Instead, the strawweight pair would have to settle for going second, in a fight that found both ladies looking to bounce back from recent losses.

Dudakova opened the fight holding center, with Kline circling outside and the pair trading kicks. Less than 30 seconds in, Dudakova closed the distance, changing levels for a takedown attempt that Kline deftly defended. Kline got back to center, but Dudakova was undeterred and landed the first takedown of the fight on her second attempt. That led to some fun transitions from the Russian after Kline attacked a leg, resulting in Dudakova threatening to take the back before falling off the top.

Off her back, Dudakova briefly attacked with an arm-bar, but didn’t have it. Instead, Dudakova worked at taking the back; somewhere in the sequence, Victoria’s nose had been bloodied. And instead of her taking the back, it was Kline managing to turn the tables and get on top. She’d finish out the round there, doing a bit of damage and despite a slow start, finishing in a dominant position.

Victoria Dudakova opened round two with a takedown attempt. Kline, however, got her foot in the way, landed a trip, and the pair wound up in a scramble with Fatima Kline coming out on top. When Dudakova tried to escape, Kline stayed on her. She moved to half-guard, then mount, with three minutes and change still on the clock.

Albeit in a dicey spot, Victoria Dudakova was able to escape to her feet. When she went back in on a takedown, however, it was a case of deja vu: Kline landed a trip, they went down in a heap, and a scramble saw Kline come out on top. She would get to side control, dropping some smashing elbows. Despite the ref urging Dudakova to fight, she couldn’t and Fatima Kline had the TKO finish!

Fatima Kline gives us our first UFC finish of 2025 😤 #UFCVegas101 pic.twitter.com/nsFa5MRztz

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 11, 2025

Official Result: Fatima Kline def. Victoria Dudakova by TKO (elbows), Round 2, 4:27

The post UFC Vegas 101: Fatima Kline Elbows Send Victoria Dudakova Packing appeared first on Cageside Press.

Promotion officials announced the cancellation shortly before the fighters were to have made the walk. An undisclosed medical issue with Dudakova appears to be the culprit.

An undefeated Russian talent, Victoria Dudakova was entering just the third fight of her UFC career while sporting a perfect 8-0 record. The 2022 Contender Series winner picked up victories over Istela Nunes and former Invicta FC atomweight champ Jinh Yu Frey through her first two outings with the company.

Brazil’s Melissa Gatto was looking to snap back-to-back losses to Tracy Cortez and Ariane Lipski. It remains unclear as to whether the UFC will look to rebook the pairing.

UFC Atlantic City is headlined by another pair of women’s flyweights, as Manon Fiorot takes on Erin Blanchfield atop Saturday’s card. That fight could produce the next title contender in the weight class, though the winner may be waiting a bit. As it stands, The Ultimate Fighter 32 coaches Alexa Grasso, the current 125lb champ, and Valentina Shevchenko are expected to face off at the end of the season.

In the night’s co-feature, Vicente Luque takes on Joaquin Buckley. The Dudakova vs. Gatto fight had been expected to be the third bout in on Saturday. Instead, Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj was moved forward in the line-up.

UFC Atlantic City continues with its main card airing live on ESPN.

The post Victoria Dudakova vs. Melissa Gatto Scrapped with UFC Atlantic City Underway appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC censor’s Kamaru Usman’s shirt — because it reps Ngannou

The UFC is the leading mixed martial arts promotion on the planet, but frequently acts like an insecure teenager on the dating scene. Case in point, censoring Kamaru Usman’s t-shirt during UFC 294 Fight Week, because it featured Francis Ngannou.

The UFC blurring out @USMAN84kg’s Francis Ngannou shirt is next level petty. That’s wild. #UFC294 #UFCEmbedded pic.twitter.com/HRKtowkxeG

— Yeti-San MMA (@YetiSanMMA) October 18, 2023

Ngannou exited the UFC after fighting out his contract and sitting out a year, vacating the heavyweight title and moving to the PFL. He has yet to make his debut for that organization — because he has a boxing match with Tyson Fury lined up later this month.

Either way, he’s a big part of UFC history, and this move just comes off as petty.

Anthony Pettis back to the UFC?

