In the main event, Dillion Cox and Cody Linne faced off for an interim flyweight title, while Motaz Askar vs. Ty Johnson for the vacant APFC featherweight title served as co-headliner.

The final Anthony Pettis FC event of 2023 had a number of special guests booked, including CM Punk, Nate Diaz, and Frank Mir.

PFL, LFA, and TUF 31 alum Nate Jennerman was also on the card, taking on Lashawn Alcocks.

Where to Watch Anthony Pettis FC 9

APFC 9: Milwaukee Fight Night 3 streams live on UFC Fight Pass, with the main card getting underway at 8:30PM ET. Prelims are expected to stream on the APFC Youtube channel ahead of that broadcast starting at 4:15PM. Full results from the event can be found below.

Anthony Pettis FC 9: Milwaukee Fight Night 3 Full Results

Main Card

Cody Linne def. Dillion Cox by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 3:52 — for the Anthony Pettis FC interim flyweight championship
Ty Johnson def. Motaz Askar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — for the vacant Anthony Pettis FC featherweight championship
Nate Jennerman vs. Lashawn Alcocks by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 3:39
Kory Beck def. Sergio Plascencia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Tyler Veal def. Shane WhiteEagle by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandan Olivas def. JJ Redmond by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:27
Nohili Kahepuu def. Stefan Ivanov by TKO, Round 2, 1:16

Preliminary Card

Mohammed Maali def. Thomas Vievering by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 1:31
Johnny Mologousis def. Thomas Caballero by TKO, Round 1, 1:09 — Amateur bout
Bill Prochniewski def. Gabe Barron by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:49 — Amateur bout
Abimael Martinez def. Luigi Tacuri by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — Amateur bout
Tom Kuo def. Jonathan Tacuri by TKO, Round 1, 1:05 — Amateur bout
Alex Hulbert def. Adarion Mahone by KO, Round 1, 1:10 — Amateur bout
Romero Stancle def. Brian Deleon by TKO, Round 1, 1:50 — Amateur bout
Dearion Stokes def. Trammell Arrington by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) — Amateur bout
Miguel Gutierrez def. Jake Muellner by decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) — Amateur bout
Rudy Johnson III def. Jalan Gibson by TKO, Round 1, 1:15 — Amateur bout

The post Anthony Pettis FC 9: Milwaukee Fight Night 3 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

The post Oktagon 49: Lazar Todev “Coming to Bring Him Pain” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Wisse (19-1) would actually be making his fourth title defense, had an earlier opponent not missed weight. Either way, the defending champ spoke to Cageside Press ahead of the fight and noted that defending the belt has been even tougher than capturing it in the first place.

“What was harder is retaining, because every time, they are hungry, they want the dream. The belt is their dream, and I have it. My purpose is to hold them back,” Wisse told us. “At some point you just get used to it, and I’m used to it right now. It’s just another day at the office. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do— keep my title and go back home the winner.”

Like those challengers, Wisse had a dream of holding the belt, and he’s living it right now. That means staying focused and staying motivated. “It’s all I’ve dreamed about, and it’s my passion. That’s it. It’s my lifestyle.”

Donovan Wisse knows he’s in for another tough challenge against Boapeah— but expects to turn him back like all the others.

“Michael brings a lot of pressure, and he’s hungry. He’s a young guy, he’s hungry for the title,” Wisse said of his opponent. “He fights hungry. He takes risks in the fight. I think this is his style, it works for him, but it’s not going to work on Saturday. Because I’m prepared for everything he brings to the table. I’ve got my game plan ready. It’s just another day at the office. At the end of the day you’ve got to beat me, and you ain’t going to beat me.”

Fighting in the same division that spawned talents like Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, Wisse also knows what sort of future could be in store for him as a GLORY champ.

“Look where they are now. They’re middleweight champions, they’re former champions, Alex Pereira is going to fight for a championship right now again.”

“If you look at what they’ve accomplished, my future is very bright. I just need to have the right mindset. I already have that. And to keep following my dreams and my goals and everything else.”

Transitioning to MMA is included in those dreams, with Wisse calling it “one of my dreams.”

“If the time is right— my focus is now on kickboxing — if the time is right to make the switch, I’m going to make the switch.”

While Wisse has a two-year contract with GLORY, he has done some cross-training. “A couple of trainings, but not that heavy because I’m the champion right now. The guys are hungry, they want to take what’s mine. So I did a few jiu-jitsu and wrestling trainings but that’s it, not that intense or stuff like that.”

Watch our full interview with GLORY Collision 6 star Donovan Wisse above.

