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

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Early on in the UFC Vegas 82 co-feature, it was Matthews holding center, but soon enough Morales pressed back, both men ready to strike at a moment’s notice. It was single strikes through the first 90 seconds or so, with plenty of feints mixed in. Matthews slipped, but quickly returned to his feet, averting possible disaster. Moments later, however, a powerful Morales punch pushed Matthews back; while Matthews landed as well, there was a clear differential in power.

As the opening round wore on, Matthews played the counter game, though more often than not he hit air, not Michael Morales. However, “The Celtic Kid” did hit the mark at least once; Morales, meanwhile, fired an explosive jump knee and always seemed ready to finish the fight.

Morales went on the attack about a minute into the second round, firing uppercuts and straight punches, forcing Matthews to cover up and retreat. Matthews regrouped, and began pushing forward again, firing a 1-2, circling, and looking for a way inside only to eat a leg kick or two. The second frame was a back-and-forth affair with both men landing, hard shots at that, though neither came close to finishing the fight.

What had been a very lively affair was still up for grabs as round three arrived, but the wind came out of the sails — specifically Morales’ sail — when Matthews connected low with a kick in the opening minute. Morales was given a time out to recover, but took only 30 seconds of the allotted five minutes.

Back in action, Morales kicked the leg of a charging Matthews. The pair continued to trade, with Morales occasionally finding an opening to land an uppercut. Late in the round, he ducked in on a takedown attempt, which Matthews stuffed. They ended up swinging to the final bell in a hard-hitting scrap, with Michael Morales earning the nod on the scorecards. He improved to 16-0 with the win.

Official Result: Michael Morales def. Jake Matthews by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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“Always very excited. Without diminishing his power, or his journey in the UFC, but I’m very happy to actually have this opportunity,” Morales told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Just somebody who I can understand where I am as a fighter. I keep training improving for different fights. I still always try to improve for the next fight.”

Morales sees some similarities between himself and Matthews in fighting styles. He believes that will make for an exciting fight on Saturday night.

“I think it’s the unorthodox fighting style like I have. Someone who strikes with his hands down like I do. I think it’s going to be very curious. I think it’s going to be a clash of styles,” said Morales.

“It’s a little harder to asses what the other fighter’s going to do because when your hands are down and you’re a striker you don’t know where they’re coming from.”

One topic of conversation that came up was that of the nickname. Morales currently has no nickname, but his fandom of the Spiderman character Miles Morales may be just what he’s looking for.

“Thinking about the nickname as well. I think that’s going to be up to the fans as well to kind of decide for my next fights, but I really like the connection with Miles Morales for the future,” Morales said.

“To be in the game in the future as well.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Michael Morales above. He takes on Jake Matthews at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Michael Morales Sees Matthews Fight As Measuring Stick appeared first on Cageside Press.

Strickland made it back-to-back wins, scoring his first finish since 2020 when he fought Brendan Allen, also at the Apex. Let’s take a look at what could be next for him and the other fighters who were victorious on the night.

Sean Strickland

This match-up was an interesting one from a rankings point of view. Magomedov was coming in as an unranked middleweight having only beaten Dustin Stoltzfus prior, making this fight hard to justify for Strickland.

Strickland is someone who isn’t going to turn down a fight though, despite him having little to gain from a win. Having said that, the fashion in which the 32-year-old won now puts him back into the title conversation.

From the UFC’s point of view, whoever won this fight was going to see themselves as a new contender for current champion, Israel Adesanya. Whether Strickland is next though, depends on the outcome of Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. If Dricus Du Plessis wins, he’s undoubtedly next. If “The Reaper” is victorious, a trilogy fight between him and Adesanya is a tough sell for fans. That’s where Strickland could see himself slide into the equation. Failing that, Strickland could see himself having to fight someone like Vettori next.

Strickland’s Next Fight: Israel Adesanya (dependent on Whittaker vs Du Plessis result)

Grant Dawson

Since his draw to Ricky Glenn in 2021, Dawson has gone three fights unbeaten with his win against Ismagulov this weekend being his most impressive. With that the 29-year-old will likely take Ismagulov’s rank 12 spot.

Coming into this fight, Ismagulov’s future was relatively unknown as this was the final fight on his current contract and he had already flirted with retirement. Dawson has now showcased his grappling in back-to-back outings against fellow top level grapplers.

Dawson has likely earned a fight up the rankings in his next one, but the top end of the lightweight division have notoriously sat on their perch and not defended their rankings.

Renato Moicano was scheduled to take on Arman Tsarukyan recently, but he pulled out just weeks prior. That could be a match-up that makes sense for both.

Dawson’s Next Fight: Renato Moicano

Michael Morales

One of the most exciting prospects in MMA moved to 15-0, with a win over the highly experienced, Max Griffin.

