Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland continues to roll at middleweight. Since his life-altering motorcycle accident in 2018, Strickland is undefeated and is going to crack the top five in the middleweight rankings. If Strickland went out there and finished Jack Hermansson, there could be an argument that he should get a title shot; unfortunately, it wasn’t a super impressive performance. With that being said, his next fight should be a No. 1 contender fight. He should fight the loser of Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier, which goes down this Saturday at UFC 271.

Strickland’s next fight: Loser of Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier

Nick Maximov

Nick Maximov picked up a huge win on Saturday by handing Punahele Soriano his second consecutive loss. While it wasn’t the most exciting win, a win is a win nonetheless. It is clear that the UFC likes Maximov, because they put him in the co-main event, and it all boils down to his connection with the Diaz brothers. Maximov is still only 24-years old, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the UFC put him up against another top prospect. A match-up against another elite grappler like Gerald Meerschaert makes sense and would be fun to watch.

Maximov’s next fight: Gerald Meerschaert

Shavkat Rakhmonov

Yep, you better be all aboard the Shavkat Rakhmonov train because he is for real. He made easy work of Carlston Harris on Saturday to continue his 100% finish rate and keep his perfect record intact. He, without a doubt, deserves a top 15 opponent next; the question is who? Two names stick out to me — Geoff Neal and Michael Chiesa. I’m leaning more towards Neal as his power and striking could be a great next test for the “Nomad.”

Rakhmonov’s next fight: Geoff Neal

Brendan Allen

Brendan Allen got back into the win column, up a weight division against an always tough Sam Alvey. Allen said he has no plans to stay at 205, so back to middleweight he goes. The 26-year old had an awesome 2021, only for it to be derailed in December when he was knocked out by Chris Curtis, which definitely set him back. However, Allen is undoubtedly still one of the brightest prospects in the middleweight division. A rematch with Eryk Anders later in the year would be a great idea for him. Anders defeated Allen in LFA back in 2017.

Allen’s next fight: Eryk Anders

Bryan Battle

The original Ultimate Fighter finale finally went down, and Bryan Battle came out on top as he defeated Tresean Gore via unanimous decision. Battle is now 2-0 in the UFC. For his next fight, he should fight a tough veteran like Jun Yong Park to see where he stacks up. Park is coming off a knockout loss to Gregory Rodrigues.

Battle’s next fight: Jun Yong Park

Julian Erosa

Julian Erosa’s call out of Steven Peterson paid off as he defeated him via split decision in what was an absolute banger of a fight. Erosa was awarded Fight of the Night and nabbed an extra $50,000 because Peterson missed weight. Erosa has been on a roll since returning to the promotion after being cut and is must-watch television. Erosa is climbing the division and is getting close to a top 15 match-up. He should fight Hakeem Dawodu next. Dawodu also picked up a win Saturday, and matching the pair up would be absolute fireworks.

Erosa’s next fight: Hakeem Dawodu

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It’s a good thing, too. Had the featherweight known as “Mean” Hakeem not picked up the win, he would have considered walking away from MMA entirely.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to share this, but tonight was one of those where I was like, if I lose again, I’m retiring,” Dawodu (13-2-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “It was one of those fights for me, if I lose two in a row— I lost my last fight, I was coming off a serious injury. I had a herniated disc on my C7 [vertebrae]. I’ve just had bad luck, so this was the first time I’ve had a fight where I’ve been injury free. So tonight to me was kind of do-or-die.”

That mindset was not a sudden, spur of the moment urge, or any momentary frustration it seems. Rather, it was with him the entire time he was preparing for Trizano.

“It was the whole camp,” Dawodu admitted. “My last fight, they were telling me to get surgery, they said I needed the same surgery Aljamain Sterling got, the same one Tristan Connelly got, and I was really scared of the surgery.” Dawodu, in search of a second opinion, headed back to his native Canada, and discussed the injury with his physiotherapist. “He said we could naturally rehab the herniated disc just through therapy and doing physio. I did that, I went the whole camp with no injury, and tonight I needed to just make sure I performed and got that W, because if I didn’t perform tonight, I felt like I was done.”

