The UFC are reportedly seeking a replacement for Bobby Green, and have just over a week to do so. Despite it being the co-main event, Hooker and Green were scheduled for five rounds.

Hooker finally returned to action earlier this year in July, as he took on Jalin Turner at UFC 290. Originally the two were set to fight in March, but Hooker withdrew due to a broken hand.

In his fight with Turner, Hooker suffered a broken arm after absorbing a front kick in round one, the same injury that has ruled him out of his fight with Green.

If Green is able to stay on the card, he will look to continue an impressive 2023 thus far. His last outing came against Grant Dawson in October, where he scored a huge upset win in just over 30 seconds.

UFC Austin takes place on December 2nd from the Moody Center. The fight night is headlined by highly ranked lightweights, Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

Other bouts on the card include:

• Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stolzfus
• Khalil Rountree vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Clay Guida vs. Joaquim Silva
• Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila
• Cody Brundage vs. Zachary Reese
• Joe Solecki vs. Drakkar Klose
• Steve Garcia vs. Melquizael Costa
• Rodolfo Bellato vs. Ihor Potieria
• Wellington Turman vs. Jared Gooden
• Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

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Let’s take a look at what could be next for Allen, along with the other standout winners on the night.

Brendan Allen

“All In” Allen’s last loss was back in 2021, and you’d have to go back six fights to get there. The 27-year-old has put on an incredibly impressive streak of performances, scoring a rear-naked-choke win in four of his last four fights, tying the longest active submission record.

There is no doubt that since that loss to Chris Curtis two years ago, the Louisiana product has improved leaps and bounds, and now finds himself ranked in the top 10 at 185lbs, above the aforementioned “Action Man”.

Allen is now in a position where he is knocking on the door of the top five, in a division that has seemingly been screaming out for new title contenders for the past few years. The submission artist has already shared the cage with the current champion, Sean Strickland, in which he was finished, but that was going back to 2020. Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis, who you could say would be a favourable matchup for Allen and his grappling upside.

With the rest of the top five already being booked into fights, there is one name that stands out more than most for me, and that is, Marvin Vettori.

The Italian is seemingly struggling to find a fight and this one makes perfect sense. He is coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier and needs to defend his ranking.

Allen’s Next Fight: Marvin Vettori 

Michael Morales

When thinking of the most impressive prospects in the UFC, Michael Morales must be a name that comes very close to the top of the list.

The 24-year-old now boasts a professional record of 16-0, with four of those coming under the UFC banner. Jake Matthews proved to be his toughest outing thus far, but the Ecuadorian showed a different side to his style, and proved to be the better fighter over a technical three rounds.

That is now back-to-back wins over fighters with 15 or more UFC fights, providing the youngster with integral experience.

Despite being just 24-years-old, it seems as though Morales is ready for the next step in his UFC tenure. There are several fighters inside the top 15 who make sense for him moving forward.

Of course, when talking about welterweight prospects who are nearing the rankings, Neil Magny’s ears must run hot. “The Haitian Sensation” is already booked to fight Canadian prospect, Mike Malott though.

The occupant of rank 15 though, is someone Morales has been slated to fight previously but due to injury, he had to withdraw from the scheduled bout. Rinat Fakhretdinov could make a lot of sense again now, being as though he sits upon a ranking that Michael Morales could be coming for.

Morales’ Next Fight: Rinat Fakhretdinov  

Chase Hooper

“The Dream” Chase Hooper marked his second lightweight outing with another extremely impressive performance. In this one, he had to face some early adversity when he was rocked with some heavy Leavitt ground-and-pound. From there though, he was able to win the grappling exchanges, subsequently getting the first round sub.

Before the fight, Hooper told Cageside Press, that he wanted to enter the unofficial ‘best grappler in the lightweight division rankings’ and with the rear-naked-choke, he may have done exactly that.

With him looking increasingly more comfortable with each 155lb outing, the 24-year-old will likely want to take a little bit of time off as he and his wife expect a baby.

With that being Hooper’s 8th UFC fight despite only being 24-years-old, there is no reason to try and rush him up the rankings of the lightweight division.

Someone who I think could be a fun next matchup for Hooper, is Lando Vannata. Despite his recent skid, the losses have come to some of the higher echelon fighters in the division.

Hooper’s Next Fight: Lando Vannata

Payton Talbott

After a highly impressive performance on the Contender Series earlier this year, Talbott came into his UFC debut with a lot of eyes on him.

The 25-year-old didn’t disappoint as he put on another emphatic performance, submitting Nick Aguirre in the final round. It is going to very interesting to see Talbott’s UFC career unfold.

