“During this fight week I began to feel like I belong here. I belong in the UFC and I belong at the highest level.”

Montes (11-1) described himself as a well-rounded fighter capable of adapting to whatever style a matchup demands. While he believes he can compete comfortably in every phase of MMA, he admitted there is one approach he naturally gravitates toward.

“I’m the type of fighter than can do it all. I can counter, I can pressure, I can grapple, I can fight anywhere. You won’t find holes in my game,” he said.

“But if you’re asking what I prefer to do, I love to bring the pressure and go forward at my opponent.”

Montes said the experience of his UFC debut only fueled his desire to return to the Octagon as quickly as possible. After the emotions of fight week and the performance itself, he made it clear he’s eager to build momentum in the division.

“I’m looking to come back very soon. I want to feel what I felt this fight week again, what I felt in camp and what I felt in this fight. I’ve got some personal things to figure out, but I’m going to ask for another fight,” he said.

“I’ll be ready to go.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alberto Montes above. 

*Translated by Cageside Press

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Ferreira had done the same to “Robocop” the first time around, but the finish was even more spectacular this past Saturday. Now, Rodrigues (19-6) is setting his fights on the top 5 of the middleweight division, and one Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez.

“I’m ready for everything, man. I sent my message. I sent my message to the division,” Rodrigues said following the fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I’m happy with how my career goes. For sure, something big is gonna come. I want to fight probably in the top 5, I want one of the top 5s. Maybe Anthony Hernandez, that was a good name, good match-up.”

Rodriguez plans on sitting down with his manager and working out his next steps, but he does expect to fight Ferreira once more. “I told him right after the fight, I said ‘man, for sure I will see you at the top again. And probably we’re going to face each other one more time.'”

Rodrigues showed considerable restraint after knocking out Ferreira, leaving it at a single punch and not dropping any follow-up blows.

“Oh man, yeah, but the ref did amazing work. Because he was right there,” Rodrigues told Cageside Press. “I thought to do one more shot, but when I came and I saw him, I said ‘I don’t need it.’ One was enough, and the ref did an amazing job.”

That’s not always the case. Rodrigues himself has been criticized for landing more shots than necessary in the past; Ferreira felt the same criticism in their first fight. Keep in mind, fighters are trained to continue until the ref intervenes.

“That happened. That happens with anybody. People complain for everything. I don’t care about it,” Rodrigues finished.

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Gregory Rodrigues above.

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“I’ve been working so hard for this moment. I wish I could have got the finish, but either way, I feel like the performance was good and I passed this test with flying colors,” Rosas Jr told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“It means a lot being able to connect with the fans and they’re always showing love. I appreciate everybody’s supporting me along the way.”

Rosas Jr (12-1) said he expected a cautious approach from the veteran once the fight hit the mat, especially given how dangerous the submission exchanges became.

While he was able to maintain control throughout the grappling sequences, he admitted Font’s defensive awareness made it difficult to fully lock in a finish.

“I knew he was going to play it safe, but he played it more safe than I thought. Every time I felt like the submission was there, he would reset, and he just wouldn’t give me anything. Props to him,” he said.

Rosas Jr. said the victory represented a significant milestone in his development, especially against a veteran who has consistently faced the top names in the bantamweight division.

For the rising prospect, the win served as validation that he’s ready to begin testing himself against the division’s elite.

“Rob Font’s been in there with the best and I passed this test with flying colors,” he said.

“So I’m ready to compete against the best in the world. If I’m not ready, I’ll figure out how to be ready, I got the best team now. I’m with the (MMA) Lab. I got good people around me that are going to help me get ready for any challenge that’s ahead of me.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Raul Rosas Jr above.

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Charles Oliveira

Unfortunately, Charles Oliveira’s complete domination of Max Holloway won’t get the credit it deserves, because it couldn’t live up to the ethos of the belt the two were fighting for. If this fight was a regular number 1 contender bout, people would be raving about how nobody has ever shut out Max Holloway in this fashion. Alas, we are left with disappointment that two beloved legends didn’t go at each other Rock’em Sock’em robots style.

