Parkin (7-0) returns to the octagon against Caio Machado, still glowing from his win in London this past July.

“Amazing. Amazing to finally fight in the UFC, on like the best show in the world,” Parkin told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “And then to be in London, the warm crowd for the first one, was a fairy tale really.”

Parkin’s debut at the o2 Arena in London marked the first time he’d gone the distance in a fight. And while Parkin would gladly take a first-round finish each and every time out, “I was actually quite happy to go three rounds,” said Parkin.

“I felt actually pretty fit as well, I felt like I could have done some more,” he continued. “Maybe could have pushed a little bit more in the second round, is the only thing. After the fight, I thought I could have probably done a little more in that second round particularly. But I’m happy to do three rounds, I felt really fit, I know I can do three rounds if need be now.”

In Machado, a fellow graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series who is making his debut in the bout, Mick Parkin sees a dangerous fighter. One who slings heavy leather.

“He’s definitely a good match-up for me. He’s wild, he’s definitely there to be hit as well.” Parkin sees a lot of big overhands coming from Machado. And knows he’s extremely dangerous. “I’ll definitely have to be switched on for the full 15 minutes if it goes that far.”

Watch our full interview with UFC Vegas 82 heavyweight Mick Parkin above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Mick Parkin Knows He Must Be “Switched On” For Full 15 Minutes with Machado appeared first on Cageside Press.

“A guy like Dustin Poirier or (Mateusz) Gamrot,” Saint-Denis told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Or Dustin Poirier. He just lost, he’s ranked, he has to fight a guy behind him because he (lost). I know he’s a big name but I’m going to be an even bigger name if I working like that.”

A matchup with The Diamond or Gamrot would be huge for Saint-Denis. To have it on home soil in France would be massive for the Frenchman.

“I would like really to make a big main event in France. We can’t have two UFC Paris. Maybe Bordeaux it’s not far from my hometown, and it’s a big city. It will be sold out right away,” Saint-Denis said.

With a highlight reel fight and victory over Frevola he may have set himself up for that type of fight sooner than later. Still it doesn’t happen without Frevola taking the fight in the first place.

“I’m going to thank Matt Frevola for giving me this opportunity. I was not surprised it was him (that took this fight). Specially for Veteran’s Day,” said Saint-Denis.

“This guy gave me this opportunity. He’s on home soil. He didn’t have to take this fight, but I believe he likes the history and he likes challenges like I do. He wanted a tough fight and I’m going to bring you war no matter who you are.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Benoit Saint-Denis above.

The post Benoit Saint-Denis Wants Poirier Or Gamrot, Thanks Frevola For Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

“More important who I fight. Top 15 of course. Maybe give me some opponent from (the) top,” Rebecki told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Getting a top 15 opponent is the path to earning a rank, but Rebecki has had trouble just getting someone to fight him.

“Right now I feel it’s problem with (finding) me good opponent(s),” he told Cageside Press.

“Before Nurullo (Aliev) is out of this fight five people (turned the fight down). Of course it’s short notice, but also this is Madison Square Garden. Everybody wants to fight (here). Maybe I’m too tough for opponent. I’m not sure.”

Fighting at MSG is on many a bucket list in combat sports, and for Rebecki it was the realization of a dream.

“I know this arena before. It is most famous (in) the world and everybody who knows this arena they want (to) fight here,” said Rebecki.

“This was my biggest dream and I like to fight for many people.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Mateusz Rebecki above.

The post Mateusz Rebecki Hopes For Top 15 Fight Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

Castaneda (21-6), who picked up a unanimous decision win inside the famed Madison Square Garden, revealed the news backstage, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. He also explained that while he was ready to make the bantamweight limit, he’d opted to request the catchweight.

“I’m a big proponent of ‘a closed mouth never gets fed.’ So I asked a good amount, I think probably like two weeks in advance. And I actually think it didn’t get confirmed til probably about a week out.”

Castaneda wasn’t feeling any effects of the infection during the fight, having beat it earlier in training. “I would have pulled out if I was feeling any side effects during training camp. I’ve actually fought, you guys remember my fight with Daniel Santos, I had a staph infection there as well. That one actually did zap me during camp, I thought ‘maybe I’ll shake it during the fight,’ but it zapped me during the fight too.”

“I was kind of gauging it like that. If I would have felt any sort of negative effects during camp, I probably would have pulled out. But I felt great throughout the entire thing. I just took care of the infection, and we’re good. We’re here.”

Looking ahead, John Castaneda believes it’s time to put him in the conversation for the rankings.

“I’ve won four out of my last [five] fights. At least put me in the conversation for a top 15 guy. I’m always analyzing the top 15 guys, especially the 10 through 15. And stylistically I feel I match up well against a lot of them.”