Selfishly I would love to see a fight between Payton Talbott and Da’Mon Blackshear, however that’s quite farfetched for Talbott’s second UFC outing. A fight that would be more realistic would be, Dan Argueta.

Talbott’s Next Fight: Dan Argueta

Amanda Ribas

The Brazilian striker bounced back from her loss to Maycee Barber, with a great third round KO over Luana Pinheiro, in her strawweight return.

Once again Ribas showed a full arsenal of striking, and began her final finishing sequence with a picture perfect spinning wheel kick, which wobbled and subsequently dropped Pinheiro.

With Ribas hoping for a resurgence at strawweight, there is female who is on her rise up the rankings, and sits just one spot behind Ribas. That is Loopy Godinez who has continued impressing. That is a fight I could see next.

Ribas’ Next Fight: Loopy Godinez

Myktybek Oralbai

Marking his UFC debut with a second round finish was, Myktybek Oralbai. The Kirghiz native had a slow round one against the powerful, Uros Medic, but was able to capitalise with his grappling advantage in round two.

There are plenty options for the 25-year-old, but one I’m keen on is, Ange Loosa.

Oralbai’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa

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Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners on the night.

Alex Pereira

The former UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira, had already broken history before his win at UFC 295, as he was the first fighter to headline twice at MSG.

The performance that followed exemplified how much of a star the 36-year-old has become for the promotion. Following the impressive second round knockout of the returning Prochazka, the newly crowned champion had a short but poignant message for long time rival, Israel Adesanya.

In his Octagon interview, Pereira said: “Adesanya, come to daddy.”. If Adesanya hadn’t had recently lost his middleweight title, that fight would be all but guaranteed to happen at light heavyweight. Dana White also mentioned in the post fight press conference that he won’t say no to the idea, but would ideally want Adesanya to pick up a win in the division first.

Undoubtedly, Jamahal Hill will be next for the Brazilian. Hill feels hard done by that he is no longer the champion, and has claimed that the neither Pereira or Prochazka are on his level regardless.

Hill will return from his severe injury, and will have the Pereira puzzle to try and crack.

Pereira’s Next Fight: Jamahal Hill

Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall made history by becoming the first British born fighter to win a UFC title. Of course, Michael Bisping and Leon Edwards have both won gold before, but neither of which were born in the UK.

Following his remarkable first round knockout over Sergei Pavlovich, Aspinall revealed that a day after he was offered the short notice fight, he pulled his back which prevented him from training for the two weeks he did have.

That didn’t make a single bit of difference though, as the 30-year-old still looked incredibly fast and powerful.

Aspinall has made it clear on multiple occasions that his dream fight is Jon Jones, and he now finds himself one step away from that dream. However, it is still highly unlikely that Jon Jones sticks around to fight another contender after his fight with Stipe Miocic, depending on how that goes down.

The new interim heavyweight champion has also said that he doesn’t want to wait a whole year before he fights again, and will likely defend his interim title before Jones’ return. The Frenchman, Ciryl Gane has called for a fight with Aspinall, but the Englishmen shrugged that off mentioning how he called for a fight with Gane after his win in Paris, but Gane turned him down.

Realistically, if Aspinall is to take another fight in the first quarter of next year, there aren’t many contenders.

Aspinall’s Next Fight: Ciryl Gane

Jessica Andrade

“Bate Estaca” finally snapped her losing skid finishing Mackenzie Dern in round two, following an impressive striking clinic.

This fight marked Andrade’s fifth of the year, something no other female fighter has done. After an insanely active 2023, I think Andrade should take a six month hiatus to see how the strawweight division unfolds.

Depending on whether the UFC decides to give her another upcoming talent or if they give her a more favourable matchup, there are several options for the former champion.

Andrade’s Next Fight: Winner of Amanda Ribas vs Luan Pinheiro

Benoit Saint-Denis

“God of War” continues to become a European star for the UFC, and his picture perfect knockout win over Matt Frevola will only increase his star power.

The 27-year-old is now on a five fight finish streak, and since losing in his UFC debut back in 2021, has gone unbeaten. With the UFC seemingly making an annual visit to Paris, there is no doubt that the Frenchman could headline an event in the capital and blow the roof off the Accor Arena.

With Saint-Denis likely debuting in the rankings come this weeks rankings change, fans have been fantasizing over a matchup between Saint-Denis and Mateusz Gamrot. However, that matchup is unlikely considering “Gamer” weighed in as a backup for the UFC 294 lightweight title fight main event.

A more realistic next fight for Benoit, would be the winner of the upcoming fight between Dan Hooker and Bobby Green.

