing to chance in his PFL 7 main event scrap with Bubba Jenkins, the second featherweight semifinal of the event. Pinedo, who had missed weight for the fight, rocked Jenkins repeatedly in the opening round. It was only being saved by the bell after being dropped that allowed Jenkins to make it back to his corner. The battering would continue in the second, but a key reversal on the ground allowed Bubba to get on top — for a time anyway. Back on the feet, Pinedo would again begin lighting up the American wrestler, with the ref eventually waving off the fight as Jenkins stumbled and struggled to avoid taking damage.

Your first two 2023 PFL finals are set as follows:

• Josh Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay — light heavyweight
• Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga — featherweight

The post Judges Get Wacky in Braga-Wade, But Featherweight, Light Heavyweight Finals Set Following PFL 7 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I don’t think that PFL’s alone in that,” Flores told reporters including Cageside Press on Tuesday.

“People are going to cheat in sports. There’s always going to be cheaters no matter what. I’m never going to be shocked specially in a sport like MMA. You look back as far as it goes there’s always been guys that are on the sauce. I’m never going to be surprised. I’m hoping to have a long career and I’m sure this isn’t going to be the first time or the last time that I face somebody that’s been on the sauce.”

Flores had been looking forward to facing Wilkinson whom he has said is the most well-rounded fighter in the PFL’s light heavyweight division.

“It’s a little disappointing. I was going to get to face the former champ. It was exciting. I do think he was the most well-rounded guy in the division. I was looking forward to it as a way to prove myself and what not,” he said.

At PFL 4 he instead now takes on Spohn who makes his return to the promotion following a stop at a promotion in Ohio.

“I’ve seen a little bit. He’s a vet man he’s kind of getting up there in age, but he’s a dog. Props to him for taking the fight on two weeks notice. I know he just fought and he lost, so I know he’s going to be looking to get back in the win column,” Flores said.

“Props to him. Nothing bad to say about him at all. Tough guy, good striking, good ground. He’s pretty well-rounded. I’m just happy. I’m lucky to have an opponent to be honest.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Ty Flores above. He takes on Dan Spohn at PFL 4 on Thursday night.

The post Ty Flores Disappointed To Not Be Fighting Wilkinson, Grateful For Spohn Booking appeared first on Cageside Press.

However, don’t take that as naivety. Flores has just been working on his recovery every day since he joined Team Elevation.

“With our squad, I mean we don’t have a huge team, specifically with the big guys, but we’ve got very close knit, very good guys. We train hard all the time,” Flores explained. “Damn dude, if you’re training with Curtis Blaydes if you’re not spending money on recovery, you’re not going to be training very often.”

But it isn’t just Curtis Blaydes who leaves light heavyweight Flores feeling sore each and every pracitce. Their group of top level 265ers and 205er have him in the perfect place to deal with the grind.

“There are no easy rounds. Just about every guy [in the big guy group] is signed to a big promotion,” he said. “It’s been fun. If Devin Clark gets me on the ground it’s going to be a really shitty round. Zac [Pauga] and I – I mean, Zac is just an evil person. We’re always talking shit to each other and that’s a round I think we both reserve for each other.”

That’s not to say the guys are out there to hurt each other. Their love for one another is why they go as hard as they do, but is also the reason why they look after each other. Flores believes that is what separates their team from others and helps to keep him healthy.

“I train smart. A lot of these gyms have a ton of guys where maybe the comradare isn’t all the way there, or you have guys just coming in and out of the gym,” Flores said. “With out gym, like I said, it’s a tight knit group of guys – so not as many training injuries happen.”

Flores will start his next gruelling journey this Saturday at PFL 1. He’ll fight Delan Monte to open up the PFL regular season on ESPN+.

You can hear the entire interview below at 23:33. 

The post PFL 1’s Ty Flores Buoyed by Training Partners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cedric Gunnison Interview (2:04)

Kicking off the show this week, we are joined by ROC lightweight champion and CFFC lightweight contender, Cedric Gunnison. Gunnison discusses the opportunity to move over to CFFC after being disrespected with his prior organization. Plus, he tells how he came to the sport from a background of boxing his brothers in the street and how he hopes one day to use martial arts to buy his mother a home.

