Nurmagomedov is well-known both by name (as the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer and former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov) and as a recent title challenger. One who suffered the first defeat of his pro career against 135lb champ Merab Dvalishvili earlier this year.

Bautista, ranked #9 despite sitting on an eight-fight win streak, knows what this showdown in Abu Dhabi could mean. Especially in a division where the champion is already running through opponents for the second time— first Sean O’Malley, and now Petr Yan in December.

“I have the opportunity, I’ve been saying all week, I have the opportunity to change things up, really shake up the division,” Bautista told media outlets including Cageside Press on Wednesday. “Otherwise, if Umar wins, it’s just going to be rematches from here on out for a little bit for Merab. You have [Cory] Sandhagen who can work his way back up. So I have the opportunity to shake things up, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

Bautista is hoping for a first round finish on Saturday, ideally a knockout, giving him the ideal scenario of going home two rounds early. “I think a knockout would be easier than a submission. I think he’s pretty good on the ground,” the bantamweight contender noted.

Corey Sandhagen, meanwhile, who faced Dvalishvili earlier this month, remains of interest to Bautista. The pair met in 2019 and is one of just two losses on Mario Bautista’s record.

“If that fight comes about, I would definitely like to take it. As long as he’s ahead of me, I would like to take it,” he stated. “That fight was so long ago, I know I’m a different fighter. He’s a different fighter. So yeah I would love to get that one back.”

Watch the full UFC 321 media day appearance by Mario Bautista above.

The post Mario Bautista Has Opportunity to “Really Shake Up” Bantamweight Division at UFC 321 appeared first on Cageside Press.

That no doubt played a role in determining the MMA event of the year for 2021 — but we tried to stay focused on the fights!

Event of the Year 2021

Jay Anderson: A lot of people will pick the return of fans at UFC 261 for Event of the Year. I’m one of those people who enjoys MMA regardless of there being 10 people in the stands, or 10,000. The New York card would be tempting, with Gaethje vs. Chandler, but overall, UFC 269 was a better card. Both title fights delivered. Julianna Pena shocked the world. Charles Oliveira proved deserving of the title. The undercard was lit.

Farzin Vousoughian: UFC 261. There were better fight cards. But this event deserves the honor because it was the first event with a full capacity crowd since the pandemic. It was something we all missed seeing in the UFC.

Eddie Law: UFC 261. All finishes on the main card and plenty of talking points came out of this one. Chris Weidman breaking his leg on Uriah Hall brought back shades of Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 2, Valentina Shevchenko making the win over Jessica Andrade look easy, Rose Namajunas regaining her belt by taking Zhang Weili out with a head kick KO. Then to top it off the rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal after the latter asked for a full camp to fight for the title. Usman took him out in the second round with a beautiful right cross that put Masvidal to sleep for the first time in his UFC career. Incredible night.

Alex Behunin: UFC 261 was the first event back with a sold out crowd and it was a special one. Every single fighter brought it from the first prelim to the main event. All the fights on the PPV ended in stoppage (for better or worse). Rose Namajunas won, regaining her title, Valentina Shevchenko dominated Jessica Andrade and Usamn knocked out Masvidal.

Gabriel Gonzalez: UFC 268. The event so exciting, fans literally could not keep the fever pitch up through to the end of the card.  It’s easy to forget just how good the prelims were going by the time the main card launched with 15 minutes of carnage between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.  It unfairly made the perfectly exciting victories for Shane Burgos and Chito Vera seem like post-lims before fans gained a second wind to see elite talents in Rose Namajunas and Kamaru Usman be tested in their title defenses.

Justin Gibbons: UFC 260: Miocic vs. N’Gannou 2 is my Event of the Year, with so many powerful moments. A combination of a heavyweight title being on the line, Tyron Woodley and Vicente Luque’s first round war, Sean O’Malley’s vicious KO of Thomas Almeida, and also throw a Von Flue choke in the mix made this an event to remember.

Michael Lynch: UFC 268, with UFC 269 being a close second place.

Josh Evanoff: UFC 261. The first card with fans back was a wild one. Three title fights, all of which ended in finishes helped highlight a card that was electric from the first bell.