Despite getting the win, and staving off a potential retirement, the 30-year old was not entirely thrilled with the showing he had Saturday.

“I’m not really happy with my performance, but I’m happy I’m back in the win column,” he stated, after going the full 15 minutes with Trizano. “I’m happy I got my confidence back, I’m happy that I got a win, especially it being black history month, that’s a very important month, I do a lot of events and charities usually, well prior to COVID. Tonight was very important for me, I wanted also to make sure I represented the Canadian side as well.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Hakeem Dawodu above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Hakeem Dawodu Would Have Retired Had He Lost at UFC Vegas 47 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“If I told you that I was nervous, I’d be lying. I wasn’t even 1% nervous. You come in to UFC through the Contender Series and there’s such a psychological drop to actually put you through Contender Series all the way to the UFC, it prepares you so much, it’s a natural process. I was not nervous at all, everything that happened led to this,” Almeida said through an interpreter at his post-fight media scrum.

Almeida (15-2) defeated Danilo Marques (11-4) via TKO after putting on a masterful performance that led to many calling him the “Brazilian Khabib”.

“We really wanted to follow a game plan and a strategy but I know one thing that he has somewhat of a weak spot. When he gets hit, he gets rattled. When I saw that he blinked his eye there I actually put out a new strategy during the fight, like impromptu, and I said ‘I’m going for his legs’. When I saw that he blinked it was like I needed to go in there and it worked.”

Following the bout Almeida called out MMA legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

“It would be a childhood dream. I’ve always had him as an example. I understand that for him it wouldn’t mean as much, but it’s a thing for me. I understand he still has contact with the UFC, but I followed this guy through and throughout his life all ever since PRIDE. And then he became a champion in the UFC. He fought everyone. It would be something for me to be able, it would be an honor, and so gratifying to be able to fight him.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Jailton Almeida above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 47: Jailton Almeida Wants Dream Fight With Shogun appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bryan Battle won TUF 29’s middleweight tournament, after original opponent Tresean Gore was forced out with a knee injury. He also won his first non-TUF UFC fight against Gore, settling once and for all who really won the show. Not that it was an easy feat.

“I kind of feel like I just got hit by a car,” Battle (7-1) admitted following the event, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “Immediately after the fight, I was totally fine. I knew my eye was swollen; the eye doesn’t even hurt. My head doesn’t hurt. My body f*cking hurts, from checking and blocking stuff, and throwing strikes myself. But you’ve got to pay the cost to be the boss. I feel fantastic. I’d take double this amount of pain for the W.”

The W is what he got, following three rounds that ended in a unanimous decision. Gore’s power was on display, but he fought in fits and starts compared to Battle’s more measured attack. After the fight, Battle brought his Ultimate Fighter trophy into the cage with him. Despite protests prior to the fight that it was anything but a “real” TUF finale, the win clearly meant something to him.

“At the end of the day, we’re just fighting. We’re getting inside a cage and we’re fighting each other, it’s the same thing from when we were amateurs to now,” explained Battle. “The difference is, the public perception of you. The eyes that are on you, the lights, the production value.”

“With this fight, this was my first UFC fight, but so many people were talking about it being the real TUF finale,” Battle continued. “The real TUF finale, if Tre wins, he’s the real champ. That’s all something, you’re preparing for a fight, you can’t let that stuff get in your head, but it’s still there. You try to ignore it as much as you can, but it’s still there. Tonight, I defended my title as The Ultimate Fighter. If anyone ever asks who was the TUF champ for Season 29 in the 185lb division, it’s motherf*cking Bryan Battle.”

Battle then corrected himself rather quickly. “Sorry mom, I didn’t mean to say that part! I’m sorry mom.”

