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.

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“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.

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Ahead of his fight with Impa Kasanganay this Friday in Washington, D.C., the American Top Team standout spoke with Cageside Press about landing in the biggest fight of his life.

“It feels good, man. It feels good, it feels great. Still hard to wrap my head around it sometimes, because I think the feeling is always unexplainable,” explained Silveira (12-1). “But at the same time, man, I feel like this is what I worked for and I’m right where I need to be. So no surprises, no surprises here.”

The pairing with Kasanganay is a promising one, but not one expected to be fueled by any sort of bad blood. Both fighters are soft-spoken, professional martial artists who have plenty of respect for each other.

“You’re right I’m not much of a trash talker. I don’t know, it’s just kind of funny to me,” acknowledged Silveira. “I know how to talk and defend myself if somebody came at me, but I think it’s just kind of funny sometimes. I like to be the good guy a little bit, but if I’ve got to be the bad guy, I’ll be the bad guy if I have to.”

“I think in this particular fight you’re right. We’ve got respect for each other. Just two good, old fashioned kids that want to go win a million and win a world title. That might be one of the best fights of the night to be honest. We’ve got two young, hungry guys, he wants to do better for himself and so do I. Who knows, man. Fireworks might happen.”

Hockey fans know this story well. The 1982-83 Edmonton Oilers fielded one of the strongest teams possible that season, with names like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, and Jari Kurri. They would cruise through the regular season and playoffs, only to be thrashed by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers learned the hard way what it would take to win a championship, and came back to win it all the following year, taking revenge on the Islanders in the process. Josh Silveira has held gold on the regional scene, but Friday marks his first championship bout for a major promotion. So how can he steel himself, and not suffer a similar fate?

“I think the best way to answer that question, I don’t know if I speak for every fighter— but I think what goes through our minds, there’s thousands of things that go through our minds, but I think the most realistic thing is, ‘am I ready to push this pace 25 minutes?'” replied Silveira. “Five rounds. 25 minutes. And do whatever it takes, no matter what situation I put myself in.”

Aside from being ready for 25 minutes “of constant motion,” Silveira believes he’s filled a critical hole in his game: he’s no longer scared of getting tired. “I think that’s the hole I’ve been filling out this whole season, is not being scared to get tired, not being fearful to put myself out there and lay it on the line and do what I’ve got to do.”

Come Friday, we’ll know if that will be enough.

Watch our full interview with PFL light heavyweight finalist Josh Silveira above. The 2023 PFL Championship takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. on November 24, 2023.

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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.

“It’s not that different for me as a smaller guy, shorter guy. I spent my life fighting bigger guys. Whether it was in training or when I played hockey – that’s always been what it is,” he said. “Finding somebody taller [to train with] is easy.”

And in training camp, he’s found plenty of people with the height of Jose Johnson, but few who could also match the weight. However, he sees that as an advantage for him going into the fight.

“My whole training camp has been with bigger guys. They have the height, so I can feel that out,” he said. “Not a lot of people have that weight to go with it, but they have more so it’s all good.”

All in all, Anheliger thinks that people put too much thought into this portion of the fight. While he likes that it seems to help draw more interest in the fight, he thinks there are so many things that are more important in determining a fight winner.

“It really doesn’t change much – the height thing. Of all the things in a fight, there’s so much ahead of how tall somebody is,” Anheliger points out. “Their skill, experience, timing, the gameplanning. Even strength is above height.”

He’ll look to prove he’s better in all of the important ways this Saturday. His fight with Jose Johnson will take place on the ESPN+ prelims of UFC Vegas 82. That portion of the card starts at 2pm EST.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 35:23.

The post UFC Vegas 82’s Chad Anheliger Not Intimidated by Opponent’s Size appeared first on Cageside Press.

“All of it has been a blessing – all of the cancelations, everything. It’s been a blessing because, honestly it gave me time to really reflect,” he explained. “I actually found out that I needed to have surgery. It was really beneficial surgery. So all in all, I’m excited for this upcoming fight and thankful for the time.”

The surgery was not one for an injury, but rather something that he’s needed to take care of for a long time.

