The word then was that JDM wasn’t feeling well, and officials noted that he had not be transported to hospital. But as it turns out, welterweight Maddalena’s situation is a little more serious than first thought: he broke his left forearm in the fight.

Maddalena’s manager, Tim Simpson, revealed the news on his Instagram Story on Wednesday (screenshot below), adding “Jack Della Maddalena’s arm snapped clean early in the fight. Rallied for a finish in the third. Soldier!!”

Simpson also added “P.S. Gilbert kicks hard!”

Burns does kick hard no doubt. But JDM soldiered on to finish the fight via TKO in the third, smashing away at the Brazilian with some nasty elbows before the ref stepped in. The Australian remains undefeated in the UFC following the victory, and has run up a 17-fight win streak overall. Maddalena has not suffered defeat since the first two fights of his professional career.

Following the win over Burns, Jack Della Maddalena called out the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. Which may have to wait a bit, if it does happen, while JDM heals up.

The post Jack Della Maddalena Broke Arm in Burns Fight at UFC 299 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ribas (13-4) has been working towards her degree since 2015, having switched from Physical Therapy to Nutrition to Physical Education in the end, all while juggling a fighting career that took her to the highest levels of the sport.

It’s something she could see going into when all is said and done, but studying Physical Education also has real-world applications for her fighting career.

“I can understand more about my training, and I can help others when I have not just what I do in my training, but what I studied to do,” Ribas told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “What science says is the best. It helps me a lot.”

In “Thug” Rose Namajunas, Amanda Ribas has drawn a former champ, and the Brazilian was quite concise of her assessment of the match-up.

“For me, Rose is a legend. My dad said to me one time, if you want to be a legend, you need to win [against] one. And Rose is a legend, she’s really good, and I’ve prepared to fight against the best version of Rose Namajunas.”

With the fight taking place at 125lbs — Namajunas is a former strawweight champ, while Ribas has juggled divisions — she expects a slightly different “Thug” Rose. “For myself, I feel myself at strawweight is more fast, and at flyweight, more strong. So maybe Rose will be not too fast, as she’s been at strawweight, maybe. Because it is more weight.”

We also got Ribas’ thoughts on the upcoming UFC 300 title fight between Weili Zhang and fellow Chinese star Yan Xiaonan.

“Co-main event, love this! And I’d like if it was main event because I know there’ll be fire inside the cage too, because they both are really good. And I think they’ll decide who will be the Queen of China, so it will be awesome to watch.” As for her pick, Ribas is siding with the champ. “I think Weili.”

Watch our full interview with UFC on ESPN 53’s Amanda Ribas above.

The post Amanda Ribas: Namajunas a “Legend,” If You Want to Be a Legend, You Have to Beat One appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sean O’Malley

The Suga Show rode through Miami on Saturday night and put on a career-best display by turning Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera into a punching bag for five rounds. Only Chito’s incredible chin thwarted an O’Malley finish, but doing what Sean did is, in many ways, more impressive than a simple knockout. His distance management showed new heights, which will be crucial for his next title defense against, presumably, Merab Dvalishvili.

The Georgian is a pressure wrestler who uses pace to break opponents down, but if O’Malley can control the distance between them then it will be hard for ‘the Machine’ to get into range for takedowns, just like it was for his teammate Aljamajn Sterling. Merab beat two former champions in impressive fashion in his last two fights, and his eclectic, unique personality has made him somewhat of a fan favorite now. Dana White has already said that Dvalishvili will get the next title shot, so it is logical to expect that fight to go down later in 2024.

O’Malley’s Next Fight: Merab Dvalishvili

Dustin Poirier

‘The Diamond’ shone bright in UFC 299’s co-main event as Dustin dispatched Benoit Saint Denis by violent knockout in the second round. The match won ‘Fight of the Night’ as so many Dustin fights have before, and at this stage in his career Poirier is only looking for fights that excite him, whether that be action-fighter opponents or a title shot.

Although he is seemingly behind Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, and Arman Tsarukyan in the queue for a title shot, those fighters are all booked for UFC 300 next month. Champion Islam Makhachev reportedly would like to defend his belt early in the summer, so if those three fighters take too much damage in their fights then there is a chance Dustin will step in for his third undisputed title shot. That is not an ideal course of action as it would leave the division even more backed up than it is already.