In terms of the fight itself, Battle had to contend not only with Gore’s power, but a very tight defensive game. But that was a puzzle he was ready to solve.

“In combat sports, the beautiful thing is, there’s always a counter to the counter. No matter what the problem is, there’s always an answer. You just have to have the answer,” said Battle. “Then sometimes you give an answer to a certain problem and then the problem changes, you have to come up with a different answer. Tresean is very sound defensively, but the thing is, you can’t sit there and look at him and be like ‘oh wow, man, he’s really good defensively, I don’t know where I’m going to hit him.’ You’ve got to throw. The only way to penetrate a solid defense is to go after it — so that’s what I did, and I knew the openings would show themselves, and they did.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Bryan Battle above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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“I felt like Peterson was a guy who gets hit, and is willing to hit. That is the reason I called him out in the first place,” Peterson told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “I actually did it in a nice way, and that’s why I think there was respect at the end of the fight. I wasn’t trying to be aggressive or mean to him at all, or make it personal at all. I just wanted to fight. I’d lost a fight, I’d fought [Seung Woo] Choi and lost, so I was looking for somebody to fight, and he was a good contender.”

Erosa admits he started chirping at Peterson, and believes he may have got in his head a little bit. “He seems like a really tough, aggressive guy so I figured he would bite on it, and sure enough he did.”

Peterson missed weight for the fight, something that became a major factor by the time all was said and done. Interestingly enough, Erosa had hints ahead of time that a miss at the scales might be in the cards.

“It’s funny, because he didn’t answer any of my messages or any of my callouts, and he had finally got the fight, he finally accepted the fight, so I was like ‘that’s cool, at least he’s going to fight me,'” Erosa recalled. “And he posted something about eating a foodie kit or eating a catered meal and I was just like ‘don’t miss weight bro’ like six weeks out.”

Peterson replied saying “you sure like to talk sh*t don’t you?” — which had Erosa point out that “you missed weight last time.” That got a thumbs up reply from Peterson, said Erosa, though he later questioned whether Peterson would make weight, making the comment to his wife. “She’s like, ‘there’s no way he doesn’t, he can’t show up and miss weight after that sh*t.'”

He did just that. In the end, however, Peterson missing weight was good for Erosa. With the bout earning Fight of the Night honors, Erosa didn’t just win $50,000 — he got Peterson’s half of the award as well, a full $100,000 for his efforts.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Julian Erosa above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Julian Erosa Had Hint That Steven Peterson Might Miss Weight for UFC Vegas 47 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The feeling, said Allen after picking up a submission win over veteran “Smile’n” Sam, was “very different, but man, it feels kind of good not having all the emotions run through the week, through the camp, the injuries.” Yet while it’s a different feeling, he continued, “I know those things help lead to the greatness: the sacrifice, the hurt, the hunger. So obviously I’ve got to go back to it, but great week. Everyone knows, come out here and get a win, it’s a great week.”

Allen would later tell Cageside Press during his post-fight press scrum that taking a fight on short notice was something that had always intrigued him. Same with 205lbs, where the fight was moved due to the short-notice nature of the match-up. “I always wanted to see how it felt, not having to cut, if the energy was still the same, if my movement was still the same— just all those variables that kind of come into question cutting weight.”

That said, Allen appears to have ruled out a permanent move to light heavyweight for the time being.

While Alvey had his moments during the bout, Allen told reporters that there was nothing in the fight that surprised him.

“Not really. I knew what he was going to throw, I just had to get that timing,” he explained. “I haven’t really been doing anything to be honest, my management didn’t want me to take the fight because of it, but I had some other things going on. We knew what he was going to come with, he’s a true vet, true tough guy, nothing but respect. I’ve been watching him since I was 17, 18 years old.”

Allen also disputed that he was rocked during the fight. “Nah. I truly feel in my heart, if I see it, I’ll take it, no matter how hard of a puncher you are, no matter how good you are, I feel I can take it.” It’s the ones you don’t see that push you, added Allen. “I’ve been there for that too. I’m just happy that I got to go out there against a guy like Sam, a true vet.”