“I’m not one to call people out but if I were to call somebody out, I’d really really love a fight with Adrian Yanez,” he added. “Not because it’s a disrespect thing, but stylistically I think we can put on a banger.”

Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with John Castaneda above.

The post UFC 295: John Castaneda Ready to Be in Top 15 Conversation appeared first on Cageside Press.

At the very least, it’s clear that Australia’s Erceg (11-1), despite earning a unanimous decision victory over Alessandro Costa on Saturday in New York City, was not entirely happy with his performance.

“Happy I won. Grateful for the opportunity. Not the way I thought I was going to go out there and do it, but that’s the fight game,” Erceg told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “Take my lumps, take my win. It is what it is.”

As to what went wrong, “obviously I didn’t want to get dropped. I was thinking I was going to walk among the shots and really outclass him,” he noted. “But after I dropped him in the first round, got too eager. As my dad says, got into a man battle instead of a thinking battle. That was my mistake. Move on.”

Moving forward, the lessons he’ll take away from UFC 295 include “stick to a technical game plan.” Beyond that, “definitely going to work on my footwork, even more than I have. That’s about it.”

Steve Erceg was originally paired up with Matt Schnell at Madison Square Garden, only for Schnell to pull out of the fight. As it turns out, he believes Costa was the harder match-up.

“I still thought Alessandro Costa was better than Schnell was going to be. Not that I’m saying Schnell’s bad or anything. I just thought stylistically and everything, Costa was a worse match-up for me.”

That has him thinking about fighting into the rankings. Erceg doesn’t like to use the word “deserve,” he explained, but added that “I think I should be in the top 15 fighting top 15 opponents. I’ve just got to be better.”

Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with Steve Erceg above.

The post UFC 295: Steve Erceg Wants Top 15 Opponent, Adds “I’ve Got to Be Better” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Bate Estaca” was clearly elated following the win, helped all the more by fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira winning gold to close out the event in New York City.

“Brazil has a title again, we have a belt. So many emotions. I got her four times. We’re beating records here,” exclaimed Andrade (25-12).

As for the clear discrepancy on the feet, especially in terms of power, “we knew that this was going to happen,” said Andrade. “We knew that, my team had mentioned ‘she does not have the strength to knock you out.'” Her team also advised Andrade that whatever she landed in the bout, Dern was “going to feel it, and she’s going to open up, and that’s exactly what happened. She opened up. It was a fight of calmness, a fight of patience and just waiting for the right moment to strike.”

“I know my power, I know the strength of my strikes, and as I always say for every interview, where ever my hand lands, no hair’s gonna grow anymore. I know how strong I am, and I’m going to keep doing it.”

Moving forward, Jessica Andrade expects to see some familiar names as she works her way back up the women’s strawweight division.

“The rematches are what’s going to take me through the path of being a champion again. I know that in order to be a champion, to actually be able to fight for the belt towards the end of the year next year, I’m going to have to have some rematches and beat some girls that beat me.”

Ultimately, he desire is for one particular rematch: with Zhang Weili, who took her title back in 2019.

“I think obviously having the opportunity to fight Weili, because it was kind of a quick fight, it was taken quickly. I think I deserve another chance,” stated Andrade. Though another rematch, against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, currently retired, also interests her. “It would be really cool if Joanna comes back. That would be really interesting.”

Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with Jessica Andrade above.

The post UFC 295: Jessica Andrade Knows Rematches Needed to Get Back to Title appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It’s been an absolutely crazy two-and-a-half weeks. I can tell people now. I basically didn’t have any training camp at all,” Aspinall told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I wasn’t really in the best shape. I got the call like 3-4 days after I pulled my back really bad. I couldn’t barely even move or do anything.”

On top of an injury Aspinall did not have a visa to enter the United States which also caused problems.

“And I didn’t have a visa as well. It’s been some three weeks let me tell you. It’s been absolutely insane,” he said.

Taking all of that into consideration Aspinall began to wonder if he had made the right move by accepting a title fight injured.

“That was my exact thoughts when I sat in the locker room tonight. I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ To be honest I get this a lot. Too many people in this game, and in life in general, hide away from fear. They try to be like, ‘I’m not scared’. I openly I’m scared. I’m going to do it anyway,” Aspinall said.

“That’s when I do my best. That’s when I do my best work when a big scary guy is coming at me like that. That’s when I’m at my absolute best.”

With the interim title in tow the next move for Aspinall is pretty clear. Defend, or wait for the winner of Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

“Right now I just want to chill for a bit man to be honest. We’ll see what happens, but ultimately I want to fight Jon Jones,” he said.

Jones is still early in his recovery from surgery to repair a torn pectoral, but Aspinall does not want to wait until he’s ready to fight.