Bryson Hester: My pick for event of the year is UFC 268. This card had it all. The Usman vs Covington rematch, that delivered. The Rose vs Zhang rematch, also delivered. Not to mention the main card started out with FOTY contender, Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler. With all the winners being coached by Coach of the Year Trevor Whitman. Chito Vera KO’d the legend Frankie Edgar and on the undercard stars arose in performances from Alex Pereira and Ian Garry. Not to mention exciting finishes from Chris Barnett and Bobby Green that all but retired their noteable opponents (Gian Vilantte and Al Iaquinta).

Shawn Bitter: UFC 261 is the obvious choice. Three title fights with Usman knocking out Masvidal in the main event. Also Namajunas reclaiming her title and Shevchenko retaining her flyweight title for the fifth time against Jessica Andrade. Also on the card Chris Weidman broke his leg, Jimmy Crute suffered a nasty injury, and the prelims were all action packed.

Daniel Vreeland: UFC 268. We had Gaethje Chandler on this card, which gives it a huge bump. We also have both Fighters of the Year in my mind getting wins. Plus a huge upset with Chris Curtis beating Phil Hawes. You also had the Huggy Bear spinning heel kick. It was a remarkable event.

Dan Doherty: UFC 261. The prelims weren’t anything to write home about but that main card was something else. It starts with two freak leg injuries, then we get to the three title fights. Valentina Shevchenko ran through Jessica Andrade in another great performance. Rose Namajunas then stunned Weili Zhang with a first-round knockout after we saw Zhang throw down with Joanna Jedrzejczyk for 25 minutes. Incredible. The main event delivered with Kamaru Usman knocking out Jorge Masvidal with a brutal right hand. Of course, this event had the extra importance of having a sold-out crowd in the US after months of events in the empty UFC Apex (with the exception of trips to Fight Island). It was great to hear a full house pop during big moments again.

End result: Garnering 50% of the vote, UFC 261 wins Event of the Year for 2021. While fans being back in the building no doubt helped, three title fights certainly didn’t hurt — nor did Usman’s KO of Masvidal, and “Thug” Rose unleashing the head kick on Weili Zhang.

The post MMA 2021 Year in Review: Event of the Year appeared first on Cageside Press.

After losing in his UFC debut, Grant rebounded by earning consecutive wins over Carlo Pedersoli Jr. and the recently retired Alan Jouban. In those bouts, Grant was able to display his elite striking.

His fourth bout with the organization was against highly touted Daniel Rodriguez. In the early goings of the fight, Grant had staggered ‘D-Rod’ and it seemed to be en route to a T(KO) victory. Unfortunately for Grant, the tides turned and he ultimately was finished later in the round.

When asked about what lesson he took from that fight, grant told Cageside Press, “I think in situations like that from now on, I am going to secure position and then finish the fight.”

His finishing instinct was one of the reasons Grant felt the bout with Rodriguez slipped away.

At UFC 261, Grant was paired with Stefan Sekulic in a bout where he was the favorite. The bout was closely contested with Grant coming away with the nod via split decision.

Even though the bout went to the scorecards, he felt this was the fight he worked the hardest in. “I don’t think I’ve ever put that much effort in trying to trying to win a fight,” said Grant. “I think moving forward I am going to have to do more things that take me away from what I want to do. If I want to mess somebody up, I am going to have to take them down and get them tired.”

Grant told Cageside Press that he tore his hamstring in the fight which will keep him sidelined until the late summer.

When asked about an opponent that comes to mind, Grant said “I’m focused on getting a fight with somebody who is going to fight me. It is going to be fun to where I’m excited, the fans are excited and we are going to throw down.”

Watch our full interview with Dwight Grant above!

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Weidman broke his tibia and fibula on the first kick thrown against Hall, who checked the blow. It was a mirror image of his title fight against Anderson Silva in 2013, when Silva suffered an identical injury throwing a kick that Weidman had checked.

Like Silva, “The All-American” has had a titanium rod inserted into leg. Soon to turn 37, former champ Weidman has addressed the injury in a new video, shot from his hospital bed.

