Barlow (8-0) was originally set to take on Uros Medic, but his opponent fell out due to injury, leaving the door open for Veretennikov. With a new opponent in front of him the game plan had to change for Barlow.

“To be honest it (does). It’d be different if were just like man we just fight. You got to respect every guy you get in the cage with,” Barlow told reporters on Wednesday.

“You got the guys just that go out there and bang. The guys that don’t think too much about it, but you got the guys that’s overly intellectual about the sport. They worry too much so their nerves and everything get them. I’m that type of guy.”

Game plans, adjustments, and skillset is what Barlow has used to get to this point in his career.

“I do go off a lot of calculations bro. We do a lot of game planning so when they switch up the opponent I’m just used to it. I’m just used to the pressure,” he said.

In Veretennikov he gets a new opponent with a different skillset, but another guy who is just as dangerous as Medic would have been.

“I think he a well-rounded guy. He look good, left hook hooking,” he said.

“It’s going to be a good fight. I just need to feel him. The thing about this opponent is yea he’s a switch up, but this guy could be a beast. He’s a hungry dude. He want to make a statement. I gotta kind of step back and respect his goals and what he coming with. This is where the pressure is for me. I humbly accept.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Danny Barlow above. He takes on Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC Vegas 95 on Saturday night.

The post Danny Barlow “Humbly” Accepts Pressure vs Veretennikov appeared first on Cageside Press.

“A lot going on through my mind, but I’m ready,” Le told reporters on Wednesday.

“I couldn’t believe that they called right away. I turned all my medical in, an hour later they called, and I’m like oh wow let’s take it.”

Le (8-0) steps in for the injured Javid Basharat against Gutierrez.

“Whoever, I don’t care, I’m ready. I was so excited,” he said.

As unexpected as the call up was Le was ready to go for this Saturday. His plans were already set the difference now is that he skipped the Contender Series and hopped right into a UFC debut.

“My goal is like get in Contender September and then fight first debut in December. Now I can fight my debut August and have another fight in December,” he said.

The whole idea of the Contender Series is to have one fight to show you belong with the best, and winners usually come away with multiple fight contracts. Le skipped Contender Series, but he still got his contract.

“Yeah they signed me multiple fights,” he said.

“I think like four fights total.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Quang Le above. He takes on Chris Gutierrez at UFC Vegas 95

The post Quang Le Happy To Get Short Notice Call appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I think staying relevant trying to break into that top 15, top 10, you have to stay busy,” Jackson told reporters on Wednesday.

“There’s no time off and I just feel like at this point in my career…I’m one to push it everyday because I don’t know how much longer this is going to happen.”

Jackson (23-6-1) isn’t saying he’s almost done with fighting. If anything he’s extended his career in a way.

“I just feel so healthy, I feel so good, so I’m going to push it as hard as I can for as long as I can. It makes me happy to get the opportunity,” Jackson said.

“I have plenty more now than I have in ages man. Just getting past all these hurdles this past year opening my own business, getting my gym running, it’s given me so much more confidence.”

Even with Mariscal in front of him this Saturday Jackson made sure to let everybody know he’d be willing to step in on short-notice for another fight. Specifically for Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes bout rebooked for UFC 306.

“He (Ortega) doesn’t want that fight. I’ll take that fight all day. I don’t care who it is. I’m game to fight and I think that Sean (Shelby) knows that. I think the UFC knows that,” he said.

“All the fans that kind of caught on to that. I was ready to fight Chepe on July 20th, and now I’m even more ready to fight him August 10th. I’ll be here ready to go.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Damon Jackson above. He takes on Chepe Mariscal at UFC Vegas 95 on Saturday night.

The post Damon Jackson Wants To Step In For Ortega vs. Lopes appeared first on Cageside Press.

“What’s crazy is I didn’t know until like four hours after they had the bout going,” Mariscal told reporters on Wednesday.

