Two weeks removed from that win, we caught up with Allen, who had his beautiful newborn daughter in hand as he spoke about all things MMA. Our first question, however, had nothing to do with the sport. Rather, what it’s like being a new dad now?

“Dad life is great man, it makes me not even want to fight anymore sometimes, I don’t want to leave her,” Allen told Cageside Press. “I’m blessed to be able to stay here during the days and spend all this time with her.”

Don’t worry though, Allen’s far from done in his career. We also discussed the world wide COVID-19 pandemic, and Brendan gave his thoughts on this scary situation. “I think its more just the media outlook on stuff, I think overall there is gonna be one or two events canceled. But I hope not because it pushes everyone back as far as needing fights and the roster is already crowded. So hopefully business-wise it doesn’t because it will push my window of fighting back I would assume, and I definitely don’t want that.”

Teammates Emmanuel Sanchez and Jordan Newman were slated to fight at the Mohegan Sun Friday evening at Bellator 241. Allen didn’t seem too concerned about that event being cancelled, saying he hadn’t spoken to his teammates during the week but planned to talk after they made weight, and was hoping they did get to fight. However, a day after Bellator announced the event would move forward behind closed doors, Scott Coker made the decision to postpone the event. Fighters, however, were paid in full.

When asked about his most recent win over Breese, Brendan Allen said the following: “I felt good man, of course going in there and getting a win over a guy like Breese is always good, a win alone is always a great feeling. I wish we could have stood more, that’s what I was really looking forward to. To show the differences in my game but hey, the less I have to show the better for me.” As far as his gameplan went Brendan was very clear he wanted to knock his opponent out. “I wanted to put him to sleep with a punch, and that was my goal and I knew I would do it if he stood with me longer.” We also dove in to the UFC middleweight division and the upstart Allen feels very confident about his chances against anyone.

“I feel that I can break pretty much anybody in the division,” said Allen. “There’s only guys like [former champ] Robert Whittaker that I feel like you’re not really breaking him, he’s unbroken. Everyone else, I don’t really see anyone else that can’t be broken. I feel like most guys are really good at one thing and as soon as they can’t do that they start breaking and I feel the factors I bring to the table can break people.”

Brendan called out Trevin Giles in his post fight interview after dispatching of Breese and is still clamoring for another crack at Giles. “If I can’t fight my losses I want a top 15 guy. If I can’t have Trevin then hopefully I get Antonio Carlos Jr or Omari Akhmedov.” Continuing to dig about the Giles match-up, Allen revealed that Giles did respond. “He said he’d fight me in Austin if the matchmakers wanted it. I would like to fight Trevin on that card or at International Fight Week. Hopefully I can get on one of these cards that I really want to be on.”

Finally, we asked Allen what would happen if he got to rematch any of his three losses (Eryk Anders, Trevin Giles, Anthony Hernandez). That led to one of the strongest quotes I have heard in my four years working as an MMA journalist. “I finish all three of them. I would finish them all in the same night. If that was the only way I could get to fight and even if we had to put up purse for purse in the contract I would. That’s how serious and how confident I am.”

The post UFC: Brendan Allen Says He’d Finish Giles, Anders and Hernandez in One Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

Also on the card was the majority of the women’s featherweight division. Megan Anderson knocked out Norma Dumont in the first round. While Felicia Spencer was also able to secure a TKO win over Zarah Farin Dos Santos in the co-main event. Today we will take a look at what’s next for the flyweight and women’s featherweight divisions, among others.

Deiveson Figueiredo

Since he did not win the title this past weekend and has never missed weight by a significant amount, it is likely that the UFC gives him another chance to make weight. The only question remains, who will be his opponent. He has gone on record saying that he thinks he should just have a rematch with Benavidez. What does that mean for guys like Jussier Formiga, Alexandre Pantoja, and Brandon Moreno? Do they just get put on the shelf until this situation works itself out?