After rocking Alvey at the end of the first round, Allen came out very focused, very measured in the second. That was the result of his corner’s advice, and knowing ahead of time that cardio could be a factor.

“Going into the fight, I knew I just had to mix it up, but I had to be careful not to blow my load and go too balls to the wall, because I honestly didn’t know where my cardio was 100%,” said Allen. “I knew I wasn’t from a fight camp. I’d run a little bit, worked out a little bit, but ultimately they told me to be patient, step back, pick your shots, and just good D, use my footwork to circle, stay in front of him.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Brendan Allen above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 47: Brendan Allen Had to be Careful Not to “Go Too Balls to the Wall” In Short Notice Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

That may be a statement as to where the UFC sees the middleweight prospect in terms of his development. Just as likely, they know he has that Diaz rub — Maximov trains with Nick and Nate Diaz, and has been billed as a protege of the Stockton brothers.

Through three rounds of a grinding affair on Saturday, Maximov at times fought like a Diaz, but for the most part, it was his wrestling that got the job done against Punahele Soriano.

Asked how the massive Soriano felt in the cage, Maximov told media outlets post-fight that “he felt good, but I was expecting a little more. I just train with killers all the time, so it’s like, I just always expect people to be at where Nate and Nick are, Randy [Spence], Lucas [Gamaza], all those guys. They’re all killers.”

As for Soriano’s wrestling defense, which looked good in the early going of the fight, “it was alright,” Maximov opined post-fight. “It was cool. I got a lot of takedowns, so I’ll just let that speak for itself.”

A lot of takesdowns actually turned out to be a middleweight single-fight record — 11, tying Maximov with Marvin Vettori. An impressive feat in just his second fight, but Maximov isn’t getting too caught up in the achievement. “Yeah it’s cool, [but] it’s just another number. We’re going to keep racking ’em up.”

Maximov did take credit for what appeared to be Punahele Soriano’s knee giving out in the third round. “I did that. I was kicking his knee, I was kneeing his knee on the cage,” he noted. “If you go watch, when I kneed his knee, he kept saying something. I kicked his knee, I was kneeing his knee, so I think that was all me.”

If there was anything negative to be said overall, it was perhaps the bout ending in a split decision. “I’m always trying to get the finish and get the kill, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,” observed Maximov.

As for what’s next, the Nick Diaz Academy fighter is hoping to fight again soon. “It’s like a race against time right now. I want to keep going, and be at the top as soon as possible.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press conference with Nick Maximov above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 47: Nick Maximov Wants to Be At the Top “As Soon As Possible” appeared first on Cageside Press.

And that has little to do with the questionable score that went the other way.

“You know what it is man, I let the pressure get the better of me,” Strickland (25-3) told media outlets following the bout, at the UFC Apex. “I knew I was better than him. You guys knew I was better than him. He was a guy that I should have, maybe should not have finished, but he should have been more bloodied and messed up after the fight, but he wasn’t, and that’s because I took my foot off the gas. I just coasted in that fight.”

“It is what it is,” he added. “That’s what you get for being a p*ssy. No bonus for me.”

That pressure came from conversations about title shots, Strickland admitted. But despite the fact that he’s circling the title picture, nothing seems to silence Sean Strickland. “It’s kind of hard, dude. I dropped out of high school. I probably only completed a couple of grades in my life. So what do you f*cking expect, for me to put a piece of duct tape over my mouth and walk through the world? Give me a f*cking break.”

He’s also hoping to slip into a title shot, especially given that Israel Adesanya is set to take part in his second rematch in recent memory. “I don’t want to see another repeat. Let’s have one white trash motherf*cker have a crack at it.”

