UFC 266 was a shining example of just that.

I had the pleasure of covering UFC 266 live and in person for Cageside Press this past Saturday. I was seated cageside for the entirety of the event, manning social media and taking notes on the fights while my colleague Gabriel Gonzalez was back in the media tent pumping out the post-fight interviews. On paper, UFC 266 was a good card — but what played out was something else entirely. A Round of the Year? Possibly one of the greatest featherweight title fights of all time? In short, the event turned out amazing and is a reminder that live MMA really should be experienced by every fight fan at some point.

Jonathan Pierce got the action started and got the crowd rocking with his walkout song, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. After that, he finished Omar Morales, so he really started the night out with a bang.

The prelims were absolutely, thoroughly entertaining. Five finishes in eight fights. The only disappointment, something that continues to be disappointing, was the lack of fan attendance during the preliminary card. Why plonk down all that cash then skip out on half the show?

Typically the casual fan won’t show up until the main card, which I will never understand. Never. The prelims usually have some of the best fights, and if you’re paying $200-$1000 a ticket, why aren’t you fully enjoying the show? Whatever, to quote the great Max Holloway, “it is what it is.”

The main card started at 7:00PM local time, and by then at least, most people were in their seats. Something cool and nostalgic that the UFC does to start the main card is play Face the Pain. Face the Pain is the classic UFC intro; however, the UFC stopped using it to open broadcasts back at UFC 220 in 2018. Nevertheless, the song really gets you in the mood for fighting, and still goes over well live.

FACE THE PAIN. ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/rXOso3vTdw

— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) September 26, 2021

Something the UFC doesn’t show much of, that you really only get to experience live, is the fighters leaving the cage. Cynthia Calvillo, who lost via first-round TKO, left the octagon in tears and cried the entire way back. It was hard to watch, and you know Calvillo wanted this win so incredibly badly. The lows of the sport are ridiculously low. It just wasn’t her night. She’ll be back.

Curtis Blaydes walked out to the 90’s Mortal Kombat theme, and that was awesome to see/hear live. The fight, with Jair Rozenstruik, brought out the boo-birds, however, and it really halted the show’s energy. Blaydes is good, but his style just isn’t fan-friendly. That energy would come back in full force with the next fight.

The anticipation for Nick Diaz’s return to the octagon was something that is kind of indescribable. All I can say is I had chills and that feeling of butterflies in my stomach. He walked out to the Deftones (so did student Nick Maximov earlier in the night), and the crowd went nuts once he hit the tunnel.

Chills.
The energy was insane pic.twitter.com/8IQjTdcvDv

— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) September 26, 2021

It was kind of amazing to see that sort of crowd reaction, because Robbie Lawler is usually unquestionably the fan-favorite. But at UFC 266, the support Nick Diaz received blew him out of the water. Even in defeat, the crowd backed Diaz and cheered him as he walked to the locker room. Diaz even acknowledged the crowd on his way out.

Seeing Valentina Shevchenko dance after her victory live was fantastic, of course.

The highlight of the night, other than the awesome fights, was Brian Ortega’s walkout. It will go down in history as one of the coolest UFC walkouts ever; it would have been even more epic if Ortega had won, but nevertheless, it was very cool (and it has already made our list of best walkouts in MMA).

Once The Purge music hit, the crowd knew they were in for something special. Once Ortega hit the tunnel, and it was revealed he had a mask on, the walkout got better. The entrance was clearly thought out and executed perfectly.

The main event was great, and is already being called one of the best featherweight title fights of all time. I was lucky to be in attendance to witness it. Once Ortega locked up the mounted guillotine, the crowd went absolutely nuts. Defeaning. The crowd was clearly pro-Ortega, but after the fight, that seemed to change. I think the crowd flipped to Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian champ won them over.

The last thing to note was the post-fight interviews. Ortega’s post-fight speech brought some tears to people’s eyes. It was powerful. I forgot to mention Dan Hooker’s post-fight interview, but it was also compelling. What Hooker had to go through just to get there (not to mention opponent Nasrat Haqparast, who lost his mother ahead of the fight) showed incredible dedication.

All in all, UFC 266 delivered, and I am thankful to have been a part of it. I will say it again, if you have the chance, go to a UFC event. It is one of a kind, and the UFC knows how to put on a show. Oh, and show up for the damn prelims!

The post There’s Nothing Quite Like A Live UFC Event: UFC 266 Reflection appeared first on Cageside Press.

“JSP” earned his second straight win at UFC 266, finishing Morales in the second round with a rear-naked choke. “I’ve been working on different areas of my fighting game right now, and submissions was one of the one I wanted to work on, instead of just TKO’ing guys when I got them to the ground.”