“I don’t want to wait a year. I definitely don’t want to wait a year, but I think that me and Jones is the fight to make,” Aspinall said.

“If I have to wait a year, I will. That’s the fight that I really really want. I think that me and Jon in the U.K. that’s just the dream for everybody.”

Then a plea directly to Jones after being told that the champion had sent congratulations to Aspinall on social media.

“Thank you Jon,” said Aspinall.

“Just give me the opportunity, Jon. Let me do it. Give me my dream fight, why not? I’ve just achieved my dream now. Let me fight for my legacy fight now, please.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Tom Aspinall above.

The post Tom Aspinall Reveals Back Injury, Asks Jones For Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I mean what I said over there (post-fight interview). I think I owe this to (Israel) Adesanya. He motivate me at first,” Pereira told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

“The whole thing about him stayind (away) all this time, you know 2027, I think it’s a waste of talent. I think i’ll be able to bring him back.”

UFC CEO Dana White had been asked earlier who would be next for Pereira. White felt that former champion Jamahal Hill should fight Pereira for the belt.

“I don’t know if he’ll (Hill) will be ready on time or not,” Pereira said.

Adesanya didn’t stay silent very long following the call out. The former middleweight champion posted a meme responding to Pereira on X.

Let it gooooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/gv9ZYliKwH

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 12, 2023

“Regardless of what he say I was respectful. I mean what I say. I think he doesn’t seem motivated and I think that’s a fight that everybody would like to see,” Pereira said.

The fight with Jiri, as spectacular as the finish was, brought questions of an early stoppage that Pereira refuted. To Prochazka’s credit he did not complain about the stoppage, but it didn’t stop many others.

“He was feeling those punches. I felt he was feeling those and then when he got in he (got hit) with the left hook and then the cross. Once he dropped on my legs, which was not like getting a takedown, but he actually fell. I started punching, I started feeling that he was a little bit fading away,” Pereira said.

“I think it’s a good stoppage. I know maybe his friends and his supporters, his people his fans, going to maybe try to say it was not. But I think it was the correct way.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alex Pereira above.

The post Alex Pereira Responds To Adesanya ‘Frozen’ Post, Says Jiri Stoppage Was Good appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press at Saturday’s UFC 295 post-fight press conference, White pointed out that the pair were now in different weight classes. And it’s a certain former champion that appears to be next.

“Jamahal Hill, when he’s ready, is the fight to make,” White stated.

Hill vacated the UFC light heavyweight championship, like Prochazka before him, after rupturing his Achilles tendon earlier this year. In terms of his recovery progress, White said only that “apparently it’s good.”

Asked later in the post-fight presser what he would say to fans who want a third UFC fight between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, Dana White replied saying that “listen, anything is possible. Alex moved up a weight class. I don’t see Izzy moving up a weight class. But I don’t know. I’m sure people do want to see it again. I don’t know the answer to that question yet. We’ll see when Izzy comes back what he wants to do, where his head is.”

“Whatever he wanted to do, if he wanted to move up and fight Pereira again, we’d probably do it. Probably give him a fight at that weight first, if he wins, then give him a shot. I wouldn’t say that we would never do it.”

Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with Dana White above.

The post Jamahal Hill “The Fight to Make” for Pereira, Dana White Says Following UFC 295 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Already holding the modern record for shortest turnaround time between fights, Loopy (properly Lupita Godinez) set another milestone: she’s the first female fighter in UFC history to win four fights in a year.

Of course, after three hard-fought rounds against Tabatha Ricci, Godinez had to wait to hear what the judges returned. That turned out to be a split decision, with the dissenting judge giving all three rounds to Ricci. A move that didn’t entirely surprise Godinez.

“You never know with the judges, and we’ve seen in it in so many fights. Weird positions,” Godinez (12-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press during her post-fight press conference appearance. “I wasn’t surprised because of that reason, because never leave the fight to the judges. Because we all see different things and we all root for different people. So that happens.”

Asked about fighting in Toronto — Godinez is Mexican-Canadian — come January, Godinez couldn’t commit. She’s been handed a 30 day suspension following her tussle with Ricci, that left her with some obvious swelling.

“The doctor give me a month. So that’s pretty sad. So now I guess I’ve got to take the month and go from there. Of course I want to keep training, I want to keep improving, I want to keep getting better and be ready for whenever they call me.”

Whenever she returns — almost certainly in 2024 — Godinez has some goals. One in particular.

“Of course the goal is to get the strap and be a dominant champion, and we’re working for that,” she stated.

“I know I have a lot to improve, a lot to learn, and a lot to do, but we’re doing it.” That includes her move to Mexico to change camps. “I can see it, I can feel it. We’re just getting better. I’m just showing that I’m in, I’m 100% in in this.”

Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference with Loopy Godinez above.

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