The UFC are reportedly seeking a replacement for Bobby Green, and have just over a week to do so. Despite it being the co-main event, Hooker and Green were scheduled for five rounds.

Hooker finally returned to action earlier this year in July, as he took on Jalin Turner at UFC 290. Originally the two were set to fight in March, but Hooker withdrew due to a broken hand.

In his fight with Turner, Hooker suffered a broken arm after absorbing a front kick in round one, the same injury that has ruled him out of his fight with Green.

If Green is able to stay on the card, he will look to continue an impressive 2023 thus far. His last outing came against Grant Dawson in October, where he scored a huge upset win in just over 30 seconds.

UFC Austin takes place on December 2nd from the Moody Center. The fight night is headlined by highly ranked lightweights, Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

Other bouts on the card include:

• Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stolzfus
• Khalil Rountree vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Clay Guida vs. Joaquim Silva
• Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila
• Cody Brundage vs. Zachary Reese
• Joe Solecki vs. Drakkar Klose
• Steve Garcia vs. Melquizael Costa
• Rodolfo Bellato vs. Ihor Potieria
• Wellington Turman vs. Jared Gooden
• Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

The post Dan Hooker Out Of UFC Austin Co-Main Event With Reccurring Arm Injury appeared first on Cageside Press.

Daan Duijs Interview (2:07)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with Cage Warriors bantamweight, Daan Duijs. The Dutch fighter is coming off of his biggest win yet, a big knockout with a giant overhand. He discusses what it’s like to pick up a big win with his hands instead of the ground game that he’s known for. He also discusses his view of what’s next for him in 2024. With a contract expiring soon, there is sure to be some big things on the horizon for this bantamweight prospect. It starts this weekend with a showdown with Aiden Stephen at Cage Warriors 164.

Combat Countdown: Top 5 Dutch Prospects (15:04)

A week removed from UFC Vegas 82, the guys swap their focus to the MMA world at large. Since Daan Duijs and Orlando Prins are both joining the show this week, what better global topic to discuss than Dutch MMA. The Netherlands have a long and storied history in the world of combat sports. However, it’s the future we’re interested in. We’re using the Combat Countdown this week to count down our five (or six) hottest Dutch prospects likely to sign with a big show in 2024. Will our guests for this week make an appearance? You might just have to tune in to find out. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Orlando Prins Interview (21:25)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with Cage Warriors featherweight, Orlando Prins. The Dutch fighter discusses his injuries from this past year that have kept him out of the cage. While that’s been a frustrating time, he’s back feeling better than ever and looking forward to Cage Warriors 164 this weekend – where he fights Bailey Gilbert. Both of the fighters love a tangle on the ground and Prins is looking forward to a fighter that is willing to mix it up on the mat.

The post TTP Ep. 405 with Daan Duijs, Orlando Prins, and Top 5 Dutch Prospects appeared first on Cageside Press.

Having a likely main event already in place, the latest addition to the Pay-Per-View show is a heavyweight affair pitting New Zealand’s Justin Tafa (7-3, 1NC) against Brazilian Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1).

“Pezao” de Lima confirmed the booking following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Tafa, 29, goes by the nickname “Bad Man” and has proven to be just that, securing a finish by KO/TKO in all seven of his professional victories. Most recently, he picked up a win over Austen Lane in his second fight with the Contender Series alum, after the first ended in a No Contest due to an accidental eye poke.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima will be looking to bounce back from a stunning loss at the hands of Derrick Lewis this past July. That setback snapped a two-fight win streak.

Though not officially announced by the promotion, rumors of UFC 298 being hosted in both Los Angeles and Australia have made the rounds. Promotion president and CEO Dana White previously revealed that featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski would defend his 145lb title against Ilia Topuria in February, a fight almost certain to headline the UFC 298 card.

