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.

Dana White has hinted at an immediate rematch, but Adesanya stayed mum following the fight, and there are a lot of different ways the UFC could go. So let’s play a little matchmaker for the main card winners of UFC 293.

Sean Strickland

There are three real options for newly-crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s first title defense after his dismantling of Israel Adesanya. First is the rematch with Adesanya, an idea that Dana White floated in the immediate aftermath of UFC 293, though he received some fan backlash given that Adesanya is now 1-2 in his last three fights.

The second option is a fight against Dricus du Plessis, who became the top contender in the division after defeating Robert Whittaker earlier this year. Dricus would have been the one fighting Adesanya at UFC 293 if not for an injury which made it impossible and allowed Sean Strickland to step in and become champion. The last option is the winner of a high-profile bout between Paulo Costa and one of the hottest prospects in MMA history: Khamzat Chimaev.

Of these three, Dricus absolutely deserves it the most. He is undefeated in the UFC, winning all of his fights except for one by finish, and is not about to have his first-ever ranked fight in the division, like Chimaev. Chimaev may be the future, but there is no guarantee he will beat Costa, and the winner of that fight will not have as impressive of a current resume as Dricus du Plessis.

Strickland’s Next Fight: Dricus du Plessis

Alexander Volkov

Volkov put on a masterclass in enemy territory at UFC 293 as he beat Tai Tuivasa by submission. As a long-time veteran of the UFC heavyweight division, Volkov has fought almost every top contender out there. The only new fighters he has not fought are Jailton Almeida and Sergei Pavlovich.

Pavlovich is too highly ranked for Volkov right now, but Jailton would make sense if he can beat Curtis Blaydes. Of course, Blaydes could also win that fight, but enough time has passed since Volkov first took on Curtis that a rematch would not be far-fetched. Either way the Russian would have to stave off a strong wrestling attack to get his hand raised.

Volkov’s Next Fight: Winner of Blaydes/Almeida

Manel Kape

Manel Kape was initially supposed to face Kai Kara-France at UFC 293, but Kara-France pulled out with a concussion and so Kape had to risk his ranking against a debuting flyweight from Chutebox gym. Felipe Dos Santos pushed Kape to his limit in a ‘Fight of the Night’ but Manel held on for the win.

Now the only logical booking is to reschedule Kape vs Kara-France. If Manel can win he would have an argument for a title shot in his next fight, but KKF is no easy out at 125-lbs.

Kape’s Next Fight: Kai Kara-France

Justin Tafa

The elder Tafa brother got his revenge after getting eye poked and having his first fight with Austin Lane declared a no-contest as a result. Justin knocked out the former NFL player in the very first round to improve his record to 4-3.

A three fight winning streak puts Tafa in a good position to make a run at the rankings. Up next he should fight someone like Augusto Sakai, who was recently demoted from the rankings— and let go by the promotion off a win. There’s a chance he gets re-signed, and a win against a formerly ranked heavyweight would be Tafa’s biggest yet and would give him a currently ranked opponent next. If Sakai doesn’t wind up back on a new contract, the winner of Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento could work as well. Mayes isn’t ranked at the moment, while Nasicmento holds down the #15 slot in a very thin division.

Tafa’s Next Fight: Augusto Sakai or Nascimento/Mayes winner.

Tyson Pedro

Light heavyweight prospect Tyson Pedro rebounded from a disappointing loss by knocking out Anton Turkalj after Turkalj delivered some unusual trash talk in the build-up. His celebration, a mock sword execution, will live on in viral clips for ages.

Pedro now can focus again on maximizing his potential and shooting for a future spot in the rankings. A fellow exciting knockout artist that Tyson could fight next is Nicolae Negumereanu. The Romanian fighter is 4-2 in the UFC and is at a similar spot in his career to Pedro, making the fight both meaningful and likely exciting.

Pedro’s Next Fight: Nicolae Negumereanu

The post What’s Next: UFC 293 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

No one predicted a dominant performance by Sean Strickland that would dethrone Israel Adesanya. Few predicted “The Last Stylebender” to be dethroned at all; Adesanya was a heavy favorite, with Strickland a 7 to 1 underdog with some oddsmakers.

But Strickland set the tone early in the fight, knocking Adesanya down at the end of the opening round. Adesanya rallied back to win the second, but from there, it was Strickland backing Adesanya up, leading the fight and doing the so-called “man dance” to the best of his considerable ability.

