In the UFC Orlando main event, fan favorites Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland locked horns in what turned out to be one of the best fights this calendar year. Let’s take a look at what could be next for the losers of the blockbuster event.

Kevin Holland

“Big Mouth” and Thompson came into this fight with a huge amount of respect for eachother, and it actually made for an extremely wholesome lead up to their fight. Since his UFC debut in 2018, he has been the most active fighter in that time frame, with this fight marking his 17th fight in that four year period. Last time out, he was facing the almost impossible task of fighting Khamzat Chimaev on short notice, with this matchup with Thompson being a more favourable one for him.

The fight that proceeded to play out was one of the best this year. A back and fourth standup affair, exactly as both men said it would be. Holland struggled to get anything going outside of round 1 and admitted that “Wonderboy’s” speed took him completely by surprise. As he always does, Thompson used his lengthy strikes almost impeccably with his arsenal of kicks causing Holland a whole lot of problems. Whilst on the stool after round 4, Holland asked his cornermen to take off his right glove as he feared his hand was broken. Props to his team as they did just that, telling Dan Miragliotta that their fighter could not continue.

Although this fight didn’t go the 30-year-olds way, there is still a lot for him to give in the welterweight division. I’d like to see Holland take a much needed long hiatus to recuperate and heal up properly, instead of jumping back into the fire too soon.

Holland was scheduled to take on Daniel Rodriguez before he ended up being matched up with Chimaev on short notice, and that is a fight that could now make sense again, with both fighters coming off a loss.

Kevin Holland’s Next Fight: Daniel Rodriguez 

Bryan Barberena

Coming in off three consecutive impressive victories, “Bam Bam” Barberena was hopeful he could take out yet another legend of the sport. Unfortunately for him though, Rafael dos Anjos continues to roll back the years with perfect performances.

Barberena’s hope was that he could keep the fight standing, and out-box dos Anjos, like he has in his last three outings. The Brazilian’s well roundedness though, was too much for Barberena, and it will now see the Californian fight back down the rankings, instead of possibly finding himself with a number next to his name.

A standup affair between Barberena and Salikhov could be phenomenal for fight fans.

Bryan Barberena’s Next Fight: Muslim Salikhov 

Matt Schnell

In this case, Schnell came up short, a lot like his hair, and now finds himself with three losses in his last four fights. Nicolau has pushed himself ever closer to the title picture after the impressive win, but as for Schnell, the next fight is one that is going to have to be well planned.

Coming in off the amazing come from behind victory against Sumudaerji, spirits were high for Schnell, and he believed he had enough tools to dispatch of the streaking Nicolau. The cut to 125lbs is something fight fans are always wary of when it comes to Schnell, as on the scales, the flyweight looks extremely drained. That was no different this time out, and it took a quick haircut change to cut the last 0.5lbs. Unfortunately for him though, the cut may have already took its toll on him, and Nicolau’s skill was too much for him to handle.

Brit, Muhammad Mokaev, is constantly calling out top 10 fighters, so why not Matt Schnell?

Matt Schnell’s Next Fight: Muhammad Mokaev

Tai Tuivasa

A quick Tuivasa turnaround turned out to be not the most sensible of things to do. Especially when you factor in just how powerful Sergei Pavlovich is. Pavlovich now holds the record for the most knockdowns per 15 minutes with 6.67, over two more than second place. Tuivasa though, has admitted that he doesn’t want to fight in Perth in February, and wants to take off some much needed time.

The top of the heavyweight division is arguably the most exciting it has been in a very long time, and that is due to fighters like “Bam Bam” Tuivasa. British fighter, Tom Aspinall, will be making his much anticipated return from injury, hopefully in the first quarter of the new year. Tuivasa vs Aspinall on the undercard of the British card in March could make a lot of sense for all parties.

Tai Tuivasa Next Fight: Tom Aspinall

Jack Hermansson

Unfortunately for Hermansson, he was once again facing a late change of opponent, and ultimately, that in itself doesn’t help proceedings.

