Bantamweight it was truly not after Gafurov missed weight by five pounds. And on top of that controversy, at the end of the third round, the former ONE Championship fighter appeared to tap to a late guillotine, then denied it.

Wiklacz (18-3-2) wasn’t buying it. “I felt the tap, but first I just grabbed this gilly, and I was like, maybe it won’t be a submission, but I’ll try,” he told Cageside Press following the bout at the Meta Apex on Saturday. “Then I could hear he was breathing hard.” In his head, Wiklacz told himself “I got him, I got him. I need to continue that.”

Wiklacz felt the tap, and the ref ended the fight, though it was initially due to time running out. “He’s like ‘it was the time, it was the time’ and [I’m] like ‘f*ck no, it wasn’t time, it was a tapout. Just rewatch it! Rewatch it!’ And then I’m waiting for a replay, and I see him tapping out and I was f*cking crazy.”

Wiklacz and Gafurov paid each other their respects after the bout, but Wiklacz was sure to tell him that he’d tapped out. Gafurov suggested they wait and see— the replay in the end showed Wiklacz had the submission win with one second on the clock.

At 2-0 in the UFC now, with victories of Gafurov and former Bellator star Patchy Mix, Wiklacz is hoping to fight in America more, or bring the UFC to Poland. America, however, is where he feels he can grow his fan base.

“I want to win, but I know I have a style like this that they will love me,” he noted.

The 29-year old former KSW champ also revealed that there was no thought of declining the fight despite Gafurov coming in heavy.

“No. Maybe in another period of the career, maybe I will think about it. But in the UFC, I just want to show myself that, I don’t want to just stay here, win fight, lose fight, win fight, lose fight. I just want to get to the top. That’s why I was like, ‘okay.'”

When UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby told him that Gafurov wasn’t going to make weight, he conferred with his team, but it didn’t take long for him to accept.

“It’s even better to win with an opponent who didn’t cut the weight, and he was fresh,” suggested Wiklacz. “At first, I was feeling like he didn’t respect me, but now I like him. I have nothing to do with him, I just want to show that I belong here, and I want to get a ranked opponent.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 post-fight press conference with Jakub Wiklacz above.

The post Jakub Wiklacz Reacts to Muin Gafurov Tap at UFC Vegas 113 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Mario Bautista

He may not ever become a fan favourite, but Mario Bautista keeps proving he’s a world class fighter. While his previous eight-fight win streak started with four consecutive finishes, the back half was all decisions, including the infamous one against Jose Aldo. It was those decisions that left a sour taste in the fan base’s mouth. This methodical domination of Vinicius Oliveira, capped off by a second round stoppage is exactly what the doctor ordered for Bautista.

Everybody is foaming at the mouth at the idea of Sean O’Malley fighting Cory Sandhagen. After all, it is one of the very best non-title fights the UFC could book right now. However, I do believe the promotion will try to book O’Malley in a Petr Yan rematch, leaving Cory Sandhagen as the odd man out in this equation. That leaves the door open for another rematch, the one Bautista called for in his post-fight interview.

Bautista’s next fight: Cory Sandhagen

Kyoji Horiguchi

Poor guy Amir Albazi has had to endure two separate layoffs of over a year, with the bad Brandon Moreno loss sandwiched in between. And what does he get after overcoming those layoffs? A red hot, rejuvenated Kyoji Horiguchi.

The Japanese fighter made sure Albazi had nothing for him, having him beat everywhere. That’s two very convincing wins for Horiguchi since coming back to the UFC. Usually, he might be in line for a title shot, but the title picture at flyweight has been chaotic since Alexandre Pantoja injured his arm against Joshua Van. And with Manel Kape seemingly at the top of the contenders list, that unfortunately leaves Kyoji on the outside looking in. Taking all of this into account, I think a main event in Japan against Tatsuro Taira is the best way to go.