For his efforts, Strickland will take home one of two Performance of the Night bonuses on the card, despite going the distance in the fight. The other big winner was Justin Tafa, who knocked out Austen Lane in a rematch of the pair’s Jacksonville, Florida fight earlier this year.

Fight of the Night at UFC 293 went to a heated flyweight affair between Manel Kape and newcomer Felipe dos Santos. Just weeks ago, dos Santos was a hopeful on the Contender Series, but with his fight falling through and Kape’s original opponent Kai Kara-France pulling out of UFC 293, dos Santos got to jump straight to the main roster. In the end, Kape came away with the win, and fired off an explosive, profane post-fight speech aimed directly at Kara-France, who was in attendance and threw up double middle fingers in response.

All four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts. Attendance at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia was 18,168 — with UFC President Dana White listing that as a sellout.

The post Sean Strickland Bags Performance Bonus After Historic Upset at UFC 293 appeared first on Cageside Press.

That first match-up had come in Florida, on Lane’s home turf, so it was rather fitting for the rematch to arrive in Sydney, where fans would be firmly in “Bad Man” Tafa’s corner.

Unbelievably, Lane landed both a low blow and an eye poke in the opening seconds of the fight, leading to a brief break in the action. Instantly, the concern was another fight being lost to a No Contest, but luckily, the damage was negligible. With Tafa none the worse for the wear, things got back underway, and Tafa immediately connected. Lane ate that shot, but he couldn’t handle a second one moments later. Tafa connected and dropped Lane, who laid on his back, dazed. The left hand that put Lane down followed up with blow after blow, until the ref came in to wave things off.

While their first fight had lasted just 29 seconds, this one at least eclipsed the one minute mark, though just barely.

Official Result: Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 1:22

The post UFC 293: Justin Tafa Stops Austen Lane Early in Rematch, Still Takes Another Eye Poke appeared first on Cageside Press.

There’s another fight, or more accurately another event, that Tafa (6-3, 1NC) is looking forward to. Not a specific Pay-Per-View or Fight Night, but rather, sharing a UFC card with brother Junior.

That was supposed to transpire at UFC 284 earlier this year, but unfortunately, it didn’t come to pass. It remains a massive goal for the “Bad Man,” however.

“Massive. That’s just a goal of ours,” Tafa stated during this week’s UFC 293 media day. “We fought together on amateur shows, community centres, and then a bit bigger and a bit bigger, and now this is the pinnacle of combat sports. To do that, only a few families have been able to do that, so it will just be history.”

For now, Justin Tafa will have to accept going it alone. Brother Junior fought a couple of weeks ago in Singapore, while Justin has the Lane rematch. In the pair’s initial meeting, an eye poke rendered him unable to continue. That switched things up a little in training camp.

“Obviously I limited my sparring this time around, because of the eye injury,” noted Tafa. “And just made sure I came in as best prepped as I can.”

Admitting that the do-over was a blessing in disguise after spending five weeks bedridden ahead of the first fight with Lane, Tafa also revealed that he wasn’t really interested in the rematch all that much. But a few words from one of Lane’s coaches changed his mind.

“Honestly I didn’t want it, I was like ‘oh well.’ But then his coach started talking sh*t. I was like ‘first of all, you’re a jiu-jitsu coach talking about striking.’ The man’s probably never been jabbed in his life,” Tafa stated. “That’s the only reason why. You’re going to crop the result of your coaches talking sh*t.”

There’s no ill will towards Austen Lane himself, Tafa added. “He’s a good dude, made a mistake. But talking smack and thinking nothing will happen…”

Tafa trailed off. You probably, however, get the point.

Watch the full UFC 293 media day appearance by Justin Tafa above.

The post UFC 293: Justin Tafa Says Sharing Card with Brother Junior Still “Massive” Goal appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ilia Topuria

The Georgian featherweight locked in his spot as a truly elite fighter with his demolition of Josh Emmett in the UFC Jackonsville main event. There are only two real options for what to do next with Topuria: title shot or number one contender fight. Max Holloway has been knocking off featherweight contenders for over two years now, keeping them from reaching Alex Volkanovski.

There is no point in testing Ilia against Holloway now. In two weeks Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez will unify the featherweight title, putting the winner of that fight likely on a similar timeline to Topuria for their next fight. Topuria seems ready and able to compete now with the likes of them, so this is not moving too fast, too soon for the undefeated Spaniard.