“I was busy doing things getting ready for that fight. Then we went to a fight card and when I got to the fight card they kind of like giving me a side eye. I sat down and then my coaches and another friend came by and they were like ‘hey man did you hear?'”

Mariscal (16-6) did not know that his original opponent for UFC Vegas 95, Dan Ige, had stepped up on just hours notice to face Diego Lopes at UFC 303 in the co-main event. Brian Ortega had fallen ill and as luck would have it Ige had all his medicals and paperwork done for his fight with Mariscal. That made it easy to put him in against Lopes.

Mariscal had no idea.

“They were like ‘Dan Ige is fighting Diego Lopes.’ I was like oh I got replaced? They replaced me? They’re like no he’s fighting tonight. In four hours,” he said.

“I was a little confused at first like can they even do that? Hats off to Dan Ige to take that fight on four hours notice. Then I was like who’s next for me and then Damon Jackson popped up.”

His team was already looking for a replacement and Jackson’s name popped up.

“It was like okay next opponent and we’re looking already the top 10. We’re just trying to move forward from that,” he said.

“It was cool to just have Damon Jackson step in at the right time.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Chepe Marsical above. He takes on Damon Jackson at UFC Vegas 95 on Saturday night.

The post Chepe Mariscal On Confusion After Ige Stepped In At UFC 303 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I haven’t followed his career too closely. I haven’t seen how he developed or not,” Spivac told reporters on Wednesday.

“What I did was I worked on myself. I got stronger, I got more mature, I got more confident. We’ll see what happens.”

Spivac (16-4) will have the first rematch of his career in the main event of UFC Vegas 95. It’s not something he’s thought about before, and he’s not really thinking about it much now.

“This is actually the first rematch of my career so it’s not like I’ve felt this before, but I don’t think about it in any certain way. We’re close to each other in the rankings so it’s just set for us to fight again,” he said.

It’s been 4 years since the two fought, and there has been plenty of improvement from both men since then, but Spivac wasn’t ready to predict how long the fight will go.

“We always get prepared for the long fight, for all the rounds, we do our work. We get prepared,” Spivac said.

“The fight the way it happens, it happens, if it has to go the distance then we’re ready. If there’s an opportunity for a finish then we’ll go for it.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Serghei Spivac above. He takes on Marcin Tybura t UFC Vegas 95 on Saturday night.

The post Serghei Spivac’s Rematch With Tybura First Of Career appeared first on Cageside Press.

“He’s a tough opponent still and tougher than the first one. It will be tough to finish him in the first,” Tybura told reporters on Wednesday.

“I really got the feeling that when I go to the fight I just want to do it as quick as possible. It’s a tough fight so we’ll see.”

Tybura (25-8) first fought Spivac in 2020 where he took a decision victory. A rematch wasn’t really something anybody was looking for, but Tybura was excited to get a fight regardless of opponent.

“It’s always (excited) when UFC calls and offer you a fight. Even though I’ve been here long and lots of fights it’s still the same. UFC was a big dream for me so whenever they call me for a fight I’m always excited,” he said.

“Sure I rather fight someone who get me closer to the top, but I feel like you can gain something in every fight. I was just excited.”

With a win over Spivac already on his record the question becomes if there’s anything to actually gain from a rematch.

“Something that I’m seeking in this fight is to put on a good performance. That’s it. Win the fight in a good fashion,” said Tybura.

“He’s tough and challenge here makes me more excited.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Marcin Tybura above. He takes on Serghei Spivac at UFC Vegas 95 on Saturday night.