Factor in that the change in opponent was a terrifying Roman Dolidze, coming in with a lot of momentum. On paper, the consensus was that Hermansson held the advantage when the fight ended up on the mat. That assumption though, was wrong. After some beautifully executed sweeps from Dolidze, Hermansson soon found out, that Dolidze is definitely a contender at 185lbs.

Picking Hermansson’s next opponent becomes relatively tough, factoring in that he will still have a number next to his name, and isn’t getting any younger. A fight with Andre Muniz could possibly be on the horizon.

Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus couldn’t get his wrestling game going this past weekend against Anders, and ultimately struggled to deal with Anders’ athleticism.

In round 1, Daukaus looked as though he was just trying to find his rhythm in the fight, and his striking looked fast and accurate. The power of Eryk Anders though is always present, and in round 2, Daukaus was on the receiving end of that power.

Andre Petroski is a fighter who is growing in name value, and it may be time for him to up his level of competition. A fight between these two men could be beneficial for whoever the victor may be.

Niko Price

Niko Price continues to be must see TV. Whenever “The Hybrid” fights, you know it has the potential to be fight of the night. His fight with Phill Rowe was no different.

Going into the third and final round, Price knew that he most likely needed a finish to win the fight, as the scorecards wouldn’t be in his favour. In true Price fashion, he came out swinging, and has Rowe extremely compromised. The 33-year-old put his all into getting the finish, and when it didn’t come, found himself weathering. The power of Rowe took its toll and he managed to get Price out of there in the final round.

A fight with Trevin Giles would be a whole lot of fun.

Niko Price’s Next Fight: Trevin Giles

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Price (15-5, 2NC) has been out for over a year. Last time out he defeated Alex Oliveira in October 2021. He comes into this fight looking for a scrap.

“You better just expect some fights because that’s what I do,” Price told the press on Wednesday.

Rowe has previously said that he’s not looking for a brawl, but a technical bout where he turns it into a bull-versus-matador type of fight.

“It’s cool. Everyone has a game plan until they get punched in the face,” Price said.

The last time Price followed a game plan for an entire fight?

“Great question. Couldn’t tell ya. I go in to fight people. I’m going in there to get dirty just get in your face, and start swinging these hands, knees, feet, everything. You want to grapple? I’m cool with that too. I’m good everything,” Price said.

“I’m having fun man. I’m the hybrid.”

Price’s prediction doesn’t include how or when, but one thing is true.

“I’m going to win. Simple.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Niko Price above. He takes on Phil Rowe at UFC Orlando on Saturday night at Amway Center in Orlando, FL.

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“When a name like that comes across your desk you just have to say…you say yes or you say yes. And you get excited for it. I think for me, on the back end of my career here, potentially my last fight ever. Clay Guida, you know, is an amazing name. Real cool to compete against him,” Holtzman told the press on Wednesday.

“I’ll probably crack a smile when I get in there and see his vintage ugly mug swaying across the octagon. I’m sure I’ll crack a smile and appreciate it for a second, but then ill go after him.”

Holtzman (14-5) just turned 39-years-old and having fought in the UFC since 2015 against some of the best, it seems as though the time to hang up the gloves is near.

“I mean obviously a lot of guys approach their last fight ever knowing, and say hey I want an easy opponent. I want to win. I haven’t done that here obviously. Clay he’s been around for a while and he’s no slouch. He’s good everywhere so I’m not…I’ve competed against the best. I was doing a little reflection this week and looking at all my losses, all 5 of them. The last two losses they just fought in a title eliminator match,” Holtzman said.

“I fought Josh Emmett, he’s up for the title. Fought Drew Dober, lost to him he’s maybe broken some records doing really well. Nik Lentz has been up in the rankings. You can’t say I’m not battle tested.”

At the end of the day Holtzman’s resume will be one of the more impressive ones when it comes to fighting all-time greats, and some that are in their prime on their way to big things.

“I’m up here hanging with the top .001% of guys in the world. I got in the UFC when I was 30-years-old just for fun. I just started fighting people for fun. Then all the sudden I ended up here with world champions, division 1 wrestlers, world champion grapplers and all these guys,” he said.