Oliveira may have earned a title shot in any other division, but it’s hard to picture the UFC throwing him back in there with Ilia Topuria given how the first fight ended. For that reason, I don’t think Do Bronx will simply wait. They could book him against Conor McGregor next, but I’ll believe a McGregor return when I see it. Until then, I see no reason to matchmake for him

The only other name I believe to be a viable one is Benoit Saint Denis. He’s on a four-fight win streak, ranked inside the top five and fights with the energy fans want from a BMF contender.

Oliveira’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis

Caio Borralho

Reinier de Ridder and Caio Borralho met in a matchup between two top10 contenders looking to bounce back from deflating losses. It was the Brazilian who came out on top, earning 30-27s across the board. Borralho called out Dricus Du Plessis and while that isn’t a bad callout, I’m not sure it will work out timing wise. DDP hasn’t fought since last August, so you have to think he’s chomping at the bits to get back in there.

An April or May return is a fair timeline for Du Plessis’s return, which is probably too soon for Borralho who just went 15 hard minutes with RDR. I think the winner of the upcoming Roman Dolidze vs Christian Leroy Duncan fight would make a fun fight.

Borralho’s next fight: Dolidze/Leroy Duncan winner

Raul Rosas Jr.

Maybe the fact that he came into the UFC as an 18-year-old clouded our judgement of what Raul Rosas Jr‘s career trajectory should’ve looked like by now. Because while it’s undeniably impressive to defeat Rob Font at 21 years of age, Rosas Jr. still only landed eight significant strikes to Font’s ten. This is by far the best name on Rosas Jr.’s resumé, but it’s quite clear that he’s still very green in his development.

Nevertheless, he will enter the rankings come Tuesday’s update and will have no choice but to try and swim with the sharks. I think Marlon Vera is the most rankings-appropriate fight that could be made while also being winnable for Rosas Jr. The UFC could even make it a main event, so as to see whether Rosas Jr.’s cardio can go five rounds.

Rosas Jr.’s next fight: Marlon Vera

Drew Dober

The UFC knew they would have a guaranteed KO when they paired Drew Dober and Michael Johnson together. Unsurprisingly, the fight delivered and ended in the second round when Dober caught Johnson with a clean left hand. Dober is one of those important types of fighters that promotions need. He’s a guaranteed action fight that can help boost any card’s violence quotient. A fight between Dober and Jalin Turner would’ve made sense when they were both ranked a few years ago and it still makes sense now. It’s a perfect prelim fight for International Fight Week.

Dober’s next fight: Jalin Turner

Gregory Rodrigues

After Brunno Ferreira put Gregory Rodrigues to sleep in his UFC debut over three years ago, it was Rodrigues who got his revenge this time around. Hard to be more efficient, as it took “Robocop” only two significant strikes to separate Ferreira from consciousness. Rodrigues has garnered momentum more than once before seeing his win streaks end to Armen Petrosyan, Brunno Ferreira and, most recently, Jared Cannonier. I think Robert Whittaker represents the right kind of test since there are questions surrounding Bobby Knuckles after he lost two consecutive fights for the first time as a middleweight. It would also make for a good co-main event on the upcoming Perth Fight Night card.

Rodrigues’ next fight: Robert Whittaker

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Max Holloway

(#3) Charles Oliveira out grappled and bested (#4) Max Holloway in the pair’s rematch over a decade in the making, in order to capture the BMF belt. Holloway is now 2-2 since moving up to the lightweight division in 2024. Holloway has only fought elite competition in the division including Justin Gaethje, Illia Topuria and Dustin Poirier.

Max should take on either (#8) Dan Hooker or (#5) Benoit Saint Denis next. Both fights would be absolute bangers as both gentlemen would be willing to stand and trade with Holloway. Easy main event booking for either fighter. Hooker is coming off a pair of stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint-Denis. Dan was last in the octagon on January 31 so the timing would also matchup. Hooker is 2-2 in his last four similar to Max.

BSD on the other hand has won four fights in a row and has stopped all four of those guys (Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker). Holloway would be an excellent elite level litmus test for BSD. and Benoit would be a welcome and fun scrap to get Holloway back on the right track (and close in rankings).

Holloway’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis or Dan Hooker

Reinier de Ridder

(#7) Caio Borralho landed the more damaging shots to win a unanimous decision over (#8) Reinier de Ridder on Saturday in the co main event of UFC 326. It was a heavy-lifting matchup for the division a with the Fight Nerd product coming out on top. RDR has now lost two fights in a row and is 4-2 with the promotion since joining in late 2024.