Mission accomplished. Next up, Pearce (11-4) is hoping to get on another big event.

“I’d like to be on another big card. 269 [in December]. I’d like a big name. I’d like a number next to my name,” Pearce exclaimed. “Maybe have to get a few more fights to get there, but I didn’t just come here to be in the UFC. I came to actually take a belt from them.”

Pearce admitted to feeling the big fight energy ahead of the event. “When I was driving up here in the car, I could feel it. When I was watching the arena last night,” he said. “But for the most part, I wasn’t that nervous when I got out there. I felt I was the one bringing the fight to him the whole time.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Jonathan Pearce above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

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“I am very happy with my performance. Worked very hard on that,” he said following his first-round submission of the previously undefeated Uros Medic. “I didn’t expect any less of myself.”

He had expected exactly that sort of fight ahead of time, that sort of domination. “Every interview I had, I said I would,” stated Turner (11-5). “Where ever the fight went, I was going to be successful.”

There’s a reason for that confidence. Since dropping his debut at UFC 229, the biggest UFC event of all time, Turner is 4-1, and currently rides a three-fight win streak.

“I debuted here, three years ago, and I f*cking lost,” he said in reference to Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. “And I came in here, and I wanted to avenge myself at my weight class, and show everybody that I belong here.”

Might the moment have gotten to Medic, who was fighting in front of fans for the first time in his UFC career? Turner agreed that was the case. “Yup, I seen it as soon as we stepped into the octagon. I seen that he was nervous.”

Turner is nicknamed “The Tarantula” for good reason: he collects them. But with a year away from fighting, in part due to injury, he unfortunately had to sell off the bulk of his collection just to get by.

His prized Melanie, who he once brought to a UFC weigh-in, is doing well. Outside of that, “Actually I had to cut down, I sold a lot, because I ain’t fought in a year. I had to make ends meet. I sold over twenty tarantulas, so I only have four right now.”

If you’re wondering what a tarantula goes for in terms of resale value, “depends on the species, depends on how old it is, depends on the sex,” Turner explained. Females, and more rare types, go from between $100 and $400, even up to $800, he revealed. And you can sell them everywhere from Craigslist to Reptile shows.

In his time off, Turner has also dabbled in acting, appearing in Sicatriz, a move scripted by fellow MMA fighter Kristi Lopez. But his dream role? That’s something else entirely. “I want to be Michael Myers. He’s my favorite. I’ve always wanted to play a role like that. Or Blade. Blade is hard. It’d be like, I ain’t gonna do no Wesley Snipes sh*t, but I want a role like that.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Jalin Turner above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

The post UFC 266: Jalin Turner Had to Sell Bulk of Tarantula Collection After Sitting Out a Year appeared first on Cageside Press.

There were a lot of big performances on the night, especially from the aforementioned Dvalishvili and Volkanovski. And several more. Here’s a look at would could come next from the PPV card’s winners.

Alexander Volkanovski

We learned a lot about Alexander Volkanovski in the build-up to UFC 266. TUF 29 showed a little more of his personality, and he settled into a bit of a heel role taking digs at Brian Ortega, later admitting to a bit of mental warfare. Showing some personality is always a good thing for a fighter, given marketing yourself is half the job. It certainly didn’t hurt that the Australian looked as strong as ever in the octagon against Ortega, and even had to overcome some adversity in the form of T-City’s submission game.

What’s next for the champ? Just as he steps out of the shadow of Max Holloway, a third fight against Blessed seems like the fight to make. Assuming Holloway gets past Yair Rodriguez. But there aren’t many other options. Arnold Allen is on a roll, but probably isn’t ready for a title shot. Giga Chikadze might be, but he’s ranked behind Allen. And if Holloway keeps crushing the other top contenders like he did Calvin Kattar, what else are you going to do?

Volkanovski’s next fight: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez winner

Valentina Shevchenko

It’s so tempting to just say Amanda Nunes here, but “Bullet” seems happy to continue cleaning out the flyweight division. At UFC 266, she woman-handled Lauren Murphy en route to a fourth round TKO. Shevchenko never appeared to be in any danger, and she’s already defeated the woman many thought was her biggest challenge, Jessica Andrade. Andrade cleared another contender from the board Saturday, defeating Cynthia Calvillo, but the Brazilian signaled a move back to strawweight.

