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Du Plessis (23-3) lost his title in the main event on Aug 16 at the United Center in Chicago. Since the loss not much has been heard from ‘Stillknocks’ but that changed on Monday morning.

“It’s been just over a week and I have spent some time with my family and friends, those closest to me who will be with me win or lose.

I embrace this loss with open arms, because believe me as much as I hate losing, it’s as much part of life as part of our game- and I believe it’s necessary in my pursuit of greatness. ‘Without the bitter, the sweet wouldn’t be as sweet.’

Make no mistake I’m not a good loser, because a good loser becomes a frequent one. I am however- an avid learner of the arts and of life itself.

This loss has exploded a desire in me that will have the consequence of an onslaught bigger than the original domination- my return to glory and pursuit of greatness will be unimaginable for the average minded.

I have absolutely no excuses for my performance, I was beaten by a better fighter on the night, congratulations to my opponent and thank you for the honour of sharing the octagon with you.

Thank you for all the love and support from fans all over the world, and my sponsors that has always and will in the future play a critical role in my success

AND SINCERELY thank you to all those who enjoyed to see me fall, because I will return the favour, like I always have.

I believe in the plan of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for He knows best and I can’t wait to see what He has planned for me going forward.”

It’s unclear what’s next for Du Plessis with an immediate rematch looking pretty unlikely and a stacked middleweight division to work through once again.

Just like his unlikely title run however it’s hard to count ‘Stillknocks’ out of another title run eventually.

The post Dricus du Plessis Speaks Out, “I embrace this loss with open arms” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Battle (12-2, 1NC) went an impressive 7-1, 1NC in the UFC after winning The Ultimate Fighter 29 as a middleweight in 2021. However, a drop to welterweight, while successful in terms of results, saw him miss weight for a fight with Gabriel Green in 2023.

In December of last year, Battle missed the mark again, coming in four pounds heavy for a welterweight bout with Randy Brown. He would, once again, win the bout, though it facilitated a move back to 185lbs.

At UFC 319 this past Saturday, Battle returned to the middleweight division for his fight with Nursulton Ruziboev, coming in at a whopping 190lbs. The fight was ultimately cancelled.

Now, Battle’s UFC deal has been as well. Battle has been released by the promotion, in a move first reported by MMA Fighting. While not unheard of, being cut by the UFC for missing weight is rare, especially when it comes to a fighter with a winning record. Not to mention a TUF champ.

Battle sits on a four-fight win streak with a No Contest against Ange Loosa also transpiring during a stretch that dates back to May 2023, when he fought Green.

The post TUF Winner Bryan Battle Cut By UFC in Wake of Weight Struggles appeared first on Cageside Press.

Morales (13-2) let it loose during his walkout screaming and roaring at the crowd with flags representing Mexico and the United States. It seemed as though the featherweight was taking it all in.

“I had my adrenaline dump backstage. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I cry before every fight,” Morales told Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I just try to make peace with anything could happen in that cage and you kind of have to sacrifice your life to be victorious in there. Just accept anything that can happen.”

His family was a big part of fight week. Some of his family members saw him fight in the UFC on Saturday night for the first time.

“This is the first fight where my wife, my mom, and my oldest got to come. My baby stayed at home with my mother-in-law, but it’s the first UFC fight my family’s ever got to go to. It’s a big deal for me,” he said.

“Coming in here I won already. I was a winner. I got to bring my kid out here, his first UFC fight ever, and my wife got to come. My mom, all the sacrifices she made, driving me back and forth to the gym and everything that my family’s gone through when we were kids. It’s an amazing moment.”

One person was missing, but was definitely blowing up his phone.

“My dad couldn’t be here but, I know he was watching. He was super proud back home, he was texting me and calling me. Just giving me kind words,” he said.

“He’s the reason why I started getting into this sport. I just want to give a big shoutout to him too.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Joseph Morales above.

The post Joseph Morales’ TUF Victory Was A Family Affair appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hernandez (17-8) has had a rather inconsistent run in the UFC thus far. Wins are separated by two-fight losing skids and momentum has been scarce, but this recent run of victories he attributes to his team.