A very unpopular suggestion is that the UFC should get rid of the flyweight division completely. While Figueiredo has spent the majority of his career coming in at 126, he’s only had the one miss — with admittedly bad timing. The UFC can’t possibly force Figueiredo up to bantamweight based on one instance, especially when he was within striking distance. On the other hand, though, their division loses some validity if the best fighter in the division cannot manage to make the weight.

If the UFC does choose to keep the division the obvious choice should be for Benavidez to have his rematch with Figueiredo. Giving Figueiredo a chance to make weight and Benavidez another chance to win the title.

Figueiredo’s Next Fight: Rematch With Joeseph Benavidez

Felicia Spencer

There are only two women who fit the bill to challenge for the women’s featherweight title and they are Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson. Champion Amanda Nunes has gone on record saying her next fight will be at UFC 250 in May. This timeline works out for both Spencer and Anderson, the UFC just needs to decide who to pick. The deciding factor more then likely comes down to the fact that Spencer has already defeated Anderson.

Spencer’s Next Fight: Title Shot – Amanda Nunes – UFC 250 

Magomed Ankalaev

Magomed Ankalaev won a first-round TKO over Ion Cutelaba at UFC Norfolk in yet another controversial fight. Cutelaba said after the fight that his gameplan was to “act stunned” so that Ankalaev would charge him and engage in a brawl. Cutelaba was hit cleanly by a head kick and did just that. He continued to “act stunned” for about 15 seconds after the initial strike and referee Kevin Macdonald called the fight. The stoppage was so controversial because Cutelaba was in the middle of throwing counterstrikes when Macdonald stopped the fight. We also witnessed how emotional and not stunned Cutelaba really was as soon as the fight was stopped. One would have to assume the only thing that would make sense for these fighters is to run it back.

Ankalaev’s Next Fight: Rematch With Ion Cutelaba 

Who do you guys think these fighters should fight next? Let us know in the comment section down below.

The post What’s Next: UFC Norfolk Matchmaker appeared first on Cageside Press.

That came in the form of a technical submission choke over TJ Brown — a guillotine from side control, that he later referred to as a “black belt killer” guillotine. The submission came with a Performance of the Night bonus. Meaning, an extra $50,000 to celebrate with.

WOW! @JordanGriffin29 gets the finish!! #UFCNorfolk pic.twitter.com/AIlT3bWhrw

— UFC (@ufc) February 29, 2020

Happy birthday indeed. Addressing the win, Griffin told Cageside Press and other media outlets at the Chartway Arena that “the whole camp, and since the beginning of my career, we’ve been battling the wrestlers. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. So I’ve got Raufeon Stots over there in my corner. Two-time NCAA wrestling champion, and the dude’s just a f*cking awesome wrestler. I’m happy to have him in my corner, and on a day to day basis giving me tips and stuff.”

Stots, Griffin mentioned, is also a solid jiu-jitsu guy, and between that and his jiu-jitsu professor, “we’ve been able to kind of transition my ground game. So it’s going to continue to progress.” It certainly showed on Saturday, given his slick submission win.

With his back to the wall, Griffin feels they key to success was that “I just needed to calm down, and I had all the right people in my corner. I think that’s what I needed, I needed Roufusport, I needed all the right people in my corner.” Including his mom, aunt, and the rest of his family.

As to what’s next for Griffin, who improved to 18-7 on the night, there’s the possibility of moving up a weight class. “I’ve been talking about going up to 155 for a while. The cut to 45 is really hard for me,” he revealed. “It’s hard. It would be nice to kind of dip my toe into the 155lb division, and lift weights, and really mentally and physically get myself there. But this last cut was amazing. Every cut I’ve done something different, and I feel this last one, I was on point with everything.”

The difference this time, he feels, was water-loading earlier in the process. It led to his best cut to featherweight yet. So if he can replicate that, said Griffin, “continuing in the 145lb division shouldn’t be a problem. But dipping my toe in the 55lb division would be kind of fun too.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Jordan Griffin above!

