Ketlen Vieira

A win over Miesha Tate still means something in 2021. It’s that simple. Tate looked good earlier this year in her return from a four-plus year layoff, and she didn’t look terrible against Ketlen Vieira on Saturday. In fact there’s an argument to be made that Vieira showed the ex-champ too much respect, especially during the early going of the fight.

Regardless, Vieira earned the decision win, and should move up a spot or two in the bantamweight rankings. It’s an awfully thin division these days, as Amanda Nunes has pretty much cleaned house at 135lbs. Julianna Pena is getting a title shot off a single win, but that should not become a trend. Vieira needs another win or two, but now you have a problem. Vieira just lost to Yana Kunitskaya, Pena has the title shot, Aspen Ladd may be a featherweight moving forward, Vieira lost to Irene Aldana in 2019, Holly Holm was most recently booked in a featherweight fight — and that leaves Germaine de Randamie, who is the #1 ranked women’s bantamweight in the promotion. GDR was supposed to fight Aldana recently, put pulled out due to injury. Since Aldana needs an opponent, let’s run that fight back and she who’s made the most progress in the past two years.

Vieira’s next fight: Irene Aldana

Sean Brady

Sean Brady improved to 15-0 with his win over Michael Chiesa, and it’s safe to say he has arrived as a contender at 170lbs. Brady called his own shot after the fight, and suggested he take on the winner of Stephen Thompson vs. Belal Muhammad. Well, thanks for doing our job for us Sean! We like that fight.

Brady’s next fight: Thompson vs. Muhammad winner.

Taila Santos

Taila Santos is now 2-0 against Syndicate MMA fighters. She’s an impressive 19-1 as a pro, and has put together four straight wins in the UFC’s women’s flyweight division. That includes a win over former title challenger Roxanne Modafferi, who fought for the inaugural title, and now Joanne Wood, who was once promised a title shot only to see it slip away when she chose to stay active rather than wait for the fight.

There were questions about Santos’ quality of competition, but she has answered those. She also secured the only finish on the entire UFC Vegas 43 card on Saturday. Champ Valentina Shevchenko is constantly in need of fresh bodies, and Santos could easily be one.

Andrea Lee just put on a clinic against Cynthia Calvillo. Book these two, and the winner of Lee vs. Santos could get the next title shot.

Santo’s next fight: KGB Lee

Rani Yahya

At 37, Rani Yahya’s window in the bantamweight division is rapidly closing. He’s unranked, but wins more than he loses. On Saturday, he got past Kyung Ho Kang, making it two straight victories for the Brazilian. Frankie Edgar is 40, still just inside the top 15, and looked solid until he was caught by Marlon Vera earlier this month. Edgar has hinted at retirement but hasn’t committed, if he sticks around, this kind of fight could tell us a lot. And it feels a lot better than feeding “The Answer” to someone half his age.

Yahya’s next fight: Frankie Edgar

Adrian Yanez

The UFC’s newest bonus-winning machine (four post-fight bonuses in four fights) has a bright future at 135lbs. There is no better way to start your UFC career than what Adrian Yanez has done. Three Performance of the Night bonuses, and now a Fight of the Night against Davey Grant. Yanez is also an extremely likeable, well-spoken young fighter who fans are starting to treat as must-see TV.

Sean O’Malley actually suggested a March date with Yanez after the latter defeated Grant at UFC Vegas 43. That could be a heck of a fun match-up, even though O’Malley should probably start fighting ranked opponents. O’Malley is fighting Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 in a few weeks, and the winner of that getting Yanez actually sounds pretty fun.

Yanez’s next fight: winner of O’Malley vs. Paiva

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Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate is now 1-1 since her big layoff that began back in 2016. Prior to her loss this past weekend, Tate was ranked eighth in the women’s bantamweight division. In her next fight, she should be looking to get another fight inside the top 15. Tate has an exciting, unique striking style in addition to her wrestling. Macy Chiasson is currently ranked number 11th in the division. Chiasson has finished six of her seven victories and also has an exciting fighting style. She is 5-1 in the UFC and her only loss is a decision loss against Lina Lansberg in 2019. Her stock is rapidly rising in the bantamweight division which means she could help Tate get another main event or co-main event slot in the near future.

Tate’s next fight: Macy Chiasson 

Michael Chiesa

Michael Chiesa looked very impressive in his loss this past weekend against Sean Brady. He was dominated in the grappling but showed bright spots in his striking and even ended the fight trying to finish Brady with ground and pound. This loss puts Chiesa on a two-fight skid and urgently looking to get back in the win column. Chiesa came into this fight ranked number six in the welterweight division and lost to the number 14 ranked Brady. This means he will likely be ranked just inside, or even just outside of the top ten when the rankings are updated.