Thus far, only three fights have been reported for the event set to take place on February 17, 2024. They are:

Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria — for the UFC Featherweight Championship
Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Justin Tafa

The post Justin Tafa vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Lined Up for UFC 298 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“No. I always believed this is where I was and who I was am. I just had to reorganize and get some things correct,” Kasanganay told Cageside Press in advance of the PFL Championship on November 24, 2023 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

“I never lost my faith, or God lost his faith in me. It was more so, I kind of just got lost on my path for a little while, or maybe I was still on the right path and that’s just where God had to bring me.”

That path took Kasanganay (14-3) through the Contender Series, where he won back-to-back fights, and the UFC, where he was shown the door after four fights.

“For me the opposite of faith is not doubt,” added Kasangany, who instead suggested that “I think you can have faith and then people still have some doubt. You can have doubt and still have something to look forward to. They’re not opposites, if anything, they compliment one another. For me, it was just, what do I need to do with my life in that time to be organized, and what sacrifices do I need to make that I’m not seeing here, that are going to allow me to realize what I see within myself?”

“It was more so a reflection of what was going on with my life, where I didn’t put things together the way I needed to, and it became a blueprint for how I moved forward in the future. Like, I won that Eagle fight even though they said I lost, and that was an overall consensus, not from myself only.”

Impa Kasanganay’s lone Eagle FC appearance was a split decision loss to Raimond Magomedaliev, and while it will stand as a loss on his official record, there was an argument for the fight going the other way. As for his UFC run, “being released from the UFC at that time, the challenging thing about it was just saying like ‘man I put a lot of work in to get there,’ but wondering why I still wasn’t [there],” admitted Kasanganay.

“Overall under the banner, 4-2 including the Contender Series wins, but 2-2 in the UFC itself. That was one of those things where I knew that I was better, I knew there was so much more I could show and do, and I was going to make that happen no matter what. That’s when it became an eye-opening experience. If anything, it actually became one of those things I look back on, I’m like, ‘thank you that happened.’ Even at that time, because it really made me make the challenging decisions to say ‘hey, no matter what, I’m going to be a champion some day soon.”

Taking the long road to success, and this year’s PFL championship, where not just a world title but a million dollars hangs in the balance, wasn’t the worst journey, however. In fact, Impa Kasanganay sees a silver lining.

“Taking the narrow path is definitely much more rewarding for me. I won’t say I’m an old school guy, it’s more like, I do like that fact that I get to earn something, and it’s not based on my popularity,” he stated. “Or I get to earn my popularity or whatever God has for me, and I get to earn my success and all that’s come with it.”

One thing Impa Kasanganay doesn’t like seeing in MMA is the word “performance” applied to what fighters do. As much as it’s instilled in the vernacular of the sport (think the UFC’s Performance of the Night bonuses), Impa doesn’t see himself as performing when he fights.

“It’s entertainment for those who watch it, and I respect it. As a fighter it’s not entertainment, I’m going in there to do my job. Nobody’s cheering on the accountant, ‘oh you performed today and got the books in order!'” he pointed out. “Yeah somebody’s going to congratulate you, that you maybe fixed something in the company, saved the company some money. Performing to me, it’s say, for the entertainers who choose to be entertainers. Who choose to be musicians, artists, public speakers. No matter how they do it.”

“That to me is a performance.”

Kasanganay knows what he’s talking about — through high school and all the way to the end of college, he studied music. And he believes that if you focus on your performance in fighting, “we take away the purity of it. It’s like ‘I’m going out there to perform’ so you change the way you are, the reflection of your spirit, of who you are, to go perform and see what people like. And then your validation comes from what the crowd says— if the crowd says ‘boo’ or the crowd says ‘yay.’ And that’s not cool to me, because that’s not what it’s about.”

“When you go to battle, you go to war, you go there to take over, dominate, claim, and move forward. And fighting to me is not a sport or some kind of performance, because you’re taking away somebody’s life points; you’re also sacrificing your life points as well. When I do accounting nobody’s hitting me in the head with a computer. When I’m fighting, somebody’s trying to kick me in the head, elbow my face, I’ve been unconscious before. That stuff’s not healthy. That’s not a performance.”

