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.

That might suggest they see a little star power in bantamweight Talbott, who certainly doesn’t lack in the personality department. Of course, it was what he could show in the cage that mattered.

He wound up showing plenty. Right away Aguirre shot in on the legs and got Talbott down pretty easily. Aguirre interlaced the legs and secured wrist control to get a better position on the mat. Talbott was working with his back against the cage but Aguirre was all over him. Aguirre was almost on the back but Talbott got back to his feet. With Aguirre still halfway on his back. Finally Aguirre ended up jumping on the back fully and got Talbott down. Tallbott was in a terrible position with Aguirre tight on his back. Back to his feet went Talbott but the round ended with Aguirre on his back.

Talbott was coming out first in round two with a right hand and a heavy kick to the body. Aguirre shot in for a takedown but was too far out and Talboot defended. Talbott was getting in his grove. Aguirre ended up pulling guard and letting Talbott on top. Talbott did good work there but wound up letting Aguirre back up. Aguirre timed a takedown entry very well and ended up getting the takedown. Like in round one, Talbott got back up but with Aguirre on his back. Aguirre was too high though and Talbott got top position. Aguirre was moving well off his back but Talbott did some damage right before the bell.

In the final round it was likely tied at one round a piece. Talbott was pressuring Aguirre with punches forcing Aguirre to shoot. Talbott defended and turned towards Aguirre getting into full mount. He unloaded with ground and pound and Aguirre gave up his back. It was the striker in Talbott that locked up the RNC and the grappler Aguirre tapped.

Official Result: Payton Talbott def. Nick Aguirre by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 0:58

The post UFC Vegas 82: Payton Talbott Locks Up First Sub Win Against Nick Aguirre appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I did quite a bit of research and he’s a wrestler. It’s like classic striker versus wrestler matchup,” Talbott told reporters on Wednesday.

“Did a lot of studying. Watched him talk in his interviews, and I got a pretty good feel for who he is.”

Talbott did see that Aguirre has respect for him and doesn’t just see him as a debuting fighter who he can easily add to his resume.

“I thought it was really refreshing to see that he has an accurate depiction of the fight, and he’s not just like writing me off as like another dude that he’s going to KO. So that was cool to see,” said Talbott.

“He’s prepared for 15 minutes of hell and I am as well.”

Coming off the Contender Series and making his debut at UFC Vegas 82 Talbott knows he’ll have to grow up in the promotion.

“There’s still a lot of room for improvement and I’m making improvements with every fight,” he said.

Talbott’s friends and family compare him to Sean O’Malley, who is Talbott’s dream opponent, and he spoke on the new bantamweight champ.

“I thought it was pretty cool to watch and extremely surprising. He was doing very small things throughout the first round that were paying dividends throughout the fight that Aljo just didn’t pick up on,” he said.

“I think it was very well deserved and I’m happy to see that he has the belt now with how cool and marketable he is as a person.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Payton Talbott above. He takes on Nick Aguirre at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Payton Talbott Prepared For 15 Minutes Of Hell appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m a huge underdog and I know that. Lot of the pressure is on him,” Aguirre told reporters on Wednesday.

“They expect him to make a highlight out of me. They keep comparing him to Sean O’Malley. I know what that is, and I just need to go out there and shut all that sh*t down.”

Even with the hype Aguirre was not backing down from the fight. It’s anyone, anywhere, and anytime.

“I’m down to fight anyone and I think I showed the UFC that. I took the (Dan) Argueta fight on 5 days notice. No questions right away,” Aguirre said.

“This fight, I know he’s the biggest hyped guy in the Contender Series this year. I took that fight in a second. I’m here to compete, I’m here to be the best, so I’m not scared to fight anybody.”

All the talk about hype and pressure aside Aguirre knows Talbott is very good and expects a tough fight.

“It’s going to be a dog fight. He is good. He has a lot of talent, but I’m real good too. I don’t know if he really thinks I am. I don’t know if he respects me that way, but I’m going to show him how much talent I have,” he said.

“It’s going to be a dog fight and I’m ready for 15 minutes of hell.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Nick Aguirre above. He takes on Payton Talbott at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Nick Aguirre Not Buying Talbott “Sean O’Malley” Comparisons appeared first on Cageside Press.

Over the years, DWCS has usurped The Ultimate Fighter (currently running its rather inglorious 31st season with coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler) as the number one way for fighters to make it to the big show. Last season, 43 UFC contracts were handed out on the show. Though as fight fans likely recall, things go off to a rocky start, with only Joe Pyfer awarded a contract in the first week.