“I’ve had a f*ck load of setbacks. Mr. Setback himself. I throw it back to the boys, I really do,” Hernandez told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’ve really matured into a good place mentally and physically.”

Being from San Antonio the upcoming Noche UFC card in September would be ideal for his return. For more reasons that just fighting of course.

“I expect to at least show up. The coolest thing is to show out, and get a fat finish in your city. Then next thing is just being able to pull up, get sh*t faced, and get paid to hang out with the team and the city,” he said.

“Either way I’m cool. Let me just show up and get some money while I’m in San Antonio.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alexander Hernandez above.

The post Alexander Hernandez ‘Mr. Setback’ Gives Team Props For Win Streak appeared first on Cageside Press.

Silva (19-5) won a decision over Barbosa that night. The fans booed the decision as many felt Barbosa had done enough to win the bout.

“I was a little bit surprised with the reaction of the fans. I thought I was closer to submitting her for two of the rounds. Nowadays it’s damage over control,” Silva told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at her post-fight scrum.

“I thought I had it in the bag. I knew it was close, but I knew I had won it. I think the fans came to expect me to always finish my fights because that’s who I am. Unfortunately that’s not what always happens.”

The fight was a rematch from 2019 which Barbosa won. That didn’t make the rematch personal for Silva even if she’s happy to get that win back.

“In my head it wasn’t really revenge for me because I felt I won the first fight. I didn’t come here with the vengeance mindset. I came here with the mindset of doing my job, making my team proud of me, and putting the work that we worked on during all these months together,” Silva told Cageside Press.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Karine Silva above.

The post Karine Silva Was Surprised By Fan Reaction To Her Win At UFC 319 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Oleksiejczuk (21-9, 1NC) earned a TKO win over veteran Gerald Meerschaert at the United Center on Saturday, and felt his overall game was better.

“This is my second time in Brazil, and my skills, my cage game, my ground game, all are better. And I am happy,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press. “My corner gave me great energy. This is a good moment in my life.”

There were questions as to the stoppage, and whether it should have come sooner. The Polish middleweight was prepared regardless.

“If the referee don’t stop this fight, now I [have] very good cardio, very good ground n’ pound. I control my opponent all rounds, five minutes, no problem.”

As for his opponent, “Gerald is a great fighter. I like fighters who fight with everyone,” stated Oleksiejczuk. “I have respect for him, and for everybody. We are real warriors.”

Touting Meerchaert’s “great jiu-jitsu,” Oleksiejczuk noted that he had to be wary of GM3’s ground game. “I did my plan. I’m happy.”

That has led him to setting his sights a little higher. Now on a two-fight win streak, Michal Oleksiejczuk is looking to fight one of Italy’s best.

“I want a fight with Marvin Vettori. I think that this is a very good fight because Marvin is from Europe, I am from Europe, Poland, and I am ready. And I think a lot of people want this fight.”

Vettori has never been finished, but Oleksiejczuk would like to be the first to do so. “I think this is my time, and I can break this guy. I’m sure.”

Watch the full UFC 319 post-fight press conference with Michal Oleksiejczuk above.

The post Michal Oleksiejczuk Wants Fight with Marvin Vettori Following UFC 319 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Every time I call out a name, I get somebody totally different,” Klose (16-3-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the United Center in Chicago. “I’m not going to call out anyone anymore.”

That said, there are names Klose is interested in. In particular, he’d like to rematch names he’s lost to, including Beneil Dariush and Joel Alvarez. The Alvarez fight, which came in December of 2024, stands out in particular. Klose’s brother Tuan Williams was murdered months prior to the fight, stabbed to death my a mentally ill man he’d been trying to help.

“I would love to get that Beneil fight back. Anyone I really lost to. I’ll fight Joel again. When I fought Joel Alvarez, my brother had got murdered four months prior. Going into that fight, right when I was walking out, I started crying. I had a great camp but I wasn’t there mentally.”

Klose also dedicated the win to his late sibling, who was a fan of Brazil’s Barboza. “This win was for my brother, my big brother. Barboza was actually one of his favorite fighters. So I know my brother’s up there looking down on me right now.”