In it, Weidman thanked fans, saying “I just wanted let everyone know that I’m thankful for the love and support,” and highlighted the “nice things” Silva in particular had said following the injury.

“It’s pretty brutal, but I’m gonna get through this. I think it’s gonna be eight weeks until I could walk without crutches and stuff and drive and all that,” Weidman said in the video posted to social media. “And then as far as actual training, I don’t know. They said between six and 12 months I’ll be good to go.”

“Trying to find the blessing in disguise or silver lining,” he added.

The 12 month timeline is roughly what Silva’s own injury took. Coincidentally “The Spider” was around the same age when he broke his leg.

Calling his surgery successful, Weidman revealed that “They put a titanium rod through the tibia. So they go through the knee, they go through the knee and they take the rod and they drill it through the tibia to make it straight and hard. My fibula was broken as well, but I guess when they put the tibia back together and my leg was straight, the fibula kind of matched back up to where it was broken, and they feel that could heal on it’s own as long as I’m not putting weight on it and stuff.”

Weidman also said he would document his recovery, something he’d never really done in the past. He ended his message again thanking fans for their support.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/COHx5NDA3YJ

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He came out of the fight with the win, and a new appreciation for Chinese fighters, after opponent Zhu Rong gutted it out, surviving a tight guillotine to go the distance.

“The Chinese fight with heart as well. He defended very well, the guillotine,” Vargas said following the fight. “It was tight, but again, he defended very well.”

Vargas came out of the fight seemingly unscathed, but he did feel something off a kick that could be a problem moving forward. “I threw a calf kick, and it felt like my toe. I felt something pinging all the way to my shoulder. Noting major hopefully that’s an injury, [so] I can get back in.”

As to when that will be, “I’m going to get my injury checked. And then It doesn’t matter, whoever the UFC wants to put in front of me, they’re more than welcome to fight,” the Mexican lightweight stated.

Aside from the choke attempt, Vargas found success with his jab on Saturday. “I worked with my coach Gil Martinez out in Las Vegas, he’s the one that helped me for this camp. Helped me with that up jab, we just kept working Mexican boxing.”

Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press conference with Kazula Vargas above.

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Allen (16-4), a former LFA middleweight champ, submitted Karl Roberson with an ankle lock on the televised prelims of the Florida card. On a night full of big finishes, it may have been one of the most underrated stoppages of the night.

“I just found out I’m the tenth person to ever hit a straight ankle in the UFC, so that’s pretty cool I guess,” Allen told media outlets including Cageside Press following the win. Lacking the suit he’d rocked during the event’s media day, Allen joked that “I only look like this three times a year, maybe four, so I’m going to show it off a little.”

Ahead of the fight, Allen had proclaimed that he was better than any of the middleweights the division had to offer. Asked at Saturday’s post-fight press conference whether he’d done enough to prove that, “All In” replied “I don’t know. Someone’s always going to have something to say. This sport, all these great fans we have are always having something to say. Someone’s always talking sh*t somehow.” Instead of paying attention to that, “I just stay in my lane, do what I need to do, keep my head down, and just do what my coaches tell me to do when it comes time to train and get better and improve,” Allen continued. “That’s all I’m trying to do, is grow.”

Allen has been working with Sanford MMA, and he gave the gym plenty of credit following the win. “I’ve been gone the whole year so far from home, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot in many different places in my game. I’m very happy, I was very calm tonight.” Getting the octagon Saturday “just felt normal,” he added.

Moving forward, Allen is looking at the winner of Sean Strickland vs. Krzysztof Jotko, hopefully “in July, some point in July.” With that pick, Allen is looking to get back his loss last year to Strickland.

Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press conference with Brendan Allen above.

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Brown (13-4) stayed mum on the bad blood that had arisen between the pair during the fight, which led to him hoisting double middle fingers after the fight. His reaction following the win was a bit of a surprise, given Oliveira had suggested the pair could be friends following the bout.

What Brown did speak to following the fight was the return of fans. “I missed the fans like crazy,” he said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That just puts an extra battery in my bag. To just perform and put on a show.”