Horiguchi’s next fight: Tatsuro Taira

Rizvan Kuniev

I would bet a substantial amount of money that this fight will not win Fight of the Year, but Rizvan Kuniev got his first UFC victory and that’s all that matters to him. It’s not just any victory, it’s one that will put him inside the top10. The downside of the fight’s utter lack of drama and entertainment value is that the UFC will be in no rush to put Kuniev in a big fight despite the fact that he just defeated a top5 heavyweight. I think the winner of the upcoming Sergei Spivac/Ante Delija bout is the best he can hope for.

Kuniev’s next fight: Spivac/Delija winner

Michal Oleksiejczuk

It wasn’t that long ago that Michal Oleksiejczuk was staring down the barrel of a three-fight skid with, perhaps, his job on the line. He has since won three straight, with this Fight of the Night over Marc-André Barriault as his latest offering. It’s easy to forget how young he was when he first joined the UFC and after going through some ups and downs, maybe the now 30-year-old Oleksiejczuk is starting to put it all together. I think a fight against fellow middleweight riser Cam Rowston would be a good test for both fighters involved.

Oleksiejczuk’s next fight: Cam Rowston

Farid Basharat

After seeing his brother Javid get back in the win column on the prelims, Farid Basharat made sure that the duo would leave the Apex with two wins. Regardless of what you may think of his actual upside, Basharat has now won 6 UFC bouts while keeping his undefeated record intact. Hardcore fans will tell you how good Jean Matsumoto is despite being 1-2 in his last three outings. Beating him is no easy task and you can add him to the list of fighters who have failed to get hand raised against Basharat. He is long overdue for a shot at a ranked opponent and I think the man who lost in our main event makes a perfect sense as his next opponent.

Basharat’s next fight: Vinicius Oliveira

Dustin Jacoby

After getting knocked out by Dominick Reyes in June of 2024, it looked like Dustin Jacoby’s UFC career was nearing its end. But since then, he has since rattled off three straight KO victories, this latest one earning him a shoutout from his former Glory Kickboxing foe Alex Poatan Pereira. There is no doubt that Jacoby has fought his way back into ranked contention.

There is a card in Macau scheduled for late May. I think Zhang Mingyang versus Dustin Jacoby is a good fight to put on that main card.

Jacoby’s next fight: Zhang Mingyang

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 113 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Thankfully, the new and improved Apex comes with more than a new name. There’s seating for fans, and while limited, it’s nice to have an actual cheering section in the building. It certainly made a difference in the broadcast, though it’s worth noting that as with every other UFC card, half the fans didn’t turn up until the back half of the night.

Four finishes peppered UFC Vegas 113, with two coming on the main card portion of the event. That included the main event, which saw bantamweight contender Mario Bautista submit Vinicius Oliveira.

What comes next for the losing half of UFC Vegas 113? With Bryson Hester down (but not out) with the flu, I’m filling in this week. Time to shake off the match-maker rust!

Vinicius Oliveira

The big story coming into UFC Vegas 113 was Vinicius Oliveira’s weight. A week out from the fight, he claimed to be 30 pounds heavy. That’s a lot of weight to lose in just days. Credit to his dedication, Oliveira did make weight for the fight, but he also gassed early. For a fighter in his first main event, claiming he’d fight for the bantamweight title inside of a year, it wasn’t a good look.

Oliveira noted during his media day appearance that he won’t be long for 135lbs and will move up to featherweight at some point. Honestly, he might want to consider that sooner than later. Arriving off the Contender Series in 2023, the now-30-year old took the long road to the UFC, with a 20-3 record when he made his promotional debut. He’s in his prime, and if the cut to 135 is that draining, he needs to move up now and get on a proper run.

It’s hard to justify a ranked opponent for Oliveira after Saturday’s showing, but since he’s coming off a main event, how about #15-ranked David Onama for a featherweight debut? Onama himself is coming off a loss to Steve Garcia. This probably works as a co-main event on another Apex card.

Oliveira’s next fight: David Onama, at featherweight

Amir Albazi

Flyweight Amir Albazi’s toughest opponents thus far have been injury and consistency. Oh, and Kyoji Horiguchi and Brandon Moreno.