Watch the full UFC 319 post-fight press conference with Drakkar Klose above.

The post UFC 319: Edson Barboza Was One of Drakkar Klose’s Late Brother’s Favorite Fighters appeared first on Cageside Press.

Khamzat Chimaev

The UFC 319 main event may not have been the barnburner people were hoping for when this matchup got announced, but it was total domination from the Chechen fighter. Dricus Du Plessis did his best to survive every round, but that is all he could do: survive.

Chimaev was seen as a future champion all the way back in 2020 when he first burst onto the scene. Five belt changes and a lot of bumps in the road later, Borz is finally here, and we learned that he was inevitable. If a physical brute like Du Plessis got handled like that, it’s hard to see anyone in that division survive that storm. On the flipside, it’s exciting to see how many surging contenders the middleweight division has. From the upcoming Paris main event to the streaking Reinier de Ridder and the dark horse Anthony Hernandez, Chimaev won’t be lacking in contenders wanting their shot at solving his wrestling prowess.

Dana White said at the press conference that he’s looking to book Chimaev at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. The newly crowned champion then voiced his interest in doing so after saying he didn’t suffer any injuries during the fight. I thought the winner of the Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho fight would be the most deserving contender, but if Chimaev is really gonna make a two-month turnaround, I doubt the UFC will wait for the winner of a fight going down in September. To me, this opens the door to Reinier de Ridder, who’s been incredibly active and would certainly sign up for a fight in October.

Chimaev’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder

Lerone Murphy

Despite his eight-fight win streak against names like Edson Barboza, Dan Ige and Josh Emmett, there didn’t seem to be a ton of momentum behind the unbeaten Lerone Murphy. Not unlike Movsar Evloev, the ‘0’ on the record didn’t look as sexy as it usually does due to performances deemed boring by fans. This explains why someone ranked 6^th would be tasked with a short notice assignment against the highly sought after free agent Aaron Pico. For the same reason that the UFC initially booked Pico against Evloev, the promotion may have been looking to kill off one of their less interesting contenders by hoping that Pico would beat them.

Well, if that spinning back elbow wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered for Murphy, nothing is. A first-round highlight-reel, KO of the Year contender that left the UFC’s shiny new toy unconscious on the ground. Now winner of 9 straight, the champion Alexander Volkanovski tweeted to Murphy that he will be seeing him in December. Even though I believe Evloev to be the most deserving contender, it’s hard not to see Murphy getting the next shot after this.

Murphy’s next fight: Alexander Volkanovski

Carlos Prates

After becoming the first of the main four Fighting Nerds to suffer a loss, Carlos Prates had his fight against Geoff Neal rebooked and he looked like he had something to prove. A perfect bounce back performance from The Nightmare who showed an even more refined arsenal in the 4:59 he spent in there with Neal. A buzzer-beating spinning back elbow to the temple put the final touches on a round where Prates looked like the unstoppable force he was last year. Prates then called for a fight in Brazil and eyed the card in Rio on October 11^th. He called out Leon Edwards, and though I don’t know that the Englishman is the type to take a fight on less than two months’ notice, I’m not against putting Prates in the co-main event slot. I think a fight that makes more sense than the #4 Edwards, is #8 Joaquin Buckley. New Mansa is no stranger to taking fights on relatively short notice and seems to welcome all the smoke. It’s a matchup that is sure to bring fireworks to Rio.

Prates’ next fight: Joaquin Buckley

Michael Page

After his jump to middleweight against Shara Bullet was successful, Michael Venom Page chose to stay at 185. His second test was against top 10 ranked Jared Cannonier at UFC 319. A career welterweight against a former heavyweight and strangely enough, it was Page who looked bigger inside the cage. Page had a hard time dealing with Cannonier’s top pressure in the third round, but his speed and movement were enough to land a knock down in each of the first two rounds and leave with the victory. The uncertainty of his ability to deal with the size of the middleweights is still too present to push him towards a title shot, so I suggest we test MVP once more. We can kill two birds with one stone by auditing both Robert Whittaker and Page if we match them together. There is apparently a card in Australia in the works for next winter, this sounds like a fine main or co-main event to me.