Combat Countdown: PFL Season Predictions (15:14)

We return with another of our favorite segments, the Combat Countdown. This week, we’re looking at all the divisions in PFL and picking a season winner out of them. Anything can happen in these crazy rundowns, but the guys do their best to pull you out a winner or two. Plus, they chat a little about this weekend’s upcoming PFL 1 event, which includes a banger between Thaigo Santos and Rob Wilkinson.

Ty Flores Interview (23:33)

Next on the docket, we’re joined by PFL light heavyweight Ty Flores. Flores fights at PFL 1 this weekend against Delan Monte. With a loaded light heavyweight roster, some people might be looking ahead to what’s to come. However, Flores has no fears or preferences. Afterall, if you’re used to getting grappled by Curtis Blaydes and Devin Clark, you might not be too worried about what coming up next.

Patrick Brady Interview (34:28)

Closing out the show, we chat with PFL heavyweight, Patrick Brady. Despite being a professional for less than a year and a half, Brady finds himself in the thick of the million dollar PFL season. He discusses what that’s like and how he got into the sport a little later than most. In addition, we also discuss his fight next weekend at PFL 2. He’ll be taking on Michał Andryszak while looking to take his first steps towards life changing money.

The post TTP Ep. 371 with Cedric Gunnison, Ty Flores, and Patrick Brady appeared first on Cageside Press.

For those appearing on the week one card, there was a little less competition for that UFC contract. That’s after Damonte Robinson was scratched from the card, a development first reported by James Lynch.

Bad news. Per sources Cross vs. Robinson is OFF tomorrow nights #ContenderSeries card. Robinson wasnt cleared by doctors due to what I'm hearing was an eye issue. https://t.co/uNO5GjorqK

— James Lynch (@LynchOnSports) August 4, 2020

That left Kenny Cross without a dance partner, with no time to find a replacement. Hopefully, the show will find a way to get him back on soon. In the meantime, a four-fight card would kick off the season, featuring the following pairings:

Light Heavyweight: Ty Flores vs. Dustin Jacoby

Lightweight: Uros Medic vs. Mikey Gonzalez

Flyweight: Luis Rodriguez vs. Jerome Rivera

Lightweight: Jordan Leavitt vs. Luke Flores

We spoke to Ty Flores ahead of his featured fight, who told us that he expected to have a considerable weight advantage over Jacoby, who has previously competed for Bellator, come fight night. “I think I’m gonna get him on the ground and he is gonna feel that, and I’m gonna zap all his energy,” he added.

Be sure to check out our full breakdown of Dana White’s Contender Series 4 Week 1. Results from Tuesday’s event can be found below.

Kicking off the Contender Series Week 1 card was Jordan Leavitt, who put a career in law on hold to pursue his fighting career. After opponent Luke Flores opted to jump guard and work on a triangle, Leavitt landed a slam, controlled on the ground, and softened his opponent up with punches. Then came the arm-triangle choke, and a first round finish. A post-fight celebration including “the worm” helped make his case for a UFC deal.

The flyweight battle between Luis Rodriguez and Jerome Rivera was a very different affair. A heated one, at times. Three full rounds full of scrambles and submission attempts. While Rivera looked dangerous on the ground early, he soon struggled to land takedowns, and Rodriguez appeared to be the fresher fighter as the bout wore on. Very active, very competitive, very fun. Rivera wound up taking the win on the scorecards, which left some observers puzzled, but both fighters deserve credit for a hell of a show.

The third fight of the evening was a show-stopper. Uros Medic repeatedly drilled the body of Mikey Gonzalez with kicks. After crumpling Gonzalez with one kick to the liver, he had a near finish. Somehow, Gonzalez survived. He didn’t survive a second punishing kick to the body, and more follow-up strikes. Medic making a strong statement for a UFC deal.

The MVP of Tuesday’s Contender Series offering may have been Ty Flores’ chin. In reality, it’s what kept him in his fight against Dustin Jacoby. Unfortunately for Flores, it didn’t help him get the win, however. Jacoby, who fought in the UFC and Bellator in years gone by, was returning from a stint in kickboxing, and absolutely pieced Flores up through the first two rounds. Flores was bloodied, close to being finished, but somehow gutted it out. Still, there was no question to the winner — Jacoby.