Alternatively, Dustin could fight another haver of exciting fights in the lightweight division like himself. The only problem is he has fought most of them already. There is a case to be made for a trilogy with Justin Gaethje, especially if he loses to Max Holloway, but the one top-ten 155er who puts on exciting striking matches that Dustin has not already fought is Rafael Fiziev. The Kyrgyzstani Muay Thai fighter lost due to injury in his last fight, against Dustin’s teammate Mateusz Gamrot. Jalen Turner is also an interesting option if he beats Dustin’s teammate Renato Moicano at UFC 300. However, at the moment Poirier vs Makhachev seems the most likely option.

Poirier’s Next Fight: Islam Makhachev

Michael ‘Venom’ Page

MVP is the easiest fighter to matchmake from the UFC 299 card. For years while he fought in Bellator there was one name that people wanted to match him up with, a fellow karateka who puts on exciting fights and gets viral highlights. That is none other than Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Although Wonderboy is aging, so is Page, and they should be well matched at this stage in their careers. MVP will be ranked in the top fifteen at welterweight after his victory over number thirteen Kevin Holland, putting him in pole position to fight the eighth-ranked contender, Thompson.

MVP’s Next Fight: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson

Jack Della Maddalena

Budding Australian star Jack Della Maddalena was down two rounds to none and struggling with Gilbert Burns’ wrestling throughout their fight. But after getting back up from a takedown in the third round he was able to time a knee perfectly that caught the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt on the chin while ducking in for a takedown. With this knockout win he ascends into the top tier of the welterweight division, presumably into the top five after beating the fourth-ranked fighter.

This leaves a few options. Belal Muhammad is presumed next for a title shot, with Shavkat Rakhmonov waiting in the wings and maybe needing one more win. Kamaru Usman is ranked number one still; he may not want to fight, but would know that he matches up well against JDM. Ian Garry is also a young, rising contender who could face the Australian in a title eliminator bout. However, given that Maddalena called out Rakhmonov and the Kazakh responded on Twitter, that fight seems most likely.

Maddalena’s Next Fight: Shavkat Rakhmonov

Petr Yan

Former bantamweight king Pete ‘No Mercy’ Yan stopped his three-fight skid by out-dueling Song Yadong in UFC 299’s PPV opener. Given than Petr has already faced most of the top bantamweights, only two remain: Henry Cejudo and Chito Vera. Cejudo may not even be fighting anytime soon or at all, he is in the twilight of his career after two straight losses at age thirty-seven. Vera took a crazy amount of damage at UFC 299, so his layoff may take a while, but he is the perfect opponent for Yan.

Though the rankings will be updated on Tuesday, Chito is currently ranked fifth at bantamweight, one spot behind Yan. They both bring entertaining striking styles to the cage and should create a thrilling war, with the winner putting himself back into title contention in the near future.

Yan’s Next Fight: Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera

The post What’s Next: UFC 299 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Marlon Vera

Everything about the UFC 299 Fight Week in Miami, at least on camera, went perfectly for Marlon Vera. The turnout supporting him was massive. The gate set records. He was afford two media days, a UFC first – one in English, one in Spanish. Vera’s star had arrived and had he won at UFC 299, it would have soared even higher. Even a close loss, and we’d be talkin about a main event next and a quick path back to the title.

Unfortunately, the Chito Vera who turned up on Saturday at the Kaseya Center looked out of place. He had no apparent game plan for Sean O’Malley in what turned out to be a one-sided beatdown. Vera said after the fight that he’ll be back, and he will. He’s still one of the biggest stars out of South America in the UFC and probably the biggest outside of Brazil. But he needs to forget the title picture for a bit and just put together some wins. And probably forget about Sean O’Malley period, as there’s minimal interest in a third fight despite the pair technically being 1-1.

It’s tempting to suggest Henry Cejudo next for Vera, but that doesn’t do him any favors and who knows what Cejudo’s plan is. Jonathan Martinez might be interesting however. He’s been on a roll and has two leg kick TKOs in his last three fights. That would almost certainly be an entertaining fight with bonus potential, plus either Chito rebounds or #11-ranked Martinez jumps to the next level.

Vera’s next fight: Jonathan Martinez

Benoit Saint-Denis

The odds-makers favored Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299, but Dustin Poirier proved he’s as dangerous as ever in the end. The knockout blow was as hellacious as the guillotine attempts were comical in the end. Either way, BSD endured a scary-looking KO and should be resting up.

After that, he still has plenty of promise. If the UFC heads back to Paris (or elsewhere in France) in the fall, that seems like an idea return date. Against who? Drew Dober, ranked #15, sure seems like a good fit. That has the potential to be another banger; maybe it’s BSD doing the banging this time around (but let’s be honest, Dober is no slouch either).