Page’s next fight: Robert Whittaker

Tim Elliott

Crafty as ever, the 38-year-old off a 20-month layoff just submitted a former RIZIN champion. With that win, Elliott is now 6-2 in his last 8 since his three-fight skid at the turn of the decade. While Elliott has often been seen as nothing but a gatekeeper who had a good night against Demetrious Johnson, his recent stretch includes wins over names like Sumudaerji, Tagir Ulanbekov and now Kai Asakura. I think the veteran is now deserving of a name ranked above him. Just last week, I had Steve Erceg matched up against Alex Perez after his win over Ode’ Osbourne, but this win by Elliott made me change my mind. As mentioned, there are rumours floating of a card in Australia in February, why not give Elliott a top10 name like Astroboy?

Elliott’s next fight: Steve Erceg

The post What’s Next: UFC 319 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dricus Du Plessis

Khamzat Chimaev absolutely dominated now-former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis on the way to a virtually flawless, five round unanimous decision victory. Khamzat entered the bout ranked at #3 within the middleweight rankings. The loss was the first that Dricus has suffered in the UFC since being signed in 2020. DDP is now 9-1 with the promotion. It was the first time the South African has lost in some 11 fights, since 2018.

The performance on Saturday from Dricus didn’t lead anyone to believe that he needs an immediate rematch against Khamzat. He’ll likely need two, maybe even three wins for that to even be a topic of conversation.

An opponent that would make the most sense for Dricus is Reinier de Ridder. Reinier is currently ranked at #5 within the division. Timing wouldn’t matchup perfectly, as RDR fought at the end of July, but it’d be close enough. RDR is already 4-0 in the promotion, and it hasn’t even been a full calendar year since his debut. De Ridder’s finished Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. And in his most recent bout he headlined his first UFC main event with his split decision defeat of Robert Whittaker. Dricus has also fought and beaten Whittaker.

DDP vs RDR would be a good striker vs grappler matchup, but Reinier is a much different type of grappler than Khamzat. Much more jiujitsu based than he Khamzat, as Chimaev is a pure wrestler, which in-turn should offer a much different fight for Dricus and fans. Easy fight night main event or main card on a PPV, type of fight. Winner would be a fight away from the belt, potentially fighting for the belt with a spectacular finish.

Du Plessis’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder

Aaron Pico

Lerone Murphy delivered a highlight-reel KO for the ages with his first-round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico on Saturday. Murphy entered the bout ranked at #6 in the featherweight division, while Pico was unranked as it was his promotional debut.

It was a huge gamble for Pico that just didn’t pan out for him. Pico was riding lots of momentum as he had won 9 of his last 10 fights and was on a three-fight win streak.

Pico’s next fight has endless possibilities, but a strong choice would be the loser of Brian Ortega vs Aljamain Sterling. That fight goes down on August 23rd so the timing would matchup.

Aljamain is ranked at #7 in the division while Ortega is ranked at #4. So, giving Pico the loser of this bout works perfectly. It would also work in giving Pico a bit different of a look given the outcome of his debut and given that both Ortega and Sterling are grappling heavy fighters. This bout would also give Pico another chance to get a ‘name’ under his belt with either the former UFC Bantamweight Champion or a former UFC featherweight title challenger. This could be a tentative main event for a fight night card to really try and push Pico, considering he performed well in the minutes leading up to the finish.

Winner could be within striking distance of a title shot with nice mic skills. Loser would be in danger of slipping out of the top 10-12.

Pico’s next fight: Aljamain Sterling vs Brian Ortega Loser

Geoff Neal

Carlos Prates floored Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow in the final second of the first round on Saturday. Geoff, who was once 5-0 with the UFC, has now lost three of three of his last four fights.

Neal entered the fight ranked #11 in the welterweight division, while Prates was ranked at #12.