Speaking about the fight, Brown added that “his range was interesting. Studying his fights, he bounces around a lot and tries to stay long. With him, I guess ’cause I’m taller, he pressed me and he was able to crowd me instantly. He was in my punch range really fast, so that threw me off guard a little bit, but then I was able to readjust and hit the big shots I needed to hit.”

As to the statement he’s made, Brown said simply that “I’m here. I’m here, and I’m coming. I’ve had some stumbles along the way but I’m still figuring it out, and I showed that.”

Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press conference with Randy Brown above.

The post UFC 261’s Randy Brown: “I’m Here, and I’m Coming” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman did exactly what he set out to do at UFC 261. After going the distance with Jorge Masivdal in their first meeting last year, “The Nigerian Nightmare” proved in the sequel that not only was the win no fluke, but that he has Masvidal’s number. He also began the first man to knock Masvidal out in the UFC, showing an improved stand-up game in the process.

Usman has suggested that he is currently lapping the division, and he’s not entirely wrong. One name he hasn’t faced is Stephen Thompson. “Wonderboy” is always in the mix, but off two wins over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal, he probably needs one more. The rematch with Covington will draw more eyeballs anyway, and Dana White has already proclaimed that “Chaos” is next.

Kamaru Usman’s next fight: Colby Covington

Rose Namajunas

“Thug” Rose became the first female fighter in UFC history to reclaim her title on Saturday. Her win over China’s Weili Zhang was stunning, and definitive. A first round finish set up with a head kick, proving once again that Namajunas, despite struggling to stay active over the years, is one of the best fighters on the planet. Moving forward, there are a few options for her next fight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk has thrown her name in the hat, and Carla Esparza is fighting Yan Xiaonan shortly. Then there’s a possible rematch with Weili Zhang. That’s a very real possibility, but why not book the much-anticipated rematch between Zhang and Jedrzejczyk now as a five-round non-title fight atop a Fight Night card? In the meantime, Namajunas can face the winning of Esparza vs. Xiaonan.

Rose Namajunas’ next fight: Winner of Carla Esparza vs. Yan Xiaonan

Valentina Shevchenko

If Jessica Andrade was the toughest test of Valentina Shevchenko’s career, she passed with flying colors. Trapping the former strawweight champ in a crucifix in the second round and pounding her out, “Bullet” made it look easy. She’s all but cleaned out the division, and a rematch with Amanda Nunes (a third fight, which arguably is a rubber match depending on how you feel about scoring in the last one) is what everyone wants. Nunes is booked, however, so in the meantime, let’s have Shevchenko go for a sixth title defense against the winner of Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy.

Valentina Shevchenko’s next fight: winner of JoJo vs. Murphy

Uriah Hall

In a wild turn of events, Uriah Hall watched in horror as a checked kick snapped the leg of Chris Weidman at UFC 261. Eight years earlier, the exact same thing had happened, with Weidman in Hall’s place, and Anderson Silva the unfortunate victim. While Hall takes home the TKO win, it’s not how anyone wanted to see things play out. It also leaves Hall in an interesting spot — he’s on the best run of his UFC career, with wins over Silva and Weidman, but this sort of win won’t bump his stock any, through no fault of his own.

Middleweight is all locked up at the moment anyway, with Marvin Vettori awarded the next title shot, and Robert Whittaker promised the winner. Paulo Costa is getting over COVID-19, Darren Till broke his collarbone, and Jared Cannonier broke his arm in a fight with Whittaker last year. Cannonier was targeting a return sometime March or later, and we’re already past that. If he’s ready to get back to work, Hall makes sense.

Uriah Hall’s next fight: Jared Cannonier

Anthony Smith

Jimmy Crute suffered the other leg injury on Saturday, off a kick from Anthony Smith. Instantly going to rubber, it seemed more of a nerve issue than anything else. If there’s no ligament damage, hopefully Crute can get back to work soon. Smith, meanwhile, has won two straight. But another up-and-comer should be next, as Smith’s a ways off from the title picture. How about Magomed Ankalaev? They’re right next to each other in the rankings at the moment.

Anthony Smith’s next fight: Magomed Ankalaev

The post What’s Next: UFC 261 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

**Note: I have intentionally left Chris Weidman off this list. With impending surgery and a very rough injury, I felt it was disrespectful to even speculate on what might be next for him. 