Saint-Denis’ next fight: Drew Dober

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland is incredibly entertaining at times and has a great personality for this sport, but he wound up lured in and hypnotized by Michael “Venom” Page in MVP’s UFC debut. MVP’s flashy, creative and elusive striking attack seemed to frustrate Holland as the fight went on. It wasn’t a beatdown like the Wonderboy fight but it was still a clear loss.

Holland now has back-to-back losses over MVP and JDM (Jack Della Maddalena) so let’s keep him away from anyone whose name abbreviates to three initials. In all seriousness, let’s keep Holland in fun fights. Gregory Rodrigues is coming off a couple of wins and recently defeated Brad Tavares. That’s certainly a fun option and a good next test for Rodrigues/fun rebound for Holland. “Robocop” is always game too.

Holland’s next fight: Gregory Rodrigues

Gilbert Burns

“Durinho” may never again fight for UFC gold but Gilbert Burns remains a staple of the division. With Jack Della Maddalena smashing through him at UFC 299, it’s time to regroup. Especially given this marks the first time Burns has lost back-to-back fights in his professional career.

Burns has fought everyone from Khamzat to Usman to Gamebred and was ranked #4 at 170lbs. That ranking will drop a bit this week, but he’s still due a top ten opponent. Geoff Neal, who has also lost two straight and is ranked #9, could work here. Or, if you want to go real left field, book Burns and Kelvin Gastelum (who isn’t ranked) if he sticks around welterweight. Neal is the pick though.

Burns’ next fight: Geoff Neal

Song Yadong

Yadong vs. Yan may not have determined who the best boxer in the UFC is but it certainly determined who the best box between Song and Petr was on Saturday, and the answer was not Song Yadong. The Team Alpha Male product lost a decision to the ex-champ and it’s back to the drawing board.

Song had headlined three straight Fight Nights prior to UFC 299 and has been rather reliable for the UFC. He should have been fighting in Shanghai late last year, but the card was scrapped for undisclosed reasons. If it winds up back on the schedule, that’s the landing spot, but who is the opponent? Rob Font makes sense here. The pair were booked last August, but Song withdrew. They’re both coming off losses. Book ’em, Dano.

Yadong’s next fight: Rob Font

The post What’s Next: UFC 299 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sometimes, things just work out. Having booked a plane ticket in December, Miami was going to happen, come hell or high water. As it turned out, high water did happen— a storm this past Wednesday apparently flooded a termite nest, termites who proceeded to take refuge in the room I’d rented out through AirBNB. A series of phone calls, a refund, and a relocation to a Motel 6, then another AirBNB a few days later, followed.

Man, this MMA beat stuff is rough.

There are hiccups in nearly every trip it seems (hello, dead rental car in Vancouver). That doesn’t take away from the events themselves of course. UFC 299 was stacked, and no sooner had that plane ticket been booked had it proved a wise decision: as the card shaped up, it was clear that the event would rival UFC 300 the following month in terms of depth. A number of fans even preferred it.

I was among that group. UFC 300 is good, but it was never going to live up to expectations. I had zero expectations for UFC 299, knowing it would come in the shadow of that milestone event, at least until the card was formally announced. Plus, after UFC 297… well, let’s just say that with Canadian men going 0-6, Sean Strickland’s antics, some questionable fan antics (we got those in Miami too, and that’s a discussion for another day), expectations in general were low. Even Dana White admitted after that one that it was a bad card, saying he owes Toronto another one.

One thing Dana White won’t owe is anything to Miami. UFC 299 was a hit.

Media day was a marathon, with a full eighteen fighters on hand (UFC 300, per promotion officials, will have a media day featuring the entire card— good luck folks!). It also included a novel first: two media day appearances from Marlon “Chito” Vera, one in English, one in Spanish. Befitting of the massive popularity of Chito in Miami; it truly felt like all of Ecuador showed up to support the bantamweight challenger. If nothing else, Chito had a star turn in Miami.

Media day also saw Katlyn Cerminara reveal some very personal, very tragic news. When fielding that question, I had no idea of what was to come. Cerminara, then going by her maiden name, Chookagian, had been interviewed by our own Gabriel Gonzalez at UFC X last July, and referred to some nagging injuries that were keeping her out of the cage. I figured I’d follow up on that. Turns out, as we learned ahead of UFC 299, it wasn’t injuries, but fertility issues and two miscarriages.