The post UFC Norfolk: Birthday Boy Jordan Griffin Torn Between 145lbs And “Dipping Toe” in 155lb Division appeared first on Cageside Press.

Breese had been out of action since 2018. Once a highly-touted prospect himself, the Birmingham, England native had been dogged by struggles with anxiety and fights falling through.

In that time, Allen joined the UFC, coming in via the Contender Series and winning his debut. And now his sophomore outing, a first round TKO of Breese with some heavy ground n’ pound.

On the victory, Allen told media outlets including Cageside Press that “it’s always great. It’s hard to really put into words the emotions that all this brings. Especially after a moment like that.” His wife being in attendance, and being away from his family for so long in preparation for the fight, certainly added to that emotion. “I’m just super excited to go home, hold my baby girl, kiss my niece, go do stuff with them. See my brother, my family. That’s all that’s on my mind right now. I’m ready to go home.”

With the win, Allen became the first fighter to stop Breese. That’s something he always wants to do, the middleweight said. “I’m trying to be the first person to stop anybody that hasn’t been stopped. I think it shows that I am what people were saying before the hype kind of fell off a little bit after some of my losses.”

Allen admits that there was a point in the past where he didn’t perform well. Prior to his octagon days. But now on a six-fight win streak, he said that “I finally hit my stride, I finally found myself, I finally feel good about what I’m doing. I’m totally confident, so I think it’s starting to come back. I’m at a good point in my life right now, and I think it shows.”

The unassuming middleweight fighting out of Louisiana refers to himself as “just another guy” and “nothing special,” and certainly has a laid back demeanor. So the loss of that aforementioned hype doesn’t rankle him any — though he admits that wasn’t always the case.

“It did when I was younger. As I’m getting older, I don’t really care,” said Allen. “I’m just focused on me, winning fights, and handing my check to that beautiful lady in the back. And go see my daughter. I try not to think too much into this. It’s a sport, it’s a job, it’s fun, it’s nice. I’m very blessed to be at this level. Very blessed to be doing what I’m doing.”

Reiterating his “just another guy” stance, Allen added that “I’m just me. I don’t need a million people to follow me or a million people to pat my back, or anything like that. I’ve got a great, great, great family at home. Whether I’m on top of my high horse or whether I’m falling in a ditch, they’ll always be there. So I’m not worried about anything.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Brendan Allen above!

The post UFC Norfolk’s Brendan Allen: “I’m trying to be the first person to stop anybody that hasn’t been stopped.” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Phillips, an Ultimate Fighter alum who came up short on TUF 27, made his debut at UFC Norfolk this past weekend. In the featured prelim slot, Phillips earned himself a one-sided unanimous decision win over Gabriel Silva. The bantamweight known as “Matrix” also earned Fight of the Night honors for his efforts.

Phillips reflected on his promotional debut with media outlets including Cageside Press post-fight at the Chartway Arena.

“That was a little bit of the Matrix, I don’t want to say it was all me. I just put a little bit of me out there. You guys saw a little bit of me, and there’s a lot more left. That’s just the beginning of the Matrix Era,” said Phillips, who is expecting to skyrocket with his team to the top of the division. “We’re super-balanced in what we do. We’re very on-the-fly. I’m going to win a fight. If I’m losing any type of battle, I’m going to take it in a different direction.”

That balanced, on-the-fly approach was on display during the fight Saturday night.

“I was hitting him with a lot of strikes in the first round. But I expected him to have a hard chin and be tough.” Phillips wasn’t sure if Silva had ever been dropped, but he knew the Brazilian would be able to take some shots. “I knew he was hurt, but the more I tried to wail on him, he would cover good. That’s when I would get a little tired.”