Saint-Denis’ Next Fight: Winner of Dan Hooker vs Bobby Green

Diego Lopes

Speaking of becoming a star, Diego Lopes once again showed why he is a future contender in the featherweight division.

After making his short notice UFC debut against the talented Movsar Evloev, Lopes went on to win his following two fights, not seeing a second round in either. Pairing his fight style with his enigmatic personality, the UFC are likely going to start pushing the Brazilian up the rankings.

There is one fight that makes a tonne of sense for him next, and it will really show where he fits in, in the featherweight picture. Bryce “ThugNasty” Mitchell should be next for the 28-year-old, in a fight that would provide everything.

Lopes’ Next Fight: Bryce Mitchell

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Prior to the upset loss, the 34-year-old mentioned that it would likely be his last fight at 135lbs, as he wanted to go up to featherweight to chase a second belt.

Despite that, after the matter, it seemed as though Sterling was looking to get an immediate rematch with O’Malley. That plan hit a bump in the road recently though, as the UFC announced that O’Malley’s first title defence would be against Marlon “Chito” Vera, at UFC 299.

“Funkmaster” took to his YouTube channel to give the fans an update on where he is at, and what has been recently offered to him.

“So some breaking news, I was offered (Calvin) Kattar, amongst three others. Two of the guys were actually friends so I said I would respectfully like to decline those. One of them was coming off a loss, Kattar was the highest ranking one out of all of them.”

Sterling went on to dissect the possible matchup, and also talked about the thoughts he’s having regarding moving up a weight class.

“I don’t know, I carry the weight well where I feel like I don’t feel that big and I think when I stand next to these 45ers I don’t feel like we’re the same size.

“I’m really not worried about the strength part. I’m just not really looking to go up and take a chance. I don’t mind taking a chance, but I’m not going up to say I’m coming here for second place. If I go up I’m going up to be number one, there’s no half assing this process of going up in weight.”

The former bantamweight champion went on to announce that he is heading to the UFC performance institute in Vegas to do tests to compare his numbers to other featherweights.

“I’m supposed to go to the PI (Performance Institute) this week and do some testing and see what my numbers look like compared to everybody else. I don’t pride myself on being the fastest, strongest most athletic or smartest guy when it comes to sports, but I think I do a pretty good job of showing up on game day and putting it together.

“I just don’t want to hit Kattar and then it goes, he doesn’t feel it. I would love to see what would happen actually happen if I just sit down the way I’ve been hitting pads, and just crack someone for once.”

The post Aljamain Sterling Offered Featherweight Fight With Calvin Kattar appeared first on Cageside Press.

The fight came under unfortunate circumstances for the man from Wigan, as he was only given just over two weeks notice after Jon Jones‘ injury resulted in his fight with Stipe Miocic being scrapped. Opponent Pavlovich was already slated as a backup for the fight.

The 30-year-old’s fight will begin a monumental few months for UK MMA, as just over a month later, Leon Edwards will defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington, at UFC 296.

Earlier today, the UFC posted a video of many famous faces wishing Aspinall luck for his upcoming title fight. At the UFC 295 press conference, Aspinall spoke about how he got ’emotional’ seeing the video.

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“It was amazing. People like GSP (Georges St-Pierre), people like Gordon Ramsey absolute UK legend, yeah it was nice, it made me a little bit emotional to be honest, I really enjoyed it.”

Since his devastating knee injury in July 2022, Aspinall has only fought once. That was back in July of this year, almost a year to the day of his injury. The fleet-footed heavyweight knocked Marcin Tybura out in the first round, marking his comeback in impressive fashion.

Aspinall spoke about the injury and everything he was able to learn about himself during those dark times.

“I learnt a lot about myself, I learned that big guys need to train with big guys which is very important. I feel so much better mentally and physically through training with other heavyweights every single day.

“I just wanted to focus everything on becoming the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. Before I was half in and half out, since the injury I had a lot of time to think, I had a lot of time to realise what I need to put my focus on and what I need in my life, both inside and outside the gym, it was a blessing in disguise. I’m completely different now.”

Pavlovich and Aspinall come in the top two for least time spent in the Octagon during their UFC tenures, combining for 12 wins by finish. Aspinall admitted that fear is ‘something I have a good relationship with’.

“He’s definitely an intimidating guy, but that being said, I do my best work when I’m scared. Fear is something I have a really good relationship with and it gives me a superpower so generally speaking the more scared I am the better I do in the fight.”

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Andrade has consistently floated between weight classes for the past few years, as she has tried to stay as active as possible. Her fight this weekend will mark her fifth of the year, and she competed on the first PPV card of the year, UFC 283. Andrade will tie the record for the most fights in a calendar year by a fighter.

