Connect with us

News

Matchmaker Monday – UFC Vegas 35

Published

on

UFC Vegas 35 is wrapped up and the fighters have made their journeys home. Now, it’s time to look at what’s next for the athletes that will be returning to the Octagon in the coming months!

DISCLAIMER: this is purely opinion based, feel free to disagree!

***

Giga Chikadze (14-2) – #9 UFC featherweight

Picking up his 7th straight win in the UFC, Giga Chikadze is on the cusp of breaking into the title picture. Georgia’s top hope at UFC gold picked up an impressive 3rd round TKO on Saturday night, solidifying his spot in the top 10. A matchup that I would love to see is Chikadze vs Chan Sung Jung. This both gives 145lbs a new title contender in the form of the winner, and an all-action fight between ‘Ninja‘ and ‘Korean Zombie‘.

Edson Barboza (22-10) – #10 UFC featherweight

Falling to 2-2 in his featherweight run, Brazilian veteran Edson Barboza is in a tricky spot following his loss. In order to stay relevant in the contender discussion, Barboza is gonna need a big name in his next win. If you ask me, there’s no bigger hype around any 145lb prospect than Movsar Evloev. His striking hasn’t truly been tested yet, and Barboza could be the man to do it. This is a fun stylistic clash that does big things for the winner.

Bryan Battle (6-1) – TUF 29 middleweight winner

Pulling through to win the middleweight bracket of TUF 29, Bryan Battle is now a UFC fighter. For his next fight in the Octagon, I think that Jacob Malkoun would be a very interesting clash. Both men are highly touted prospects with excellent ground games. I think this is the one to make.

Ricky Turcios (11-2) – TUF 29 bantamweight winner

The 135lb winner from TUF 29, Ricky Turcios, has made a real splash with fans after his win over Brady Hiestand in the finals. If he’s looking to dive straight into the shark tank at bantamweight, I’m sure Randy Costa would gladly sign to fight. Both men are fan favourites that will fight until the final bell. Book it, Dana!

Daniel Rodriguez (16-2) – UFC welterweight

Daniel Rodriguez continued his accession up the the welterweight ladder at UFC Vegas 35 with a win over Kevin Lee. The 3 round shutout made it 2-straight for ‘D-Rod‘, who’s gone 6-1 in the UFC since 2020. Though I must credit Mike Perry for the original idea, I think Rodriguez vs Geoff Neal is a stylistic dream fight. This seems like a no-brainer for the UFC brass.

Kevin Lee (18-7) – UFC welterweight

Though his mystique has been shattered, Kevin Lee still believes he has what he takes to claim UFC gold. If his time in the company isn’t yet over, a return to 155lbs HAS to be in order. ‘The Motown Phenom‘ isn’t a welterweight. I’d match him up with the well-rounded tactician Mike Davis. Lee has to bring his best to win this, or he’ll be on the chopping block.

Andre Petroski (6-1) – UFC middleweight

Though he didn’t become TUF 29 champion, Andre Petroski is one of the more beloved fighters to come from the latest edition of the show. His third round stoppage of Michael Gilmore has secured his spot in the UFC, and it’s time to consider what’s next for him. If Sam Alvey is still on the UFC roster come the end of the week, I think he would make a good opponent for Petroski.

Gerald Meerschaert (33-14) – UFC middleweight

Gerald Meerschaert turned back his second straight win on Saturday with a submission victory. Though many wrote him off after his loss to Khamzat Chimaev, ‘GM3‘ is proving he’s still a force to be reckoned with. Dricus du Plessis is doing a fantastic job at 185lbs right now, and seems to be on a collision course with the elite of the division. Is it time for Meerschaert to end another hype train? I want to see what happens!

Makhmud Muradov (25-7) – UFC middleweight

Despite his first UFC loss, Makhmud Muradov still has plenty of potential at middleweight. The Uzbek prospect needs to get back on track with a big win, and I think that Tom Breese is the right opponent. Both men can bring the fight, and a win places them both back into a position to crack the top 15.

Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-4) – UFC middleweight

Snapping a losing streak in spectacular fashion wasn’t something that Abdul Razak Alhassan intended on, but something he delivered on. His 17 second KO at UFC Vegas 35 proved he’s still more than capable of sparking some of the best in the world. Punahele Soriano is another unranked KO artist at 185lbs, and it makes perfect sense to match these two up right now.

Alessio di Chirico (13-6) – UFC middleweight

He may have lost some of the momentum gained by his KO of Joaquin Buckley, but there’s no denying the talent of Alessio di Chirico. The Italian is well-equipped on the feet and boasts a 77% finish rate. Another middleweight prospect with a high finishing-rate is Rodolfo Viera, who has 87.5% of his wins by submission. This is a matchup set for a finish, regardless of who gets it.

***

Do you agree with my picks? Who do you want to see these fighters matched up with? Let us know in the comments section below!

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

CW 171: Final Card & Broadcast Details

Published

on

It’s fight week for Glasgow! Cage Warriors – Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation – heads to Scotland for the first time since 2013 with the stacked CW 171 card pitting the nation’s finest against elite opposition from the UK, Europe and beyond!

With the home nation represented in all six of the main card bouts, the atmosphere is set to be electric in the Braehead Arena as CW presents one of its biggest fight nights of all time.

In the main event, blistering KO artist Dumitru Girlean returns to face home favourite Chris ‘The Bad Guy’ Bungard in what is sure to be an electrifying lightweight contest.

Also featuring in high-stakes bouts are title hopefuls Reece McEwan and Aidan Stephen, who face UFC veteran Cameron Else and Italy’s Gianluca Scottoli respectively.

Elsewhere on the card, former title challenger Scott Malone is back in the famous yellow gloves, as he takes on surging contender Nicolas Leblond, while hot prospect Sean Clancy Jr looks to keep his unbeaten run alive against Lucas Rodriguez.

The final CW 171 card is as follows…

Cage Warriors 171: Glasgow | LIVE on UFC Fight Pass

Main Card – 12:30 (PT) | 15:30 (ET) | 20:30 (BST) | 21:30 (CEST)

Lightweight: Dumitru Girlean vs Chris Bungard
Bantamweight: Cameron Else vs Reece McEwan
Welterweight: Lucas Rodrigues vs Sean Clancy Jr
Bantamweight: Gianluca Scottoli vs Aidan Stephen
Flyweight: Nicolas Leblond vs Scott Malone
Bantamweight: Kaique Modesto vs Keir Harvie

Prelims – 08:30 (PT) | 11:30 (ET) | 16:30 (BST) | 17:30 (CEST)

Lightweight: Konstantinos Ntelis vs Jan Quaeyhaegens
Featherweight: Alberth Dias vs Paul McBain
Bantamweight: Jack Eglin vs Daan Duijs
Lightweight: Jordan Little vs Jordan Stronge
Welterweight: Wallison Henrique vs Carlo Pedersoli Jr
Light Heavyweight: Nell Ariano vs Jamie Macdonald
Catchweight (167lbs): Diego Dikson vs Ieuan Davies
Lightweight: Dec Dean vs Michael Blair
Flyweight: Ronal Siahaan vs Igor Wojtas
Featherweight: TBC vs Damon Donald
Bantamweight: Pav Sahota vs Iain Postlethwaite
Welterweight: Mush Aslani vs Khadim Dia
Featherweight: Cornellius Aritonang vs Thomas Hepburn

Cage Warriors 171: Glasgow will air live on UFC Fight Pass and international broadcast partners.

Continue Reading

News

UFC 300 – Live Results | Pereira vs Hill

Published

on

It’s fight day! The milestone event UFC 300 is finally upon us, bringing with it one of the strongest cards ever put together. In the main event, Alex Pereira will defend his light heavyweight belt against former titleholder Jamahal Hill.

For the full results as they happen, look no further!

Note: any point deductions will be denoted with an asterisk and explained at the bottom of the page.

