“No. I always believed this is where I was and who I was am. I just had to reorganize and get some things correct,” Kasanganay told Cageside Press in advance of the PFL Championship on November 24, 2023 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

“I never lost my faith, or God lost his faith in me. It was more so, I kind of just got lost on my path for a little while, or maybe I was still on the right path and that’s just where God had to bring me.”

That path took Kasanganay (14-3) through the Contender Series, where he won back-to-back fights, and the UFC, where he was shown the door after four fights.

“For me the opposite of faith is not doubt,” added Kasangany, who instead suggested that “I think you can have faith and then people still have some doubt. You can have doubt and still have something to look forward to. They’re not opposites, if anything, they compliment one another. For me, it was just, what do I need to do with my life in that time to be organized, and what sacrifices do I need to make that I’m not seeing here, that are going to allow me to realize what I see within myself?”

“It was more so a reflection of what was going on with my life, where I didn’t put things together the way I needed to, and it became a blueprint for how I moved forward in the future. Like, I won that Eagle fight even though they said I lost, and that was an overall consensus, not from myself only.”

Impa Kasanganay’s lone Eagle FC appearance was a split decision loss to Raimond Magomedaliev, and while it will stand as a loss on his official record, there was an argument for the fight going the other way. As for his UFC run, “being released from the UFC at that time, the challenging thing about it was just saying like ‘man I put a lot of work in to get there,’ but wondering why I still wasn’t [there],” admitted Kasanganay.

“Overall under the banner, 4-2 including the Contender Series wins, but 2-2 in the UFC itself. That was one of those things where I knew that I was better, I knew there was so much more I could show and do, and I was going to make that happen no matter what. That’s when it became an eye-opening experience. If anything, it actually became one of those things I look back on, I’m like, ‘thank you that happened.’ Even at that time, because it really made me make the challenging decisions to say ‘hey, no matter what, I’m going to be a champion some day soon.”

Taking the long road to success, and this year’s PFL championship, where not just a world title but a million dollars hangs in the balance, wasn’t the worst journey, however. In fact, Impa Kasanganay sees a silver lining.

“Taking the narrow path is definitely much more rewarding for me. I won’t say I’m an old school guy, it’s more like, I do like that fact that I get to earn something, and it’s not based on my popularity,” he stated. “Or I get to earn my popularity or whatever God has for me, and I get to earn my success and all that’s come with it.”

One thing Impa Kasanganay doesn’t like seeing in MMA is the word “performance” applied to what fighters do. As much as it’s instilled in the vernacular of the sport (think the UFC’s Performance of the Night bonuses), Impa doesn’t see himself as performing when he fights.

“It’s entertainment for those who watch it, and I respect it. As a fighter it’s not entertainment, I’m going in there to do my job. Nobody’s cheering on the accountant, ‘oh you performed today and got the books in order!'” he pointed out. “Yeah somebody’s going to congratulate you, that you maybe fixed something in the company, saved the company some money. Performing to me, it’s say, for the entertainers who choose to be entertainers. Who choose to be musicians, artists, public speakers. No matter how they do it.”

“That to me is a performance.”

Kasanganay knows what he’s talking about — through high school and all the way to the end of college, he studied music. And he believes that if you focus on your performance in fighting, “we take away the purity of it. It’s like ‘I’m going out there to perform’ so you change the way you are, the reflection of your spirit, of who you are, to go perform and see what people like. And then your validation comes from what the crowd says— if the crowd says ‘boo’ or the crowd says ‘yay.’ And that’s not cool to me, because that’s not what it’s about.”

“When you go to battle, you go to war, you go there to take over, dominate, claim, and move forward. And fighting to me is not a sport or some kind of performance, because you’re taking away somebody’s life points; you’re also sacrificing your life points as well. When I do accounting nobody’s hitting me in the head with a computer. When I’m fighting, somebody’s trying to kick me in the head, elbow my face, I’ve been unconscious before. That stuff’s not healthy. That’s not a performance.”

A performance will inspire people and evoke emotion, Kasanganay allowed. But fighting leaves lasting scars, in essence. “With fighting, you take those things with you. The broken rib, the broken finger, the torn knee, the hurt, the pain. There’s a lot of difference. Maybe people who do acting and stuff like that do too, but they’re performing and they get to go into another character. Fighting, you’re not going into another character even though they say it’s an alter ego, you’re fighting in who you are, whatever— it’s actually the truth of who you are. And that’s not a performance to me. That’s going into battle.”

Impa Kasanganay next goes into battle with American Top Team’s Josh Silveira. There’s an old rivalry there in terms of gyms, between ATT and Kill Cliff FC, Kasanganay’s own team, though for him, the rivalry doesn’t matter. Instead, he simply sees that Silveira has been making improvements, and is on a good path.

That having been said, “I believe we were destined to meet, and I’m going to take him out, obtain this victory and move forward,” he added.

