Where does Rozenstruik go from here? We’ll try to answer that, and play matchmaker for the losing side of the UFC Vegas 56 main card.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Jair Rozenstruik remains something of a conundrum ten fights into his UFC career. At times, he has been hesitant in fights where he should have been aggressive. In others, he’s opted to swing for the fences. At UFC Vegas 56, he went up against something of a rarity — an opponent bigger than himself. Ultimately, he was tagged a few times, and the ref waved the fight off. While Rozenstruik immediately protested the stoppage, those protests don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. On paper, a loss is a loss, and athletic commissions simply will not overturn that sort of result, given the ref was doing his job and protecting the fighter.

The end result is that Rozenstruik is on the first losing streak of his career. He remains a threat thanks to his kickboxing and knockout power, but he’ll need to pull out of this slump.

Coming up, Derrick Lewis is fighting Sergei Pavlovich. Should he lose, Lewis will be on a similar two-fight skid. That’s a fun fight. If Pavlovich comes up short, that works as well. So give Rozenstruik the loser of that match-up.

Rozenstruik’s next fight: Lewis-Pavlovich loser

Dan Ige

Thanks to a split decision win over Edson Barboza back in 2020, Dan Ige began to be looked at as a real player in the featherweight division. In hindsight, that may have been premature. Many had Barboza winning that fight, and while Ige is as game as they come and puts on exciting fights, he’s been losing them more often than not. Since the Barboza fight, Ige is 1-4, with losses to Calvin Kattar, The Korean Zombie, Josh Emmett, and now Movsar Evloev. The only win in that span came against Gavin Tucker, who has struggled to fight consistently.

Ige probably needs a step back at this point, and some time to regroup. There’s no way you cut the Hawaiian despite three straight losses, but give him an opponent in a similar spot. Doo-Ho Choi was once the next big thing at featherweight, but has lost three straight fights. He was supposed to return last year against Danny Chavez, but pulled out due to injury. If he’s ready to go, that fight could be fireworks — and serves as a rehabilitation project of sorts for the winner.

Ige’s next fight: Doo-Ho Choi

Michael Trizano

History has not been kind to some of The Ultimate Fighter’s more recent winners. Jesse Taylor, Nicco Montano, and Brad Katona are no longer with the promotion, while Michael Trizano, who won on the same season as Katona, has struggled to stay active, and relevant.

He suffered another setback at UFC Vegas 56, losing to promotional newcomer Lucas Almeida — a fighter who came up short on the Contender Series. Trizano is now 3-3 in the UFC, including his win at the TUF 27 finale. While he won the show at lightweight, he’s now at 145, but that hasn’t panned out either.

That sort of uninspiring run means Trizano’s next fight will be a must-win, and pairing him up with another Contender Series fighter might be the play. Tucker Lutz is 1-1 in the UFC, and coming off a loss to Pat Sabatini that has aged better than most. He was supposed to fight in March, only for his opponent to drop out. Book this one.

Trizano’s next opponent: Tucker Lutz

Poliana Botelho

A 1-4 record in her last five fights, and three straight losses, may end up with Poliana Botelho being shown the door. But if the UFC opts to give her one more go, then try her against Mariya Agapova, who is coming off a loss back in March.

Botelho’s next fight: Mariya Agapova

Zarrukh Adashev

It’s obvious now that Zarrukh Adashev jumped to the UFC way too early in his MMA career. While he has a kickboxing background, he arrived with a record of 3-1 in MMA. Not even five fights. While his three wins to that point had come under the Bellator banner, he wasn’t exactly fighting top guys over there. Bellator has some real killers, but Adashev didn’t so much as sniff them.

Now, he’s 1-3 through four UFC fights. Assuming he was on a four-fight deal, if they bring him back, it feels like the right play is to book him against an up-and-comer. Jake Hadley just suffered a considerable setback in his promotional debut, against a far more experienced opponent in Allan Nascimento. Adashev might be more his speed at this point.