Li Jingliang is coming off a loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his last fight. Prior to that loss, Jingliang was 10-4 in the UFC. Jingliang is currently ranked 11th in the division and matches up great with Chiesa stylistically. Jingliang has decent takedown defense and power in all of his strikes. A fight with Jingliang would definitely help Chiesa stay relevant following back-to-back losses.

Chiesa’s next fight: Li Jingliang 

Joanne Wood

Joanne Wood was submitted in the first round by Talia Santos at UFC Vegas 43. This fight puts Wood on a two-fight skid and likely means she will be on the backside of the top ten when the rankings are updated. Wood is 34 years old and has had a very long career in combat sports. She became a professional kickboxer in 2005 and a professional mixed martial artist in 2012. It seems like she will continue fighting following this most recent loss so she should be looking to fight the biggest draw she can in her next fight.

Casey O’Neill is an undefeated prospect that is coming off a huge TKO victory over Antonia Shevchenko in October. She is scheduled to fight number 12 ranked Roxanne Modafferi on February 12th at UFC 271. Modafferi has said that this fight will be her retirement fight. With that being said, if O’Neill can get past Modafferi that would be a huge opportunity for Joanne Wood.

Wood’s next fight: Casey O’Neill

Kyung Ho Kang

Kyung Ho Kang lost a decision to Rani Yahya this past weekend on the main card. Kang is coming off a two-year layoff and is currently 34 years old. He has been fighting professionally for almost 15 years. This inconsistency makes it a bit hard to play matchmaker for him. Given his level of activity, it’s likely we don’t see him fight for a while. This most recent layoff was the second big layoff of his UFC career. He took off for four years from 2014-2018 earlier in his UFC run, to serve his mandatory military service in his native South Korea.

If Eddie Wineland intends to fight again, that match-up could work. He’s coming off back-to-back losses and last competed in February.

Kang’s next fight: Eddie Wineland, if both intend to be active

Davey Grant

Davey Grant lost a razor-close split decision this past weekend against Adrian Yanez. A fight so exciting, it clearly won Fight of the Night honors. In Grant’s next fight, he should be looking to make one final run at the bantamweight division.

Felipe Colares has a UFC record of 2-3 and is coming off a split decision loss to Chris Gutierrez. Colares is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has five submission wins on his record. He has also never been finished and would be an extremely exciting fight for Davey Grant. A win over Colares would put Grant back on the right path in the bantamweight division.

Grant’s next fight: Felipe Colares

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On Saturday, Yanez (15-3) earned a unanimous decision win over Davey Grant and was awarded yet another post-fight bonus. In his four UFC fights, he has received a Performance of the Night bonus three times, and has now added Fight of the Night.

While he was already a fan favorite, Yanez is finally getting the attention of fighters in his division— which he should, because a top 15 match-up is most likely in his future. After his fight was over, UFC superstar Sean O’Malley tweeted out “March.”

👀 March

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) November 20, 2021

Yanez was asked about the potential fight with O’Malley during his post-fight interview with the media, and he didn’t mince words.

“Oh yeah, sure, maybe, whatever. I would definitely fight Sean O’Malley, but right now, he says he wants to try and get a ranked opponent and all that stuff. But he’s dodging all these other ranked opponents. So let’s dive into one that right quick,” Yanez told the media, including Cageside Press. “So, Sean O’Malley says, let me get a ranked opponent. But then he gets Thomas Almeida, who was on the shelf for a couple of years and he was on a losing streak, but it takes him three rounds to do it, the guy who’s coming off the couch. Yeah, talk about that.”

“Also, Eddie Wineland, also a guy who was off the couch for a long time, already at the tail end of his career, knocks him out. That doesn’t really get any play, get any brownie points for me. If you go out there and starch someone like Davey Grant, Davey Grant can take a shot, can take a hard shot. Against Chito Vera, he goes out there against Chito and kind of plays and toys with him, knocks him down to the ground. I don’t know man, there are ups and downs with that. And when he fought Kris Moutinho, he had the chance to fight a guy who’s ranked at the time in Ricky Simon but didn’t fight him. So I don’t know. But I’d be down to fight him, I don’t care. They’d have to pay me more. He’s all about the money, but I am too. I have a family to feed.”

Yanez said he hears Twitter and social media about the potential fight with O’Malley, and knows O’Malley is talented— but feels like the opponents he has faced simply aren’t that impressive.