A performance will inspire people and evoke emotion, Kasanganay allowed. But fighting leaves lasting scars, in essence. “With fighting, you take those things with you. The broken rib, the broken finger, the torn knee, the hurt, the pain. There’s a lot of difference. Maybe people who do acting and stuff like that do too, but they’re performing and they get to go into another character. Fighting, you’re not going into another character even though they say it’s an alter ego, you’re fighting in who you are, whatever— it’s actually the truth of who you are. And that’s not a performance to me. That’s going into battle.”

Impa Kasanganay next goes into battle with American Top Team’s Josh Silveira. There’s an old rivalry there in terms of gyms, between ATT and Kill Cliff FC, Kasanganay’s own team, though for him, the rivalry doesn’t matter. Instead, he simply sees that Silveira has been making improvements, and is on a good path.

That having been said, “I believe we were destined to meet, and I’m going to take him out, obtain this victory and move forward,” he added.

Watch our full interview with 2023 light heavyweight finalist Impa Kasanganay above.

The post PFL Finalist Impa Kasanganay Explains Why He Doesn’t Like “Performance” Being Used in MMA appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It just makes all the non-believers into believers. And I have a belt to show my country that yes, Jason Jackson can be champ. Anywhere he goes. And it’s just a matter of time before he becomes the best welterweight on the planet,” Jackson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Jackson finished Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 301 to claim the title in the main event. Betting lines put the Amosov as a heavy favorite leaving Jackson to play spoiler, and in his post-fight scrum he let them know about it.

“It felt good. On MMA Junkie and ESPN, they got him at what, #1 and #5? So where’s that put me at, #6? So that put me at #5 if I just jumped him. Or #4 or #1. Alright, #1. I like that, I’ll take that,” Jackson said.

Jackson may be the new champion, but he still has to go to work on Monday. He’s one of many professional fighters who hold a day job in addition to their dream job.

“I feel good that I could give all upcoming fighters who just think is just, you know, get up and go to the gym and come home and play game, and find excuse not to be in (the) gym. I get up and I work and I try to find every little way possible to make money,” he said talking about not making excuses and taking fights regardless of pay.

“I just want to make everybody a believer in that. Hard work always pays off.”

Just minutes removed from his title victory Jackson still wasn’t sure it was even real.

“Not yet, it hasn’t set in. Like I said, every man has a dream, and everyone has a nightmare,” Jackson said.

And I was his nightmare.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jason Jackson above.

The post Jason Jackson Was Amosov’s “Nightmare” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for Allen, along with the other standout winners on the night.

Brendan Allen

“All In” Allen’s last loss was back in 2021, and you’d have to go back six fights to get there. The 27-year-old has put on an incredibly impressive streak of performances, scoring a rear-naked-choke win in four of his last four fights, tying the longest active submission record.

There is no doubt that since that loss to Chris Curtis two years ago, the Louisiana product has improved leaps and bounds, and now finds himself ranked in the top 10 at 185lbs, above the aforementioned “Action Man”.

Allen is now in a position where he is knocking on the door of the top five, in a division that has seemingly been screaming out for new title contenders for the past few years. The submission artist has already shared the cage with the current champion, Sean Strickland, in which he was finished, but that was going back to 2020. Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis, who you could say would be a favourable matchup for Allen and his grappling upside.

With the rest of the top five already being booked into fights, there is one name that stands out more than most for me, and that is, Marvin Vettori.

The Italian is seemingly struggling to find a fight and this one makes perfect sense. He is coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier and needs to defend his ranking.

Allen’s Next Fight: Marvin Vettori 

Michael Morales

When thinking of the most impressive prospects in the UFC, Michael Morales must be a name that comes very close to the top of the list.

The 24-year-old now boasts a professional record of 16-0, with four of those coming under the UFC banner. Jake Matthews proved to be his toughest outing thus far, but the Ecuadorian showed a different side to his style, and proved to be the better fighter over a technical three rounds.

That is now back-to-back wins over fighters with 15 or more UFC fights, providing the youngster with integral experience.

Despite being just 24-years-old, it seems as though Morales is ready for the next step in his UFC tenure. There are several fighters inside the top 15 who make sense for him moving forward.

