Tafa (5-3) traded leg kicks with Hunsucker (7-5) until he was able to hurt him with a punch and then finish the fight with a head kick that put Harry out even though his guard was up.

“I let him have his little moments just to tire his arms out and then once I felt he’d tire enough I changed positions, got up, and I saw his heavy breathing. I knew his hands weren’t going to protect his head,” Tafa told the media at his post-fight scrum.

“Yeah man it was just like kicking a Rugby ball.”

Tafa made some unfortunate heavyweight history as he became the first UFC heavyweight ever to miss weight as he came in one-pound over the 265 limit.

“This week I water loaded like I usually do but I lost no weight at all. I knew by the time it hit Thursday I was like, damn man, usually I’m down like 4-5 pounds. I knew it was going to be a hard cut. Man I sauna’d for like 11-12 hours just to get it and by the time I hit that last pound I was just like nah. I can’t. I don’t think I could fight if I continue.”

“But you know like all I wanted was to make history but that wasn’t the way I wanted to,” Tafa said with a laugh.

As for what is next for the heavyweight? Getting a win back he feels he deserved against Carlos Felipe from back when they fought in January at UFC on ABC 1.

“Man I would love to get that fight back. Everyone knows how that should have went. And we should have got fight of the night but Max Holloway just had to put on the combo record of all time on that guy. Of course.”

Watch the rest of Justin Tafa’s UFC Vegas 45 post-fight interview above.

The post UFC Vegas 45: Justin Tafa Explains Weight Miss, Wants Felipe Rematch appeared first on Cageside Press.

For Swanson his family has become what he values the most and his children were in attendance to witness their father get his hand raised in the octagon.

“You know it’s pretty personal but I don’t mind talking about it I just get all choked up. They’re at the exact age that I have all my memories right now. There’s been plenty of times in my life where people will talk to me about things that happened when I was younger and it doesn’t really mean as much to me because they’re just stories that people have that I don’t really relate with because I don’t remember,” Swanson told the media at his post-fight scrum.

“I just wanted them to be able to have the experience and not just hear stories about me.”

Has becoming a father made it harder for Swanson to get into the mindset and mode that fans have been come to expect from him in the cage?

“As I become a father you know I’m taking care of them a lot of the time. My wife stepped up when I get to the end of training camp but most of camp I’m right there with her taking care of them. I’m not being gritty and mean and getting in that killer mode all the time. It’s not as easy. I just knew that today I needed to wake up and be that killer.”

Swanson is pretty open to what comes next but he said he and his wife take it one fight at a time. At this point in his career he’s in position to possibly do some rematches and one stuck out to the long-time featherweight.

“I think people always to see the (Jose) Aldo fight. It didn’t really get started. I always felt like the fans wanted that one back and deserved it back. I mean we’re both still around so you never know.”

Watch the rest of Cub Swanson’s UFC Vegas 45 post-fight interview above.

The post UFC Vegas 45: Cub Swanson Wants Jose Aldo Rematch appeared first on Cageside Press.

Muhammad (20-3) earned a dominant unanimous decision win (30-25, 30-26, 30-26) over UFC staple Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (16-6-1). Whether or not Muhammad felt that he would win in the fashion he did he answered in his post-fight scrum.

“I thought it was going to happen that way. I’ve been saying it for a long time I belong with the top guys. I need to fight the top guys in the world. I’m a top contender in the world and I just proved it tonight with the way I beat him (Thompson). My last fight I just beat the best grappler in the world in Demian Maia and I just beat the best striker in the world in Stephen Thompson,” Muhammad told the media.

“I just showed that I could adapt to anybody’s style.”

Muhammad has in fact been saying that he belongs at the top of the welterweight division and made his case on Saturday night. In his post-fight interview he called out the champion Kamaru Usman and contender Leon Edwards.

“Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ 30-26? Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ in that style? Nobody’s ever beaten him that way. And Wonderboy’s fought for the title twice. Demian Maia’s fought for the title twice. I beat both of those guys in dominant fashion. So you’re telling me Leon Edwards deserves it over me and he almost got knocked out by Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz didn’t lose that fight because Nate Diaz never loses a fight. But the way that I just beat ‘Wonderboy’ nobody’s ever done that to him. Even Gilbert Burns beat him dominantly but it wasn’t like that.”