“I’m hanging in here with these guys. It’s been a hell of a ride. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve been in there with the best.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Scott Holtzman above. Holtzman takes on Clay Guida at UFC Orlando on Saturday night at Amway Center.

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“Yeah I’m not committed to making it a barn burner, certainly not. I have noticed that, that’s kind of what happens with my fights, but I promise you I’m perfectly fine with just going out there and getting the W this Saturday night,” Schnell told the press on Wednesday.

“No promises that it’ll be a boring fight, but I can slow it down. We’ll see.”

For Schnell it’s not like his fights get that the point of brawls on purpose, but it sort of just happens as he said himself.

“I think it just comes from my mentality, and sometimes I try to meet fire with fire. That’s why I surround myself with good coaches and guys that try to make me think about the positions. Think about the things we’re doing and I think that, even though these fights are kind of getting going and being wild, if you break them down and look at them I am being technically sound,” Schnell said.

“It’s just in me. It’s in me. It’s in some guys and it’s always been in me.”

On Saturday his opponent is Nicolau who comes into the fight riding a three-fight win streak.

“I think it’s something we’ll have to parse out and let the fight develop because he’s shown multiple styles in the past. He comes from a good camp. He’s got competent coaches around him and I think they game plan based on who they’re fighting. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes about the fight with me,” he said.

“I’ve see him take it to guys, and I’ve seen him circle around and counter strike quite a bit too. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes. I’m ready for either.”

Schnell isn’t worried about what his opponent will do, but he’s ready for anything.

“If he brings it to me it’ll be a fun one. If I gotta bring it to him it’ll probably still be a fun one.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Matt Schnell above. Schnell takes on Matheus Nicolau at UFC Orlando on Saturday night at Amway Center in Orlando, FL.

The post UFC Orlando: Matt Schnell Can’t Promise It’ll Be A Boring Fight With Nicolau appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dos Anjos (31-14) had returned to 155 pounds, but after a KO loss to Rafael Fiziev in July, “RDA” made his move back to the welterweight division.

“I moved back to Brazil, and I decide to go back to lightweight. It’s not easy for me. Then I had my last loss against Fiziev. I had my last title run in that division, you know? Looking to fight the comfortable weight for me right now,” dos Anjos told the press on Wednesday.

Dos Anjos returned to lightweight following a loss to Michael Chiesa in Jan. 2020 and defeated Paul Felder and Renato Moicano before the Fiziev bout.

“Before the fight you see I fought Moicano. I was scheduled to fight Fiziev in February, and then I fought Moicano and they put that matchup with Fiziev in July again because nobody want to fight Fiziev, and I was the only guy that accepted,” he said.

“Because of these rankings, the top 5 little club, they just want to fight between them. Then I had to take the fight with Fiziev again and I lost the fight. I say ‘Hey man, you can take me out of the rankings.’ I’ll fight at welterweight.”

Would that leave a door open for a return to lightweight should the top 5 open up a bit? Dos Anjos wasn’t so sure.

“Just for, you know, some very specific fights that I have in mind. I’ll do that again, but yeah I don’t have plans to win the title in that division anymore. I’ll be honest with you. But like couple guys that, if it is in a good momentum for me, on my personal life as well. I will take the fight, but as of now I have Bryan Barberena this Saturday,” said dos Anjos.

“I’m staying at welterweight.”

Barberena (18-8) comes into UFC Orlando on a three-fight win streak and looks to add another champion to his resume this Saturday following the win over former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 276.

“I’m happy with that matchup. He’s coming on 3-win streak. He’s a guy that fights forward and he’s the type of fight that I like. Being 3 rounds, I think in my last 8 fights 7 of them was 5 rounds if I’m not wrong, so it was good a little break too fighting 3 rounds,” he said.

“Preparation’s little easier too and yeah I’m happy with that matchup.”

Barberena is known to get into wars with opponents turning him into a fan favorite, but wars are nothing dos Anjos hasn’t seen before.

“I think getting to wars is part of it you know, like once we start fighting and the instincts come and we just like fight. He’s a guy that has a lot of will to win, and I do so,” said dos Anjos.