The highest-ranked fighter on any sort of win streak in the women’s flyweight division who Shevchenko hasn’t already beaten is Alexa Grasso, but she’s ranked 10th at the moment. Taila Santos, who also won Saturday, has three straight wins but is ranked 12th. If you look at rematches, Katlyn Chookagian has won two straight, and that’s all it took to earn her first shot at Shevchenko.

With Grasso booked against Joanne Calderwood (who is coming off a loss), and JoJo being a fan favorite, the winner of that is probably the fight to make. Well, it’s more honestly Nunes, but that probably isn’t happening yet.

Shevchenko’s next fight: Grasso vs. Calderwood winner

Robbie Lawler

Robbie Lawler stopped the returning Nick Diaz at UFC 266, in a fan-friendly fight that was more important to Lawler’s career than you might think. The ex-welterweight champ had been on a four-fight skid, and while he’s one of the few names that might have been able to go 0-5 in the UFC and still keep his job, it wasn’t a place he wanted to be.

Moving forward, the UFC needs to give Lawler some smart bookings to keep him motivated, and fans entertained. The promotion far too often feeds its old to the young, hungry up-and-comers and at this point, the practice is so transparent as to have lost all meaning. Getting that name on your record matters not if the name in question is on the downside of their career.

How about a left field pick? Nate Diaz has lost two straight, and the storyline writes itself. It’s another fun fight, has little to no impact on the title picture, and would boost another PPV. The biggest hurdle might be getting Nathan on board.

Robbie Lawler’s next fight: Nate Diaz

Curtis Blaydes

After controlling Jairzhinho Rozenstruik for the better part of three rounds and winning a unanimous decision at UFC 266, Curtis Blaydes called for the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane, Stipe Miocic, or Jon Jones. He probably won’t get any of them.

Blaydes is just one fight removed from a loss to Derrick Lewis, and has a style the UFC isn’t keen on promoting. Is it fair from a sporting sense? No. But Blaydes will need to do twice as much as anyone else to get a title shot in the promotion. Thing is, he very well may be skilled enough to do it.

Alexander Volkov and Marcin Tybura face off next month, and the winner of that against Blaydes could lead one or the other to gold. With Gane up first, and Jones likely for either an instant title shot or ex-champ Miocic, that’s probably the best bet for “Razor” Blaydes.

Blaydes’ next fight: Alexander Volkov vs. Marcin Tybura winner

Jessica Andrade

Jessica Andrade looked as powerful as ever in her flyweight fight with Cynthia Calvillo, which she ended just inside the opening round.

Then she announce a plan to return to strawweight.

Andrade wants the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Weili Zhang 2, which would completely overlook Carla Esparza. Not that that hasn’t happened before. Still, the UFC could opt to pair Esparza up with her fellow ex-champ. If not (and with Esparza rightfully at the head of the line), perhaps a rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Their first fight came in 2017, and while the Polish fighter is coming off a loss, it came in a close fight that many consider the greatest women’s bout of all time. It’s the sort of match-up that might lure Joanna back to action as well.

Andrade’s next fight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

The post What’s Next: UFC 266 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Apparently that happened, so I’ve got to rewatch the fight,” the heavyweight exclaimed following his fight with Shamil Abdurakhimov on Saturday. The first “finish” came near the end of the first round, with Abdurakhimov seemingly down and out. With Daukaus in mount, however, the Russian came around, and the fight was allowed to go to the second.

Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, Daukaus (12-3), winner of five straight, four under the UFC banner, admitted he was “a little bit” surprised the fight was allowed to continue, “but I couldn’t land clean shots even when I was in mount. So I really didn’t expect [the ref] to stop it with that. If he was going to stop it at the end of the first, it would have been before I got that position.”

Daukaus also took time to explain why he threw up a middle finger at his opponent at the start of the second round.

“At the beginning of the fight, we touched gloves, it was cool. And then he started pawing at me with his fingers open, he scraped my eyes a little bit,” Daukaus explained. “Now obviously it wasn’t warranted enough that it was an eye poke, but he was like starting to scrape at my eyes. I was like ‘nah, this f*cking dude is going to start doing some stupid stuff’ because I was connecting. I was landing. He knew he was going to lose, so I just got a little upset and flipped him off.”