“It wasn’t an injury at all. It was actually my vision,” Johnson said. “My vision throughout my entire fighting career – I’ve been fighting legally blind pretty much. This has fixed my vision to the point where I’m able to see perfectly now.”

It might come as a surprise to some that he was legally blind for his whole career. Afterall, his pro career is littered with knockout victories. When asked about it, he had a simple explanation for how he was able to pull of the unthinkable time and time again.

“I call it the Daredevil effect,” he said with a laugh. “Just sounds and figures pretty much.”

Now with everything corrected, he’s seeing the fight game in a new way – pun intended. And you can expect to see the best version of him yet.

“Wow, it’s significant. Even my coaches have said before I would just have a blank stare when I’m hitting mits,” Johnson said. “I was working with one of my coaches and he said ‘you’re looking at me like I’m a math problem now.”

You can catch the new and improved version of Jose Johnson on the ESPN+ prelims of UFC Vegas 82. Those fights start at 2pm EST this Saturday.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:14.

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Colgan’s mini-me so to speak was seen on video recently copying his dad’s moves. Of course he’s still too young to know what fighting entails, and Colgan would rather he not grow up to be a fighter.

“I hope not! But it seems like that’s what his calling is,” Colgan told Cageside Press in a recent interview. “I love being his role model. I love being the guy that he idolizes. It’s just a cool job to have, to be the role model of your kid. But man, I hope he doesn’t want to fight, because it’s a roller coaster.”

Colgan has emerged as a standout talent in Bellator’s lightweight division, and returns to the cage at Bellator 301 on Friday night in Chicago, IL. At 8-0, the Colorado native has had a stellar start to his fighting career — and will be getting a step up in competition against Peter Buist, a ONE Championship veteran looking for his first win under the Bellator banner.

Previously, Archie Colgan suggested he was poised for big things moving forward, from 2023 to 2025. That hasn’t changed.

“I feel like I’m knocking on the door right now, man. I feel skill-wise, I’m there. I’m right there to be that guy. But I think I’m just missing a little bit of time,” Colgan explained. “Especially with— I don’t know what’s going on with Bellator, selling, not selling. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope they can stick around for another 12 to 18 months, and we can really sell 20-0 Usman Nurmagomedov versus 13-0 Archie Colgan. And that will really hit, I really believe it.”

“I might miss it by just by a little bit of time,” added Colgan, “but no matter what, whatever happens there, I think my 23 to 25 will still be super successful and much better than my 21 to 23 as well.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator 301’s Archie Colgan above.

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It feels like Hamel (11-5) has really arrived during his current streak, especially with a head kick KO of former LFA champ Nick Browne this past March. Asked about the feeling that came with the highlight reel finish, Hamel told Cageside Press in a recent interview that it was about more than just winning.

“It was just, my career hadn’t gone exactly how I had planned. And so many people could probably say the same thing about theirs,” said Hamel. “I’d gotten hurt, had to fight through a couple injuries.” Among them, Hamel tore his bicep tendon, and essentially fought Killys Mota, Usman Nurmagomedov, and Bryce Logan without one.

“And so I had all those injuries, but I didn’t want to take time off until I got a couple wins under me. I needed some money, I needed some job security so I fought through those injuries. Then I was out for I think nine months when my [Max] Rohskopf fight got scheduled, and then that fell out an hour before I was getting in the van [to head to the arena]. So it was 15 months of not fighting and that’s not like me. That’s the longest I’ve gone in my life, in my athletic career without having competition.”

Hamel admitted that the long layoff took its toll. “That 15 months off was rough mentally for me. And so to get in there, get a head kick win going into the last fight of my contract, being on a three-fight win streak, I knew I was going to get an increase in pay, I knew I was going to get a new contract. It wasn’t even the fact that I won the fight, it was, I already knew the positive repercussions coming from it.”

When Mike Hamel was approached with the name Tim Wilde, he was definitely excited off the bat. He’s a big fan of the tough match-up — and plans to be the first to tire Wilde out.