If ever there was a moment I’d wanted the Earth to open up and swallow me whole it was upon hearing that response. But Katlyn made clear that it was a subject that was important to talk about publicly, due to the number of couples and women going through something similar. Never an easy subject to broach, never a pleasant conversation to have, but an important one.

That’s a pretty courageous move, frankly. We opted to turn monetization off where ever we could on that video/clip. It felt too personal and too important a story to want to profit off of. That’s not something we do often; it’s hard enough to make a buck in this business, and far too many people already think journalists should work for free (“you just want clicks!!” has become a battle cry of dunderheads who clearly work day in and day out sans paycheck).

Let’s skip ahead a bit. The pre-fight press conference was what it was. They’re rarely great these days, just fighters talking over each other. The weigh in format in Miami was something we broke this past week. Florida apparently has utilized this procedure in the past, though never for a card as big as UFC 299. In short, all fighters must weigh in during the initial hour. Anyone who misses weight can weigh in a second time, during hour two. There is no third hour, as is afforded in some jurisdictions.

After we broke that news, ESPN reported per sources that the UFC is in favor of using this format across the board. That will involve the usual alphabet soup of athletic commissions getting on board, so it make take some time. As an aside, credit to Marc Raimondi of ESPN for crediting us on the scoop. It was a small little tweet that we put out while we waited for more info from the commission, but that’s the sort of thing that is a huge boost to independent sites like this one. Marc’s one of the good ones.

Interestingly enough only one fighter missed weight on Friday and even needed that second hour: C.J. Vergara. To make matters worse, he couldn’t shed the extra pound (127 on both attempts) for his flyweight fight with Assu Almabayev. And worse still, he lost. Vergara has missed weight three times now in the UFC and his days may well be numbered.

There’s plenty to talk about in terms of the fights themselves this past weekend, but the key takeaways were Dustin Poirier’s big KO (and jumping the guilly), and Sean O’Malley dismantling Chito Vera over five rounds. Most of us saw the latter coming, but it was still a sight to behold. O’Malley might have hand-picked his opponent in the end, but Chito’s star power in Miami made it worthwhile. The gate was the largest non-Conor gate in UFC history, according to Dana White, and not all of the was Sean. Chito definitely did his part— he just couldn’t quite stick the landing.

If there was a third star of UFC 299 it would probably be either Michael “Venom” Page, who showed off against Kevin Holland, or Curtis Blaydes, who mounted an impressive comeback opposite the surging Jailton Almeida. I would have said Jack Della Maddalena here, but unfortunately, he was under the weather post-fight and couldn’t meet with the media or really get that star turn in terms of promotion. It doesn’t make his performance any less impressive but it’s one of those missed opportunities to self-promote. JDM is a quiet guy in general but he has proven to be deadly in the cage, doing his talking with his fists.

Back to O’Malley. His callout of Ilia Topuria probably didn’t have the best timing, and will be seen by many as an attempt to avoid a fight with Merab Dvalishvili. There’s no question Merab should be next, and he’s a stylistic nightmare for the “Suga Show” and frankly just about anyone. You don’t ragdoll Henry Cejudo while having a conversation with Mark Zuckerberg and end up an easy out for anyone. But for O’Malley, the wrestling and cardio of Dvalishvili don’t bode well. A Topuria fight would be just as dangerous, quite frankly, but the reward— a second UFC championship — is that much great. It’s pretty clear from Dana White’s response Sunday morning during the post-fight presser, however, that the UFC CEO isn’t keen on making O’Malley vs. Topuria just yet. One title defense versus no title defenses. This isn’t Volk moving up, and as much as the UFC wants to tout Sean O’Malley as the next Conor McGregor he isn’t there just yet. It’s not out of reach, however.

That’s a wrap from Miami, folks!

The post The View from Miami: A Look Back at UFC 299 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Top 10 brother. Top 10, top 5, I am ready,” Almabayev told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

“Who has zero in their record? I’m ready for anyone. Anyone top 5, top 10.”

The win over Vergara may not be impressive to fans, but Almabayev’s grinding and relentless style may have fighters shying away from fighting him.

“I was ready for such kind of situations. I knew that my opponent has good function. That’s why I was ready for everything,” he said.

Former UFC champ-champ Daniel Cormier was on the call and was very complimentary of Almabayev’s wrestling.

“Kazakh wrestling. I didn’t have a chance to talk to him, but I heard he cried something to me. I didn’t hear,” he said.