Her last outing came against Tatiana Suarez back in August where she was submitted for the second time in three fights.

When talking about her recent form at the UFC 295 media day, Andrade focussed on how ‘excited’ she is about trying to turn her fortune around.

“I’m very excited because it’s part of my history again, to turn things around and to have a different outcome. God willing and myself too, I have the willpower for this I want it a lot, just close the year with golden keys, like we like to say in Brazil.”

The 32-year-old also admitted that she feels there is a lot of pressure on her to turn things around and to get back to winning ways.

“I think there is a lot of pressure on me, more pressure on myself to turn things around and to have a different outcome. You obviously feel the pressure that you want to have a different outcome going forward, but I’ve seen so many things throughout my career in the UFC that to me it’s more motivation. It’s motivation to get back in the win column, it’s motivation to have a comeback, it’s motivation to keep my place (in the UFC).”

Watch the full UFC 295 media day appearance from Jessica Andrade above.

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Frevola’s last win came back in May at UFC 288, where he handed Drew Dober his first knockout loss in over 10 years. Saint-Denis on the other hand, fought as recently as September, where he picked a win over Thiago Moises at UFC Paris.

“Steamrolla” Frevola is sharing the card with teammates Dennis Buzukja and Nazim Sadykhov, making for a busy night for head coach, Ray Longo.

At the UFC 295 media day, the 33-year-old spoke about the excitement he was feeling, knowing he was getting to fight another dangerous lightweight.

“I was ready to fight anybody at MSG (Madison Square Garden), but when they came to me with Benoit, I got excited. You know, that’s what I want, I want to fight the boogeyman, I want to fight the guys that people don’t want to fight and his nickname’s “The God Of War”, but I’m going to show the world that he’s just a man.

Between the two of them, Frevola and Saint-Denis have accumulated seven finishes in 14 fights, with Frevola finishing his last three fights in the first round. Frevola credited the ‘godfather of MMA’ for that recent upheaval.

“It has to be the Godfather of MMA, Ray Longo himself, the legend. He really wanted me to dial in on my boxing and we did that. I always joke around with coach like ‘come on I got too many weapons just for hands’, but he wanted me to focus on the sweet science and I put all my trust in him. I told him make me the next Long Island champion and what he says I do, and he hasn’t led me the wrong way yet.”

Watch the full UFC 295 media day appearance from Matt Frevola above. 

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The Brazilian put on a career best performance in her last outing against Angela Hill, where she picked up a decision win. Andrade on the other hand is making her fifth appearance of the year, which hasn’t been a great one for her.

The 32-year-old is on a three fight losing skid where she has been submitted twice and knocked out once.

At the UFC 295 media day, Dern spoke about the matchup from a stylistic standpoint, and spoke about how this fight will suit her style.

“I did ask for Rose (Namajunas) but then Rose went up a weight so, I think Jessica is an even better matchup for me. She had a full fight camp for this, I know she’s coming off three losses. If she’s anything like me she’s going to be super motivated like no one wants to lose four times, a loss pushes you to try and get better.

“I definitely think she’s going to want to take my head off and kill me in this fight, I think she’s going to be really attentive of me taking her to the ground. Erin (Blanchfield) who she did good striking with her, and then when she did take her to the ground, I didn’t see her jiu-jitsu too effective (Andrade’s), so definitely that gives me more confidence.

“In my last fight, Angela kept coming forward and Jessica keeps coming forward so I really think that’s going to give me opportunities to showcase some different things and just me evolving as an MMA fighter as a whole.”

Watch the full UFC 295 media day appearance from Mackenzie Dern above. She takes on Jessica Andrade at UFC 300 on Saturday night.

The post Mackenzie Dern Believes Andrade Matchup Suits Her Style appeared first on Cageside Press.

As well as that, midway through the event, fans were notified of another fight cancellation as Rodolfo Vieira versus Armen Petroysan fell on the final hour.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners on the night.

Jailton Almeida

Originally slated to take on Curtis Blaydes, “Malhadinho” was dealt a late change of opponent a few weeks prior to his date in the Octagon. Fortunately for him, Derrick Lewis put his name in the hat and spared the event of losing a home country as the main event billing.

Despite Almeida dominating for five rounds and winning the fight on a decision, it’s a performance that has left a lot of fans scratching their heads. The Brazilian accumulated over 21 minutes of control time, but at no point did he look to advance to finish the fight. Throughout the five rounds, the 32-year-old landed just 38 significant strikes to the submissive Lewis.