“I deserve that title shot next because my streak is as long as Leon’s streak. And Leon’s already lost to Usman. Let’s stop with these rematches. Let’s stop with ‘Oh he beat Colby twice. He beat Masvidal twice. And now he’s the GOAT. Naw give him new blood, give him a new look.”

During his post-fight interview Muhammad said that he heard someone in the crowd yelling Arabic slurs and he pointed the fan out and thanked him for the motivation.

“Yeah he was screaming out, it was some drunk hick or something like that, screaming out racist Arabic words and stuff like that. I was just like, ‘Wonderboy are these your boys?’ and he said, ‘Nah, nah they ain’t my boys.’ I was like, ‘Alright cool’ Kept punching him again. It’s like a small APEX so you hear everything. It was just weird. I was like, ‘Alright I can see who you are’ so I’m about to catch him on the strip later today”

Watch the rest of Belal Muhammad’s UFC Vegas 45 post-fight interview above.

The post UFC Vegas 45: Belal Muhammad Plans To Meet With Fan Who Yelled Slur appeared first on Cageside Press.

He got 𝐀𝐋𝐋 of that right hand 💥

[ @TheBeast_UFC | #UFCVegas45 | Dec 18th | LIVE on ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/iFwXOOxtFk

— UFC (@ufc) December 15, 2021

To say the party is over for “The Black Beast” would simply be wrong.  While his last appearance in August was a disappointing one-side loss in his hometown of Houston to Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title, it has done little to affect his drawing power.  He remains one of the most popular fighters on the roster, a perennial contender, and even by heavyweight standards carries the formidable threat of knockout power.

But while he remains the all-time leader in knockouts for the UFC heavyweight division, it does not change the fact that he also has a point to prove on Saturday to remain in the hunt for the title.  With victories over Curtis Blaydes, Aleksei Oleinik, and – uneventful or otherwise – Francis Ngannou, Lewis is never far from making the leap back into a championship match.  However, his latest opponent is the one with the most to gain when surveying current landscape and therein lies the risk.

[ 4/4 | #UFCVegas45 ] pic.twitter.com/2qBaR1Pnjs

— UFC (@ufc) December 15, 2021

If there was ever a time to make the leap into title contention, it would appear to be now for the surging Chris Daukaus.  The former police officer in the city of Philadelphia has slowly made his way up the ranks since making his promotional debut last year.  He is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC, and in September recorded an impressive finish of top ten ranked Shamil Abdurakhimov.  After building up a respectable 8-3 record on the regional scene prior to coming to the UFC, a win on Saturday for Daukaus would set him up for a high stakes battle in 2022.

Taking a look at the heavyweight title picture, this is arguably the best time as there has been in recent years for Daukaus to break into the conversation.  With a highly anticipated battle to open the new year between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and the ever looming shadow Jon Jones arriving to the division, a victory on Saturday will likely put the winner in a title eliminator.

The key for Daukaus will be to use speed and footwork to stay ahead of Lewis throughout the 25 minute contest.  Though not known for having considerable knockout power himself, Daukaus has shown the ability to do damage.  Lewis does his best work when luring opponents into the pocket where he does his most damage throwing punches in the chaos.  A Daukaus victory is expected to see him outlast Lewis and stay out of a brawl.  A Lewis victory will see him keep Daukaus from settling into a rhythm and working off his heels.

This one won't go all 5 rounds 👀

👊 @TheBeast_UFC vs @ChrisDaukausMMA closes out 2021 tomorrow night!

[ #UFCVegas45 | Tomorrow LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/7LjNjqGD8P

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2021

Should Jon Jones indeed fight the winner of Ngannou and Gane, then the Lewis vs Daukaus winner will likely see another high profile opponent such as Stipe Miocic.  Coming up on almost a year out of action, the former champion would likely need one more fight before getting another championship opportunity and either Lewis or Daukaus would make for the perfect opponent.

The post UFC Vegas 45: Daukaus Looks to Upset the Beast as Lewis Returns appeared first on Cageside Press.