“It’ll be a great matchup for the fans.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Rafael dos Anjos above. RDA takes on Bryan Barberena in the co-main event of UFC Orlando on Saturday night.

The post Rafael dos Anjos Doesn’t Mind War With Barberena, Not Done At 155 Yet appeared first on Cageside Press.

Most figured Tuivasa (15-4) would end up fighting at UFC Perth Feb. 2023, but instead find him in Florida in December.

“They offered me the fight, and February that means camp would have to be over Christmas and New Years. I wanted to spend Christmas with my son. Yeah it popped up and I thought it was a great opportunity to get paid and enjoy Christmas,” Tuivasa told the press on Wednesday.

Tuivasa did say he will be in attendance at UFC Perth, but as a fan.

“Definitely i’ll be there. Obviously i’d love to fight in front of the Australian fans, but I’ve been pretty active so I’m keen to finish the year off with a bang, get back in the win column, and then have a bit of a rest,” he said.

Tuivasa is coming off a main event bout against Ciryl Gane in France just a couple of months ago. It was a tough fight that saw Tuivasa wobble Gane for a second, but ultimately lose via knockout.

“I think my style of fighting is if I go out there and give it my all, win or lose, I can away with my head held high. I felt like I gave it all I had, and I just wasn’t the better fighter on the night, and Ciryl was,” said Tuivasa.

“That’s just how this sport goes. You win or you lose, you know, and I lost.”

Pavlovich offers an opportunity for Tuivasa to show more of his fight style since he’s not as mobile as Gane offering him a chance to land big shots on his opponent.

“Well yeah that’s the narrative of it I think. I suppose that’s why they offered him to me. Everyone must be scared of him. I accepted the fight and then I didn’t really know who it was, and I looked and I think it’s going to be a great fight for the fans,” Tuivasa said.

“I come to to entertain the fans and put on a show. I think that’s what me and Sergei are going to do on the weekend.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Tai Tuivasa above. He takes on Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Orlando on Dec.3rd.

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“I’m feeling great man. I’m ready to finish the weight cutting. Everything is going great, the camp was great you know, everything was really, really good. Now ready to cut the weight and finish with another victory,” Nicolau told the press on Wednesday.

Nicolau (18-2-1) cuts down to 125 pounds to make the flyweight division, but it’s not an easy one for him.

“Yeah, like, it’s not that easy to cut for 125, but I’ve been doing a good, good job with my doctor and my strength and conditioning coach. We knew about this fight like 3 months before so we could plan it really good, and I will not have that much trouble in the end,” he said.

The reemergence of the flyweight division, one the UFC tried to get rid of but ultimately brought back, has seen the rise of flyweight like Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France, Deiveson Figueiredo and others.

“I expect a great, great fight. Matt Schnell a great opponent. He’s really, really technical. He’s well-rounded fighter. He’s good in striking, he’s good in the grappling, and he came to fight you know,” said Nicolau.

“I like to fight guys like him that came to brawl, always put on pressure, and stuff like that. I’m pretty sure that the fans will be really, really happy with that fight.”

Will it be the fight of the night? Nicolau seems to think so.

“Yeah for sure man. I think that we have everything to get the bonuses.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Matheus Nicolau above. Nicolau takes on Matt Schnell at UFC Orlando on Dec.3^rd at Amway Center in Orlando, FL.

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Daukaus (11-3) is coming off a first round KO loss to Roman Dolidze back in June at UFC Austin.

“Staying in a positive mindset is obviously something that fighters have to do. Something that I’m doing 24/7. I have little notebooks and stuff like that, that I keep tabs on how my day is going, how training is going, everything like that,” Daukaus told the press on Wednesday.

“I said in prior interviews that my last fight kind of ended really, really quickly. That it didn’t really…didn’t really feel like too much heartbreak on the loss in a way. Just because it ended so quickly, and that’s kind of the way it went.”

The fight lasted just over a minute and it was done before Daukaus knew what had happened.