For the 24-year-old, gaining a win over a fighter like Max Griffin is pretty big and it also shows fans where abouts he is in his career. Morales has previously been scheduled to fight the equally impressive Rinat Fakhretdinov, but this fight doesn’t make sense for him at the moment.

A fellow 170lber that has recently picked up a decent win is, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. A win over the Brazilian could put Morales right on the precipice of the rankings.

Morales’ Next Fight: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos 

Ariane Lipski

“The Queen of Violence” made it consecutive victories for the first time since 2020 with her win over fellow Brazilian Melissa Gatto at UFC Vegas 76.

Lipski spent time in her training camp with Amanda Nunes, and the hard-work and elite level of training clearly benefitted her game. The 29-year-old did a tremendous job of nullifying the grappling of Gatto, whilst also making sure she did enough work on the feet to take the decision. She did just that, picking up her seventh decision win.

Amanda Ribas was recently defeated by Macey Barber and that is a fight that could make sense with them being on similar timescale.

Lipski’s Next Fight: Amanda Ribas 

Benoit Saint-Denis

The Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis impressed once again, this time with a huge win over the highly touted Brazilian, Ismael Bonfim.

From the beginning of the fight Bonfim seemed to want to make it a dog fight, throwing looping left and rights and completely neglecting his defense. “God of War” didn’t allow himself to get dragged into a fire fight and fought with a calm composure. It only took him one round to showcase his delightful grappling at the highest level, picking up his third win-in-a-row.

During his Octagon interview, Saint-Denis called for a fight with Mateusz Gamrot in Paris. That fight would be a grappler’s delight, and would also make sense from a geographical standpoint as Gamrot could fight close to his home of Poland.

Saint-Denis’ Next Fight: Mateusz Gamrot 

Nursulton Ruziboev

The UFC debutant pulled off a big shock in the opening fight of the main card, snatching Brunno Ferreira’s 0.

The Uzbek came into his UFC debut as one of the most experienced fighters to debut. The knockout blow came after just over a minute, when the 29-year-old caught a leg kick attempt of Ferreira’s and returned a huge right hand, knocking him out clean.

This has now set Ruziboev up for a decent name in his second UFC fight. A fight with Eryk Anders could be one that makes sense amongst many others.

Ruziboev’s Next Fight: Eryk Anders

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Max Griffin may be 7-7 in the UFC, but his losses and wins have come against some of the best welterweights in the division. This was the toughest test of knockout artist Morales’ young career, and at only 24 years of age he passed that test.

The pair traded in the center to start the fight, both men landing. They were both light on their feet thereafter as they worked out the range between them. Morales was clearly the longer fighter but he struggled to land on Griffin when Max went straight back to avoid. The striking volume was low; they each threw the occasional low kick but Morales missed on most of his combos and Griffin threw mostly singular jabs. Until, that is, Griffin landed a straight right which momentarily stunned Morales.

Max then shot for a takedown but Morales got the underhooks and defended it. His right eye was now swelling heavily. Griffin had another takedown defended and this time held Morales in the clinch for a while after. Morales landed a good knee and got away, back to distance. Morales bit down on his mouthpiece and went forward more after that but still had trouble tracking Griffin down in the rest of round one.

The second round began slowly but thirty seconds in Morales landed two 1-2 combinations that each hurt Griffin, one after the other. Morales stalked his hurt prey on the feet and landed another right hand as he had Griffin’s back almost right up against the fence. He let off the pressure a bit thereafter though and Griffin seemed to recover. Morales landed a couple sharp jabs but often whiffed on wild swinging overhands to follow up. He periodically swarmed forward with combination punches but the rapid retreats of Max Griffin got him out of the way of most of the strikes in time.

With two minutes left in the round Max shot a takedown but Morales defended it with confidence. With fifty seconds left Michael Morales landed a superman punch that wobbled the legs of Griffin. While he swarmed for the finish though, referee Kerry Hatley stopped the fight for an incidental groin strike. Griffin was soon recovered and the fight resumed. The round ended with Morales pressing the action once more.

The final round started with all to play for as it could be 19-19; Morales almost definitely won the second round but the first could have gone either way. Griffin landed some shots of his own to start round three but began to get wild on the feet, overextending himself. Morales defended a takedown and then landed a big flying knee, but Max stayed on the feet. Morales defended another takedown after that but Griffin got into the body lock in the clinch. He picked up Michael and put him down but Morales got right back up and hit a switch to escape the position.

Back in the striking each man swung for the fences. Griffin waited for opportunities to run forward, head down, into takedown attempts. That ducking was dangerous and he soon paid for it as he ducked into a flying knee, but Griffin survived it. Morales then threw him to the mat with a neat Muay Thai sweep. Going into the last minute the round still hung in the balance. Most of each man’s strikes missed in that final minute. Griffin tried for another takedown late but Morales reversed it and threw him to the ground, where the round finished.