Topuria’s Next Fight: Winner of Volkanovski/Rodriguez

Maycee Barber

Maycee Barber put on the most violent display of her career when she bloodied, bruised, and finished Amanda Ribas in the UFC Jacksonville co-main event. This fifth win in a row tied her for the longest winning streak in the division with champion Alexa Grasso and top contender Erin Blanchfield.

Barber has never been closer to a title shot. However, most top 125 pounders are booked to fight. The highest ranked fighter not currently scheduled is Katlyn Chookagian. Chookagian has traditionally been a test for up-and-coming flyweight talent which some pass while others fail. Barber vs Chookagian would tell us exactly where Maycee is currently at skill-wise.

Barber’s Next Fight: Katlyn Chookagian

Julian Lane and Justin Tafa

Former Jacksonville Jaguar Julian Lane had the ultimate disappointment in his UFC debut as he accidentally eye poked Justin Tafa, leading to the fight being declared a no-contest as blood poured out of the rapidly swelling eye of Tafa. As with most no-contests, the most logical thing to do here is book a rematch. However it will likely not be in Jacksonville again, which must be a tough pill to swallow for Lane given the love he received from the local fans on Saturday.

Lane and Tafa’s Next Fight: Each Other

David Onama

David Onama bounced back from a loss in a Fight of the Year candidate to stop Gabriel Santos in round two of a fight he seemed behind in. This fight was a war just like his last, but Onama remained more calm and measured as he picked his spots, did not gas out, and found the kill switch.

Onama could face any of a number of fellow unranked action fighters at featherweight next. One such is Ricardo Ramos, famous for having not one but two spinning back elbow knockouts in the UFC. Ramos is coming off of his most recent one all the way back in June of 2022 and so he should be ready to fight again soon.

Onama’s Next Fight: Ricardo Ramos

Brendan Allen

Brendan Allen and Bruno Silva swung for the bleachers in the main card opener of UFC Jacksonville and Silva fell first. Allen was then able to jump on top and use his submission skills to finish the fight, earning a fifth straight win and defending his #13 ranking.

Now that he’s defended his ranking it’s time for him to force someone else to defend theirs. Jack Hermansson is currently ranked tenth at 185-lbs and his wrestling poses a challenge that Allen has not had to face in a while. Both men are well-rounded and the fight seems competetive on paper but could herald a new top-10 contender in the middleweight division, perhaps one who may give champion Israel Adesanya a run for his money one day.

Allen’s Next Fight: Jack Hermansson

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You know how this works by now — it’s our time to play matchmaker. We’ll take a look at the losing side of Saturday’s card to see what comes next for the fighters in question.

Josh Emmett

Josh Emmett always had a puncher’s chance at stopping Ilia Topuria in the UFC Jacksonville main event — but it never seemed like much more than that. And when the knockout wasn’t there, Topuria pulled further and further ahead, picking Emmett apart. By the fifth round, as Emmett’s corner was insisting that he was still in the fight, trying to motivate their man, the rest of us watching saw the writing was on the wall.

Emmett proved to have plenty of heart and chin by surviving until the end of the fight. But this setback is particularly soul-crushing. Emmett was coming off a loss in an interim title fight against Yair Rodriguez, and back-to-back losses at age 38 means it is highly unlikely he can work his way back to a title shot — and even more unlikely that he can win it. Fighters north of 35 have had a historically rough go in title fights in the UFC’s lower weight classes, after all.

One thing we don’t do in this column is tell fighters to retire, though Emmett probably should reflect on what he wants to do from here. There’s money to be made and some fun fights, but if the plan was to push to the title until the wheels came off, wheel, at least one wheel is off.

Assuming Emmett fights on, however, he’s in a bit of a pickle. A lot of hungry up-and-comers like Topuria himself would no doubt like to make a name off the Team Alpha Male veteran.

One of those could be Giga Chikadze. Sharing Georgian heritage with Topuria, Chikadze has been out since suffering his first career loss against Calvin Kattar in January 2022. He did have a fight booked with Sodiq Yusuff last September, but was forced out due to injury. With Emmett ranked #5 (for now) and Chikadze #8, rankings-wise, this fight makes sense.

Emmett’s next fight: Giga Chikadze

Amanda Ribas

Perhaps as important as who Amanda Ribas should fight next is the question of what weight class she should be at. Ribas has been bouncing back-and-forth between strawweight and flyweight, and unless you’re Amanda Nunes (or maybe Jessica Andrade), that rarely goes well.