***

Main card (3am GMT+1 – TNT Sports)

(c) Alex Pereira vs (#1) Jamahal Hill – UFC light heavyweight championship bout

(c) Zhang Weili vs (#1) Yan Xiaonan – UFC strawweight championship bout

(c) Justin Gaethje vs (#2 – FTW) Max Holloway – UFC BMF championship bout

(#1) Charles Oliveira vs (#4) Arman Tsarukyan – lightweight title eliminator

Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage – middleweight bout

Prelims (1am GMT+1 – TNT Sports/UFC Fight Pass)

(#2) Jiri Procházka vs (#5) Aleksandar Rakic – light heavyweight bout

(#7) Calvin Kattar vs (#1 – BW) Aljamain Sterling – featherweight bout

(#5) Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison – bantamweight bout

(#13) Sodiq Yusuff vs Diego Lopes – featherweight bout

Early prelims (11pm GMT+1 – UFC Fight Pass)

(#10) Jalin Turner vs (#13) Renato Moicano – lightweight bout

(#4) Jessica Andrade vs (#6) Marina Rodriguez – strawweight bout

(#14) Bobby Green vs Jim Miller – lightweight bout

(#8) Deiveson Figueiredo vs Cody Garbrandt – bantamweight bout

***

For more UFC 300 content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.

Continue Reading

News

ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova Full Card Announced

Published

on

A plethora of combat sports action will take over Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium once again when ONE Championship returns to the fabled striking venue with ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova next month. 

The thrilling event will take place live in U.S. primetime on Saturday, 4th May, and feature four fighting disciplines across the star-studded card. 

ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell will make the second defense of her crown when she takes on dangerous contender Natalia Diachkova in the headlining bout.

The Swedish teen has been unstoppable so far in her ONE tenure, piecing up every opponent to amass a perfect 4-0 run that includes winning the inaugural women’s strawweight Muay Thai strap against Jackie Buntan in April 2022.

Sundell was arguably at her best last time out when she put down the challenge of ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues at ONE Fight Night 14 last September. 

The 19-year-old used her sheer size and striking abilities to repeatedly hurt Rodrigues before she ended proceedings with a monumental finish in the third round. 

At ONE Fight Night 22, Sundell will face a foe with as much finishing threat as she has, meaning fans are in for a firefight. Diachkova has scored three knockouts in her first four promotional bouts, with her latest coming just last month at ONE Friday Fights 55.

The Russian wrecker has impressed again and again, and she’ll be coming for gold on 4th May.

The event will also see the return of former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Hiroki Akimoto, who is set to battle hot new arrival Wei Rui elsewhere on the card. 

The Japanese star will hope to get right back into the World Title conversation in his first appearance since parting with the gold in 2022. But Wei knows he’ll have a perfect opportunity to announce himself in style in ONE’s stacked bantamweight kickboxing ranks against Akimoto, and his astonishing 20-fight winning streak already identifies him as no slouch.

ONE Fight Night 22 Full Card:

  • (c) Smilla Sundell vs. Natalia Diachkova (ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship)
  • Akbar Abdullaev vs. Halil Amir (MMA – featherweight)
  • Sinsamut Klinmee vs. Dmitry Menshikov (Muay Thai – lightweight)
  • Hiroki Akimoto vs. Wei Rui (kickboxing – bantamweight)
  • Maurice Abevi vs. Zhang Lipeng (MMA – lightweight)
  • Reece McLaren vs. Hu Yong (MMA – flyweight)
  • Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong vs. Bogdan Shumarov (kickboxing – lightweight)
  • Chihiro Sawada vs. Noelle Grandjean (MMA – atomweight)
  • Thongpoon PK Saenchai vs. Zakaria El Jamari (Muay Thai – strawweight)
  • Nanami Ichikawa vs. Bianca Basilio (submission grappling – 132-pound catchweight)
  • Sean Climaco vs. Josue Cruz (Muay Thai – flyweight)
Continue Reading

Trending