The post GLORY Collision 6: Donovan Wisse on Title Defense, Possible MMA Move appeared first on Cageside Press.

The good news is, Melisano gets back to work this Friday, dropping to flyweight to face Jimi Natividad at CFFC 127.

Being unable to get a fight over the summer, and the death of a friend, kept Melisano out for a bit, however. Speaking about his layoff, dating back to February, Meisano (2-0) told Cageside Press recently that “unfortunately during that time [off] I lost my best friend. Wanted to take some time off, get my mind right, and then get back to work.”

He remained busy at the gym, however — in addition to fighting, Melisano is also an instructor himself.

“In between fights I’m always at the gym. That’s what I do for a living, is I coach. So I’m at the gym all the time, and my coach does not let us skip sessions. It’s not like I can disappear from the gym for a month. I’m in every single training session all throughout the year. When I don’t have a fight coming up, I’m focusing on getting better.”

Melisano has had a full twelve weeks to prepare for CFFC 127. “It’s been a good long camp, so I’m excited to get back in there next weekend.”

“Honestly I’m ready to fight man,” he added regarding the layoff being a motivational factor. “It’s been too long. I don’t like taking even six month layoffs at this point. Me being 30-years-old, I want to push the pace, keep things moving. But life happens, you’ve got to roll with the punches, pivot, move. But I’m extremely excited to get back in there. I’m always hungry to fight. I know preparation breeds my confidence and I’m fully prepared for this fight. I’ve never trained like this for a fight.”

The drop to flyweight doesn’t appear to be a concern. “My two fights at bantamweight, I was barely cutting any water weight. I wouldn’t even watch my portions until I was like two weeks out,” noted Melisano. “I’m walking at 138 right now.”

As for the fight with Natividad, “I definitely feel I have the advantage anywhere the fight takes place.” That includes striking, wrestling, and grappling, Melisano underscored.

“The biggest thing for me is that I just stay on my Ps and Qs, don’t check out. Stay a 10 the entire fight. The dude likes to throw bombs, he’s got decent power. I’m expecting him to come in and try to push the pace, maybe try to make it ugly. Stay in my face, pressure me. But I’ve got answers for anything he’s going to bring.”

Watch our full interview with CFFC 127’s Ethan Melisano above.

The post CFFC 127: After Loss of Best Friend, Ethan Melisano Ready to Get Back to Fighting appeared first on Cageside Press.

Askham (19-6), who returns to action next month at Oktagon 48 in Manchester, told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview on Friday that he expected to see Fury come out on top against ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

“Tyson Fury for me is the best heavyweight boxer ever to be seen. I don’t think there’s no way that Francis Ngannou can deal with that power,” Askham suggested. “I think Tyson looks in shape, sounds confident when he’s talking. I know he always does sound confident, but I don’t see a way to victory [for Ngannou]. I know they say he’s got a puncher’s chance, but we’re talking about a guy who got off the floor from Deontay Wilder here. So I really don’t see that happening.”

Fury vs. Ngannou is the latest boxing versus MMA crossover, which has mostly seen one-way traffic over the years. James Toney aside (who did not fare well against Randy Couture), few boxers have made the switch, on the men’s side of the sport anyway.

“Let’s all be straight up, it’s not going to happen,” Askham replied when asked if he’d like to see more boxers come to MMA. “It’s an easier market to sell MMA fighters going into boxing then boxers coming into MMA. It’s ludicrous going the other way, and everybody knows that. But I think it makes for fun fights, MMA fighters going into boxing.”

“I personally like the Jake Paul versus MMA fighters, I know he lost to Tommy Fury— I don’t know if they’re rumors or what but I think there’s rumors of him fighting Jorge Masvidal, I think that’s a big selling fight if that’s true.”

Askham understands that some people don’t exactly love what Paul is doing, but added that “if you’re getting bums on seats, why not?” And if the right offer came along for himself to box, “I’d try it, 100%,” said Askham. “I’m in the prizefighting game, and I’m here to make as much money as I can before I retire. So I can’t see why not.”

Of course, first up is Scott Askham’s Oktagon MMA debut, an opportunity he jumped at to be able to fight at home in England. “I’m still under contract with KSW at the moment, but Oktagon have given me a massive opportunity to fight at home, so I’m excited to be part of that,” Askham noted. The former KSW champ will happily fight for both promotions if the opportunities keep coming, and is looking to get back to his winning ways after a second loss to Mamed Khalidov earlier this year.

At Oktagon 48 in Manchester, the former KSW and BAMMA middleweight champ will essentially be fighting at light heavyweight (technically a 204 pound catchweight) due to how last-minute the fight came together. His opponent, Marc Doussis, is a fighter he respects — but Askham is keeping the focus on himself.