Ribas was bloodied and beaten by Maycee Barber in the UFC Jacksonville co-main event, at 125lbs. She’s 2-2 in her last four fights, but 1-2 at flyweight and 1-0 at strawweight. If she can make the weight, giving 115lbs another go, and staying there consistently, might be ideal for the perpetually perky Ribas.

The Brazilian was scheduled to face Michelle Waterson-Gomez last year; an injury to “The Karate Hottie” scuttled that, but it’s worth putting this fight between top 15 strawweights back together.

Ribas’ next fight: Michelle Waterson-Gomez

Justin Tafa vs. Austin Lane

There wasn’t a loser, or a winner, just an eye poke that ended Tafa’s night early. Once he’s able to go again, maybe run this one back. They’ve already trained for each other, no reason to let that effort go to waste.

Tafa/Lane’s next fight: rematch

Gabriel Santos

LFA featherweight tournament winner Gabriel Santos is now 0-2 in the UFC, after starting his career a perfect 10-0. A win in his next fight is a must.

“Slick” Nick Aguirre is 0-1 in the UFC so far, after starting his own MMA run at 7-0. He doesn’t have a fight booked but has stayed busy taking a grappling match during his downtime. One of these fighters get their first UFC win. Book it.

Santos’ next fight: Nick Agguire

Bruno Silva

Being submitted by Brendan Allen is becoming a common occurrence in the middleweight division these days. Bruno “Blindado” Silva is the latest fighter to succumb to Allen’s dangerous ground game.

Silva is now 1-3 in his last four. Sporting an identical 1-3 record in his last four bouts is Phil Hawes. Both fighters had Performance bonuses in their lone win of late, and this feels like it could lead to an explosive finish. Hawes fought just last month, so the timing should work out as well.

Silva’s next fight: Phil Hawes

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

Justin Tafa wants his win bonus

Justin Tafa’s night was cut short at UFC Jacksonville when Austen Lane inadvertently poked him in the eye, rendering him unable to continue.

Following what was ruled a No Contest, Tafa went online to petition for his win bonus. You can’t blame him, really. That eye poke was downright nasty.

I deserve my Win bonus that’s a DQ man pic.twitter.com/CMNdW0ZUtL

— Justin Tafa (@justin_tafa) June 24, 2023

Sadibou Sy wheel kick launches Shane Mitchell into next week

There was a very good one-two punch to close out PFL 6 in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday.

In the co-main event, Sadibou Sy kicked it off with an insanely accurate and devastating wheel kick that KO’d Shane Mitchell in a heartbeat. Thankfully Mitchell was okay, which makes us feel a lot less guilty about watching this highlight on repeat.

This finish followed by OAM stopping Anthony Romero in the main event was a fantastic end to the night.

Rockhold says he’d “f*cking kill” Pereira on the ground

Yes, we already did this story, but what’s a quicker hit than this? Our crew was in the house for Karate Combat 40 this weekend, where Luke Rockhold had a little something to say about how he matches up with Alex Pereira.

Do note that he said “on the ground.”

Jon Anik is one of the best guys in the sport

UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik isn’t just a great guy on the mic but a great guy period. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for things like this: giving some love to Chepe Mariscal, who was overlooked in the bonus department following UFC Jacksonville. So kudos to Jon for doing his thing and being a positive force in the sport.

How about this Chepe Mariscal cat?! That is a hugely memorable UFC debut. He was totally unfazed by all the bright lights that come with a first UFC fight week. I even like the wiffle now, although I think he should get a skin fade. 💈 #CHEPE 🤫

— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) June 25, 2023

Dana White still teasing Musk vs. Zuck

We just downright refused to give any airtime (or page space, more accurately) to talk of a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk this past week. Sure, it would have been some easy clicks, but know what? It’s a stupid idea, which has almost zero chance of happening, and if it were to happen, it would be atrocious. Thought CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson was bad? Zuck vs. Musk is likely to make that look like a Fight of the Year contender.

But it’s Sunday, and you know what that means — we catch up on all the stories we didn’t get to during the week. Rarely is that intentional, but more an issue of time and manpower. Not the case here. But hey, Dana White likes keeping in the news cycle, and this is him doing just that. No faulting him there, it’s his job. But there’s as much chance of White actually promoting this fight as there is of the Fiji Mermaid being legit, and not just a dead money with a fish tail sewn on its posterior.

pic.twitter.com/gzZbJOP9hm

— danawhite (@danawhite) June 25, 2023

One last (and hopefully it will be the last) comment on this: if Musk and Zuck really want to throw down in the battle of the billionaires, they should do it behind closed doors. Make it a gym challenge. Make sure barely anyone is there. Whatever happens, the rumors of what transpired will become legend, and will wind up more entertaining than anything that could happen in a fight between two spoiled rich kids.