Adashev’s next fight: Jake Hadley

Askar Mozharov

Ukraine’s Askar Mozharov became the most talked about fighter on the UFC Vegas 56 card, but not for any of the usual reasons. Rather, what can now be called “record-gate” saw his pro MMA record drop from 25-7 to 21-11 to 19-12 in the days leading up to his fight with Alonzo Menifield. The UFC certainly took notice, adjusting his record on the broadcast. The controversy stemmed from online record keepers Sherdog and Tapology discovering Mozharov had multiple profiles under different names, and had over the years attempted to have his record changed. Allegedly, of course. Sherdog’s FF Files has a pretty good breakdown of what they believe transpired, and have labelled Mozharov a fraud.

We’re not here to pass judgment on any fighter, nor should any media outlet really. And we say that as one of the few outlets who actually has a writer who has stepped into the cage. Still, Mozharov’s “preposterous” record, to borrow a term Menifield himself used ahead of the fight, may see him cut from the UFC as a result. He was smashed by elbows and put away early, and fought very much like a fighter with a padded record.

On the flip side, all publicity is good publicity, right? If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying, so on and so forth. We’re talking about a promotion who booked Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson in 2022, so maybe they give Mozharov another shot, in the hopes that people will tune in to see him smashed again.

Caio Borralho won a technical decision in his UFC debut, thanks to illegal strikes he committed that ended the fight early. He’s fighting fellow Contender Series winner Armen Petrosyan next. Give Mozharov the loser, if he sticks around.

Mozharov’s next fight: Borralho-Petrosyan loser

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 56 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I just won in a minute so I’m on cloud 9. I feel really good. At the same time I’m complacent because I can’t let it get above me. In order to be a champion, like I’ve said before, I have to expect those to happen. I said to John ‘I can’t believe exactly what we worked on just worked just now in a minute.’ And he was like ‘I can.’ But that’s the thing I have to start believing it because I want to be a champion,” Osbourne told Cageside Press and reporters at his post-fight scrum.

“I have to obliterate everybody that comes in front of me in order to prove that I am championship material.”

When Osbourne said that what he couldn’t believe that what they worked on in camp actually happened in the fight. The game plan was set and perfect for the occasion.

“That. (The game plan was) Literally that. John and I have been working that move for 8 months damn near. We knew it wasn’t going to be a combo finish it was going to be either a catch him when comes in, pop shots, pop him with the 2 pop him with the counter hook. Pop him with the jab. It was going to be one of the other. I thought it was going to be a flying knee at one point,” Osbourne said.

“That’s the fight game. You don’t what it’s going to be. That’s why I try to keep my mind open on any possibilities of winning.”

Doing your homework and having it actually pay off is one of the sweeter parts of the game. Osbourne certainly felt that.

“Anybody can go in there and bite down on their mouth piece and fight. It’s hard to go in there and trust what you and your coach have been working on and just relax and let it come. That’s a part about being a champion. You have to trust that. That’s the process that not a lot of people do. Soon as they get out they’re like ‘AH’ forget everything I worked on. I’m just going to do what I do,” Osbourne said.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better finish.”

Jeff Molina fought earlier in the night and following his win Osbourne called him out for his next bout.

“I think Jeff Molina is a great stand up fighter and he’s an exciting fighter. I think I’m a decent enough stand up fighter. I think the fans would want to see it and I think it would be a great banger out there for everybody to watch. I couldn’t have asked for a better call out. He fought the exact night I did so we both have the exact same time to prepare,” Osbourne said.

“So let’s run it man. I’m down with that.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 56 post-fight media scrum with Ode Osbourne above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Osbourne (10-4) has had a mixed bag of results since entering the UFC trading off wins and losses. He was 2-2 in the UFC coming off a unanimous decision win over CJ Vergara at UFC 268.

Zarrukh Adashev (4-3) did not get an easy entry into the promotion where he is currently 1-2, but was coming off a decision win over Ryan Benoit in July 2021.