Daukaus theorized that the eye scraping was to “maybe give himself a break, because even between the first and second, he was just standing there, and he was like, wobbling before the second round started. And even then, I was talking sh*t to myself. I don’t know if it was on the camera, if you could see it, but I was like ‘he’s done, he’s done.’ That’s something, I have to keep my emotions in check, especially fighting in front of crowds now.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Chris Daukaus above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

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Brian Ortega

Brian Ortega has career wins over Chan Sung Jung, Frankie Edger, and Cub Swanson. His only two losses are against Volkanovski and Max Holloway, with both of those fights being for the title. Ortega deserves another top-five fight for his next one and that’s probably what he is going to get. Max Holloway has a fight coming up against Yair Rodriguez and it is very plausible to think the winner will get the next crack at the title. With that being said Calvin Kattar went 2-0 in 2020 before losing his last fight in January to Holloway. Katter is currently ranked number five in the division and will likely be fighting Ortega in his next fight.

Ortega’s next fight: Calvin Kattar

Lauren Murphy / Cynthia Calvillo

Prior to her loss this past weekend, Murphy was on a five-fight winning streak. Although she was beaten soundly and finished in round four, Murphy will likely get another highly ranked opponent in her next fight. Cynthia Calvillo is new to the division and is coming off a loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 266. Calvillo is ranked number five in the division currently and has a great wrestling background. Murphy has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu and could match up nicely to Calvillo’s wrestling. Since they both fought Saturday, assuming there are no serious injuries, the timing should work out well.

Murphy’s next fight: Cynthia Calvillo

Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz was finished in the third round this past weekend, in his much-anticipated return to the octagon after a multi-year absence. Falling victim to the power punches of Robbie Lawler, Diaz showed many bright points in the fight. His boxing looked crisp, and his cardio looked to be holding up in the third round. He may be feeling the damage at this stage of his career but he definitely has a lot of fight left in him and should be looking to stay active.

Kevin Holland has a bunch of hype around him, and he is fighting Kyle Daukaus in October. A fight with Holland and Diaz would be one of the most fan-favorite fights of the year. Kyle Daukaus still stands in the way of that fight happening but if Daukaus defeats Holland, he kind of takes Holland’s hype from him. A fight between Daukaus and Diaz could be just as entertaining and is probably actually a better stylistic match-up for Diaz. This of course only works if Diaz opts to stick with middleweight, as he did for the Lawler fight.

Diaz’s next fight: Winner of Holland-Daukaus 

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Jairzinho Rozenstruik lost a unanimous decision to Curtis Blaydes this past weekend. Rozenstruik only has three career losses now and those losses are to Blaydes, Francis Ngannou, and Ciryl Gane. 11 of his 12 professional wins are by knockout. He is a very entertaining heavyweight with top-notch kickboxing.

Alexander Volkov will be fighting Marcin Tybura in late October. Both Volkov and Tybura are close to Rozenstruik in the rankings. Volkov is six feet seven inches tall and is also a great kickboxer.  Tybura is a 28-fight veteran with 15 finishes in his professional career. Tybura is also riding a five-fight winning streak going into the Volkov fight. Either one of these guys would be a perfect opponent for Rozenstruik’s next fight.

Rozenstruik’s next fight: Loser of Tybura-Volkov 

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UFC 266’s main event saw one of the more entertaining walkouts in recent MMA history, as Brian Ortega and his team, cloaked in black and wearing glowing masks, walked out to the theme from the movie “The Purge.” The entrance helped energize the crowd, and despite Ortega coming up short against featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, it was still one of the best walkouts in recent memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg05HjTw3yI

Inspired by the theatrics of T-City and his crew, we decided to take a look back at some of the best walkouts in MMA history. These are in no particular order, because really it’s just too hard to choose.

The post Brian Ortega, And The Greatest Walkouts In MMA History appeared first on Cageside Press.

Maximov (7-0) earned a unanimous decision victory against Cody Brundage on Saturday — an opponent who stepped up after Karl Roberson withdrew from the fight earlier in the week.

“It was good. Having an opponent change, it was good to get someone to actually step up and fight,” Maximov said following the fight, speaking to reporters including Cageside Press. “My original guy got hurt or something on like Wednesday, so it was good to come here and fight.”

Asked if there was any fear that he wouldn’t get a replacement opponent, Maximov replied saying “I want to say there wasn’t a fear of not getting anyone, because I think anyone would step up on this type of card and fight no matter what. I wouldn’t say there was a fear.”

Luckily for him, Maximov didn’t spend a ton of time studying Karl Roberson anyway. “I don’t really watch tape, because you look at the guy that dropped out Wednesday: you watch a bunch of tape and then they drop out, it screws with your head.”

Throughout fight week, much was made about Maximov’s link to the returning Nick Diaz. Throughout his fight, they showed clips of Nate Diaz cheering in the stands; that seemed to get the crowd going as well.