Honestly, Albazi can take a mulligan on this one. He was out-worked by a savvy veteran with a speed advantage. Horiguchi, frankly, is a top three flyweight in the world, whatever his UFC ranking might be. He’s held gold in multiple major promotions, and is back in the UFC hunting the last title to have eluded him. Albazi, meanwhile, was yanked from a fight last year, not medically cleared, and had been out over a year when he stepped into the cage on Saturday.

What he needs is a reasonable turnaround, and honestly, a tune-up style fight. He’ll drop a bit back from his #6 ranking this week, but someone hovering around the #10 spot could work. Alex Perez, coming off a win over Charles Johnson in which Perez missed weight, holds that #10 ranking, and fits the bill.

Albazi’s next fight: Alex Perez

Jailton Almeida

With all due respect to the fighters, who no doubt put in hard training camps, there were no winners in Rizvan Kuniev vs. Jailton Almeida. Stepping in on short notice to replace the unranked Ryan Spann, Almeida, who holds the #6 spot at heavyweight, fought with a puzzling lack of urgency. When Kuniev held him against the fence, Almeida chose to more or less stand and wait for the ref to restart the action. Which he did, several times, but it led to a rather tepid fight that had fans at the Meta Apex raining down jeers.

Just a year or so ago Almeida was being looked at as a potential future champion. A former light heavyweight, he has speed and power, but he sometimes seems to forget just how good he is. All the tools needed to smash through an opponent like Kuniev, but he just couldn’t pull the trigger. You could blame the short-notice nature of the bout, but then he did choose to take the fight after all.

Almeida has now lost two straight, but that won’t hurt him much in the heavyweight division, which is so shallow that Gable Steveson, yet to fight in the UFC, is being looked at as the possible savior of the division. England’s Mick Parkin, ranked #12, is coming off the first loss of his career (to Marcin Tybura), and is 4-1 in the UFC. It’s hard to see that one going the distance. Just what the doctor ordered.

Almeida’s next fight: Mick Parkin

Marc-André Barriault

Canada’s “Power Bar” is about as fan-friendly a middleweight as you’ll find. Three straight post-fight bonuses. Two straight Fight of the Nights. Unfortunately, he was on the losing end of both of those. Still, his bank account is happy, and the UFC isn’t about to cut the Quebec Bonus Machine.

A former TKO double champ, Barriault is 1-5 in his last six fights however. He needs a win, stat.

Enter Sedriques “SD” Dumas. “The Reaper” has practically harvested his own soul during his UFC run, with inconsistent results and multiple arrests for shenanigans outside of the octagon. It’s rather impressive that he still has a job; Dumas must have dirt on someone at the UFC. All joking aside, Dumas literally had to pull out of UFC 317 because he couldn’t get a judge to sign off on removing his ankle monitor in time. Dumas has two losses and a  No Contest (accidental foul) in his last three assignments. Barraiult might finally send him packing from the UFC.

Barriault’s next fight: SD Dumas

Jean Matsumoto

Bantamweight Jean Matsumoto fell to 1-2 in his last three with a loss to Farid Basharat at UFC Vegas 113.

Brazil’s Matsumoto started his UFC run with a couple of quick wins, then landed a short-notice fight with Rob Font when Dominick Cruz pulled out and retired. It’s hard to count that loss against him, but the Basharat loss will stall his momentum a little more (in between those setbacks, he earned a split decision win over Miles Johns).

Next up? TUF winner Ricky Turcios needs an opponent after Cameron Smotherman collapsed at the UFC 324 weigh-ins, cancelling their bout. That’s as solid a match-up as any.

Matsumoto’s next fight: Ricky Turcios

Julius Walker

The “Juice Box” Julius Walker fell to 1-2 in the UFC on Saturday, after being stopped by Dustin Jacoby. Gutsy effort, but the light heavyweight is now in a tough spot. He was originally supposed to face Uran Satybaldiev at the event, and if that fight can be rebooked, it makes the most sense.