The judges scorecards were up in the air going into the decision, but it felt as if Morales had done enough to get the win. When Joe Martinez read the scores out they unanimously had it for Michael Morales, who remained undefeated and got his fifteenth professional victory.

Official Result: Michael Morales def. Max Griffin by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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“It was an experience. Another experience for me something that added to what I’ve experienced in the past,” Morales told reporters through a translator about his time away from fighting on Wednesday.

“I was injured and I was still training. I kept training. Always active. I feel I was able to get better. Get complete. I’m at 100% right now.”

In his first fight back he won’t have an easy opponent as Griffin comes in having won 4 of his last 5 fights.

“I think his experience is his biggest advantage. He comes in wanting to win. So am I. I’m not going to back down and it’s a great opportunity obviously to get such an experienced fighter for me to continue to improve in the UFC,” he said.

A win over Griffin would be big for Morales, but he’s not going to rush the process of making his way into and up the rankings.

“I want to continue doing this. I want to continue to train. I want to continue to have the opportunity to fight to actually evolve and get better challenges,” he said.

“To show people…Chito Vera and everybody in Ecuador and at home can see me just improving and putting on a show.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Michael Morales above. He takes on Max Griffin at UFC Vegas 76 at the UFC APEX on Saturday night.

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The welterweight pairing was the final early prelim at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.

The fight would make it into the third round before Morales sealed the deal, extending his win streak to 14.

Fugitt opened up the fight with a few kicks but Morales did counter him with a straight right. Fugitt was staying busy with his legs keeping Morales on the outside. Morales was lunging in with the bigger shots but the unbeaten welterweight prospect wasn’t landing anything clean. He did catch Fugitt slipping with a nice right hand. That forced Fugitt to change levels and get Morales to the mat.

Morales was doing well defensively and eventually elevated Fugitt enough to get back to his feet. Morales wanted to get back at Fugitt but ate two big left hands from him instead. Morales wasn’t respecting the power of Fugitt going right at him walking through clean punches from Fugitt to end the round.

The second superman punch thrown by Michael Morales started the second round. Morales was getting more confident on the outside with his left jab and right hand. Fugitt was still pressing forward and landing but nothing was seeming to faze Morales. Morales landed two cracking right hands but Fugitt was showing a strong chin. Not shaken, Fugitt was still throwing a lot of kicks and left hands. With that said Morales was landing more. He landed another good right hook forcing Fugitt to curl up for a moment.

In the final round, Fugitt shot in for a takedown early. He didn’t get it but did land a big left hook. Morales responded with another right hand forcing Fugitt to engage on another takedown. It didn’t happen and Morales finally dropped him with a one-two. Fugitt got up but took another right and he fell, after which the ref stepped in.

Watch out WW division – @MichaelMMA21 has 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃! #UFC277 pic.twitter.com/5foyFv9zhK

— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2022

At just 23, Michael Morales is now 14-0, and one to watch at 170 pounds.

Official Result: Michael Morales def. Adam Fugitt by TKO, Round 3, 1:09

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Adam Fugitt
Standing at 6’1″
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
33-years-old
Fighting out of Eugene, Oregon, US
Training out of Art of War MMA & Fitness
A pro record of 8-2
4 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions

How will Fugitt fare in the UFC:

Fugitt is getting this opportunity after knocking out Contender Series veteran Solomon Renfro. Knocking out Renfro is no joke so the signing is understandable. Fugitt wrestled in high school and in a community college with a background in kickboxing and muay thai as well.

With his background across all disciplines, Fugitt is a better wrestler than anything else. He’s talented at closing the distance getting a snap down and taking the back. On top he’s good at using his leverage in dominant positions to work on finishing the fight. Fugitt has active ground and pound and has a variety of submission attempts. However when it comes to classic wrestling skills Fugitt isn’t great. He’s too stiff and relies on taking the back door and dumping opponents on the mat.

On the feet Fugitt is comfortable. He throws good kicks even though he hardly changes up his patterns. His hands are decent and he does a good job blending them behind his kicks. There are some concerns though. Fugitt telegraphs his offense and defensively his hands are low and his chin is high. He’s been knocked out before and honestly, it’s bound to happen again unless he shores things up. I like Fugitt and I think he is currently borderline UFC level. I believe he can beat a few foes at the bottom of the roster but will never make any waves higher up.

How he matches up with Morales:

There is an opening in this fight for Fugitt, as the takedown defense for Morales is still in question. Morales is still raw but with just a lot of upside. He’s going to be faster and more athletic compared to Fugitt. Fugitt is there to be hit and Morales finished Giles last fight so I’m sure he can catch Fugitt. I do think Fugitt has a shot in this fight but Morales has the tools to make this one a one-sided fight.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Adam Fugitt appeared first on Cageside Press.

