Featherweights locked horns in the main event of the evening, as number four ranked Calvin Kattar took on number seven ranked Josh Emmett. The stakes were high in this bout, as current Featherweight King Alexander Volkanovski made it clear he wanted to see some new blood earn a title shot. Team Alpha Male’s Emmett got the nod in what was an extremely closely contested chess match, extending his win streak to five.

The day didn’t get off to the best of starts when Joe Lauzon pulled out of his scheduled bout with Donald Cerrone due to Lauzon’s knee locking. Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland’s bout with Tim Means was bumped to the co-main event spot, with Holland picking up the submission finish in what was his 16th fight in four years under the UFC banner.

Let’s take a look at some potential match-ups for the standout winners on the night.

Josh Emmett

Despite the scorecards causing some much expected controversy, Emmett got the nod regardless, and come Tuesday, the 37-year-old will see himself enter the top five in the Featherweight division. Aforementioned, despite the current champ’s bout with Holloway being just two weeks out, Volkanovski expressed his desire for some new blood to earn their right to fight him for the strap.

My division is “getting their shit together”…this is what I like to see! Looking forward to this one, let’s see who wants it more. #UFCAustin

— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) June 19, 2022

There is however one man from the UK who currently holds the second highest active featherweight win streak, behind the champion himself, who may think he deserves a title shot over the victorious Emmett. The winning performance on Saturday may not be enough in the eyes of the matchmakers to justify a match-up with the champion. There’s one way to settle that, UK vs US, winner fights whoever the champion may be come July 4th.

Emmett’s Next Fight: Arnold Allen  

Kevin Holland

The ever improving “Trailblazer” picked up another win since returning to the 170lb division, this time, D’Arce choking Tim Means. The problem Holland faced while fighting at Middleweight, was that he was consistently the smaller of the two, no matter who he faced. Since back-to-back losses to wrestling-heavy contenders, Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori, he has made the correct adjustments and improvements to that side of his game, and he even showcased that briefly on Saturday night. Several times Means had Holland with his back to the cage, but due to Holland now being comfortable at his weight class, he was able to shrug off and stuff multiple takedown attempts. Holland used his mic time to make a callout of Sean Brady, who himself is struggling to find a dance partner.

Holland’s Next Fight: Sean Brady

Joaquin Buckley

Once again, Joaquin Buckley exhibited extremely powerful striking in his fight with Duraev. So much so, that due to an injury to Duraev’s left eye, the doctor deemed him unable to continue into round 3. Not only did he show almost flawless boxing, he bounced his shin off Duraev’s head multiple times in the fight, wobbling and dropping the Russian. Buckley has options for his next bout, winning in his last two, and there is another winner from Saturday night that we’d like to see him fight, that being Gregory Rodrigues.

Buckley’s Next Fight: Gregory Rodrigues

Damir Ismagulov

The UFC Austin main event wasn’t the only bout that resulted in a scoring controversy, as Ismagulov vs. Kutateladze was also shaded by questionable judging. Round one went in favour of the Georgian, Kutateladze, as he was successful with several body kicks and viscous elbows. Ismagulov came out in round two popping his jab, bloodying the face of Guram. The third and final round was the one that split the opinion of the community. Both fighters had their moments, but near the end of the round, Kutateladze landed what seemed to be a legal knee, subsequently securing top position on the ground. Herb Dean however deemed the knee illegal and took the position away from Kutateladze, resulting in him losing round three on two of the judges’ scorecards.

There are two names that come to mind when planning Damir’s next move. Diego Ferreira and Gregor Gillespie. The latter had been removed from the Lightweight rankings due to inactivity; as he later explained, he was waiting for the right fight to push him towards the title. As much as a win over Ismagulov wouldn’t be as rewarding as a win over a top 10 opponent, Gillespie’s inactivity has already caused him enough issues. Ferreira is without a win in his last three, currently occupying rank 15 with a win over Ismagulov sure to propel his momentum.