Because of his performance, I find it unlikely that the UFC is going to scramble to turn him around rapidly, and they will likely assess their options for Almeida tentatively.

Almeida called for a fight with Ciryl Gane next, but Gane went on record after his win over Spivac, saying he only wants a fight with someone ahead of him in the rankings. Of course that may be wishful thinking, but it is unlikely that he accepts a fight with a grappling specialist who is multiple ranks below him.

That brings me back to Curtis Blaydes. Originally this was set to be an extremely intriguing affair, and was a relatively big step-up for Almeida. I say rebook that fight for when Blaydes is healthy and see if “Malhadinho” can impress the masses with a performance over “Razor” Blaydes.

Almeida’s Next Fight: Curtis Blaydes

Nicolas Dalby

The Dane, Dalby, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, finishing the high flying Gabriel Bonfim in the third round of their welterweight bout.

With that, the 38-year-old extended his win streak to four, taking out some solid opponents on his way. Unfortunately for “Danish Dynamite”, the turn of form in his career has likely come too late for him to emerge into the rankings. Having said that, there are still a multitude of fun fights for the energiser.

Someone who is in a similar position of sorts, is Gunnar Nelson. That to me, sounds like it could be fun.

Dalby’s Next Fight: Gunnar Nelson 

Rodrigo Nascimento

Extending his win streak to three, Rodrigo Nascimento dominated Don’Tale Mayes, picking up a unanimous decision victory. The fight came as a rematch that really didn’t need to be made, but Nascimento put a stamp on the dull ‘rivalry’.

The Brazilians prior two wins came by way of split decision, but fortunately for him and the home crowd, this time it was more cut and dry.

Next for Nascimento, I could see the UFC matching him up with someone like Alexander Romanov or Blagoy Ivanov, to see if he can push to the next stage.

Nascimento’s Next Fight: Alexander Romanov

Caio Borralho

The enigmatic, Borralho, continued his unbeaten UFC run with an impressive win over the dangerous, Abus Magomedov.

With the Brazilian chaining together impressive performances, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started edging him towards the top 15 of the middleweight division. Optimistically after the fight, the 30-year-old called for a fight with Dricus Du Plessis, who has now been confirmed as Sean Strickland’s next opponent, booked for UFC 297.

It would make far more sense for Borralho’s next fight to be against someone like Nassourdine Imavov or Chris Curtis. Take your pick on which one. I am going to go with Nassourdine Imavov.

Borralho’s Next Fight: Nassourdine Imavov

Elves Brenner

Topping off a perfect 2023, Elves Brenner scored a picture perfect left hook knockout, finishing the debuting, Kaynan Kruschewsky.

It is unlikely we see the 26-year-old before the end of the year, unless he decides to step in on late notice against another lightweight. Originally, Brenner was scheduled to take on Esteban Ribovics, but the Argentinian pulled out of the bout late notice, leaving the UFC to book this catchweight bout.

If the UFC opt against re-booking Brenner and Ribovics, I wouldn’t mind seeing Brenner against someone like Thiago Moises.

Brenner’s Next Fight: Thiago Moises

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Pereira made his UFC debut in New York back in 2021, where he beat Andreas Michailidis in the same arena, Madison Square Garden. He then went on to beat Israel Adesanya three fights later, in the same arena.

The 36-year-old Pereira made his much anticipated light heavyweight debut last time out, after losing his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya. In that first outing at 205lbs, he beat former title holder, Jan Blachowicz.

This will mark Jiri Prochazka’s first fight in over a year after he suffered what was originally said to be a catastrophic shoulder injury, with Dana White stating that it was the worst the UFC have ever seen. Prochazka’s last fight came against Pereira’s head coach, Glover Teixeira.

At the UFC 295 media day, Pereira spoke about the matchup with Prochazka and the significance of being able to compete for another title in a different weight class.

“He seems to fight a lot with a fight style that’s hard to understand at first but I’ve been training hard, I have my weapons and I’m going to show them in the fight,” Pereira said.

“It definitely means a lot to me, I did the same in kickboxing so now to try to get this here, this means a lot not just for me but means a lot to be able to motivate my people to see they can believe that it happens and also to motivate the ones that don’t believe and don’t believe it’s possible.”

The former middleweight champion made it clear that he isn’t focussed on this fight to avenge his friend, Teixeira, but to become the champion again.

“I’m going to focus on this fight to fight for the title, it’s really sad what happened with Glover to lose the fight, but I’ve got to stay grounded and focussed on this. Glover’s my friend but I’m going there to fight for the belt.”

Check out the full UFC 295 media day appearance from Alex Pereira above.

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