A good next opponent for Geoff would be Daniel Rodriguez. Daniel last fought in July when he won a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland at UFC 318.  D-Rod has actually gone 3-0 since moving down to welterweight in October of last year. Geoff vs D-Rod would be a great boxing striking heavy fight. Daniel is currently ranked at #13 within the division so it makes sense from a ranking’s standpoint as well. This would be a good featured preliminary fight before a PPV card or even a main card fight on a fight night card. That’d be a must win for Geoff if he ever wanted to be in elite discussions again.

Neal’s next fight: Daniel Rodriguez

Jared Cannonier

Michael Page turned in a clinic on Saturday with his three-round, one-sided, unanimous decision beating of Jared Cannonier. Rough break for Cannonier as he has now lost three of his last four bouts.

Cannonier entered the fight ranked at #9 in the middleweight division while Page was unranked at 185lbs. but ranked at #15 in the welterweight division.

A friendly reminder that Cannonier is 41 years old. He’s always in wars.

Cannonier’s next fight should be against Roman Dolidze. Roman last fought in the main event UFC Vegas 109, and was submitted by Anthony Hernandez, earlier this month. This potential matchup was referenced in that edition of losers and it still holds true after UFC 319’s outcome. Dolidze is now ranked at #11 in the division. Roman just had his three-fight win streak snapped so he’s looking to get back on the right track but in a different position then Jared.

Great fight that could easily be as high as a co main event to as fight night card. Winner proves they belong in the top 10 while the loser could very well face sliding out of the top 15 with another loss.

Jared’s next fight: Roman Dolidze

Kai Asakura

Tim Elliott turned back the clock Saturday with his second-round submission finish over Kai Asakura to open the main card of UFC 319. Kai is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed late last year and making his UFC debut in a UFC title fight.

Kai entered the bout rounding out the flyweight rankings at #15 while Tim Elliot was ranked at #11.

So where does Kai go from here? UFC brass threw him in the deep end, and he sank, now what?

While Elliot’s win prior to Asakura is fighting soon (Sumudaerji), versus Kevin Borjas on the main card of a UFC Fight Night later this month, a more suitable opponent for Asakura was mentioned in a previous losers article. Now that Hyun Sung Park has been booked against the #14 ranked Bruno Silva, the Charles Johnson vs. Lone’er Kavanagh winner could make sense again.

At this point, that’s the fight that makes the most sense for Asakura. The timing would align. Charles was ranked in the top 15 earlier this year and also had a strong showing against star prospect turned #1 title contender, Joshua Van. Lone’er Kavanagh is an undefeated Cage Warriors and Contender Series product that is 2-0 thus far with the promotion.

Asakura’s 31 and he’s 21-6 as a pro. With his experience and notoriety, he’s got to continue to fight ‘names.’ No backsteps. If Charles or Lone’er deliver a finish, Kai could be the perfect matchup to provide a good proving ground for both competitors. Fight Night main card caliber of fight with the winner being undoubtedly getting a ranking if they don’t already. Loser of this bout should be unranked.

Asakura’s next fight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Charles Johnson Winer

The post What’s Next: UFC 319 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Godinez (14-5) had said in the lead up to the fight that she felt more focused, happier and more mature. That new mindset helped her push through to a decision victory over Andrade.

“Even before the fight I knew I was going to win. Just the way I felt the whole week. I was super relaxed, super calm, I was just being myself. When we were warming up I actually told my coach ‘I don’t feel really nervous’,” Godinez told Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“Of course I feel nervous because I want to do good and my body is getting ready to get in the cage. Not like overly nervous. When I was in the cage waiting for her, just the way I was feeling, I was really comfortable.”

Beating a former champion like Andrade may be the step up she needed to get into the title picture. Godinez definitely felt like the biggest win of her career sends a message to the division that she’s ready.

“We’re here, we’re making noise, and whatever the UFC decides who’s next we’re going to be ready,” she said.

“When I’m home and see what my manager and UFC wants me to do and we will be ready. There is that card (Noche UFC), there is Vancouver card which is more realistic in October. See what’s out there for me.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Loopy Godinez above.

The post Loopy Godinez Feels She Sent Message To Division She’s Title Shot Ready appeared first on Cageside Press.