Of course, when talking about welterweight prospects who are nearing the rankings, Neil Magny’s ears must run hot. “The Haitian Sensation” is already booked to fight Canadian prospect, Mike Malott though.

The occupant of rank 15 though, is someone Morales has been slated to fight previously but due to injury, he had to withdraw from the scheduled bout. Rinat Fakhretdinov could make a lot of sense again now, being as though he sits upon a ranking that Michael Morales could be coming for.

Morales’ Next Fight: Rinat Fakhretdinov  

Chase Hooper

“The Dream” Chase Hooper marked his second lightweight outing with another extremely impressive performance. In this one, he had to face some early adversity when he was rocked with some heavy Leavitt ground-and-pound. From there though, he was able to win the grappling exchanges, subsequently getting the first round sub.

Before the fight, Hooper told Cageside Press, that he wanted to enter the unofficial ‘best grappler in the lightweight division rankings’ and with the rear-naked-choke, he may have done exactly that.

With him looking increasingly more comfortable with each 155lb outing, the 24-year-old will likely want to take a little bit of time off as he and his wife expect a baby.

With that being Hooper’s 8th UFC fight despite only being 24-years-old, there is no reason to try and rush him up the rankings of the lightweight division.

Someone who I think could be a fun next matchup for Hooper, is Lando Vannata. Despite his recent skid, the losses have come to some of the higher echelon fighters in the division.

Hooper’s Next Fight: Lando Vannata

Payton Talbott

After a highly impressive performance on the Contender Series earlier this year, Talbott came into his UFC debut with a lot of eyes on him.

The 25-year-old didn’t disappoint as he put on another emphatic performance, submitting Nick Aguirre in the final round. It is going to very interesting to see Talbott’s UFC career unfold.

Selfishly I would love to see a fight between Payton Talbott and Da’Mon Blackshear, however that’s quite farfetched for Talbott’s second UFC outing. A fight that would be more realistic would be, Dan Argueta.

Talbott’s Next Fight: Dan Argueta

Amanda Ribas

The Brazilian striker bounced back from her loss to Maycee Barber, with a great third round KO over Luana Pinheiro, in her strawweight return.

Once again Ribas showed a full arsenal of striking, and began her final finishing sequence with a picture perfect spinning wheel kick, which wobbled and subsequently dropped Pinheiro.

With Ribas hoping for a resurgence at strawweight, there is female who is on her rise up the rankings, and sits just one spot behind Ribas. That is Loopy Godinez who has continued impressing. That is a fight I could see next.

Ribas’ Next Fight: Loopy Godinez

Myktybek Oralbai

Marking his UFC debut with a second round finish was, Myktybek Oralbai. The Kirghiz native had a slow round one against the powerful, Uros Medic, but was able to capitalise with his grappling advantage in round two.

There are plenty options for the 25-year-old, but one I’m keen on is, Ange Loosa.

Oralbai’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 82 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Paul Craig

Scottish submission savant Paul Craig got utterly stymied in his first main event opportunity, and his second middleweight fight in the UFC, when he ran into Brendan Allen. Craig still is ranked at 185-lbs and should fight another ranked middleweight with his 1-1 divisional record.

The only option ranked under him currently who is not booked is Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez. ‘Fluffy’ has a similar style to Brendan Allen in some ways; he can strikes but prefers to press forward, wrestle, and hunt a finish on the ground. Craig is more than willing to engage their due to his jiu-jitsu, but has been beaten there a few times now. To stay ranked he will need to prove he can grow as a fighter and overcome this hurdle.

Craig’s Next Fight: Anthony Hernandez

Jake Matthews

Matthews continued his recent streak of trading wins and losses when he lost by decision to undefeated prospect Michael Morales in UFC Vegas 82’s co-main event. The Australian has been a mainstay of the UFC welterweight division for a long time, building an impressive 12-7 record in the promotion. He has long put on exciting fights, making him a man consistently tapped for relatively big fights given his unranked status.