Would things play out differently as the Contender Series returned for 2023? Hopefully so. Among those in action, returning fighter Junior Cortez, brother of UFC women’s flyweight Tracy Cortez (who also won her way into the promotion on the show), heavyweight Caio Machado, and a number of other promising hopefuls.

Full results from Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 1 can be found below. The episode gets underway at 7PM ET, and will be followed by the latest instalment of The Ultimate Fighter.

The opening fight of the evening saw flyweights Kevin Borjas and Victor Dias go the distance. While Borjas was the underdog coming in, he out-struck his opponent and repeatedly ripped the body en route to a unanimous decision win. Dias had some success early in the fight with takedowns, but by the end, absorbing liver shot after liver shot, he was exhausted, while Borjas still looked ready to go.

The second fight of the night saw Payton Talbott impress with some crisp and at times unorthodox striking (spinning back elbows, and a flip mid-fight?!?). While Reyes Cortez had his moments in the bout, by the third he was cut open and trailing. A low blow gave Cortez ample recovery time, but he couldn’t turn things around. Talbott also stuffed a solid dozen takedowns, showing his TDD was up to snuff.

Heavyweight Caio Machado continued the decision streak, winning all three rounds on all three scorecards against Kevin Szaflarski. Machado, a Brazilian who has settled in Canada, took some big swings throughout the fight, while Szaflarski was low-offense especially in the early going. The final tally, per the broadcast? 130 strikes to 22 in favor of Machado.

In the opening round between lightweights Tom Nolan and Bogdan Grad, an exchange of fire on the feet led to a left hand landing for Nolan. That put Grad down in an instant, and a single follow-up ground strike eliminated any slim hope of the fallen fighter recovering. After three decisions, the first stoppage of the night!

It was back to the scorecards for the final fight of the evening, and it wasn’t close. In the cage, or with the judges. All three judges scored the fight for 35-year old middleweight Cesar Almeida, with wildly different scores from 30-26 to 29-27. Regardless, an dominant showing with plenty of ground control plus some sharp leg kicks from Almeida.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 1 Results

Middleweight: Cesar Almeida def. Lucas Fernando by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
Lightweight: Tom Nolan def. Bogdan Grad by KO (left hook), Round 1, 1:23
Heavyweight: Caio Machado def. Kevin Szaflarski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Payton Talbott def. Reyes Cortez Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Flyweight: Kevin Borjas def. Victor Dias by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Contract winners: Kevin Borjas, Payton Talbott, Caio Machado, Tom Nolan, Cesar Almeida

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 1 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

As a result, the Dana White’s Contender Series 2023 season opener comes at a special start time of 7PM ET, but still on its traditional home of Tuesday night.

The show has produced stars like Jamahal Hill, Sean O’Malley, Geoff Neal, and Adrian Yanez — and has become a proven pathway to the UFC. 43 contracts for the big show were handed out in 2022, in fact, a record-setting number.

All ten fighters successfully made weight on Monday for the season’s kick-off episode, with names like Caio Machado, a longtime heavyweight prospect, and Junior Cortez, brother of UFC flyweight star Tracey Cortez. He was making his return to the series, in fact, after coming up short in 2021.

We caught up with Machado and Payton Talbott ahead of this card, so be sure to check out those interviews (linked)!

Full results from the Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 1 weigh-in can be found below. The show airs on ESPN+ in the U.S., and on UFC Fight Pass in international markets.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 1 Weigh-In Results

Middleweight: Cesar Almeida (185.5) vs. Lucas Fernando (186)
Lightweight: Tom Nolan (155) vs. Bogdan Grad (156)
Heavyweight: Caio Machado (256) vs. Kevin Szaflarski (260.5)
Bantamweight: Payton Talbott (135.5) vs. Reyes Cortez Jr. (135.5)
Flyweight: Kevin Borjas (125.5) vs. Victor Dias (126)

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 1 Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Will 2023’s crop of rookies produce similar contenders? We’ll know soon enough! In the meantime, we’re back with our breakdown and predictions for episode one, which gets underway at an early start time, 7PM ET.

Flyweight: Kevin Borjas vs. Victor Dias

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: This was supposed to be Rickson Zenidim fighting Borjas but now we get Victor Dias. Dias is an excellent replacement and could be someone that could’ve gone straight to the UFC. He’s a winner of his last five and is the reigning Titan FC flyweight champion.

I don’t see this as a competitive fight at all. I had Zenidim beating Borjas so I think Dias runs through Borjas. I expect an early takedown and a rear-naked choke finish.

The post DWCS 2023: Episode 1 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Reno’s Payton Talbott didn’t think to highly of MMA. While he’s riding a 10-fight win streak into a Contender Series showdown with a UFC contract on the line, he not only didn’t know this was his career path, but he wasn’t even the slightest interested in it. Then, something changed his outlook.