Speaking of the PFL, former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis was calling the league home of late — but it appears that may have changed. Writing on social media late Saturday, Pettis stated “Just got permission for one more run,” tagging the UFC, Dana White, and matchmaker Sean Shelby. It’s unclear just who is giving him that permission, though since his wife and daughter are pictured, it may be his family.

Pettis is coming off a win in the boxing world over Roy Jones Jr., but has dropped his last two fights in MMA, back-to-back losses to fellow UFC ex-pat Stevie Ray. It would be a bit of a surprise if the company brought him back with that in mind, but stranger things have happened. If nothing else the post signifies that his time with the PFL may have come to an end.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyrXP-Qt9hy/

Staph for everyone! (at UFC 294 that is)

Well this is just gross. As it turns out, Paulo Costa wasn’t the only one dealing with a staph infection ahead of UFC 294. He’s just the only one who did the right thing and pulled out of his fight (given staph is highly contagious).

Victoria Dudakov, for one, revealed after her fight with Jinh Yu Frey that not only did she enter the bout with Staph, she had lied to doctors about that fact. Worse, the infection burst open during the fight, potentially putting other parties in the cage at risk.

Viktoriia Dudakova explains she has staph in places 'that aren't okay to announce to the whole world,' and the abscess has now popped leaving her backside completely bloodied up right now. pic.twitter.com/N5m0xUPiYC

— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) October 21, 2023

The crazy thing here? Dudakova wasn’t the only fighter competing with staph in Abu Dhabi on Saturday! Mike Breeden also admitted on camera that he had a staph infection and was on anti-biotics to treat it.

UFC President Dana White addressed the situation following the event, although his take seems to be more that the fighters in question shouldn’t have fessed up (h/t Bloody Elbow).

“If you look at how many fights we do… we basically do fights every single Saturday. And here’s one of the things: if you’re gonna lie and hide injuries like that, lie all the way home. Why are you gonna lie and do that and sit up here and say, ‘I had staph infection.’

“It’s a very f*ckng weird thing to do, to be honest with you. Very weird.”

In years past, UFC light heavyweight (and later heavyweight) Ilir Latifi made a similar admission in the cage — resulting in a suspension by the athletic commission. That came in Nevada, however, while the UFC essentially self-regulates in Abu Dhabi.

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Pettis Wants Another UFC Run, Plus Ngannou’s Shirt Censored appeared first on Cageside Press.

The pair’s preliminary card strawweight bout saw Frey entering off three-straight losses, faced with an undefeated prospect out of Russia sporting a 7-0 record to start the night.

The first clinch of the fight came inside of a minute, with Dudakova closing the distance — and Frey expertly fighting off the takedown attempt that followed. Back at range, Frey landed to the body, with Dudakova keeping her guard high. Moments later, Dudakova changed levels and charged in for another takedown attempt. Again, veteran Frey foiled the attempt, eventually pushing her opponent off and going back to work with her boxing.

While Frey appeared to have the edge in the stand-up, a wrench landed in the works when the pair clashed heads, both ducking forward at the same time. Frey appeared to take the worst of the unintentional foul, and took a bit of recovery time to clear the cobwebs.

The remainder of the round played out on the feet, with Dudakova beginning to out-land Frey. Just ahead of the bell, Dudakova struck pay dirt, knocking down Frey ahead of the horn!

Frey appeared to have recovered by the second round, with her corner urging her to initiate the clinch moving forward, believing she was strong there. Heeding that advice, Frey managed to land a takedown early, with Dudakova using butterfly hooks to keep her opponent from passing. Frey eventually did make it to half-guard, and later side control, which gave her the space required to drop a few elbows.

Dudakova would later regain full guard, and threaten with upkicks at one point. She’d eventually scramble back up, but took a few shots from Frey in the process.

The third round saw some back-and-forth standup, with Frey holding her own. Dudakova had the edge in the striking exchanges however, with her jab key. She went to the body, mixing things up, which eventually led to Frey clinching up and fighting for a takedown that would not come. She earned some control time, but whether it would be enough to win a round she badly needed was a question — with the scorecards answering it in the negative, all three judges having scored the fight 29-28 for Victoria Dudakova.

Official Result: Victoria Dudakova def. Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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