“I watched a bit of tape on him. Not too much. I’m focused on myself rather than focused on him. Ultimately it’s been a long time since I’ve had a win. I’ve been out injured for two and a half years, I came straight back into a big fight. So I’m taking him serious, and not underestimating him at all.”

As soon as Askham got the booking, he flew out to American Top Team in Florida for a condensed training camp. “I’m going to do everything that I can to get the job done. I definitely think there’s a skill advantage in my favor, I mean that respectfully from watching his fights. He definitely hasn’t fought anybody on my level. I’m excited for the fight.”

Scott Askham faces Marc Doussis at Oktagon 48 on November 4, 2023 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

The post Scott Askham on Oktagon 48 Fight, Gives Fury-Ngannou Prediction appeared first on Cageside Press.

News of the bout was first reported by MMA Fighting.

The two former champions will headline the event in a 170-pound bout.

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The pair will complete a trilogy of sorts following long and respected careers in MMA. Henderson and Pettis first met at WEC 53 in 2010 where Pettis took the WEC lightweight title away in the famed “Showtime Kick” fight. The kick continues to be part of the UFC’s promo package.

As fate would have it both men would make their way to the UFC where Pettis would challenge, and take, the UFC lightweight title from Henderson at UFC 164 just three years later.

Henderson (30-12 MMA) went off to Bellator as one of the first UFC fighters arguably in their prime to make the move to a competing promotion. He had mixed results, but ended up with an 8-7 record with Bellator before calling it a career following his loss to Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292.

Pettis (25-14 MMA) meanwhile made the move to the Professional Fighter’s League in 2021 and ended up going 1-4 in the promotion before taking a boxing match with Roy Jones Jr which he won by majority decision.

While the rest of the Karate Combat 43 card isn’t complete as of this post reports say that the likes of Luke Rockhold, Jose Aldo, Lyoto Machida, Michael “Venom” Page and Darren Till have shown interest in taking part in the event.

The post Benson Henderson And Anthony Pettis Agree To Fight At Karate Combat 43 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The fight against Robert Watley at CFFC 122, ending in a majority decision, came in July, and months on from it, Gunnison (6-2) made the case that he should have picked up the W. “I didn’t go to the hospital after, I know he did. He had to get eight staples; he had to get five stitches in his face, three stitches above his eye, and I went home happy.”

Gunnison understands why the judges went the other way, pointing out that Watley earned a takedown in every round. Still, he pointed out the obvious question: “What did he do with the takedown? He didn’t pass the guard, he didn’t go for submissions, he wasn’t throwing ground n’ pound.”

Ultimately, Gunnison doesn’t “want to be one of those guys either that was like ‘oh I won that fight.’ The judges picked him, I feel like the judges picked him, and I should have done more to keep it from going to the judges.”

CFFC title fights do not have a mandatory fifth round, and Gunnison wishes that had been an option. “I wanted that fifth so bad man. I felt so fresh and good!”

Gunnison heads to Florida for CFFC 126 on Friday the 13th, and he will actually be making the move to the Sunshine state shortly. This time, the plan is to “not leave it up to the judges, and put on a show for everybody there in Florida.”

He’s paired up with Julio Cesar Chaves, who Gunnison thinks highly of. “My favorite thing about him is, he’s a dog, man. He’s not afraid to fight. And I like that. I’ve been ducked and dodged by a lot of these guys that are moving up. I understand that’s part of the sport, which I do not like, that aspect of the sport is like, trying to pick your fights and trying to pick your way to the top.”

“I feel like we’re both dogs, and it’s gonna be a dog fight. We’re going to go at it. He likes to go to decision, because he’s never been knocked out. But we’ll see how he does with me, that’s all I can say.”

Watch our full interview with CFFC 126 headliner Cedric Gunnison above.

Correction: Article updated to reflect that Cedric Gunnison is fighting on the main card, not in the main event.

The post Cedric Gunnison Happy to be Fighting Fellow “Dog” at CFFC 126 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Coming up short against Julio Cesar Chaves last time out, Lopez saw a two-fight win streak snapped in what he called a “perfect storm” of issues leading into the fight.

“I’m not the one to do the excuse thing or anything like that,” Lopez told Cageside Press in a recent interview. “It was just kind of a perfect storm of things before. My original opponent backing out about two and a half weeks before the fight. We didn’t know a lot about Julio Cesar, hat’s off the him, he’s a tough son of a b*tch for sure. But it’s one of those things, we got the short-notice opponent not knowing much about it, that was the first thing.