“I didn’t know I wanted to do [MMA]. I used to watch UFC events or hear of them and just think it was super barbaric and lame,” Talbott explained. “But I watched some highlights of Conor McGregor knockouts and I just needed an outlet in life, so I went to the nearest gym.”

After heading to the nearest gym, the Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat bantamweight champ knew this was the sport for him. However, having come from a wrestling background, it wasn’t the grappling arts that appealed to him. Instead of falling back on what he was familiar with, he jumped with two feet into being an entertainer.

“I took a class and we sparred on the first day and I just fell in love with it,” he shared. “I feel like everything clicked for me in MMA, but striking is just more exciting. Nobody wants to see you hold on to a guy for a whole round. Nobody wants to see you wrestle unless you’re throwing someone.”

That desire to be entertaining and to use the hands stems from those first McGregor highlights that Talbott saw. However, since then, he’s found inspiration in so many talented strikers, including some outside of the realm of mixed martial arts.

“I’d like to say I’ve taken and borrowed a lot of things from fighters that are very successful. Conor Mcgregor is one of them, just with his confidence, his manifestation, and the fact that he likes to make his fights exciting,” “I think I’m also borrowed from boxers like Lomachenko, also Max Holloway, Israel Adesanya.”

If he’s looking to put of a show, he’s in the right place. Talbott will look to impress Dana White on week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series this Tuesday. He’ll face Reyes Cortez on ESPN+.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 36:10.

The post Contender Series’ Payton Talbott is Here to Entertain appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chelsea Chandler Interview (2:23)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC featherweight, Chelsea Chandler. Chandler discusses the shake up in the two divisions she competes in thanks to Amanda Nunes retiring. However, she isn’t fully convinced that we don’t see “The Lioness” back in the cage as some point. In order to see it, she believes we need a challenger to make it worth her time and effort. Although she’s not fighting at UFC 290 this weekend, she is looking to get eyes on herself and the entire featherweight division come next weekend. She’ll face Norma Dumont in a fight she’s been chasing – and, of course, she’s giving us her thoughts on that fight.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC 290 (20:51)

Next, we’re getting into all the UFC 290 goodness. This weekend’s pay-per-view offering is one of the most stacked cards in recent memory. Two titles will be on the line – the featherweight and the flyweight straps. We’ll be breaking down both of thos fights as well as some other main card action as well. Then, we’re digging into the rest of the card to find an underdog and a parlay that we think will help to make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Payton Talbott Interview (36:10)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with Contender Series bantamweight, Payton Talbott. Talbott discusses his philophy of fighting and why he likes to put on a show on the feet. He also shares thoughts about his time in Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat and how it helped prepare him for his big moment at the Apex. He’ll get his chance to impress Dana White and the rest of the UFC brass on the first week of Contender Series. He’ll face off with Contender Series veteran, Junior Cortez in that fight.

The post TTP Ep. 385 with Chelsea Chandler, Payton Talbott, and UFC 290 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Pretty soon, we are going to start hearing some names being thrown around and fights being made. Each year the product gets better and better. UFC contracts are being handled out more each season because the talent is getting stronger and stronger. Which gives us lots to look forward to this year.

With that in mind, here are twenty-five names we expect (and in some cases just hope) will be featured during the upcoming DWCS season.

Cristian “Puas” Pérez

Lightweight | 23 | Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico | 11-1 | 2 KO/TKOs, 6 Submissions | Combined Opponent’s Record: 62-32-2

Perez was rumored to be on this coming season of TUF but for some reason, he didn’t make the final cut. Perez is an athlete under the Combate Global banner that’s a top lightweight prospect. 2021 was a huge year for Perez. He started off 5-0 but ended the year losing in the finals of the tournament Combate held. In 2022 Perez got back on track going 3-0. The young 23-year-old Mexican always brings it and brings a well-rounded skillset. The UFC needs more talent from Mexico and Perez would be a great addition to the Contender Series roster.

Akonne “J3DI” Wanliss

Lightweight | 31 | Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England | 6-2 | 3 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions | Combined Opponent’s Record: 26-6-1

Wanliss is a former Bellator fighter but is now the Levels Fight League lightweight champion. He’s coming off a win over Manuel Gaxhja who was going to be on the Contender Series in 2021 but missed weight and had to pull out. So that’s a good win on his resume. He’s a physical specimen born in Jamaica and living in England. Wanliss could be Bellator’s loss and UFC’s gain.

The post Scouting Prospects for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 appeared first on Cageside Press.