“Yeah. Because Tim’s tough. And I like that,” exclaimed Hamel. “Tim’s gonna be there. He’s not going to gas out, he’s not going to over-shoot himself. He’s a pretty smart fighter. He does some things a little reckless, which I’m obviously going to capitalize on. But those English don’t know how to wrestle. I’m going to plant him on his ass over and over again. that’s what I’ve done, I’ve done it since I was four years old. I know how to head kick people, but I’m going to get him biting and my hands are going to start landing more, and he’s going to get tired. I’m going to be the first person to get Tim Wilde tired.”

Watch our full interview with Belaltor 301’s Mike Hamel above.

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It’s another big card for Brown, who has been on several of late, fighting in front of fans at events like UFC on ABC 5 and UFC 284.

“Maybe they see something. They know I’m never in a boring fight,” Brown told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview, asked about landing another high-profile gig. “I’m never in a boring fight, I always come to bring it, always come to try to finish the fight. So of course they’ve got to put me on those big cards.”

For years, Randy Brown struggled with cardio issue even when he was putting the effort in. As it turned out, symptoms he was experiencing while training suggested he wasn’t getting adequate oxygen flow — resulting in surgery to fix his nose. The result has been night and day.

“Bro, completely. I honestly did not know.” Brown pretty much downplayed the effect surgery might have when he heard his teammates talking about it, then learned first hand what a difference it really made. “When I did it, I was like ‘oh my God!’ This is really like a massive difference. I wish I’d did it years ago.”

Randy Brown will face Muslim Salikhov at UFC 296 next month, and Brown feels those who follow the sport closely will recognize the danger that match-up brings with it.

“For the hardcores and people who have been around, you know what it is. This is one of those guys, he was ranked at one point. 19-3, been around for a while, very dangerous striker, big finisher, he’s been knocking people out. Especially with that spinning hook kick. And I just think stylistically, with my style, that tough-and-go-y kind of style, it just makes for a banger.”

A banger would be right up Randy Brown’s alley. He got into the sport watching classic B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson fights, among others.

“I had this Renzo Gracie Academy in NYC, it was right down the street from where I was going to school. I was going to a little technical school there,” Brown called. “In between classes, I would just jump over there, seeing what it was about. Long story short, I started doing jiu-jitsu, getting in jiu-jitsu and after that, I just fell in love with fighting. Fell in love with mixed martial arts.”

Brown started seeing the likes of B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson in action, and began to wonder how he would fare in fights with kicks and knees and jiu-jitsu and the like. He then met his Sensei, and it wasn’t long before his career got rolling. “And here I am today.”

Watch our full interview with UFC 296 welterweight Randy Brown above.

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Oktagon 49 sees Todev (9-5) paired up with Hatef Moeil in the main event, and Todev did not mince words when asked about his prediction for the fight.

“We will see. But I’m going to give something special for the people. I’m ready to give something amazing, first of all,” Todev told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “I’m coming to bring him pain, I’m coming to rip his head off.”

That’s an ominous prediction to be sure. It makes sense, however, from a fighter who carries the well-earned nickname of “The Punisher,” a moniker a friend bestowed upon Lazar Todev just a few fights into his career.

“After two or three fights for me came the name. One friend gave me the name, because every time, I punish the fighters, the people [I face],” Todev recalled. “That’s it.”

Todev will enter Oktagon 49 on a seven-fight win streak in MMA, something he says boils down to “hard work.”

“That’s everything. I work very hard, after every fight, I work harder and harder,” said Todev. “And that’s everything.” And despite the five round fight he’s about to enter, Todev has not made any changes in fight camp. “No, actually not. I train every time for five rounds actually. That way I’m ready for this fight. I don’t want something difficult, something special. I train like this every time.”

“I trained my stand-up, my ground game, everything. My conditioning as well.”

A heavyweight on a seven-fight win streak, possibly eight after Oktagon 49, with a respected regional title would seem a sure-fire lock for one of MMA’s larger promotions, be it the UFC or PFL. Todev himself isn’t sure what the future brings, but spoke highly of Oktagon MMA.

“Nobody knows. Step-by-step, step-by-step, you know? First of all my plan is to win this title, and after this, probably to defend the title. Who knows? Maybe I can stay with Oktagon, they’re a great organization, I’m happy to be there. We’re going to talk after this fight, and we’ll see.”

Watch our full interview with Otkagon 49 headliner Lazar Todev above.

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