Then the second thing that happened, the week before the fight, I haven’t told anybody about this really, I ended up getting a staph infection. A staph infection which led to a pretty bad fever. I was out of it, the week before the fight I was in bed, I had to pump on some antibiotics literally the week before the fight. I had about four days after getting off the antibiotics to try to get my body back to where it was before getting on the antibiotics, and those things just kill your conditioning.”

The thought of backing out crossed his mind, “but I’m not one to back out of fights.” So while he gives credit to Julio Cesar Chaves, Lopez added “my cardio wasn’t where it should have been, and like I said he was a real tough guy and I couldn’t push through and get the W that I needed.”

On Friday the 13th, just in time for Spooky Season, Brandon Lopez faces Jesus Hernandez, having learned from his last bout. “You take the loss, you learn, and you get stronger from it. I don’t really get discouraged in any way.” Looking to get back to his winning ways, Lopez wants to “go for a five [fight] win streak, ten win streak.”

Watch our full interview with CFFC 126 welterweight Brandon Lopez above.

The post CFFC 126: Brandon Lopez Looking to Get Back on a Win Streak appeared first on Cageside Press.

Having made some extreme weight cuts in the past, including dropping from 157 to 135lbs on a day’s notice — “when I fought Merab [Dvalishvili], when I got into the UFC, was a weight cut like that” — Lopez made the trip to Slovakia a little early, he told Cageside Press recently.

It’s his third fight with Oktagon, which he points out “looks just like the UFC. It looks exactly like the UFC. Their production is incredible.”

The first time he fought for the company was on short notice. He won an interim belt nevertheless. “I walked out in the stadium, and I was like ‘wow. It looks like the UFC.’ They put a lot of work on it. I’ve been really blessed to in such a great place, good management that got me in this position to be one of the heads of all these promotions.”

Lopez recently signed another four-fight deal with the company, and has two more fights to go. “Get a couple more wins, and get back to the title.”

Looking to bounce back from a loss in a title unification bout, Lopez says he doesn’t necessarily feel anything went wrong. “I don’t think anything went wrong. I think we fight with little gloves, and anything can happen.”

“They’re saying some stuff about the guy juicing and doing some stuff like that, so who knows if that was a factor. But just got clipped. Just got clipped. Small gloves, and we throw hard, so it happens. I didn’t take it that hard. It sucks of course, losses always sucks, but it made me think of what’s more important, just my health and my mind, making sure everything feels great, so I’ve been focusing on that.”

The loss is, however, fueling Lopez in terms of motivation against Oktagon 47 opponent Beno Adamia.

“Any time you get a loss you want to get out there and get that W back and get on that win streak. I’m going to go out there and just put pressure on this guy,” he stated.

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 47’s Gustavo Lopez above.

The post Oktagon 47: Gustavo Lopez Says Plan Is to Get A Couple More Wins, “Get Back to the Title” appeared first on Cageside Press.

A Las Vegas Township Justice Court Records search shows that Shields, full name Jacob Sequoyah Shields, had a bench warrant issued against him on September 21, 2023. That follows the court’s inability to issue a summons for Shields to appear on a charge of misdemeanor battery issued in December 2022. The court lists Shields’ as “address unknown” as it pertains to issuing said summons.

MMA Fighting was first to post news of the warrant, which has been independently verified by Cageside Press.

The altercation was widely publicized at the time by numerous media outlets, giving both fighters their biggest exposure in years. Unfortunately, it was for all the wrong reasons. Jackson, known for his own inflammatory postings on social media including his use of the term “snow roaches,” had labeled Shields a “Nazi,” while in more recent times he has done the same with former pal Pat Miletich; that pair are expected to face off in the cage under the Caged Aggression banner later this month.

Shields himself made the rather dubious decision to post footage of the altercation online, showing him mounted on Jackson at the UFC PI. Jackson can be heard hollering for someone to “get this motherf*cker off me” as a crowd gathers around the duo.

At the time and in months since, Jackson has been vocal about pressing charges against Shields. The fighter, best known for a win over WWE star CM Punk that was overturned to a No Contest due to a drug test failure (for THC), previously claimed the pair had an agreement for a boxing match, only for Shields to renege.

Finally ran into the bitch Mike Jackson

He quickly discovered the difference between calling people Nazis In person vs on Twitter

This racist is lucky so many people were there to save his pathetic racist ass pic.twitter.com/90luT0YjfG

— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) December 16, 2022

The post Bench warrant Issued for Jake Shields in Conjunction with Mike Jackson Incident appeared first on Cageside Press.