“So I didn’t really have time to dwell on it or anything like that. I had more time to worry about my face and all that stuff. Just worry about the next fight.”

Keeping a notebook is something that Daukaus picked up off a former teammate and has been doing every since.

“Back when I was an early professional one of my training partners Zach Makovsky, who was in the UFC formerly, gave me a couple books that I read on,” he said.

“I think it’s something that like everybody can kind of get better on. A lot of the guys and the fighters that think they have to be like brutes and like ‘ah mindset doesn’t mean anything to me I’m just going to go in there and kill somebody’ and do whatever and what not. You have to be real with yourself.”

Putting it on the line in front of thousands of fans can get to fighters as Daukaus alluded to.

“It’s nerve-racking going out there and fighting in front of fans, and you have to go out there and perform. Some guys can turn it on and some guys it doesn’t turn on. So I think it’s just very tough for fighters to deal with and just admit to themselves that they need it,” said Daukaus.

“I think that’s the biggest problem. Guys don’t admit that they need it, but once you have it, you perform very well.”

Daukaus takes on Eryk Anders who is known to make fights ugly, turn it into a brawl, and force opponents to abandon game plans.

“I’m not at all going to make it a brawl. I don’t want it to be a brawl. The more it’s a brawl the more it plays in his favor,” he said.

“I have to be technical, cool , calm and collected. And go out there and be the best version of myself. Obviously I want the best Eryk to be in there as well to challenge me.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Kyle Daukaus above. Daukaus takes on Eryk Anders at UFC Orlando on Dec.3rd

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The promotion announced the cancelation on Friday following the official weigh-ins in Orlando.

Both Cortez and Ribas made weight successfully, but shortly after they hit the scale Tracy Cortez was pulled off the card.

The UFC has not detailed what went wrong with Cortez, and no word of rescheduling the bout has been released by the promotion.

Cortez (10-1) is riding a 4-fight win streak and is coming off a decision victory over Melissa Gatto at UFC 274 in her hometown of Phoenix, AZ back in May.

Ribas (11-3) was coming off a loss against Katlyn Chookagian in May at the UFC APEX.

With the fight canceled, UFC Orlando still moves ahead with a hearty 14 bouts:

Main Card

• Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland
• Bryan Barberena vs. Rafael dos Anjos
• Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
• Tai Tuivasa vs. Sergei Pavlovich
• Jack Hermansson vs. Roman Dolidze
• Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus

Prelims

• Niko Price vs. Phil Rowe
• Angela Hill vs. Emily Ducote
• Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
• Michael Johnson vs. Marc Diakiese
• Darren Elkins vs. Jonathan Pearce
• Genaro Valdez vs. Natan Levy
• Francis Marshall vs. Marcelo Rojo
• Yazmin Jauregui vs. Istela Nunes

UFC Orlando goes down Saturday Dec. 3rd from Amway Center in Orlando, FL.

The post Tracy Cortez Out Of UFC Orlando Bout With Amanda Ribas Due To Medical Issue appeared first on Cageside Press.

Although he may have a better overall game than ever before, one thing hasn’t changed – Rojo is here to bang.

“I understand [why people want to wrestle me], but I am a showman. I like to give people what they deserve, what they paid for,” Rojo explained.

After having some opponents who tried to take that away from him early on, he now finds himself across from another with a wrestling background. Francis Marshall enters the fight known primarily for his grappling. That doesn’t faze Rojo though, because he feels nobody likes to strike with him anyways.

“I know he’s a young kid and he’s going to be hungry, he’s pretty good,” he said. “For sure he’s going to try to take me down because these fighters are all trying to take me down – because they don’t want to stand and bang.”

But even if Marshall is not out to bang with the Argentine, Rojo is ready to give the people what they came for and pick up that elusive first UFC victory.

“I’m going to win. I’m not sure the way, maybe I’ll submit him. But I’m for sure going to hit him hard,” Rojo stated. “This needs to be, for me, my best performance. I don’t give a f*ck what’s going to happen, this will be my best performance ever.”

His bout with Francis Marshall is part of the ESPN+ prelims of UFC Orlando this weekend.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:10. 

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