Walker’s next fight: Uran Satybaldiev

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 113 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Not the best performance,” Horiguchi (36-5, 1NC) reflected following the co-main event fight. “I want to finish him.”

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press, the veteran flyweight noted that there wasn’t anything specific in his approach that he would have changed. “There’s nothing really in particular that I didn’t like about my performance tonight, other than just not being able to finish. It’s just that. That’s not what I wanted tonight.”

Now, the focus is back on gold. After nearly a decade away from the UFC, where he won bantamweight gold in both Bellator and RIZIN, as well as a flyweight title in RIZIN, Horiguchi returned to the UFC to prove he’s the best in the world.

“Of course I want to get the belt soon,” said Horiguchi, who plans to keep training and return to American Top Team in Florida shortly. “I’m just focused on the belt.”

One hiccup might be a broken hand he believes he sustained in the opening round of the fight with Albazi. Asked about a timeframe for his next fight, Horiguchi noted that “I’m not sure, because maybe my hand is a little broken. But when I fix this, doesn’t matter: anywhere, any time, I can fight. Okay?”

As to why he chose now (he made his comeback late last year) to make his return to the promotion, it’s “because my best time is right now,” said Horiguchi. “That’s why I’m challenging to the UFC. That’s why.”

Kyoji Horiguchi has been open about his willingness to face teammate Alexandre Pantoja for flyweight gold, to show who the best in the world truly is. Yet in December, Pantoja fell to injury in a fight with Josh Van, losing his title.

He told Cageside Press on Saturday, asked if fighting Pantoja would have meant more, that “I don’t care. I want a belt, so if the champion is Pantoja, yes, Pantoja. Other guy? Yes, other guy!”

That said, Horiguchi would be happy to make Pantoja his first title defense. “Yeah of course. Because he defended many times. I think he’s a true champion.” Noting the “accidental” nature of Pantoja’s loss, Horiguchi reiterated that. “I think he’s a true champion.”

Horiguchi later credited his team for his success, calling ATT coach Mike Brown an “MMA Otaku” (MMA nerd).

Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 post-fight press conference with Kyoji Horiguchi above.

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“It’s surreal, you know? First main event, five rounder against a tough opponent,” Bautista (17-3) told Cageside Press and other media outlets following the bout, speaking backstage at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. “Just watching his highlight reel all week, you don’t want to come out on that side. For me to come out on top, it just feels amazing.”

Ahead of the fight, one key narrative was the 30 pounds Oliveira carried into Fight Week. In response, Bautista noted that “I think that whole thing about him being 165 pounds or whatever, to me, you’re slow. It makes you slow.”

If Oliveira had any size or power advantage, it didn’t show. And Bautista’s Fight IQ served him well. “I could see everything, I had great eyes in there. All the experience I have. I’ve seen everything,” he stated.

At weigh-ins, Oliveira got right in Bautista’s face, telling him to “Smile. Smile while you can.” In response, Bautista joked that “it seems like you want to kiss me.”

“I think I broke his character, he started laughing,” suggested Bautista, who added that the trash talk picked up again just prior to the bout, during the fighter introductions. “You want to kiss me now?'” Oliveira asked him. “I just blew him a couple of kisses before I beat him up. It’s all part of the show.”

Born in Nevada, Bautista now calls Arizona home, training with The MMA Lab in Scottsdale. Ideally, he’d like to get back in action over the summer, and a UFC card in Phoenix would be ideal.

“That’d be awesome. That’s be even better than [Vegas]. It’d go from Abu Dhabi, Vegas, to Phoenix. That’d be nice.”

Bautista called out Cory Sandhagen after his fight, and believes their rematch would go much differently. In his promotional debut, Bautista found himself submitted by Sandhagen, who has flirted with the bantamweight title and challenged Merab Dvalisvili for the belt last year.

A different fighter called out Mario Bautista after his win on Saturday: Song Yadong, who just lost to ex-champ Sean O’Malley.