Walking back a previous loser’s article pick for this one. RDR has to take on (#6) Anthony Herandez next. Fluffy just got stopped by Sean Strickland in the third round of their bout on February 21. The timing would work. Not to mention, RDR was scheduled to take on Hernandez back in October before Fluffy got injured and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Both guys are now coming off of losses and after the performance Saturday, this fight makes more sense than ever. Could be a main event or co main event of a fight night card or high up on the main card of a PPV card. Winner is knocking on the door of a title eliminator bout with a flashy finish.

de Ridder’s next fight: Anthony Hernandez

Rob Font

Raul Rosas Jr. smothered and shut out #13-ranked Rob Font on Saturday as Font just was not able to get his boxing offense going before repeatedly ending up on the canvas in grappling exchanges. This was a changing of the guard fight, with the youngster passing with flying colors. 38-year-old Font now falls to 12-9 under the promotional banner and he has now lost two in a row.

The perfect next fight for Font would be to give him the winner of Adrian Yanez vs Ricky Simon. That fight goes down on March 28 so the timing would match up. Ricky is 10-6 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts. Yanez is 6-3 with the promotion and has dropped three of his last four. The winner of this fight might draw a ranked matchup if it’s a thrilling finish, but if not, they may need another fight before getting a ranked matchup. Font will likely slide just outside of the rankings and would offer a perfect opportunity. Of course, either fighter that Font draws offer him another opportunity to prove he isn’t over the hill and still belongs within the ranked bantamweight fighters. This fight could land on the main card of a fight night card.

Font’s next fight: Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez winner

Michael Johnson

Drew Dober smoked Michael Johnson with a beautiful left hand in a fight where ‘The Menace’ was looking really quick and sharp to start out. After finding some stability in the form of a 3-fight win streak (Darrius Flowers, Ottoman Azaitar and Daniel Zellhuber) a loss like this was the absolute last thing that the 39-year-old needed. Johnson now sits with the peculiar record and stint of 16-16 over 16 years with the promotion.

Good next matchup for ‘Mr. I’ve Fought Everyone on the Roster’ would be against the loser of Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson. That fight is scheduled for March 28 so the timing could be okay depending on Johnson’s recoup time. Both guys are extremely entertaining fighters. McKinney is 7-5 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four. He has yet to hear the final bell in one of his UFC fights. Kyle Nelson is 5-5-1 and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Great matchup whichever way this goes, but the ideal matchup here would absolutely be Johnson vs McKinney. That bout has a real chance for fireworks. This is for relevancy and keeping your head above the shark infested waters of the UFC’s lightweight division. This fight could be on the main card of a weaker fight night card or potentially a feature prelim- very likely to be a banger.

Johnson’s next fight: Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson loser

Brunno Ferreira

(#13) Gregory Rodrigues flatlined (#15) Brunno Ferreira with one of the first punches he threw in the pair’s rematch on the main card of UFC 326 Saturday. The finish earned Robocop a bonus while Ferreira had a 3-fight win streak snapped and all his momentum halted. The 2022 Contender Series product is now 6-3 with the UFC.

Brunno should fight Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio next. The pair are actually scheduled to fight on May 9. Timing may not appear like it’d match up, but that was a nasty knockout that Ferreira suffered on Saturday, so he could very well be on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Kopylov would be the matchup that we’re leaning towards here. Roman is 6-5 with the UFC and is riding a two-fight losing skid. The loss was against Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues (Costa was originally slated to fight Ferreira on Saturday before withdrawing). Perfect matchup.

Marco Tulio could be a good fight too, he 2-1 with the UFC and his loss is to Christian Leroy Duncan. This matchup could easily be on the main card of a fight night card or even a feature prelim of a PPV card. Brunno is going to slide out of the rankings so the winner of that scrap would likely draw a ranked opponent.

Ferreira’s next fight: Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio 

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As part of the promotion’s deal with Paramount+, under the same ownership umbrella as CBS, the card saw an hour of prelims, and an hour of the main card, broadcast on network television.