Ismagulov’s Next Fight: Gillespie or Ferreira 

Adrian Yanez

The 28-year-old once again looked phenomenal at UFC Austin. Yanez made it five straight wins since his victory on the Contender Series, picking up his fifth fight night bonus, being only the third fighter to do so in his first five fights. The beef between the two continued throughout fight week, with Kelley calling Yanez ‘a wish version’ of Jorge Masvidal. Yanez didn’t take long to make him regret his words, getting the flawless finish in the first round. For the first minute of the fight, Yanez took time to find his range and get into the flow of the fight, after catching a few of Kelley’s body kick attempts and returning a powerful left hook, he wobbled the 35-year-old with a flurry of strikes, subsequently flipping him off.

Yup. https://t.co/EfD11zlczw

— Adrian Yañez (@yanezmma) June 19, 2022

As much as the thought of O’Malley vs Yanez is exhilarating, you can only imagine that if ‘Suga’ Sean gets past Munhoz, it’ll only be up the rankings he is setting his sights on. Despite that, Yanez’s body of work so far is enough to deserve a ranked opponent. Raphael Assuncao currently occupies a ranking and would be far and away Yanez’s toughest test to date, despite his recent decline. If Yanez was able to get through the test of Assuncao, there would be no denying a bout with ‘Suga’.

Yanez’s Next Fight: Raphael Assuncao

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

Of course, it wasn’t a good night for everyone. The losing half of the card will have to regroup, so let’s take a look at where those on the main card go from here.

Calvin Kattar

You win some, you lose some, and the judges cost you some. There has been plenty of debate about UFC Austin’s main event. It wasn’t quite a robbery, just a very close fight, and someone had to lose. Turns out, it’s New England Mafia member Kattar.

On paper, this is a loss, but it probably won’t set him back very far. Kattar deserves another main event, and another shot at re-establishing his name in the featherweight division. There’s also one name, ranked immediately below him at the moment, that makes a lot of sense: The Korean Zombie.

Zombie lost a shot at gold back in April, but it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to retire just yet. TKZ vs. Kattar wouldn’t just be fireworks, it would be the Fourth of July.

Kattar’s next fight: The Korean Zombie

Tim Means

“The Dirty Bird” was grounded by Kevin Holland at UFC Austin, with Holland locking up the win with a D’arce choke. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for veteran Means, who at 38 probably just has a handful of fights left. Means isn’t anywhere near the rankings, but can draw eyeballs against other mid-card guys (or, with someone like Holland, works as a co-main event in a pinch). Next up, Mickey Gall has been floundering of late. Let’s see how he does against a wily veteran in Means.

Means’ next fight: Mickey Gall

Albert Duraev

Contender Series vet Albert Duraev was lit up by a fired up Joaquin Buckley at UFC Austin. This setback should slow his roll a little. Duraev had a bit of hype behind him thanks to his willingness to fight and take short turnarounds, but he’s now 1-1 inside the octagon.

A.J. Dobson is 0-1 and coming off a loss in his promotional debut back in February. He doesn’t have a fight booked. If Duraev wants to keep his pace up, that match-up could work.

Duraev’s next fight: A.J. Dobson

Guram Kutateladze

Two fights, and two close split decisions, have greeted Guram Kutateladze in the UFC. One, against Mateusz Gamrot, went his way. The other, at UFC Austin against Damir Ismagulov, did not. The biggest problem is the year plus of down time in between Kutateladze’s fights. He was twice booked against Don Madge (now with the PFL), but injuries forced him out.

Hopefully, Kutateladze can get back to work sooner this time. He remains a prospect to watch, and should get a decent opponent. Speaking of — Ottman Azaitar hasn’t fought since prior to that notorious Fight Island incident in January 2021, where he and his team cut off their wrist bands and slipped them to people outside the quarantine zone. The UFC initially cut Azaitar, then opted to give him a second chance.

Azaitar is a perfect 13-0, but as a result of his boneheaded decision, he was pulled from his fight with Matt Frevola. If he’s ready to return, Kutateladze works.

Kutateladze’s next fight: Ottman Azaitar

Julian Marquez

“The Cuban Missile Crisis” Marquez wound up under heavy fire and put away by Gregory “Robocop” Rodriguez at UFC Austin. That snapped a two-fight win streak, with both victories coming in 2021. Marquez saw his profile skyrocket when he called out Miley Cyrus following a February 13, 2021 victory over Maki Pitolo. He hasn’t hit the same heights since, and will need to go back to the drawing board after a fight that saw him used for target practice.