Almabayev had a message for his supporters after a successful UFC 299 bout.

“I want to say thank you for all my country for their support. I feel they support me with their heart and I want to say happy Ramadan for all Muslims around the world,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Assu Almabayev above.

The post Assu Almabayev Looking For Top 10, Top 5 Opponents appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m ambitious and want to be at the highest level. My goal for my next fight is an opportunity to fight at UFC 300. I want a top 15 or top 10 opponent. I’m ready physically and mentally to take on higher-level opponents,” Despaigne told reporters at his post-fight scrum on Saturday night.

“I know in the top 15 there are two Brazilians. Many are already booked, I don’t really know who is busy, so I’m just thinking about rankings. Top 15 or higher.”

The hope is that he can work his way up to a title shot sooner if the UFC grants him a top opponent sooner than later. Fighting at UFC 300 may be a stretch however with the fight card looking rather complete at this point.

“If everything goes as I hope and they give me a top 15 opponent, then a top 10, top 5, after that we can talk about a title shot. In 4-5 fights I’d like a shot at the title,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Robelis Despaigne above.

* Translated by Cageside Press

The post Robelis Despaigne In A Hurry To Get Top Opponents, Title Shot appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It’s a really important fight in my career. There’s going to be a contract renewal so it was really important for me to win tonight,” Pereira told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Pereira put on a show from start to finish including a dance number during his walkout with a coach.

“I’ve always wanted to that dance since my first fight, but they would never approve it. Finally they approved it and they let me do it tonight,” Pereira said.

Do ya dance @UFCPereira do ya dance 🕺

Michel Pereira bringing the vibes to #UFC299 early! pic.twitter.com/b5BGFRIgem

— UFC (@ufc) March 10, 2024

Not only did he entertain before the fight, he did during, and even after.

“I just come in and do my job. It really doesn’t matter if I’m on the prelims or not, but if you look at this card, I’m the one that did the most. I put on a show at the weigh-ins, I put on a show at my entrance, in the fight, and afterwards,” Pereira said.

“It was all the way through.”

Up next for Pereira, he hopes, is a spot on the upcoming UFC card in Brazil.

“I really want to fight in Brazil. There’s obviously going to be an event now and I’ve always wanted to fight there, feel the energy of the crowd, so that’s really what I want to do,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Michel Pereira above.

The post Michel Pereira Looks To Begin Contract Negotiations appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I (asked) to fight again in UFC Rio. Since 2011 I (haven’t fought) in my country. I love to fight there,” Lins told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Let’s see what’s going to happen with my foot, and my next opponent…I don’t have a name right here, but I want to fight one ranked guy. I will be ready for the big challenges.”

Lins (18-5) employed a heavy calf-kick game plan destroying Cutelaba’s lead leg early, but the Moldovian fighter still came after him during the fight.

“He’s very tough, Cutelaba, very tough opponent. I catch him with a very good calf kicks. Oh my gosh and he’s still coming, but he surprised me with this bro,” Lins said.

Later in the fight Lins switched to a heavy grappling approach. Many assumed that it was due to his foot being hurt, but he had thought of grappling when planning for the fight.

“That was strategy. I’m a complete fighter. I throw punches, I love boxing, like wrestling. I’m a guy coming from Jiu Jitsu,” he said.

“It’s a MMA fight. I’m always want to show my work at all martial arts.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Philipe Lins above.

The post Philipe Lins Wants To Fight In Brazil For The First Time Since 2011 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Honestly there’s so many people here at the (MMA) Lab and we’re training. Man I met Sean (O’Malley) when I was 18-years-old,” Phillips told Cageside Press among other reporters at his post-fight UFC 299 scrum on Saturday night.

“Sean, Mario Bautista, Marcus (McGhee). There’s so many dudes coming up. We fight and train each other and train with each other every day. We’re making money and stuff. There’s just too many of us. I think we’re going to clear out all the divisions us at the Lab.”

Another win under his belt Phillips will look for the next matchup pretty quickly. It may even be someone on UFC 299.

“Soon. Right away I’m going to go check out some names, but the UFC does a great job, specially with my style of fighting. The way I fight in the octagon it’s the direct representation of who I am and my character and many different realms of mentality I have,” he said.

“Match me up against somebody and for them to have any banger fight. It’s going to be also exciting to see some of these fights in the bantamweight division tonight. I’m stoked to watch that.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Kyler Phillips above.

The post Kyler Phillips Says The MMA Lab Will Clear Out All Divisions appeared first on Cageside Press.