In round one, Osbourne’s length forced Adashev to move in and out with his quickness. He landed many shots, and heavy shots at that. Adashev tried to get close to land, Osbourne leaned back to counter, landed a right hand and ended the fight via TKO.

HE WAS OUT COLD 🥶 #UFCVegas56 pic.twitter.com/s8Rfwa6PLz

— ESPN (@espn) June 4, 2022

With the fight lasting just over a minute, Ode Osbourne wasted no time securing his second straight win inside the octagon, and third in the UFC overall. The 2019 Contender Series winner is now 3-2 in the promotion through five fights.

Official Result: Ode Osbourne def. Farrukh Adashev by TKO, Round 1, 1:01

The post UFC Vegas 56: Ode’ Osbourne Makes Quick Work Of Adashev, Wins Via TKO appeared first on Cageside Press.

Adashev (4-3) cut a two-fight losing streak when he defeated Ryan Benoit via decision in July 2021.

“Oh man that victory was everything for me. Specially opponent was so tough. Ryan Benoit is one of toughest guy in our division. That was my last fight in my contract so if I was going to lose that fight I was going to get cut. I put everything I have into all fights, but that one was crazy. When I broke my hand in the first round I was like ‘No no, I just got to keep going’. That’s it,” Adashev told reporters on Wednesday.

Adashev was out for nearly a year before getting the call to face Osbourne on the main card at the UFC APEX, but not by choice.

“Actually I got scheduled in January 16th with Kleydson Rodrigues. My fight got canceled because of my injury. I got surgery right after my fight with Ryan Benoit. I thought my hand would be ok until January. Because of that I canceled the fight so now I’m here. Can’t wait,” Adashev said.

He now takes on Osbourne (10-4) who is coming off a win at UFC 268.

“Ode is one of the great striker in our division. Great fighter. In the UFC all these guys are great. That’s why they’re in the UFC. Ode is one of the best in our division so I’m going to try my best to take my win Saturday night,” Adashev said.

Toughness aside Adashev knows that anyone he faces in the UFC will be a different puzzle to solve.

“They have different styles with Ryan, but he’s tough too. When I got signed with the UFC I never fought with mits, you know? Everyone was tough. Tyson Nam, Su Mudaerji, Ryan Benoit, now Ode Osbourne. I was born for that, you know? I was born to fight with the best and I’m here and I’m ready to fight,” said Adashev.

Watch the full media day scrum with Zarrukh Adashev above. Adashev faces Ode Osbourne on the main card of UFC Vegas 56 on June 4th at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV.

The post UFC Vegas 56: Zarrukh Adashev Says He Was Born To Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Osbourne (10-4, 1NC) vs. Adashev (4-3) is set to take place at the UFC’s June 4, 2022 Fight Night event. Iridium Sports Agency, who manage Osbourne, confirmed the news Thursday, after Adashev teased a return to action in June.

Zarrukh “The Lion” Adashev joined the UFC in 2020 after just four fights as a pro, thanks to a solid career as a kickboxer. He would lose his first two bouts on the big stage, ending up knocked out by Tyson Nam, then losing a decision to Su Mudaerji.

Adashev bounced back last July, winning a unanimous decision against Ryan Benoit.

Osbourne, representing Kingston, Jamaica, is 2-2 in the UFC since winning his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. In his most recent contest, Osbourne gave fellow Contender Series vet CJ Vergara a rude welcome to the octagon, winning a unanimous decision at UFC 268 last November.

The UFC’s June 4, 2022 Fight Night event does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan officially announced. In addition to Osbourne vs. Adashev, two other fights have been reported for the card thus far. The event currently features:

• Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev
• Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva
• Ode Osbourne vs. Zarrukh Adashev

The post Flyweights Ode Osbourne, Zarrukh Adashev Meet At UFC’s June 4 Fight Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

Like Uzbekistan’s Adashev, Benoit entered the night on a two-fight skid, making a win a downright necessity.