Watch our full interview with 2023 light heavyweight finalist Impa Kasanganay above.

The post PFL Finalist Impa Kasanganay Explains Why He Doesn’t Like “Performance” Being Used in MMA appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It just makes all the non-believers into believers. And I have a belt to show my country that yes, Jason Jackson can be champ. Anywhere he goes. And it’s just a matter of time before he becomes the best welterweight on the planet,” Jackson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Jackson finished Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 301 to claim the title in the main event. Betting lines put the Amosov as a heavy favorite leaving Jackson to play spoiler, and in his post-fight scrum he let them know about it.

“It felt good. On MMA Junkie and ESPN, they got him at what, #1 and #5? So where’s that put me at, #6? So that put me at #5 if I just jumped him. Or #4 or #1. Alright, #1. I like that, I’ll take that,” Jackson said.

Jackson may be the new champion, but he still has to go to work on Monday. He’s one of many professional fighters who hold a day job in addition to their dream job.

“I feel good that I could give all upcoming fighters who just think is just, you know, get up and go to the gym and come home and play game, and find excuse not to be in (the) gym. I get up and I work and I try to find every little way possible to make money,” he said talking about not making excuses and taking fights regardless of pay.

“I just want to make everybody a believer in that. Hard work always pays off.”

Just minutes removed from his title victory Jackson still wasn’t sure it was even real.

“Not yet, it hasn’t set in. Like I said, every man has a dream, and everyone has a nightmare,” Jackson said.

And I was his nightmare.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jason Jackson above.

The post Jason Jackson Was Amosov’s “Nightmare” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Yeah I really believe so,” Mix (19-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following Bellator 301 in Chicago this past Friday. “My opponent there, Sergio Pettis, you look at his 25 [flyweight] run, but this kid was young when he was in the UFC. He’s great, he just beat Patricio Pitbull, he smoked the only man to beat me, [Juan] Archuleta didn’t win a round against him. I think Sergio is up there with the top three bantamweights in the world right now.”

Mix, in laying out his argument for being the best bantamweight on the planet, suggested that Pettis had beaten better competition that UFC champ Sean O’Malley.

“I think he [Pettis] was so young in the UFC, at 24, 25 years old. He just turned 30-years old, him and I. I feel like we’re both entering our prime. They hold Sean O’Malley in such a high regard, it’s like, Sean O’Malley never beat someone on the level of Patricio Pitbull like Sergio Pettis did. And that’s why I respected him the way I did. That’s why I took this fight very seriously. I feel like a lot of people underestimated him, and I overestimated him because I knew how good he was.”

Having submitted Pettis to unify the Bellator MMA bantamweight champion — Mix won the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix and an interim belt in the process earlier this year — Patchy Mix can now look ahead. Which, in this particular case, might actually mean looking behind him, to a trio of fighters he’s already faced. That includes the only man to ever beat him, RIZIN champ Juan Archuleta.

“I want to avenge a loss that I got of course, but Archuleta is tied up in Japan, he’s fighting, I think he’s on New Year’s. I necessarily don’t like to wait and see, and I know he’s got his deal over there, I’m not sure what Bellator’s deal is,” stated Mix. “But I’m not necessarily chasing anyone. Now that I’m the title holder, whoever they approach me with, I’m willing to do. I don’t mind, I can run it back with all three of them. Any one of them. If they wanted to do me and Serg again, if they wanted to do me and Stots again, or if they wanted to do me and Arculeta. Or even me and Maga. I fought all the top guys, and I just want to fight who they believe is the best.”

Any of those fights would no doubt be entertaining. When Mix will fight again remains to be seen, however. On Monday, the PFL’s purchase of Bellator MMA was officially announced. The promotion will continue as its own brand, mainly with international events, moving forward, though for how long remains unclear.

Watch the full Bellator 301 post-fight press conference with Patchy Mix above.

The post Bellator 301: Patchy Mix Open to Any Number of Rematches appeared first on Cageside Press.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post Josh Silveira: “Fireworks Might Happen” in PFL Light Heavyweight Championship appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s somewhat strange to both write and read that sentence, given Craig was so well-known as a light heavyweight throughout his UFC run. But having made the move to middleweight, Craig had already been earning dividends, and landed in his first-ever main event for the UFC against Allen, a former LFA champ.

“All In” Allen isn’t one to talk trash or dazzle anyone outside the cage, but inside the octagon, his skill, especially on the ground, has proven sublime. Five straight wins at 185, and four of those by submission (all four rear-naked chokes) show exactly what Brendan Allen is about.

Of course, Paul Craig has been no slouch on the ground either over the years. Making for a very promising match-up atop UFC Vegas 82.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Australian welterweight Jake Matthews took on undefeated Brazilian standout Michael Morales.