He will have to rebound from this loss, but the options are endless. Fighters like Max Griffin, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Daniel Rodriguez have all lost two of their last three fights, just like Jake. All of these fighters could make for an exciting striking battle but also have well-rounded skills. Perhaps most sensible would be Max “Pain” Griffin, who also lost to Michael Morales in his last fight, putting him and Jake on a relatively even playing field in terms of their divisional position.

Matthews’ Next Fight: Max Griffin

Jordan Leavitt

Jordan ‘The Monkey King’ Leavitt chased a leg lock against submission specialist Chase Hooper, got his back taken, and got choked out to lose. He took it in good spirits as ever, made easier by his still-winning record in the UFC of 4-3. Leavitt could fight any number of athletes in the stacked lightweight waters.

Chilean fighter Ignacio Bahamondes has a similar record in the UFC of 3-2, but brings an entirely different style to the table with his electric kickboxing. That fight would be a true clash of styles and give one man back an upward trajectory in the division after both lost their last fight.

Leavitt’s Next Fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

Nick Aguirre

Aguirre had success early but ultimately lost to prospect Payton Talbott in his second of two UFC bouts. His back is against the wall now and he will need to win his next fight in order to keep his job with the promotion. He will be matched against a fellow inexperienced fighter again, many of whom just won contracts on the newest season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Victor Hugo was meant to debut two weeks ago against Daniel Marcos but his weight miss caused the bout to be canceled. Marcos still needs to compete in his first UFC fight, and if he can get his weight in order then perhaps Aguirre would be a good opponent.

Aguirre’s Next Fight: Victor Hugo

Luana Pinheiro

Ninth-ranked strawweight Luana Pinheiro lost for the first time in the UFC to hard-nosed veteran Amanda Ribas. After comfortably winning the first round, Pinheiro lost all momentum as Ribas’ pace, pressure, and toughness wore her down until Amanda got the finish in the third. Pinheiro still has a future at strawweight, especially since the fight before this was a win over veteran contender Michelle Waterson-Gomez, but will probably need to dip her toes into the unranked waters before coming back to fighting ranked foes.

Two unranked strawweights on two-fight UFC winning streaks are Loma Lookboonmee and Viktoria Dudakova. Lookboonmee is a Muay Thai specialist who is developing a well-rounded skillset and got her first career submission in her last fight. Dudakova is undefeated at 8-0, two fights into her UFC contract. With under ten fights, perhaps it would be better to build Viktoria up slower and give Lookboonmee the opportunity to fight for a ranked spot against Pinheiro.

Pinheiro’s Next Fight: Loma Lookboonmee

Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić’s two-fight winning streak was snapped as he lost for the first time in his new division, welterweight, against short notice debutant Myktybek Orolbai Uulu. Medić old weakness to grappling got exposed as the Kygystani fighter took him down and submitted the Serb in the second round.

Medić’s fight before this one still proved he can be a force in the division as he beat the more experienced and strongly favored Matt Semelsberger in an all-out war. Uroš has shown to be all-action, just like fellow welterweight Li Jingliang, who would make a perfect opponent for his next fight coming off of his loss to Daniel Rodriguez. No matter what card it appears on, that fight would be a surefire ‘Fight of the Night’ shortlist member.

Medić’s Next Fight: Li Jingliang

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 82 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Fortune and his team received word recently that his bout against Daniel James at Bellator 288 in Nov. 2022 had been overturned and changed to a ‘no-contest’. The reason for the change was a reported failed PED test by James the day before the bout took place.

“We immediately contested the fight because of the illegal blows. If you watch the replay Bellator continues to post you can see I’m struck to the back of my head six times before he transfers it to elbows that were legal,” Fortune told Cageside Press.

“But you had hit me six times to the back of my head and Daniel James is a big man.”

When Fortune and his manager Matt Aptaker contested the fight they were told that Fortune had lost that contest.

Fortune said “They then get back to me to tell me that have a congruent case that will overturn the contest but they can’t state why.”

Tyrell Fortune and his team waited over 11 months for an answer regarding his fight with Daniel James and wanted to get answers.