Strickland made waves recently by claiming he wanted to kill an opponent in the octagon. He doubled down on his sadistic streak, telling Cageside Press on Saturday that when it comes to hurting people, “I f*cking love it, dude. I f*cking love it. I told you, with Jack, as the round goes on, you start seeing black eye, the blood, it’s fucking fun, it gets my d*ck hard, you know? That’s probably the only thing in life that I enjoy. It makes it a lot funner when they can’t fight back though. That’s the problem, Jack could fight back.”

Despite that, at the same time, he respects his opponents. “I’m always cool with every opponent, because every loss I had f*cking haunts me. I go to bed at night thinking about their names, I think about it. So every time I beat a man, I like to show them respect and dignity as a fellow man, as a fellow warrior. You stepped in the octagon, you fought me, there’s no f*cking shame in that. Go to bed, be happy.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press scrum with Sean Strickland above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Sean Strickland Admits Losses Haunt Him, Pressure the Got Better of Him at UFC Vegas 47 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jack Hermansson has had some wars inside the octagon, and has made a name for himself in the middleweight division. With his experience, he could be the one to put a halt to the surging Sean Strickland.

You always know what to expect with the lead up to a Sean Strickland fight — so many sound bites and great quotes, but when you lock the octagon door behind him, he always brings the fight. For Strickland, a win over a tough, gritty competitor like Jack Hermansson could possibly put him in a serious discussion for a shot at UFC gold.

He got the win, though not necessarily the performance he was looking for. Sean Strickland cruised to a five round split decision victory (which never should have been a split, frankly). Working behind his jab, Strickland controlled the fight as Hermansson could not get anything going and knew he had to come out in the fifth with aggression, but it wasn’t enough.

PROS GIVE THEIR TAKE

Check out how the pros reacted to the UFC Vegas 47 main event.

The @SStricklandMMA jab is 💵 #UFCVegas47

— Jasmine Jasudavicius (@JasJasudavicius) February 6, 2022

My man @bisping talking about SS footwork…eff the footwork…we want carnage #UFCVegas47

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) February 6, 2022

😂😂😂 💵 @SStricklandMMA

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) February 6, 2022

Split decision pic.twitter.com/qN8SX7tCyW

— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) February 6, 2022

LMFAOOO!!! 😭😭
“I’m a POS with money!!”
– Sean Strickland#UFCVegas47

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) February 6, 2022

Strickland has made Hermanson look like an amateur, that’s how much he’s strategically picked him a part. He should move in and knock him out tho #UFCVegas47

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) February 6, 2022

Strickland knocking on Izzy’s door! #UFCVegas47 @ufc @SStricklandMMA

— Chris Leben (@ChrisLebenMMA) February 6, 2022

https://twitter.com/GroovyLando/status/1490161491244306439?s=20&t=rhfabZxTfsDiTzsTEWAvWw

Lol I saw https://t.co/Drz6GgWHVc

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) February 6, 2022

The post The Pro Take: Sean Strickland Cruises to Split Decision Win at UFC Vegas 47 appeared first on Cageside Press.

It did not disappoint.

Through three rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday night, the duo tore up the octagon, each hurting the other. Spinning attacks, submission attempts, plenty of blood and brutality. All the things that make for a classic mixed martial arts contest. End result: you guessed it, the fight took home Fight of the Night honors.

There was only one problem for Steven “Ocho” Peterson: he’d missed weight for the fight. In addition to forfeiting part of his purse to Erosa, Peterson was also ineligible to win any post-fight bonus money. Instead, his share of the award also goes to Erosa, leaving him sitting pretty with $100,000 on top of his show and win money.

Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 47 went to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Chidi Njokuani. Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov floored opponent Carlston Harris with a head kick on the main card, while Njokuani ended Marc-Andre Barriault’s night in a mere 16 seconds. That blistering knockout win happened to be the Contender Series winner’s debut.

The post UFC Vegas 47 Bonuses: Julian Erosa Doubles Up Care of Peterson Weight Flub appeared first on Cageside Press.