Following UFC Vegas 82 on Saturday, November 18, 2023, tune in for the post-fight press conference to stay on top of all the latest developments. A live stream of the affair is available in the embed above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Allen vs. Craig Post-Fight Press Conference Live Stream 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.

“We lived together 2012, 2013 I think, some part of 2014,” Pinheiro told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Live (under) the same roof. Used to go out together weekends. I remember!”

With the history they have Pinheiro said she wishes this fight had a lot more on the line.

“I obviously would not ever choose this fight to happen except for a belt. I wish this fight was for a belt. It is weird the fact that we lived together. We’re friends, we hung out together, and we never though that this could happen. Specially now,” Pinheiro said.

“I think it’s one of the beauties in fighting and in MMA.”

At the end of the day it’s not personal between the two fighters.

“I’m not fighting Amanda the person. I’m fighting Amanda Ribas the fighter. So after the fight we’re going to hug each other and we’ll continue with that. That’s the name of the game,” said Pinheiro.

With two ranked strawweights fighting to move up towards a title shot the fight is expected to deliver.

“I think it’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be a good fight because she presses forward, and she goes at it. She really looks for a fight, and I really think you’re going to see an actual MMA fight,” she said.

“A very complete fight. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase everything that we trained for, everything that we are, and I’m very excited about the fight.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Luana Pinheiro above. She takes on Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Luana Pinheiro Predicts “A complete fight” With Ribas appeared first on Cageside Press.

“For me, it’s easy. A lot of fighters, they bloat up after the fight, they put weight on. For us, I train year-round,” Matthews (19-6) explained during this week’s UFC Vegas 82 media day. “I’m within fight fitness, I can be fight-fit within three or four weeks. So we’re always ready for a call-up, for short notice, whether we get a full training camp doesn’t really bother us.”

“And if a fight does fall through, again we’re not too fazed because we know we’re fit, we know when we get back home, keep doing what we’re doing, training two, three times every day all year round, and when the UFC comes calling, we can answer and jump in and take those short-notice fights.”

The UFC came calling with a big opportunity this time out. Jake Matthews has been paired up against Michael Morales in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 82. Morales is a perfect 14-0 to start his career, and “The Celtic Kid” believes the winner of their fight will be battling a ranked foe moving forward. That has him excited.

“It’s just excitement. Before I even knew it was a co-main event slot, it was the kind of fight where one of us is going to go on and fight a ranked opponent next, 100 percent. I’ve been in this situation a number of times throughout my career, so I know how to deal with it. I’ve had fights where I won those fights, I probably should have had a ranked opponent after, and I settled for someone who wasn’t ranked. We get the win this weekend, I’m going to sit and wait for a ranked opponent to accept, however long that takes.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 82 media day appearance by Jake Matthews above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Jake Matthews Plans to Sit, Wait for Ranked Opponent with Win Over Morales appeared first on Cageside Press.

“If the UFC gives it to me, I’ll take it. But I think he’s ranked higher than me, being on a two-knockout streak. If it happens, it happens, but I’m counting myself lucky,” joked Leavitt during this week’s UFC Vegas 82 media day. “So respect to him, he knocked out one of the most highly acclaimed prospects in the division, then he knocked out another guy in Brazil. So I mean, preferably not. But if it happens, I’m down, I won’t shy away from a challenge.”

What took him out of the Brener fight, scheduled for July, was an AC joint separation. “I couldn’t use my right hand, couldn’t grapple, and I was considering still fighting, but seeing Elves knocking people out, I think I got pretty lucky with that one,” stated Leavitt. “Because I wasn’t blocking that right hand, I couldn’t even get to my eyebrow.”

That said, Leavitt didn’t actually want to withdraw from the bout — him simply gave into pressure from those closest to him. “I really didn’t want to, my wife was just like ‘please don’t do this.'”

At UFC Vegas 82, Jordan Leavitt has been paired up with Chase Hooper, and he’s not sure what to make of the pairing.

“I still don’t have an answer for that question. This fight could be a sloppy, ugly, grappl-y thing, it could be a very tedious clinch fight. Or be really fun like grappling exchanges, and I’m not sure which one I want. Because we’re both clearly more dangerous in one position, but it’s each other’s strengths.”

Hooper is best known, of course, as a grappler, and Leavitt is no slouch there. He also has plenty of respect for the youngster.

“Really polite young kid. I have mixed feelings about it. But one thing about this sport, this career choice is that I’m always beating up my friends, and we do it every week,” said Leavitt. “So I can beat up an acquaintance for 15 minutes. Before the fights we’re business partners, for 15 minutes I’m going to hate you, ‘I’m trying to orphan your children,’ Sean Strickland-esque things, insert there, and then after the fight hopefully we can be friends. We’ll see.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 82 media day appearance by Jordan Leavitt above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Jordan Leavitt Hopes to Be Friends with “Really Polite Young Kid” Hooper After Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.