Brought in to face local favorite Sam Patterson, himself debuting in the UFC by way of the Contender Series, Ashmoz landed a massive overhand blow to fell the lanky Brit. A not-so-short time later, ref Marc Goddard waved off the fight as the ground n’ pound rained down.

Goddard probably could have made the call a fair bit sooner.

Ashmoz (7-0), who previously fought as part of the PFL Challenger Series, addressed the stoppage backstage at the O2 Arena in London, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press.

“The guy was out, man. He was moving a little bit, but he [the ref] could have stopped that before [Patterson was] eating these shots,” Ashmoz observed. “Like every shot I landed, I looked at his face. If he could stop that, why not? But he’s the referee, so it’s his decision.”

It’s Ashmoz’s job to fight, of course, and he did just that until stopped. He didn’t notice Patterson trying to fight ref Goddard in a fugue state afterwards, but knew the damage was severe regardless.

“I didn’t see that, I was too excited, just going around. But yeah, I watched him after that. He had a hard time to stand up, so I knew it was serious. He got good shots.”

Ashmoz entered the fight as the villain in hostile territory, but noted that having the fans behind you “doesn’t change anything, because when you’re in the cage, when it closes, the crowd’s not going to help you.” The shot that floored Patterson is nothing new to the lightweight, who is used to fighting taller foes.

“The overhands work very well against tall guys. And most of the fights, all the guys are taller than me, so I’m used to it,” said Ashmoz. “I’m always the smaller one.”

Despite that, there’ll be no move down in weight. “Not featherweight, no no. I like to eat too much, it’s too hard.”

With luck, however, you’ll see Yanal Ashmoz back in action soon. Though he has no names in mind for a potential opponent, he added “I’m healthy, I’m good, so in three months I’m going to come back or something like that.”

Watch the full UFC 286 post-fight media scrum with Yanal Ashmoz above.

The post UFC 286: Yanal Ashmoz Reacts to Late Stoppage Against Sam Patterson appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ashmoz was just the second Israeli fighter to make it to the UFC, and was a virtual unknown, representing the biggest question mark on the card. Patterson meanwhile would obviously have the crowd in his corner come Saturday at the O2 Arena.

Inside of a round, however, Yanal Ashmoz gave all the answers fans were looking for.

It was a slow start to this lightweight scrap, with Ashmoz looking to get inside on Patterson. But when he did, he came storming out of the gate, catching a kick, and landing a thunderous left hook as Patterson was on his way down. Ashmoz jumped right into mount, unleashing fury as Patterson’s head bounced off the canvas.

Even after the finish, Patterson continued trying to fight, struggling with ref Marc Goddard as his coaches tried to explain that the fight was already over.

Following the win, Ashmoz said the slow start was him just waiting to feel out his opponent. The left hand was not something he’d been working on, he added. “To be honest, no, but we know he’s tall and he goes back, so we did a combination, going forward and punching.”

Ashmoz called the moment “like a dream come true man. I just came back two years ago and I’m here, standing. Awesome knockout.”

Official Result: Yanal Ashmoz def. Sam Patterson by knockout, Round 1, 1:15

The post UFC 286: Yanal Ashmoz Floors Sam Patterson in Violent, Thunderous Finish appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yanal “Red Fox” Ashmoz
Standing at five-foot-nine
Fighting at 155 lbs (lightweight)
27-years-old
Fighting out of Kfar Kama, Israel
Training out of Danny Hazan Academy
A pro record of 16-4-1
3 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions

What’s Ashmoz’s ceiling in the UFC:

Ashmoz becomes the second fighter from Israel to be on the UFC level behind Natan Levy. MMA in Israel is still growing and Ashmoz is leading the charge. Although he’s from Israel he’s been fighting in the US. He’s fought for Ring of Combat, PFL, and CFFC previously.

Ashmoz on the feet is basically overhands and kicks. He throws some heavy leg kicks but they aren’t set up throwing single kicks. He lacks using any feints at all just loading up and throwing wild. His explosive burst are fun as he will chuck rights and lefts. Not technical in the slightest but if you don’t have the proper footwork you can be in trouble. Ashmoz is reckless when he comes forward throwing wild and he’s been easy to counter. Where he ducks his head when he comes in he is vulnerable to a knee up the middle. He’s taken a few big shots but has taken everything with no problem. Ashmoz has power in his hands but a good striker should be able to jab him from a distance and counter him on the way in.

Ashmoz has used more of his wrestling lately in his last two fights. The takedowns are one thing but the ground and pound have been where he’s best. Ashmoz has good wrestling in terms of mixing it up but I don’t rate it too highly. Even his grappling isn’t great. He’s active with damage but the Jiu-Jitsu isn’t there.

How he matches up with Patterson:

Patterson is more appealing with a better overall game. He’s better in every area than Ashmoz. The only worry is Patterson holds his chin high and it’s a matter of time before he gets knocked out.

With Patterson’s use of length and distance control I look for him to pick away and frustrate Ashmoz on the outside. Patterson could just take the fight down and use his superior grappling. I like Patterson in this fight but it’s going to be tense the whole fight.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Yanal Ashmoz appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Tuesday, promotion officials announced the full line-up for their PFL Challenger Series 5 card on March 18. The event has been built around the lightweight division, which recently saw the addition of former UFC star Jeremy Stephens.

Airing on Fubo TV, PFL Challenger Series 5 will consist of the following match-ups:

• Bruno Miranda vs. Carson Frei
• Damir Ferhatbegovic vs. BJ Bland
• Michael Dufort vs. Arut Pogosian
• Yanal Ashmoz vs. Dennis Hughes

Miranda (13-3) will ride a four-fight win streak into the PFL cage when he faces Frei (9-4). The Brazilian was a regular in South Korea’s ROAD FC, but has not competed since 2019. Frei most recently competed as a featherweight, under the Fierce FC banner last year. An April win over Westin Wilson marked his first fight since 2019.

Bosnian Damir Ferhatbegovic (5-2-1) is the Valor FC lightweight champion, who has previously fought for Bellator MMA as well. Ferhatbegovic shared the cage early in his career with UFC alum Luis Pena, a.k.a. “Violent Bob Ross,” and has not lost a fight in his last four appearances. Opponent BJ Bland (16-10), meanwhile, has a fair bit more experience, despite his uneven record. He trains alongside Israel Adesanya at City Kickboxing.

Michael Dufort (8-4) may be best known as a training partner of UFC alum Olivier Aubin-Mercier. The Canadian will look to make a name for himself against Armenian Arut Pogosian (9-3). And Israeli Yanal Ashmoz (6-0) will put his perfect record on the line against Dennis Hughes (7-3), who has won three straight.

PFL Challenger Series 5 takes place on March 18, 2022 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The card airs live on Fubo Sports Network.

The post Lightweight Match-Ups Announced for PFL Challenger Series 5 on March 18 appeared first on Cageside Press.