“Song Yadong. Nah, I want to fight Sandhagen. Song Yadong can just sit on that loss a little bit,” responded Bautista.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 post-fight press conference with Mario Bautista above.

The post UFC Vegas 113: Mario Bautista Wants Sandhagen, Says Song Yadong “Can Sit On That Loss A Little Bit” appeared first on Cageside Press.

With post-fight bonuses upped to $100,000 U.S. (double their previous 50K value) and a new $25,000 finish bonus for any finishes outside the Fight of the Night/Performance of the Night, there was big money up for grabs. With just four finishes on the UFC Vegas 113 card, however, everyone with a stoppage had a solid chance of hitting it big.

In the end, the promotion awarded main event bantamweight Mario Bautista one of the two 100K Performance of the Night bonuses. Against Vinicius Oliveira, who looked to be the much larger man, Bautista’s energy never faltered, and he eventually earned himself a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

The second Performance bonus went to bantamweight Jakub Wiklacz, who forced a tap from Muin Gafurov in the final second of their fight. Gafurov, who had a good chance at winning on the scorecards, played it off like he hadn’t tapped, but a review by the officials showed he had, at literally the final second.

Nikolay Veretennikov and Dustin Jacoby were the other finishers on the night, and both should be taking home $25,000.

Fight of the Night, meanwhile, went to a hard-hitting middleweight affair between Michal Oleksiejczuk and Marc-Andre Barriault. Poland’s Oleksiejczuk took that one on the scorecards, with MAB taking the second round, and the third being the closest of the fight.

The post Bautisa Gets Performance Bonus, Oleksiejczuk-MAB Earns FOTN at UFC Vegas 113 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m so happy but I’m still a little upset, because I didn’t do what I should,” Sygula (8-2) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. “I should finish this fight before the time. But I’m so happy that I won, it means a lot to me.”

Before the fight, said Sygula, she felt she could knock Cachoeira out, or submit her. “During the fight, I knew that it would be not easy, because I had a little problem to take her down. So I decided to stay in striking, and she’s also tough, so it’s not easy to knock her out. I tried, but not this time.”

She’d later tell Cageside Press that she doesn’t have a name in mind for her next fight. She has faith in the promotion, and will leave that up to the matchmakers.

“You know, I think that UFC has a plan for me, and I believe in UFC. What name I will give? Okay, I’m prepared and I’m going to fight. I don’t choose opponents, it’s not important to me. For me, [what’s] important is to train, to make progress, to develop myself, and in every fight show that I’m just doing a good job.”

Sygula, who started her career in Europe, also spoke of making the jump from European regional MMA to the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. And it seems there’s quite a difference.

“I think that we can’t compare European fights to UFC. It’s a totally different level, totally different. Even [the] organization, everything is different,” stated Sygula.

“I think that being here requires preparing. Not only preparing in training, but also mental preparation. I remember that doing my debut, I thought that ‘oh it’s so easy, just a fight like everyone else. Nothing different.’ But it’s totally different, and I think every fighter who is here has to be prepared,” she continued. “Being here too fast is also not good. You have to be prepared to be in this place, and you have to put everything [one the table], do everything to be here and stay here. Not [just] give one fight and then be cut from the UFC.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 post-fight press conference with Klaudia Sygula above.

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Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press, Cong (9-1) said after the win over Eduarda Moura that she was “reviewing this fight right now” in her mind, and felt she was a bit conservative in the cage. Nor did she believe in herself a hundred percent, added Cong, speaking via translator at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

In the third round, Cong had bloodied Moura, and went after a choke, just missing out on finding a finish. On that front, the Chinese flyweight said that she believed in herself “in every moment in this fight,” and believed what her team had been telling her in coaching, that she could win the grappling exchanges.

Asked about the weight miss, Cong rather surprisingly suggested that she had eased off her cut after learning at the UFC PI that Moura might be heavy.