“I felt it and it’s cool, because it’s definitely like an army and whatnot,” Maximov said of the love being shown. “I don’t rely on that or anything, but you feel it. It’s kind of like a second man. They say there’s a 12th man in football or whatever, it definitely feels like there’s a second person in there.”

Maximov also got to train more with Nick ahead of the fight. While in the past, Diaz was around the gym “here and there,” for UFC 266 “I learned a lot from him, sparred a lot with him for the last two, three months,” Maximov revealed. “Went out to L.A., trained with some good boxers out there and stuff with him. He’s been around a little bit, yeah.”

With his first UFC win under his belt, it’s tempting to look to Roberson as Nick Maximov’s next match-up. That ship appears to have sailed however.

“Nah, cause I was supposed to fight Karl in July, but he declined. And then I was supposed to fight him again. So it’s like, I’m not even going to mention that dude anymore,” said Maximov. “Whatever happens with him, hope for the best, but I don’t have any names or anything. Gotta respect the game and kind of just go up the ladder like that, so whoever they offer is who I’m going to take.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Nick Maximov above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

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The end result was exactly what he needed, snapping a two-fight skid with a win over Nasrat Haqparast. Who coincidentally also had last-minute visa issues, and was also coping with the death of his mother.

Still, the fight went right for Hooker (21-10). “New feather in my cap, I showed how well-rounded I am as a fighter,” he said following the bout, speaking in a post-fight press scrum. “I made the right adjustments to the game that he was doing. He was kind of playing his game, and he was just waiting on me for that first round, and waiting on me to commit to anything and then step through over the top with his hands. So I just made the right adjustments and kind of gave him a taste of his own medicine.”

It’s a good thing he got the win, too. Aside from dealing with the stress of having his visa delayed, Hooker nearly got himself arrested training for the bout, after his home of Auckland, New Zealand shut down.

“I signed this fight on the Sunday, and then Tuesday we went into full lockdown. Everything shut down,” Hooker revealed. City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman came up “with a quick plan to move everyone to the gym.” The police in Auckland, however, shut that down, only for Hooker to keep training in the gym anyway. “Got caught there, cops come shut that down, they just told me ‘we catch you doing anything one more time, we’re going to arrest you.'”

Hooker took the warning to heart. “So I was just training the last four weeks at my house, in my garage. Just shadow boxing, staying sharp, going to the track with my wife, my daughter for the last five weeks,” he recalled. “That was challenging, getting yourself up for that. Getting yourself down there, working hard, pushing yourself every single day, a couple of times a day, working like that, it was hard to get yourself up.”

Once the visa snafu hit, Hooker knew he couldn’t back down. “When I was having the visa issues I was like ‘man, everything that I’ve done to get myself out of bed every single morning and push myself by myself, to get to this moment and for you to take that from me, I’m not having it.'”

Hooker made it to the fight — and the rest is history.

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Dan Hooker above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

The post Dan Hooker Reveals He Risked Arrest Training for UFC 266 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Immediately after, the Brazilian announced she wanted to return to strawweight.

“The moment is perfect, because I have the chance to maybe have a trilogy with Rose [Namajunas], or maybe have a rematch with [Weili] Zhang,” Andrade told Cageside Press following the win, speaking during her post-fight press scrum. “I know I’m good at 115, I know I’m good at 125, and I was good at 135 also. It depends on how the weight class is. I want be the champion again, and bring this belt back to Brazil, so that’s the reason.”

Timing is everything in MMA, so Andrade may have a point. As a former champ with history with both Namajunas (the pair’s career series is tied 1-1) and Zhang (who took her title), there’s a chance she could jump the line-up of title contenders. It might not sit well with fans, or fighters like Carla Esparza, but crazier things have happened.

As Andrade sees it, if she does get the opportunity, it could come against rival “Thug” Rose.

“I think Rose is gonna win,” Andrade predicted. “I think it’s not going to be as easy as the first one, but Rose has way more experience in the octagon, in the UFC, and she knows how to handle the pressure of being a UFC champion. I think this is going to make the difference, and I think Rose is going to win, maybe by decision.”

As the first woman in the UFC to reach 20 fights, Andrade has honed and refined her game arguably more than any other fighter on the women’s side. Saturday, she called it “a big, a huge evolution.”

Across those 20 fights, “I did learn a lot about my grappling game, my striking game, especially my boxing,” said Andrade. “At the beginning, my opponents could hit my face very easily. But now I know the moment that I can shoot a takedown, that I can throw a punch. So my game is way better, but I don’t know anything yet,” she continued, adding that she still has to “improve a lot of aspects of my game.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Jessica Andrade above. More coverage of the event can be found below.

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