When he returns, Marquez still has a couple of things going for him: he doesn’t get in boring fights, and has finished every fight he’s ever won. That includes his Contender Series fight against Phil Hawes in 2017. Hawes also fought at UFC Austin, lighting up Deron Winn for a TKO finish. A rematch between these two could be quite interesting.

Marquez’s next fight: Phil Hawes

Tony Kelley

Thanks to some off-putting comments about Brazilians while working in the corner of girlfriend KGB Lee a while back, Tony Kelley was public enemy number one at UFC Austin. He doubled down on it, breaking out double middle fingers before the fight, but it was Adrian Yanez flipping him off after finishing Kelley in the opening round.

Kelley is a solid fighter who had a couple of wins in the UFC’s bantamweight division prior to the loss. In this case, the UFC might as well cash in on his notoriety and book him against a Brazilian next.

Contender Series winner Saimon Oliveira lost his promotional debut earlier this year. He was supposed to fight at UFC 275, but withdrew from a bout with Kyung Ho Kang. Match these two up later in the year.

Kelley’s next fight: Saimon Oliveira

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

When Cormier, a former UFC double champ at heavyweight and light heavyweight who now serves as an analyst, entered the octagon to interview Hawes on Saturday, “Megatron” was initially having none of it. Hawes had just defeated Cormier’s teammate Deron Winn, and hollered at DC, shouting “you picked the wrong pony!”

That left ex-champ Cormier baffled, as he pointed out “I don’t pick fights.”

Daniel Cormier vs Hawes #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/PzcvLTWaEo

— Bakanky (@BakankyBro) June 18, 2022

“Be respectful,” Cormier could be overheard saying during the commercial break. “You didn’t beat me.”

At one point, referee Herb Dean moved between the two. But cooler heads prevailed, and Cormier conducted the post-fight interview with Hawes without further incident.

Backstage following the event, Hawes explained it was simply a misunderstanding.

“Yeah, it was just a misunderstanding on my behalf,” Hawes explained during his post-fight media appearance (h/t MMA Fighting). “‘DC’ is such a role model to me, [he’s] a two-weight world champion, just a stellar dude. So it was just a miscommunication. Wrong place, wrong time.

“I apologize, ‘DC.’ Don’t beat me up,” Hawes finished.

With the win over Deron Winn, Hawes (12-3) bounced back from a knockout loss at the hands of Chris Curtis last year. The second-round TKO also earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus — one of nine on the UFC Austin card, after the promotion opted to reward every fight who finished their bout early on Saturday.

The post Phil Hawes Apologizes Following Verbal Spat with Daniel Cormier at UFC Austin appeared first on Cageside Press.

The 37-year old, a 41 fight veteran, fell to just 1-5 in his last six fights, and has lost three straight.

While he didn’t get to retire in the cage, Wineland took to social media following the bout to announce that “this train has reached it’s final destination!”

“I didn’t get an opportunity to leave my gloves in the cage but as Jim Morrison once sang “this is the end” The road I’ve traveled over the past almost 20 years has seen many highs and lows, it’s been a fun ride but this train has reached its final destination!”

Wineland, who won the inaugural WEC bantamweight championship in 2006, went on to thank UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby, saying he was “forever grateful” for the opportunities afforded him. He also thanked “the fans who’ve always stood in my corner.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_buk_rO7V

Wineland, born in and fighting out of Chesterton, Indiana, retires with a record of 24-16-1. During his time in the UFC and WEC, he picked up four post-fight bonuses, and in addition to winning WEC gold, fought for an interim bantamweight title in the UFC against Renan Barao at UFC 165.

The post Eddie Wineland Announces Retirement After Vicious KO Loss at UFC Austin appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s also the third time this year the UFC has opened its pocketbook, and in this case, it was nine winners on an electrifying card in Austin, Texas cashing in. From the outset on Saturday, the Fight Night even was something special, with finish after explosive finish coming in competitive fights.

Among the big winners, Adrian Yanez, who vanquished public enemy number one, Tony Kelley, inside of a round. The pair kicked off the main card, and were immediately followed by Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues, who beat and battered Julian Marquez before finally putting him down with a right hand.