The post Marcin Tybura Wants To Finish Spivac As Quick As Possible appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC heavyweight, Marcin Tybura. Tyubura discusses his upcoming headliner spot at UFC Vegas 95 and how it came to be. Plus, he gives his thoughts on a rematch with Sergey Spivak and talks about how he thinks they both progressed since their last fight.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 95 (15:27)

Fresh off an exciting UFC Abu Dhabi, the UFC heads back to the Apex for another of their fight night cards. Headlined by the aforementioned heavyweight showdown between Marcin Tybura and Sergey Spivak, UFC Vegas 95 has plenty of interesting stylistic matchups. We take a look at a few of those and let you know our picks. Plus, we find you the best value underdogs and parlays on the card. Don’t miss it! For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Kate Bacik Interview (21:15)

Next up is our interview with Invicta FC flyweight, Kate Bacik. Bacik discusses her early professional career and why a loss early on may have actually got her to where she is. She also shares how she has quite a bit more experience than her record would seem to indicate. Plus, she breaks down her Invicta FC 56 bout with Paula Cristina that takes place this Friday on CBS Sports Network.

Wes Schultz Interview (30:32)

Closing out this UFC Vegas 95 edition of TTP is our interview with Contender Series middleweight, Wes Schultz. Schultz will headline week one of the ESPN+ show this upcoming Tuesday. He talked about getting the call so far in advance from the fight itself. He also shares the history of how he became known as “Party Time”. Finally, he breaks down the fight itself and his opponent. He’ll fight fellow middleweight prospect, Mansur Abdul-Malik.

The post TTP Ep. 441 with Marcin Tybura, Kate Bacik, Wes Schultz, and UFC Vegas 95 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bantamweight Javid Basharat has withdrawn due to injury and replaced with Quang Le. Le will face Chris Gutierrez on the main card.

Le (8-0) makes his UFC debut against Gutierrez having originally been scheduled for a contender series bout in September. Le has spent most of his professional career in LFA.

Welterweight Uros Medic has also been pulled due to injury and replaced by Nikolay Veretennikov and will face Danny Barlow.

Veretennikov (12-4) makes his UFC debut against Barlow having appeared on the Contender Series back in 2021. Since then he’s rattled off three consecutive finishes in United Fight League.

Jonny Parsons also withdrew and his fight with Yusaku Kinoshita has been canceled.

Also canceled is the bout between Allan Nascimento and Jafel Filho. Nascimento has withdrawn due to illness.

UFC Vegas 95 takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The card is as follows:

• Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac
• Chris Gutierrez vs. Quang Le
• Chepe Mariscal vs. Damon Jackson
• Danny Barlow vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
• Yana Santos vs. Chelsea Chandler
• Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Toshiomi Kazama
• Karol Rosa vs. Pannie Kianzad
• Karl Williams vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Jarno Errens vs. Youssef Zalal
• Stephanie Luciano vs. Talita Alencar

The post UFC Vegas 95 Hit With Last Minute Cancelations appeared first on Cageside Press.

News of the booking was first announced by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff (@bigmarcel24) on his various social media platforms, on Friday. Santos also confirmed the match-up.

Yana Santos (14-8), the #12 ranked fighter in the UFC women’s bantamweight division, is desperately in need of a win. Santos is on a three-fight losing skid and has not won since defeating Ketlen Vieira in February 2022. Her most recent fight was a split decision loss at the hands of Karol Rosa, last July. Although that was in a rare women’s featherweight fight.

Chelsea Chandler (6-2) is the #14 ranked UFC women’s bantamweight fighter and 4-1 with the promotion. Chandler’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision victory against Josiane Nunes back in March. Unfortunately, Chandler missed weight for the bout. An Invicta FC product, Chelsea’s only loss in the UFC was against Norma Dumont in July of last year.

UFC Vegas 95 still doesn’t have a main event or co-main event announced at this time. With the addition of the Santos vs. Chandler here is the seven-fight card at the writing of this article:

• Jarno Errens vs. Youssef Zalal
• Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac
• Yana Santos vs. Chelsea Chandler
• Karl Williams vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Allan Nascimento vs. Jafel Filho
• Danny Barlow vs. Uros Medic
• Jonny Parsons vs. Yusaku Kinoshita

The post Top 15 Bantamweights Yana Santos and Chelsea Chandler to Fight at UFC Vegas 95 appeared first on Cageside Press.