Johnson (8-0) got the decision win, but took some heavy criticism both for the lack of action in the bout, and for fighting with his chin up, and hands down at times.

“Ain’t nobody perfect. Ain’t nobody perfect. So to go out there and think that you’re going to have a perfect fight is pretty delusional,” Johnson said following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I’ve been fighting four years, going on five years now. That man had 15 fights in the UFC, he’s had almost double the amount of fights I’ve had in my entire life.”

“Obviously I didn’t do it on purpose, but we got life and we got breath in our lungs. We’re going to go back, and we’re going to get better.”

Johnson admitted he was not surprised that the bout came down to a split decision. “I’m going to give the man his flowers. We still got the W, we still came out victorious like I said I would,” he stated, adding “He’s a dog. He’s a dog. People can say what they want to say, but I want to see them get in there. You go forward, you get in there and fight.”

The fight was Johnson’s second in the UFC, and his first in a major arena. “It was wild. It was surreal, it was surreal. But it was beautiful, I enjoyed every second of it,” he told Cageside Press of the experience.

“Pressure does two things, right? It busts pipes, and it makes diamonds. And I’m going to shine. I’m going to shine my whole career, I’m going to shine until I die.”

As for being on CBS, “I didn’t feel any unnecessary pressure,” Johnson said. Addressing the rocky showing, he added that “I just didn’t go out there and perform the way I know I can perform.”

“We’re going to be back, and we’re going to be better. First big show, I’m grateful, let’s run it back. Let’s run it again. I’ll be ready as soon as they give me a call.”

There was one unexpected benefit of the fight being aired on CBS.

“I’ve got people locked up that were able to watch the fight,” Johnson said with a laugh. “It works out, it works out.”

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Donte Johnson above.

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“I think the fight pretty much went according to plan. The only reason it did not finish is because I did not work hard enough,” Nurgozhay (11-2) said following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “There were moments here I could finish him.”

Nurgozhay took full responsibility on Saturday for not being able to finish his opponent, adding that it wasn’t a mental block.

“From what I understand, his nose is broken, something else he broke. I think that we put as much damage as we could on him. Yeah, it did look kind and back-and-forth a little bit, I got a little tired, but I think the only reason it wasn’t finished is because of me, I should have pressed a little harder. But other than that, I think we excecated what we were supposed to do, and I feel great about the win.”

“Not because of mental at all. It’s more like I wasn’t able to hit the right shot, wasn’t able to get him the right way. Maybe he moved away, or maybe I didn’t land it clean,” he suggested.

Diyar Nurgozhay also addressed a low blow that the Kazakh said never actually happened. At least, he wasn’t the one landing low, he explained.

“If you keep looking at it, that shot wasn’t there, that’s why the ref didn’t notice it. Because where I aimed and where I hit him was somewhere around the bellybutton area. So if you look at the stoppage, if you look at the replay, they’re saying ‘oh he fouled him,’ and then they showed me being kneed in the groin area. They didn’t show a shot that I did.”

“If I did hit him illegally in the groin, I would not try to keep on going and keep on punching him. That’s not sportsmanlike,” Nurgozhay finished.

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Diyar Nurgozhay above.

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After the decision win, Tumendemberel (17-10-1) admitted that the wrestling-heavy affair didn’t go according to plan.

“That was not the game plan, our game plan was just to start the fight and finish him right away in the first round,” Tumendemberel said, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “He came out very wrestling heavy, so we were happy, we showed our wrestling game as well and most importantly, we got the W.”

“I wasn’t really expecting to wrestle for 15 minutes, but that’s how the fight played out, and it is what it is. We got the W this way.”

Tumendemberel also addressed some late strikes in the fight, saying simply that “I just felt like, I just want to get one good hit in. That’s the fight game.”

Moving forward, the fighter known as the “Art of Knockout” wants to grow his skillset. And he’s willing to travel the world to expand his repertoire.

“I come from a very nomadic culture, I still live that very nomadic lifestyle, I’m in the countryside. I honestly look to improve my fighting game from here, it’s only upwards from here. I’m even open to exploring bigger camps, bigger teams on the worldwide stage,” he stated, adding that the goal was “constantly improving my skills and really showing the world what I’m made of.”

Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Niyamjargal Tumendemberel above.

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