Roman Dolidze, Cody Stamann, Jeremiah Wells, Phil Hawes, Joaquin Buckley, and Kevin Holland also picked up Performance bonuses. But perhaps the biggest standout was Ricardo Ramos, who finished Danny Chavez with a perfectly timed spinning back fist.

There are five spinning back fist finishes in UFC history; Ramos holds two of them.

Fight of the Night, meanwhile, went to a back-and-forth war between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett in the main event. Both men damaged the other, with Emmett walking away with the split decision win in the end.

The post Nine Finishers Get Bonuses at UFC Austin, Kattar vs. Emmett Gets Fight of the Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

Title aspirations aside, however, the match-up was simply an explosive one on paper, and ergo smart matchmaking on the part of the UFC.

Kattar (23-5) was coming off a huge win over Giga Chikadze back in January where he took a decision victory.

Emmett (17-2) got this bout off a four-fight win streak. He last fought at UFC 269 where he earned a decision victory over Dan Ige.

With both men at or near the top of the UFC’s featherweight division the winner was set to stake a claim at being a title contender.

Round one started with both men waiting for the other to fire off a heavy shot in order to counter. It was a stare down for the first couple of minutes but Kattar began to pop the jab out and landing on Emmett. Emmett would take his time, measure Kattar up, and throw heavy combinations. Kattar preferred to stay just out of range and land from the outside. Emmett would rush in and land a couple shots on a combination. Near the end of the round Emmett landed a heavy right then left hands before shooting for the takedown. He bailed on the shot and landed an elbow as the round ended.

Round two had Kattar continue his jab-heavy attack and forcing Emmett to load up a little bit. Emmett was able to figure out the timing and began to land on Kattar himself. Kattar used his length to land the jab from too far out, but as soon as the jab would land Emmett would attack. All the way to the end of the round Emmett began to punish the body of Kattar with Calvin using his guard up high.

Round three and Kattar began to walk forward finally. Kattar continued to go with the jab, Emmett continued to land to the body. Clearly the power shot were coming from Emmett, and Kattar was landing but not causing much damage. To this point nobody had any idea who was up in this fight.

Round four and Kattar’s corner asking him to move forward and land on Emmett, but the round looked just like the third with a couple takedown attempts from Emmett sprinkled in.

Round five brought a bit more urgency from Kattar showed by spinning back fists and elbows he landed. Emmett was happy to land to the body and up high when possible. With neither corner sure what the score card was looking like it seemed that Emmett continued to show his own urgency while Kattar popped the jab out repeatedly. It really was such a close fight and it left people wondering whether the volume of Kattar or the power of Emmett would make a difference with the judges.

Official Result: Josh Emmett def. Calvin Kattar via split decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

The post UFC Austin: Josh Emmett Earns Split Decision Win Over Kattar, Calls For Title Shot appeared first on Cageside Press.

Holland vs. Means had been bumped up to co-main event status, after the loss of Cerrone vs. Lauzon earlier in the day on Saturday.

Holland (22-7) came into Austin off a TKO finish of Alex Oliveira at UFC 272. He continues to be one of the more talked about names in the welterweight division.

Means (32-12-1) entered the octagon on a three-fight win streak last fighting in June 2021 where he defeated Nicolas Dalby via decision.

Round one Holland came out firing mixing his attack between high kicks and leg kicks. Means fired back combinations each time Holland fired shots. Means decided to shoot on Holland multiple times and got two takedowns for his trouble, but that was after Kevin was able to land and hurt Tim. Round ended with Means getting a takedown but Holland getting to his feet.

Round two was more of the same with both men exchanging, but Means seemed to slow a bit following the high-pace of the first round. Holland was able to hurt Means with a clean right hand off catching a body kick forced his Means to shoot for a takedown. Holland locked in a d’arce choke and got the submission victory in Austin.

Official Result: Kevin Holland def. Tim Means via R2 1:28 submission (D’Arce choke)

The post UFC Austin: Kevin Holland Hurts, Submits Means With D’Arce Choke appeared first on Cageside Press.

Unfortunately, there was no DUST Commander Dale Brown in his corner this time. But Buckley rode a two-fight win streak into his showdown with Contender Series 2021 winner Duraev, looking for his second win in two UFC fights.