After going back and forth with the Commission for months and waiting for some clarification they received news a few days before Fortune’s scheduled bout with Marcelo Golm at Bellator 301 that his fight with Daniel James would be ruled a no contest.

Cageside Press was able to verify the positive PED test through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. An unspecified anabolic substance was to blame; James was fined $5,000 for the incident, and suspended three months. He received an additional suspension for unpaid child support.

Combatreg.com subsequently changed the Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James fight to a no contest as a result of the positive test and the fight will not reflect either fighters’ record. Fortune added he was notified by the commission by letter that the result was overturned.

“Daniel James was a big man on steroids. It took almost a year for them to tell me he popped positive for steroids and my fight was now officially ruled a no contest,” Fortune told Cageside Press.

According to Tyrell Fortune, Bellator MMA had no idea that Daniel James tested positive for a banned substance, because Illinois does not fall under the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

“I walked from the commission office to Bellator to tell them Daniel James got popped for steroids and my fight was ruled a no contest and they said they had no idea,” said Fortune.

Daniel James was previously pulled from his scheduled fight against Davion Franklin in May 2022 due to a positive test, making this his second drug test failure in less than two years.

“I contacted Bellator before our fight to ask them what are we doing to make sure I’m safe fighting him and they said he’s going to have to test negative before you guys fight and he passed that test so between that test and the time we fought he started taking steroids again,” he said.

Fortune and his team feel very strongly about fighting clean and not taking steroids, because as Fortune put it, “peoples lives are at stake and my career is on the line.”

The post Tyrell Fortune Says Bellator 288 Fight with Daniel James Ruled No Contest Due to Failed Drug Test appeared first on Cageside Press.

Donn Davis’ highly anticipated appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show came on the heels of the Professional Fighters League purchase of rival Bellator MMA being officially announced. Starting in 2024, the PFL will run both brands, Bellator in eight standalone events mainly focusing on international markets.

Davis revealed that they reached out to Viacom/Paramount, under which Bellator fell, in January of 2023, with no idea that the company would beginning divesting assets in the Spring. It was a slow process, in terms of talks. “Mergers take time,” as Davis pointed out.

Viacom becomes a minority owner in the company. Davis, who built his reputation as an entrepreneur and businessman with America Online, the Chicago Cubs, and his own venture capital firm, revealed the deal was done entirely in stock. “I think what they saw with PFL was an opportunity become part of a big company moving forward. So this was a stock deal, not a cash deal.”

With Paramount a “small” owner and no cash changing hands, it was a “great deal for us,” said Davis, adding he was “very happy” with how things played out.

Asked how close he thought the PFL was to the UFC, Donn Davis took note of UFC President and CEO Dana White being more vocal about the rival promotion recently. The company made waves in 2023 by signing the likes of Francis Ngannou, Jake Paul, Cedric Doumbe, and others.

“Everybody knows Dana well enough that he only dismisses things that worry him, or else he just doesn’t comment. He didn’t comment on the PFL for four years, because he wasn’t worried,” suggested Davis. “He’s commented on the PFL a lot the last six months. He’s worried.”

“What specifically worried him about Bellator is the metrics we put out in the press release. 30% of that roster ranked in the top 25 per Fight Matrix rankings. So this isn’t, Dana gets to rank his own guys, Donn’s ranking his own guys. As you know there’s only one group that ranks all fighters, Fight Matrix, independently. 30% of the UFC roster is top 25-ranked, and now our combined company of PFL and Bellator, 30%.”

“The same. Now, to UFC’s credit, if you look at top five in the world, they still own the top five, one through five. So call it PPV cards, we couldn’t compete with them right now, which is why we’re only going to have two, and they have twelve.”

Davis, however, thinks the TV product from the PFL this year will be better. “Our cards are going to be better. Better. Because what they put on this year was ranked 70 and what we’re going to put on next year is ranked 40.” Davis believes that has White talking, questioning why the PFL would buy Bellator, “because he’s smart.”

“UFC ain’t the NFL. We’re not the XFL. But he wants you to think that. And it’s just a matter of time before that starts to get more well-known, and we’re not the number two, we’re a co-leader. He doesn’t want that. That’s what’s going on.”