Jorge Masvidal

With one brutal right hand, Kamaru Usman erased any questions that people had about Masvidal’s short training camp for their first bout. In doing so, he handed Masvidal back-to-back losses making Gamebred just 3-4 over the last 4 years. That record and the losing streak doesn’t align well with just how big of a star he is and will continue to be. You could book him against anyone and it sells immediately. So why not get the most bang out of the buck and book fights that are fun, even if they aren’t meaningful. Nick Diaz was in attendance and looking for a fight. Does he have anything to offer Masvidal at this point? Who knows, but it would certainly get fans hyped regardless.

Jorge Masvidal’s Next Fight: Nick Diaz

Weili Zhang

Champions losing for the first time are sometimes in line for a rematch. With Zhang’s first loss in nearly 2 years coming via head kick KO, it doesn’t appear that’ll be the case for her. She likely has to go back and get another quality win in order to earn the rematch. If we’re going to have her fight a non-title fight, is there anyone who you’d like to see her fight more than Joanna Jedrzejczyk? Their first fight was an instant classic and people already were excited for a rematch. Now with a #1 contender spot clearly at stake, it is the perfect time to book them together again.

Weili Zhang’s Next Fight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Jessica Andrade

Jessica Andrade entered the flyweight title fight expecting to have a strength and wrestling advantage over Valentina Shevchenko. Instead, she found herself on the opposite side of every advantage she thought she might have. Still, it’s only the second flyweight fight for Andrade, who TKO’d Katlyn Chookagian in her divisional debut. It isn’t unreasonable to think she could work her way back to a title shot. To start that process, she should pair up with Cynthia Calvillo. She’s in a similar spot having impressed in her debut at 125lbs and faltered in her second. This fight would put one of them right back into the mix.

Jessica Andrade’s Next Fight: Cynthia Calvillo

Jimmy Crute

While Jimmy Crute loss this fight, a lot of people will feel like his stock went up. He was putting in a great performance against Anthony Smith right up until he got dead-legged. He even managed to score some takedowns after his foot appeared to stop working. Add in that he tried to power through it and keep fighting and I think the UFC is going to stay high on the 25-year old. A good fight for him next is the one he was supposed to have this past weekend – Johnny Walker. Walker tore a pectoral muscle and will likely need some recovery time. If their returns line up, it would make sense to try to book them again from both a style and a rankings perspective.

Jimmy Crute’s Next Fight: Johnny Walker

The post What’s Next: UFC 261 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

The welterweight seems to understand why.

“I’m happy I won and I was able to fight through everything, but man I promised the fans like a blockbuster event and I didn’t give them a finish,” he exclaimed during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “It was always right there, and I didn’t get the finish. I’m very disappointed in myself right now. I can’t even pretend. I’m just very happy I was able to push through the whole thing.”

Despite the rather chilly reception, Grant was happy to see fans back in the building. The Jacksonville, Florida based event saw a full house for the first time in over a year. But with Florida opening back up in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the UFC was quick to set up shop. “Honestly if the fans weren’t there, I might have lost that fight. Because keeping it real, I got caught in a guillotine at the end, and I heard the fans screaming,” admitted Grant. “And that screaming kept me aware of what was going on.”

“I’m very happy they were here. Even if they booed me at the end, just the fact that the experience was there is what makes it fun,” he added.

Grant also admitted he was pretty close to going out in the choke. Going to the scorecards, however, Grant said “I was confident about it, because I saw myself knocking him against the cage, dropping him, and him wobbling a couple times. I was like, ‘it has to count for something.'” Sekulic’s takedown came at the end of the first round, though did acknowledge suffering “full takedowns” in the later rounds. “But I never stopped trying to knock him out through the whole fight

Before the fight, Grant had discussed studying tape of his opponent. Of course, Sekulic had not fought since 2018 due to a USADA suspension. On the tape vs. real life question, Grant stated that “He’s definitely better. All the film is like two years old. What is good that he did is being able to avoid getting knocked out. That’s a great skill to have.” His footwork was key to that, said Grant. “His footwork was better than I expected.”

Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press conference with Dwight Grant above.

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