In the end, Leavitt, Medic, and Jacoby earned UFC deals. UFC President Dana White, meanwhile, said he expected to see Jerome Rivera and Luis Rodriguez in the promotion some day as well — “just not today.”

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 1 Results:

Dustin Jacoby def. Ty Flores by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
Uros Medic def. Mikey Gonzalez by TKO (body kick and punches), Round 1, 2:12
Jerome Rivera def. Luis Rodriguez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Jordan Leavitt def. Luke Flores by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:15

Contract Winners: Jordan Leavitt, Uros Medic, Dustin Jacoby

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 1 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Past editions of the show have produced talents like Sean O’Malley, Edmen Shahbazyan, Johnny Walker and more. Who’s going to break out this year? Good question. We’ve got your week one breakdown right here!

Lightweight: Kenny Cross vs. Damonte Robinson

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Cross
Speed: Cross
Output/Volume: Cross
Knockout Power: Cross
Chin: Even
Kickboxing: Robinson
Footwork: Cross
Wrestling: Robinson
Grappling: Robinson
Submissions: Robinson
Cardio: Robinson

Prediction

Kevin Syler was originally scheduled against Cross for the first week of DWCS, but had to drop off the card. This is a super fun bout and a better fight than Cross/Syler. All three of Cross’s losses are by submission so that is a bit concerning. With Cross being so aggressive and pressing forward he could easily walk into a takedown. I’m just not fully sold on the wrestling ability of Robinson. Of the footage available I really like what Robinson brings to the table and I won’t be surprised if he gets the win. I favor Cross though because he’s shown a lot more in his career and the fact that Robinson is taking this fight on days’ notice. Skill for skill I think both have a lot to offer but Cross to me has more valuable weapons.

The post DWCS 2020 Week 1 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

Flores may have not fought in over a year but the Team Elevation standout has been keeping his skillset sharp even through an unprecedented pandemic. We caught up with Flores recently, and he explained what training has been like for him. “It’s been great, when quarantine started we had a real small group so we’ve been getting more attention from the coaches which is good. There were some days when we would even have more coaches than we would have guys sparring so it was good to get all the feedback.  It started with just a couple of us and we would have a pretty solid big guy group. It was all heavyweights and light heavyweights. We made a lot of improvements getting one on one from the coaches.”

Outside of MMA, Ty loves to hunt and explained to us what he has been doing outside of his MMA training. “I am a pretty big hunter so I have been getting ready for this season. I got Elk in September, I wanna try Bear as well, go back home and get some deer and of course I’m a big boar hunter as well. I’ve just been reading books on that, reading maps, practicing my tracking and going up the mountains and staying active with that. But when it gets closer to the fight I don’t really feel like camping it’s a lot of energy”. 

The Team Elevation fighter is on a five-fight winning streak and is more then ready to put on a show at the UFC Apex. Flores feels very confident in his skillset and expects to be the better fighter wherever this match-up with Jacoby goes. “He is a kick boxer and I am more of a wrestler. I think the difference is he knows I want to take him down and I know he wants to knock me out. I know he’s not gonna take me down, that would be really dumb. But I’m also not scared to strike with either, I’ve fought tough strikers and I train with Alistair [Overeem], Curtis [Blaydes] and those guys hit so hard. I am not worried to strike with him either and we are gonna fight at my pace. I am going to dictate that, he is always going to have to be worried about the takedown.”

Flores continued, explaining why he believes a finish may be in order come fight night. “I am in such good shape right now that I think I could wrestle him for 5 straight rounds if I need to, and strike with him too. I am going to be closer to 230 on fight night and I think he walks around closer to 205 and I’m gonna put my weight on him. I have some brutal ground and pound. The last guy I fought I broke his jaw after two or three hits. I think I’m gonna get him on the ground and he is gonna feel that, and I’m gonna zap all his energy.”

Be sure to tune in to watch Ty Flores make his Contender Series debut on August 4, live on ESPN+.

The post DWCS: Ty Flores Expects to Mentally and Physically Break Jacoby appeared first on Cageside Press.