And so he switched up the game plan. “That second and third round, I had to grind out a grappling match. That consisted of a lot of ground n’ pound, but also I switched up, was smacking him open-hand, hit him with elbows, I had to switch up to the body because he was doing a good job covering his head. Like you guys saw, too, it was a grappling match also. He went inverted a couple times, like it was an IBJJF jiu-jitsu match. I was like ‘damn that’s pretty sick.'”

Phillips even found himself defending a knee-bar, but he was not going to be denied, and turned the fight into a wrestling match. In the end, he went the distance, earning 30-27s on all three scorecards.

It was a great start to his UFC tenure. A start that was supposed to come last year, against Ray Borg. In the end, he drew Silva, who actually wound up fighting Borg, in an interesting coincidence. Meant to be, perhaps. “I do believe that things work out for a reason like that,” Phillips later stated.

Octagon jitters are often brought up with debuting fighters. But then, Phillips had his TUF run. However, it wasn’t the jitters he feels the show helped with. “I don’t think The Ultimate Figher helped with any jitters,” he said. “But as far the cameras, and as far as the whole set part, it [did] for sure.”

However, when it comes down to fighting inside the cage, he added, “as soon as that cage shuts, it don’t matter if it’s just me shadow-boxing, moving around with my partner, or two of us in the gym sparring, or if there’s 10,000 people. It’s still the same thing. The thing I’m doing is trying to get better, and doing what I love. And I love this.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Kyler Phillips above!

The post UFC Norfolk: Kyler Phillips Believes It’s the Beginning of the “Matrix Era” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Then, Dawson missed weight, while his opponent hit the mark on just eight days notice.

So while Dawson was happy with his performance as a whole, he had a different take on things after the fight. He also offered no excuses for his flub at the scale.

“Good performance. I think I dominated from bell to bell like I had to,” Dawson said post-fight, breaking down his performance for Cageside Press and other media outlets. “There was a lot of nerves going into this fight. I know he’s dangerous in the first round. I knew he was going to come out hot. He had nothing to lose. I was the prospect, he was the guy who shouldn’t be there, and I needed to prove why I was such a big favorite.”

Dawson did get the submission win in the second round. But of course, his pre-fight comments and missing weight became the story.

On Minner, he changed his tune somewhat after the fact. “I think he deserves another shot. I think they should give him another fight, absolutely.”

He also congratulated his opponent after all was said and done. “I said he doesn’t belong here, then he took a fight on eight days notice and made weight,” observed Dawson. “So he absolutely deserves another shot. I just said congratulations on making it. I think he’ll get another shot, I think he’ll do well.”

As for what caused him issues this past Friday at the UFC Norfolk weigh-in, “I can’t tell you what happened because there’s no excuses,” Dawson said. “There is no excuse for missing weight. There’s nothing I can tell you, that there was a reason. All I know is, it’s a one time thing, it’s the first and only time. It will not happen again, and we’ll move on from here. That’s it.”

And so it’s time for Grant Dawson to move forward. He intends to remain at featherweight, and had one name in mind for his next opponent: “Darren Elkins.”

It’s an interesting choice. Dawson had been booked, several times, against Chas Skelly, a fight that continually fell through. Elkins, however, “he’s been around forever, people know who he is, he’s a tough opponent, he’s a wrestler like myself,” said Dawson. “He can push me in ways that people haven’t. I was really really excited for the Chas Skelly fight. I think very very highly of Chas, I think that he’s a great human being and a great fighter. So I was really excited to show that. Darren beat Chas by playing Chas’ game, so let’s just jump over Chas and go right to Darren.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Grant Dawson above!

The post UFC Norfolk: Grant Dawson Offers No Excuses for Missing Weight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Norfolk, VA — Heavyweight Marcin Tybura entered UFC Norfolk arguably with his back to the wall. Badly in need of a win, having gone 1-4 in five fights prior. And at a new team in Syndicate MMA out in Las Vegas.

Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following his three-round decision win over Sergey Spivak, Tybura admitted that “there was some pressure.”

“I didn’t feel it before [the fight], but during the fight. It was a really important fight for me,” he explained. “I really wanted to win. Maybe I did [feel it] Saturday.”

Tybura is well aware that the win wasn’t the prettiest. The grappling-heavy bout was something of a grind. “I was hoping to show much better, I was prepared better.” But still, he added, “A win is a win. I feel good.”

Tybura expected to have a grappling edge in the fight, and it showed. “He’s a Sambo guy too, so he can grapple.” But that said, Tybura’s career has seen him pile up wins by submission. “The grappling was on my side, I pretty much knew it before. I lot of my wins are by submission, so I’m confident about my grappling.”

Heading into the fight, despite the slump, “I didn’t doubt myself, I just started to become confident over the time when I come to the fight.” That confidence was buoyed by the move to Syndicate MMA. “I just joined a new team right now. I work with John Wood, a new coach. That’s something we have to adjust to incorporate together. And that turned out to be good.”

The move, said Tybura, has “been great. I moved to Las Vegas, staying there. Different perspective, maybe not changing me completely, but seeing stuff another way. Adding some technique, and that worked out.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Marcin Tybura above!

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For one, VBR — Luis Pena, properly — would bring his jiu-jitsu coach with him. “I’m very good at listening to him,” Pena told media outlets including Cageside Press post-fight. Pena earned a unanimous decision win over short-notice replacement Steve Garcia Jr. at the event. He spent a lot of the fight on Garcia’s back. Ultimately, he couldn’t find a finish however.

Given the opportunity, he’d make it a more exciting fight. “I set very, very, very high expectations for myself, and I have very high standards for my performances, and I didn’t meet them tonight,” said Pena, who then apologized to fans for the showing.

“I know that wasn’t an exciting fight, I know that’s not the kind of performance fans look for from me when they see me on a card,” he continued. “I’m disappointed in myself, I know they’re probably disappointed in me. But at the end of the night, this is my job, this is my career, this is my paycheck on the line when I go out there. And under the circumstances I was under, sometimes you’ve just got to go out there and get then win.”

Between multiple opponent changes ahead of the fight, and meeting his biological little brother for the first time, Pena had never had a Fight Week quite like the one ahead of UFC Norfolk. “Not at all. There was a lot, there was a lot to handle this fight week,” he admitted. “It was a lot of pressure. But I’ve always had this philosophy, ‘pressure makes diamonds.’ That was the name of the episode when I won on the episode of The Ultimate Fighter. Pressure makes diamonds. It wasn’t the best cut, but that pressure went out there and made a diamond of my performance.”

Pena’s Fight Week was even busier when you add in that he went out and met members of the military, and toured the naval base his biological mother worked at. Both his mother and biological dad are military members. “She was stationed back at Norfolk in 2013,” Pena explained. “Ironically I ended up getting to tour where she worked. So it was really cool to see where my mom does everything, and to see where my dad does everything as well.” The crew of the gun ship Pena was touring, knowing he was the child of service members, also signed an American flag for him.

As for what comes next, Pena will have to put his disappointment behind him and get back to work. While he’s not the call-out type, there’s an opportunity to earn a unique feather in his cap moving forward. “Now that I’ve beat, technically, the guy that was the LFA 35 champ, and one that would have been the 45 champ, let’s make it the trifecta and go after the 55 champ, in Austin Hubbard. Why not? He’s fighting [Mark O.] Madsen next week. I only say that because I have a lot of respect for Austin. He’s a good fighter, he’s a great fighter. If he would want to do it if he gets past Madsen, let’s go!”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Violent Bob Ross above!

The post Violent Bob Ross Not Thrilled with UFC Norfolk Performance appeared first on Cageside Press.

Spencer (8-1) finished opponent Zarah Fairn in the opening round, taking her to the canvas and pounding her out. With Amanda Nunes, both bantamweight and featherweight champ, looking on from afar, it was a statement win.