“Like he fights a guy like Kris Moutinho, who is a 125er and moves up last second. Of course, he is supposed to look good against him, a guy who is taking it last second, moving up a weight class. Yeah, whatever,” Yanez said.

A fight between Yanez and O’Malley would no doubt be fun and a striker’s delight. If it isn’t next, perhaps it will happen down the line.

Watch the rest of Adrian Yanez’s UFC Vegas 43 post-fight interview above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Brady (15-0) stayed undefeated and picked up the biggest win of his career as he defeated the No. 6 ranked welterweight Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 43 on Saturday.

For years, the hardcore fans and media have known how talented Sean Brady is, and now with a name like Chiesa on his resume, he believes casual fans should be aware of him as well.

“I didn’t really have that name but beating Chiesa, the casuals are going to know who I am. But like you said, the hardcore people and the people who trained with me, they know what I am and know what I do. So this wasn’t even a scratch of the surface of what I can do and what I’m going to show,” Brady told Cageside Press during his post-fight interview.

On Tuesday, Brady should crack the top ten and potentially take Chiesa’s number. When that happens, there are only a few people ahead of him before a title shot could be in his future. And to get to that title, he will have to go through killers.

The Philadelphia fighter wants to face the winner of Stephen Thompson vs. Belal Muhammad, a fight that goes down on December 18 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus.

“I think the winner of Belal [Muhammad] and Wonderboy would be fun, you know? I don’t know what they are both ranked, but I know they are both in the top ten. I know that rankings come out on Tuesday, and I’m sure I will land somewhere in the top 10, and then we can go from there,” Brady said. “I have a couple of tattoo appointments that I have to get taken care of when I get back to Philly, and I have to get my nose fixed— it’s been a long time coming… after that, the first quarter of 2022, let’s run it.”

Watch the rest of Sean Brady’s UFC Vegas 43 post-fight interview above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Yahya (28-10-1) picked up his 13th win inside of the octagon on Saturday as he defeated Kang via unanimous decision. The 37-year old UFC veteran was very happy to have the fight between him and Kang behind him after training for him for seven months and having the fight canceled once before.

“It’s been seven months, you know? The fight got canceled on the day of the fight, and that generated more expectation to face him. For such a long time, I was training to fight him, finding people to simulate him-taller people with length and the same abilities that he has. Now, it is finally over, and I am happy about that,” Yahya told Cageside Press during his post-fight interview.

With time not being on his side, the Brazilian hopes to have his best year yet in 2022.

“I want the best 2022 ever, of course,” Yahya laughed. I want it to be the best year of my career.” Yahya said he has to go home and take care of a little injury in his eye and then get back to it. As for names, he has two in mind.

“Talking about names, Marlon Vera is a good name. We were supposed to fight once, but I had some personal things that made me not take the fight at the time. There is a lot of hype on him, and I would love to fight him,” Yahya said.

“And of course, [Sean] O’Malley. Everyone wants to fight him. I think that would be very good fight; interesting for the UFC, too because I see the UFC make him fight with people they believe he will beat. I think at this point, I’m 37, a veteran; maybe they would believe that he would beat me. So, I think it is a reasonable fight.”

Watch the rest of Rani Yahya’s UFC Vegas 43 post-fight interview above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Pinheiro (10-1) picked up her second UFC win on Saturday by defeating Sam Hughes via unanimous decision. While this was her second official win, some would say this was her first real UFC win because of the drama in her UFC debut — which saw her pick up the W care of an illegal upkick by Randa Markos.

UFC Vegas 43 didn’t exactly go as planned either. The Brazilian had a switch in opponents only ten days before the fight. Hughes replaced Pinheiro’s original opponent, Jessica Penne, although the game plan was pretty much the same.

“[The gameplan] didn’t change much… I knew that she would be tougher standing up. I had to be more careful with the stand-up game- it’s something I have to do in every fight. So, it didn’t really change much,” Pinheiro told Cageside Press during her post-fight interview.

As for who is next, Pinheiro would like to be rebooked with Penne.

“I did a full camp to face Jessica Penne, and she got hurt, so she got replaced with Sam [Hughes]. I respect her a lot. She was a pioneer in the sport; she fought for the title. I would like to have that fight. So, when she is ready, I will be ready too,” Pinheiro said.

The rebooking makes a lot of sense for Pinheiro. A win over Penne could put her into the strawweight rankings, and a name like Penne’s would look very good on her resume.

Pinheiro plans on going back to Brazil for the holidays to see family, and then focus on her next fight.

Watch the rest of Luana Pinheiro’s UFC Vegas 43 post-fight interview above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Vieira (12-2) went the distance with former champ Miesha Tate, picking up a unanimous decision victory in the end. The Brazilian seemed hesitant at times, giving the ex-champ perhaps more respect than she normally would have — but Vieira came away happy with her performance.