Noting that she had been accepting fights with opponents who were overweight quite a lot, Cong admitted that she didn’t want to push an “extreme loss.” She later added that she was “not pushing herself to the limit” once Moura being heavy became a possibility.

On an impressive run now, weight miss not withstanding, Wang Cong is hoping to jump on the UFC Macau card in May.

“I want to go back to the octagon as soon as possible. She [Moura] might have hurt my hand a little bit, because her head was really tough, her head was really hard. Hopefully I can be on the Macau card.”

The UFC Macau card takes place at the Galaxy Arena on May 30 in Macau, China.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 post-fight press conference with Wang Cong above.

The post Wang Cong Says She Didn’t “Push Herself to the Limit” for UFC Vegas 113 Weight Cut appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bautista had seen an impressive eight-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, dropping a hard-fought decision against Umar Nurmagomedov. Oliveira was a newer face to the promotion, but his own rise had come quickly.

Bautista held center early, Olvieira working outside. They’d end up clinching less than a minute in, the fight going to the fence, where Oliveira had control initially. Not that it would last. And by the end of the opening frame, it was Bautista in control, Oliveira on his back. Bautista stood over him a bit, before opting to get back on top. Backed off again, kicked the leg, and fired a heavy right hand to the body. For his part, the Brazilian just laid back in guard until the horn.

Oliveira held center early in round two, but Bautista quickly changed levels under a punch and landed a takedown. When Oliveira scrambled up, Bautista threated to take the back; Oliveira was warned for grabbing the fence. Bautista landed a trip, then backpacked Oliveira before dropping back to his feet. Another takedown, maybe just a mat return, and Oliveira was back up. A smothering pace from Bautista, but Oliveira would find a home for his left hand just shy of two minutes in. The Brazilian appeared to be tiring just shy of the midway mark of the second round, in a five round fight no less.

Perhaps related to the massive 30 pounds of weight he cut in the week prior the UFC Vegas 113.

Bautista would end up being all over Oliveira on the ground, getting into a crucifix (with plenty of ground n’ pound), a kimura, and using that to take the back and set up a rear-naked choke. That last one was in tight, and Oliveira was soon tapping! A slick setup to the finish by Mario Bautista!

Official Result: Mario Bautista def. Vinicius Oliveira by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:46

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Flyweight standout Horiguchi had picked up the nickname “The Karate Kid,” in honor of late MMA legend Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

One of Japan’s best hopes for a UFC champion, the former title challenger Horiguchi started the fight tying Albazi up along the fence, firing knees to the leg. He could not get Albazi down, however, and “The Prince” soon escaped out. He’d wind up eating a right hand from Horiguchi, with the later then exchanging heavy overhand shots. The Japanese veteran had the edge in speed, but an Albazi punch had him falling backwards over himself. Horiguchi was right back up however; then it was Albazi taking the fight to the fence.

Round two saw Albazi go right back to the same gameplan, pushing Horiguchi against the cage. Within a minute, however, Kyoji had escaped. And was punching his way in, landing three strikes together, while Albazi landed one in return. Albazi was showing a bit of damage on the right temple. Another punch clipped him, a right hand that hit the top of the forehead. Speed was, as it had been in the first, an issue for Amir Albazi. Horiguchi was just a step ahead. His stance switches and volume were starting to catch Albazi looking. After a decent start to the second, Albazi was lagging behind. He’d clinch up in the final minute, but couldn’t hold the position, nor land a takedown.

Horiguchi came out hot in round three, firing a jumping knee, but that allowed Albazi to tie things up. A takedown didn’t truly land, but Albazi kept a body lock in place. He couldn’t keep Kyoji there, and the Japanese star went back on the offensive. Albazi looked overwhelmed. He would take the fight back to the fence, but he’d been bloodied. Albazi needed a finish, and that wasn’t happening.

After his second win since returning to the UFC following stints in Bellator and RIZIN (and earning titles in both), Horiguchi called for a fight with flyweight champ Joshua Van.

Official Result: Kyoji Horiguchi def. Amir Albazi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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