Later, Davis would make it clear that there’s no axe to grind with the UFC, nor an attempt to take over the MMA market and displace the leading promotion in the sport.

“UFC is a great company and they invented this industry. This is not about taking share or shifting share. MMA is growing. MMA is growing 10% a year, every other sport 2-3%. They’re going to do well. We’re just going to do really, really well,” said Davis. “And I’m excited to have my new teammates at Bellator, I’m excited to have all our new fighters propelling us forward, and we’re going to win. The next time we’re on here, when people laughed that we’re going to be a co-leader, we’re going to be a co-leader. Just like they laughed when we said we’re going to be #2, and we’re #2. And so to me, if you’re on the new Bellator team, if you’re on the new combined team, declare victory.”

In five years, Donn Davis expects to be able to reach that co-leader goal. “We’re the co-leader in MMA, flat out. But we do things different, we think different, we innovate different. We don’t have dogma. We co-promote. We give fighters opportunity, we let them box, we give 50% PPV share, we think different. And we’re the co-leader. They do what they do, fantastic. We do what we do, market’s big enough for two very, very big companies.”

The 2023 PFL Championship takes place this Friday in Washington, D.C. A Bellator vs. PFL champion versus champion card is expected for Q1 2024, said Davis, with TV deals in the U.S. and Canada ready to be announced for the PFL, while Bellator TV deals are in the works. As for Bellator’s Lightweight Grand Prix, Davis couldn’t answer whether it will complete as scheduled or not.

The post Donn Davis Reveals PFL Plans for Bellator MMA, Believes Dana White “Worried” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Yeah I really believe so,” Mix (19-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following Bellator 301 in Chicago this past Friday. “My opponent there, Sergio Pettis, you look at his 25 [flyweight] run, but this kid was young when he was in the UFC. He’s great, he just beat Patricio Pitbull, he smoked the only man to beat me, [Juan] Archuleta didn’t win a round against him. I think Sergio is up there with the top three bantamweights in the world right now.”

Mix, in laying out his argument for being the best bantamweight on the planet, suggested that Pettis had beaten better competition that UFC champ Sean O’Malley.

“I think he [Pettis] was so young in the UFC, at 24, 25 years old. He just turned 30-years old, him and I. I feel like we’re both entering our prime. They hold Sean O’Malley in such a high regard, it’s like, Sean O’Malley never beat someone on the level of Patricio Pitbull like Sergio Pettis did. And that’s why I respected him the way I did. That’s why I took this fight very seriously. I feel like a lot of people underestimated him, and I overestimated him because I knew how good he was.”

Having submitted Pettis to unify the Bellator MMA bantamweight champion — Mix won the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix and an interim belt in the process earlier this year — Patchy Mix can now look ahead. Which, in this particular case, might actually mean looking behind him, to a trio of fighters he’s already faced. That includes the only man to ever beat him, RIZIN champ Juan Archuleta.

“I want to avenge a loss that I got of course, but Archuleta is tied up in Japan, he’s fighting, I think he’s on New Year’s. I necessarily don’t like to wait and see, and I know he’s got his deal over there, I’m not sure what Bellator’s deal is,” stated Mix. “But I’m not necessarily chasing anyone. Now that I’m the title holder, whoever they approach me with, I’m willing to do. I don’t mind, I can run it back with all three of them. Any one of them. If they wanted to do me and Serg again, if they wanted to do me and Stots again, or if they wanted to do me and Arculeta. Or even me and Maga. I fought all the top guys, and I just want to fight who they believe is the best.”

Any of those fights would no doubt be entertaining. When Mix will fight again remains to be seen, however. On Monday, the PFL’s purchase of Bellator MMA was officially announced. The promotion will continue as its own brand, mainly with international events, moving forward, though for how long remains unclear.

Watch the full Bellator 301 post-fight press conference with Patchy Mix above.

The post Bellator 301: Patchy Mix Open to Any Number of Rematches appeared first on Cageside Press.