Francis Ngannou

To say that Francis Ngannou had the pressure of the world on his shoulders before his fight at UFC 270 might be an understatement. On Saturday, the man was fighting two fights against Ciryl Gane and his employer, the UFC. Oh, and he tore his ACL and MCL before the fight. The future for Ngannou within the UFC is quite frankly up in the air. UFC President Dana White didn’t wrap the heavyweight title around him after his win on Saturday, and that within itself is very telling. White also skipped the post-fight press conference.

If Ngannou signs a new contract and stays with the UFC, he should welcome Jon Jones to the heavyweightg division. That absolutely could be one of the biggest fights in the history of the organization.

Ngannou’s next fight: Jon Jones

Deiveson Figueiredo

Figueiredo’s move to Fight Ready in Arizona paid off on Saturday as he defeated Brandon Moreno in their trilogy. The fight was terrific, and the flyweight pair won Fight of the Night for their efforts. Unfortunately or fortunately, the score is now 1-1-1, and a fourth fight might just be the answer. Actually, yes, that is the answer. Figueiredo vs. Moreno IV in Brazil at UFC 274.

Figueiredo’s next fight: Brandon Moreno

Michel Pereira

After a rocky start to his UFC career, Michel Pereira has now rattled off four straight wins. He also spoiled Andre Fialho’s promotional debut at UFC 270. “Demolidor” was initially supposed to fight Muslim Salikov for a chance at the welterweight top 15 rankings; however, there might be a very good chance Pereira ends up in the rankings on Tuesday anyway. For his next fight, he should be fighting someone in the top 15. Pereira could be rebooked with Salikov, fight Santiago Ponzinibbio or he could jump up and fight No. 10 ranked Michael Chiesa. All three options are very fun match-ups. I lean towards giving him Chiesa.

Pereira’s next fight: Michael Chiesa

Said Nurmagomedov

Said Nurmagomedov picked up his biggest win at UFC 270 when he defeated Cody Stamann in 47 seconds. The Russian has now stopped his last two opponents in under a minute and is very close to a top 15 spot. Nurmagomedov should fight the winner of Jack Shore and Timur Valiev, which goes down at UFC London on March 19. The Russian was supposed to fight Shore last year but pulled out of the fight a few weeks before their scheduled match-up.

Nurmagomedov’s next fight: Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev winner

Michael Morales

Michael Morales had a very successful UFC debut on Saturday. He finished Trevin Giles in the first round via TKO, spoiling his welterweight debut. At 22-years old, the future is very, very bright for Morales. He is undefeated at 13-0 and has stopped all but two of those opponents. Morales should fight Tim Means for his second UFC fight, who just had to pull out of his fight with Jeremiah Wells due to COVID. Means said he wants to fight in April, which could be an awesome quick turnaround for Morales.

Morales’ next fight: Tim Means

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“It doesn’t matter as much being on a different part of the card just because fortunately I’m able to control my thoughts and be focused on the fight. That’s the only thing I can control which is the fight in front of me. I’m very happy for all my team members in the gym because even though the stuff that happened before, they were able to make it here, which is for so many people so hard. Not many can, so, just to be able to share this moment with everyone in the gym was very important,” Morales said through a translator at his post-fight media scrum.

Morales (13-0) defeated Trevin Giles (14-4) in the opening slot of the PPV at UFC 270 on Saturday night. Giles was able to put Morales in some tough spots before the Ecuadorian fighter took control and finished Giles via TKO in the first round.

“At the end everything turned out alright, but yet he was able to to impose some pressure. He connected on a couple shots he had a really good strike there. Thankfully it didn’t, I didn’t get knocked out of my senses, so I everything was fine. So all I had to do was focus on continuing to defend, to turn things around and start going after him. Thankfully nothing happened there.”

“He might have a good jab but he didn’t knock me down. Every fighter is good. He’s a very experienced fighter. Everyone here I have a lot of respect for everyone because these are all high-level fighter so it doesn’t matte who it is. I respect them but we came out on top,” Morales said.

As far was what is next Morales is ready to do whatever the UFC puts in front of him.

“Whatever God wants is what is next. Dana is the boss he’s the one who gives out orders. Wherever he puts me I’m willing to fight against anyone, at anytime, anywhere I’ll fight. I just need to recover from this fight and then i’ll be back at 100% to represent my country Ecuador and Mexico.”

Morales sent a message to his family and friends during the media scrum.

“Mom, I love you! Your son is on television! Expect big things from me! I know you’re crying right now that the whole world is watching us at home, but we’re moving up. Hello to my brothers, to my father, to everyone who is watching. My cousins, my uncles, I have family here with me, hello to them. I love you Mom for giving me life.”

Watch the full UFC 270 post-fight press conference with Michael Morales above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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