Adashev opened up the affair with heavy low kicks, then went up high. Before long, Benoit was showing some swelling to the leg, and his movement was clearly hampered. The damage from Adashev’s low kicks had Benoit switching stances, which in turn allowed him to get his hands going. As the round wore on, Adashev continued to chop at the leg any time Benoit moved back to the orthodox stance. But in the final minute, a right hand by Benoit flipped the script. That put Adashev on the canvas, but he was able to regain his feet, and finished the round with a guillotine attempt as Benoit pursued a takedown.

After some vicious leg kicks from Adashev, Benoit showcases his power! #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/6DBdpyNCQX

— UFC (@ufc) July 31, 2021

In round two, Benoit slowly marched forward, wary of the leg kicks. He was taking some big swings, but Adashev continued to chop at the lead leg. He then connected with a knee, which may have been a kick originally, connecting to Benoit’s chest. Benoit himself confirmed as much, telling the commentary desk that it was chest, not head, where the knee had landed. As chewed up as his leg was, Benoit still showed some power, landing his right hand on several occasions. For his part, Adashev showed he was more than just a kickboxer, initiating a clinch towards the end of the frame.

To open round three, Ryan Benoit put the pressure on, walking down Adashev. Benoit then drove his opponent into the fence, but with his leg compromised, opponent Adashev was able to escape rather easily. Adashev, up on the scorecards, had to be careful to avoid the power of Benoit in the final minutes of the fight. Benoit did land a left hand, but his movement was simply too compromised to find a finish.

Official Result: Zarrukh Adasev def. Ryan Benoit by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 33 Results: Zarrukh Adashev Compromises Ryan Benoit’s Leg Early, Wins Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

A visibly shaky Benoit (10-7) had a number of staff and team members around him as he headed to the scale. The 31-year old flyweight, scheduled for a bout with Zarrukh Adashev, appeared to stumble as he backed off. He was immediately taken for a follow-up medical examination.

Incredulously, the call was made to allow Benoit another chance to weigh in. Again, with a number of officials surrounding him, he appeared shaky getting on the scale — but did come in at 129lbs. UFC officials later confirmed the bout had been cancelled.

Benoit vs. Adashev was expected to be part of the ESPN event’s preliminary card. The fight saw Benoit looking to bounce back from two consecutive losses, to Alateng Heili and Tim Elliott.

A member of the UFC since 2013, Benoit has fought just eight times over his span with the promotion. He has had weight struggles before: against Ashkan Mokhtarian in 2017, Benoit weighed in at 129lbs. He won the fight via head kick KO, but was ineligible to win any post-fight bonus due to the weight miss.

UFC Vegas 26 (UFC on ESPN 24) takes place this Saturday, May 8 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. The card is headlined by Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez, a short-notice main event that has the strawweight pair competing at flyweight.

The post UFC Vegas 26: Ryan Benoit Struggles to Weigh In, Bout With Adashev Off appeared first on Cageside Press.

Zarrukh Adashev’s UFC debut did not go according to plan last year. The world-champion kickboxer from Uzbekistan missed weight for his fight with Tyson Nam in June — and then was knocked out cold. It was just Adashev’s fifth fight in MMA.

For his sophomore outing, after a couple of dates and opponents had fallen through, Adashev was paired up with Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Island 8 on Wednesday — a fighter on a two-fight win streak, coming in off a knockout of Malcolm Gordon.

Mudaerji fired a leg kick to start the contest and Adashev went with a left straight in response. Mudaerji threw out a side kick, using his range as the taller fighter. Adashev was winging haymakers but coming up short. A head kick came through for Mudaerji. The fighters exchanged jabs as the end of a fairly pedestrian round.

Mudaerji snapped a jab then Adashev connected with a double jab to left hand combo. Adashev initiated a clinch and attempted a takedown, but Mudaerji stayed on his feet. Mudaerji attempted a spinning kick that overshot and Adashev clinched his back, landing a few hooks to the head on the feet before Mudaerji broke free. A right hand wobbled Mudaerji as he leapt in for a kick, but he stayed on his feet. Mudaerji knocked Adashev down with a stepback right hand as the latter charged in and like Mudaerji, Adashev was able to regain his control quickly.