Facing the media (including Cageside Press) post-fight, Spencer was asked to state her case for a title shot. Her response was to turn that question back around. “I mean, what does everybody think?” she questioned those present.

To be fair, Spencer didn’t get to see the performance Australia’s Megan Anderson put on earlier in the night. Also a first round finish. “I heard it was great,” she said. “But I think I put myself in a great position to get a shot. So now I just need to have a conversation with the UFC.”

Realistically, Spencer later added, “it all comes down to that conversation. We’ll have it, I’m guessing really soon.”

Nunes suggested on Twitter after the fights that she was impressed by both fighters. But Spencer has a win over Anderson from last year, which could be the deciding factor.

There’s a possibility that, were the fight to go forward, it will come at UFC 250 in Brazil. Whether Spencer is ready for that is another conversation, with her team. But the possibility of fighting Nunes, she said, is “kind of exciting. The idea of potentially fighting two legends within a year would be awesome, it would be an honor. Within my first year inside the UFC, being able to fight Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes. That chance is awesome. I’m really excited.”

Nunes, however, is on a ten fight win streak. Which equals the total number of fights Spencer has as a pro. Asked how she matches up with the champ, Spencer replied that “I think I match up great. Everyone is beatable. And I think there’s some things I can show, and some clever things I can do to get a win.”

Overall, she added backstage, UFC Norfolk’s featherweight pairings “turned out the way a lot of people kind of expected, and I could definitely see myself getting that shot. I think I earned it.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Felicia Spencer above!

The post UFC Norfolk’s Felicia Spencer on Amanda Nunes: “Everyone is Beatable” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Deiveson Figueiredo, who missed weight for the fight and was ineligible to win the promotion’s 125lb title, landed a crushing blow that put opponent Benavidez on the ground early in the second round of the five-round affair. A follow-up strike put Joe completely out.

Figueiredo had the win. But little else. No belt, and a big question mark hovering over the division. It didn’t dampen his spirits any following the win, however, as he told reporters including Cageside Press.

“No, I’m not sad at all. I’m very happy. I come here to give a good show for the people,” Figueiredo said, with Walid Ismail translating for him. “Because if you guys remember, I told everybody before the fight, I’m going to knock [him] out in the second round. I don’t get the weight I’m supposed to get, but I promised everybody, I did a big show, I’m going to knock out, I’m going to give a big show for everybody. This is what I did, and I’m very happy.”

Figueiredo was adamant that he needed the big finish, because he “owed this for the people who come to the arena. Because I not make the weight, I have to put on a big show for the people.” He also put to rest, at least in his opinion, the idea that a clash of heads helped set up the finish. “People cannot forget, at first I opened his face with my elbow. Then the clash of the head, but what knocked out Benavidez was my punch, not the head butt. The people cannot— it was the punch.” There was no chance the headbutt played a role, he added.

As for this weight cut, the Brazilian said everything was fine until the day of the weigh-in. Then, he was hit by cramps in his stomach. His nutritionist said it was “better to stop” his weight cut as a result. The cramps are not something he had experienced before, Figueiredo told Cageside Press.

“I just won my belt. The belt is mine. I proved it,” Figueiredo would say later. It was a theme that was returned to several times on the night. “The champion without the belt” is how he put it at points. As he put it, he “beat the best guy in the category, and [I’m] the champion without the belt.”

What comes next is a big question. Figueiredo doesn’t seem to care who he fights. Though he is interested in fighting in Brazil.

At the suggestion flyweight could be done after the closest thing it has to a champ missed weight, it was Ismail speaking out. “How can you banish a great category [weight class] like that? People need to understand, this is my words, not his words. If you take out this category, then MMA is going to walk back, like back in the day. We cannot walk back. We need to walk forward, with more categories, not taking out categories.”

Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Deiveson Figueiredo above!

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