Tony Khan denies Bellator MMA rumors

No, AEW owner Tony Khan, nor his father (who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars) are not in talks to purchase Bellator MMA, nor have they ever been.

After Ariel Helwani made the claim recently, Khan rejected the rumors ahead of a star-studded Canadian tour set to kick off this Sunday with AEW Forbidden Door in Toronto.

“I was surprised to see that report. I haven’t had any conversations with them about that,” Tony Khan said (h/t WrestleZone) during a media scrum for Forbidden Door. “So I don’t know what that was about. My father hasn’t had any conversations with them either. I don’t even know, honestly, who owns the promotion. Is Scott Coker, the owner, the President? I’m not sure.

“I’m familiar with Bellator. I’m familiar with MMA and have never worked professionally in this space other than having some stars from UFC appear at times in AEW. But I saw that report, and yeah, there’s really nothing to that. I’m not sure where that rumor got started. But obviously, it’s an interesting time in the MMA business, just as it’s a very interesting time in the pro wrestling business with a lot of things happening and with the success of AEW and our international expansion.”

Later, Khan threw a little shade at Helwani, who has appeared on-camera for rival WWE in the past.

“But I honestly have never had any talks, and my father has never had any talks about buying Bellator, so I was surprised to see that. I was at the show I was backstage yesterday; somebody sent me that. Was that something Ariel Helwani reported? Well, it would not be the first inaccurate thing Ariel Helwani has reported that is completely inaccurate, but that’s Ariel Helwani for you.”

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: White Teases Musk vs. Zuck, Khan Denies Bellator Talks appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lane, a former football player himself, had run up a six-fight win streak on his way to the UFC, including a finish of octagon vet Juan Adams. Tafa, meanwhile, had won two straight.

The fight did not go the way anyone had planned — or wanted.

Justin “Bad Man” Tafa was marching forward to start the fight, third bout in on Saturday’s main card. Lane made him pay with two heavy kicks to the body, however. To follow up the body kicks Lane threw hands but poked Tafa in the eye, which paused the action. For a good long while, as it turns out. With five minutes on the clock, Tafa was given plenty of time to recover, but it wasn’t to be. The eye poke was so bad that Lane was bleeding out of it. Ref Dan Miragliotta gave Tafa some more time, and the cageside doctor checked on him more than once, however Tafa couldn’t continue so the fight was forced to end.

Oh lord, Justin Tafa just got his eye poked out the back of his skull by Austen Lane 🤢 his damn eye is bleeding #UFCJacksonville pic.twitter.com/pofUqZ43QD

— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) June 24, 2023

A disappointing end to Lane’s UFC debut, coming where his football career had played out. No doubt even more frustrating for Tafa, who had to endure a very nasty eye poke.

Official Result: Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane declared a No Contest (accidental eye poke), Round 1, 0:29

The post UFC Jacksonville: Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa Falls Apart Early Due to Eye Poke, Ruled No Contest appeared first on Cageside Press.

In his way stood Parker Porter, who entered with a record of 3-2 in the UFC as he looked to play spoiler.

There would be no spoiling “Bad Man” Tafa’s parade on Saturday night in Perth, however.

Tafa began the fight in his usual southpaw stance while Porter came out orthodox. Porter came forward early on and the pair exchanged blows in the pocket a few times. Parker Porter seemed to get the better of the exchanges in that first minute, but then right as the second minute of the fight began Justin Tafa landed an absolutely insane straight left hand while backstepping. That was followed by a right hook that laid Porter out. Tafa did not even bend down to think about follow up shots, he just stood looking down at his opponent before doing a little dance and walking off.

JUSTIN TAFA IS BAAAAAAD MAN 🤯@Justin_Tafa with the knockout in one minute! #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/oKbVGQKfvT

— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023

This was a massive win for Justin Tafa. A crushing knockout, at home, in the UFC’s first trip to Australia since 2019. The night could not have gone better for Justin Tafa.

Official Result: Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter by KO (punches) Round 1, 1:06

The post UFC 284: Justin Tafa Sleeps Parker Porter in Just Over a Minute in Home Country appeared first on Cageside Press.