Round one began with Buckley moving around a lot deciding to stick and move with Duraev. Duraev meanwhile spent the first couple of minutes smiling at Buckley until he was hit with a monster head kick and hurt. With Buckley now forcing Duraev to respect him he invited the attack from Albert. Duraev landed a head kick of his own and the rest of the round was much calmer with Buckley loading up on his shots quite a bit and Duraev working to get Buckley’s timing down.

Round two Buckley went back to his stick and move game plan, Duraev mixing in the takedown attempts, but was unable to get his opponent down. Left hands landed aplenty for Buckley forcing Duraev to continue to shoot. On one shot Buckley measured it perfectly and landed a clean straight left that dropped Duraev. Duraev’s left eye was compromised and incredibly swollen allowing Buckley to attack.

In between rounds the doctor took a look at Duraev and decided that he could not continue. Doctor stoppage win for Buckley.

Official Result: Joaquin Buckley def. Albert Duraev via R3 :10 TKO (doctor stoppage)

The post UFC Austin: Joaquin Buckley Hurts Duraev Multiple Times, Wins Via TKO Doctor Stoppage appeared first on Cageside Press.

Marquez had won two straight, while Rodrigues, a.k.a. “Robocop,” was coming off the first loss of his UFC tenure. What had the excitement factor high on Saturday, however, was Rodrigues boasting four knockouts in his last five wins, while Marquez had a 100% finish rate across his own nine victories as a pro.

Explosive was an understatement by the time the dust had settled at Saturday’s electrifying UFC Austin card.

Early on, Rodrigues found a home for his right hand several times. Straight rights and hooks both seemed to land, and just 90 seconds into the fight, “Robocop” dropped his opponent! With Marquez on his knees, Rodrigues fired punch after punch, then climbed the back and threatened to choke.

Marquez used the cage to take some of the weight off, and Rodrigues came off the back. But he was still walking Marquez down, landing an uppercut and several more attacks. Moments later, he dropped Marquez again! Somehow, Marquez survived, and got back up while eating a storm of elbows! Marquez fired back, and they went at it in a game of Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots until someone finally fell down. In this case, it was Marquez, dropped for the final time with a right hand placed behind the ear.

The card that keeps on giving 🤯🤯🤯🤯 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/9iAuQ8cJqp

— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022

On a night full of thunderous finishes and exciting fights, Rodrigues stood out— and is back in the win column.

Official Result: Gregory Rodrigues def. Julian Marquez by knockout, Round 1, 3:18

The post UFC Austin: Gregory Rodrigues Stops Julian Marquez in Slugfest appeared first on Cageside Press.

And that was before the fight even transpired.

Yanez was returning to action for the first time since becoming a father— while still mourning the loss of his own father, and his coach.

Kelley had become public enemy number one in recent months, meanwhile. While corning girlfriend Andrea “KGB” Lee, his response to a Viviane Araujo eye poke had included the phrase “dirty f*cking Brazilians” — following which the internet labelled Kelley racist.

The comment was more likely a dig at Brazilians fighting dirty, not being dirty, but labeling an entire country as cheaters hadn’t won Kelley any fans. As a result, Brazilian UFC athletes including Gilbert Burns had offered Yanez money to finish Kelley, though he replied that he’d do it for free.

And after all that, Kelley missed weight for the bout.

With all that in mind, Yanez came out firing on Saturday, but soon settled in, with Kelley on the outside. Kelley fired kicks low and high; Yanez landed a left, which led Kelley to tap his chin mockingly. Kelley’s kicks would backfire later in the round, when Yanez caught one, then cracked Kelley in response. Kelley would be hurt again moments later, and Yanez poured it on, firing hooks. Kelley fired back, but would eat a massive right hook next, wobbled but still standing. Kelley’s eye was swelling, and Yanez wobbled him again! Right hand after right hand hit by the ear. This time, Kelley went to a knee, and Yanez followed up with several more strikes, sealing the deal.

FIRST ROUND FINISH IN HIS HOME STATE!!! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/mDEMNTyH0Y

— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022

Yanez made a statement with that win — both to Kelley, and the division at large.

Official Result: Adrian Yanez def. Tony Kelley by TKO, Round 1, 3:49

The post UFC Austin: Adrian Yanez Pieces Up Tony Kelley, Ends Heated Fight Early appeared first on Cageside Press.