“I really felt good going into this fight. My feelings and my emotions were towards the last fight, which I thought I won, and I didn’t. So I came in here with a lot of pent up emotions, pent up aggression,” Vieira told reporters following the bout. “I respect Miesha a lot, but I fought a great fight I believe. I fought a great fight, I’m happy with my performance. Miesha was already a champion before I even could get my hands on MMA. She was a champion, so I look up to her. Fighting a legend like that makes me really believe in my skills, makes me mentally more tough, and ready for the future.”

Despite the big win, Vieira says she’ll trust in her coaches as to when it will be time to return. But, she added, “I’ll answer the call when the call is made.” She’s also aware of the title picture, and Amanda Nunes’ date with Julianna Pena next month.

“This victory puts me right where I want to be. Back at the top. Top five,” observed Vieira. “There will be a championship fight coming up soon, so I’m right back to where I want to be again. I’m back active, I’m ready to go and I look forward to working my way back toward the belt.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 43 post-fight press scrum with Ketlen Vieira above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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“I felt like I was fighting for my job, you know? This win was very important for me. That’s part of the reason it was very emotional for me,” Garcia told media outlets including Cageside Press following his decision victory over Natan Levy at UFC Vegas 43. “I did camp in Colorado for two months, had to be away from my family, my newborn baby, my daughter, my wife— it was so hard. When I was in there, that last round, I was telling him ‘you’re not going to take it away from me.’ I fought so hard, I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old. It took me 14 years to get to the UFC, so you’re not going to take it away from me.”

Having lost his first two UFC bouts, there was little question Garcia’s job was on the line Saturday — and he fought like it.

Teammate Cub Swanson gave Garcia some sage advice ahead of the bout. “He told me, when people get to this level, people don’t break as easy. Everybody’s tough when you’re in the UFC, so you’ve got to break them little by little,” Garcia recalled. “So that was the plan, just break him little by little, touch him up to the body, take him down, get him tired, just be the bigger man right there.”

The victory saw Rafa Garcia become the first man to beat the previously perfect Levy, but it’s not something he was really cognizant of during the fight.

“I wasn’t even thinking about that to be honest. When I was undefeated, I was always told everybody ‘I’m not thinking about that, I’m only thinking about winning,'” Garcia explained. “That’s the only thing I was thinking about, that’s my mentality to every fight, I go in there trying to win. I’m not thinking about my opponent’s record or my record, I’m just going in there trying to win, trying to get that finish.”

“They don’t pay us overtime to stay longer in there,” he added. “So I want to go in there and get out of there as fast as possible and as clean as possible too.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 43 post-fight press scrum with Rafa Garcia above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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It’s the going the distance part that took “Wolverine” by surprise. “I tried to finish the fight within the distance. That’s a little different than how I planned,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “What surprised me is that I was not able to finish the fight within the distance.”

In terms of a return, “I don’t have a time frame in my mind,” he added, “but I just want to go back to adjust myself, adjust to this weight I’m fighting at and see where we go from that.”

Nuerdanbieke, who improved to 20-7 with the victory, also explained the origins of his “Wolverine” nickname. And no, it’s not based on the Marvel comic book character.

“It’s not really related to that Wolverine particularly,” Nuerdanbieke told Cageside Press. Instead, the featherweight (and former lightweight) really liked the idea of a wolf, seeing himself as being muscled and solid. “Wolverine in Chinese, when you translate it, means steel wolf, you know, very solid.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 43 post-fight press scrum with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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“Second round, third round I felt like I saw more openings, I got a little more used to it, her movement and stuff,” she told media outlets including Cageside Press following her win over Lookboonmee at the UFC Apex.

After winning a decision over three rounds, Godinez — who prefers to go by her nickname Loopy rather than given name Lupita — also observed that her opponent was “pretty strong for a little girl. And hard kicks.”

For Loopy, it was her second win in three fights — held over a record-setting span of 42 days. She’d previously picked up the record for shortest turnaround time between fights in UFC history, competing just seven days apart.

So will she be fighting again soon? “It’s up the UFC honestly. I’m just here working,” said Godinez. To her, the record “feels great,” but she added that “as I’ve been saying, that’s just the cherry on top. I love to fight, I love to be here, so that’s just the sprinkles. It’s pretty cool.”

“Honestly I am not fighting to break any records, it’s just happening. So if I keep breaking them, then I’ll be breaking them. I’m okay with that.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 43 post-fight press scrum with Loopy Godinez above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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