Mudaerji fired a leg kick then a high kick, eating a right straight in return from Adashev. The output from both fighters lessened as they were more deliberate with their strikes in the final round. Neither fighter had their range in the final round, with many shots coming up short after the first exchange of the round. With less than a minute left, Mudaerji landed a combination of straight punches. Adashev landed some punches late in the round, with Mudaerji attempting a spinning kick at the very end.

Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

The post UFC Fight Island 8 Results: Su Mudaerji Wins Tactical Fight Over Zarrukh Adashev appeared first on Cageside Press.

He also missed weight for the bout at weigh-ins on Friday. The bout was expected to take place at bantamweight. Not that Adashev’s cardio had a chance to be tested Saturday night. What transpired, rather, was a very quick fight — the second straight to open the night.

Round one didn’t see much action until the finish happened in fact. Adashev landed an inside leg kick only to have Nam counter with a huge right hook on the jaw. The shot sent Adashev crashing to the mat, stunned. He was probably out cold then, but Nam launched what might have been an even more violent follow-up punch, as ref Herb Dean rushed in the make the save.

DON'T BLINK! 😳@TysonNam wastes no time in Las Vegas!

📺 The action continues on @ESPN. #UFCVegas2 pic.twitter.com/WaSHoC9vTI

— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2020

After going 0-2 to start his UFC run, Tyson Nam now has a highlight reel knockout to add to his resume. Post-fight, the idea of a drop back to flyweight was suggested. Nam, for his part, seems open to anything — including fighting again soon.

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In a flyweight bout, Tyson Nam was originally supposed to fight Ryan Benoit. However Benoit pulled out for undisclosed reasons. The UFC reached out to Tim Elliott but he is still under suspension following his last fight. Now the UFC has secured the services of Zarrukh Adashev who will fight Nam at 135lbs.

Zarrukh “The Lion” Adashev
5’5″
Flyweight
27-years-old
Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
Lions Martial Arts
3-1
2 KO/TKOs

How will Adashev fare in the UFC:

Zarrukh Adashev is basically what you expect to see in a 3-1 fighter — but to that point, he’s got tons of potential. While he is only 3-1 in MMA he has a bunch of combat experience, and is especially known for his time in Glory Kickboxing. In MMA, he’s competed for Bellator. Adashev is an Asian hand-to-hand Combat champion, a WKU kickboxing champion, plus other accomplishments with an overall 16-3 kickboxing record.

With his stand-up background it’s not shocking at all that Adashev has been forced to defend takedowns, and in his first fight, he was taken down and finished by rear-naked choke. He’s gone on to win his next three fights though and has shown much better takedown defense. Adashev is vulnerable to takedowns from the outside when they shoot opposed to in the clinch. He’s a small guy so trying to just bully him down with the body lock is a bad idea. Adashev is very strong and has powerful hips just hip tossing/judo throwing guys with ease. On the feet, Adashev will overwhelm you with constant pressure and throw a lot of tricky kicks while frequently switching stances. His boxing is just as good with his hands always throwing combinations going to the body and head and throwing from all kinds of angles. Just a very smart and technical display is what “The Lion” puts on.

Adashev has decent wrestling and his jiu-jitsu is still growing. He throws up a good armbar from off his back and even on top. At this point, I don’t think his jiu-jitsu is a smart idea right now just because he’s so green in that area and needs a lot of work. The only fight that he went the distance in, he was pretty tired in the third round and I think lost that round. This isn’t a bad signing but there are better options just because he only has four pro fights.

How does Adashev match up with Nam:

At times Tyson Nam will wrestle to mix it up but he tends to stay on the feet more. That’s where he is at his best — but that will fight right into the style of Adashev. Nam has power behind his hands but is a bit stiff early on and doesn’t really throw much output. On the feet, Adashev should just outwork Nam. Adashev is much more technical, a lot faster, and throws a lot more. Nam will have to wrestle but I don’t think he’s exactly the wrestler to take Adashev down.

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