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Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas picked up her first victory in the women’s flyweight division by turning away Amanda Ribas atop the UFC Vegas 89 fight card last weekend in Las Vegas. Her performance was good enough to land “Thug” at No. 7 in the official 125-pound rankings, sending Ribas down to the No. 9 slot.

That’s not all.

Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:

Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Jon Jones
3. Leon Edwards
4. Alex Pereira
5. Ilia Topuria
6. Sean O’Malley
7. Charles Oliveira
8. Alexander Volkanovski
9. Dricus Du Plessis
10. Alexandre Pantoja
11. Israel Adesanya
12. Tom Aspinall
13. Sean Strickland
14. Max Holloway
15. Aljamain Sterling

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Matheus Nicolau
6. Manel Kape
7. Muhammad Mokaev
8. Alex Perez
9. Tim Elliott
10. Steve Erceg
11. Matt Schnell
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Tatsuro Taira
14. Su Mudaerji
15. David Dvorak

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Aljamain Sterling
3. Cory Sandhagen
4. Petr Yan
5. Marlon Vera
6. Henry Cejudo
7. Song Yadong
8. Deiveson Figueiredo
9. Rob Font
10. Umar Nurmagomedov
11. Kyler Phillips
12. Dominick Cruz
13. Mario Bautista
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Pedro Munhoz

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Ilia Topuria

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Arnold Allen
7. Josh Emmett
8. Calvin Kattar
9. Giga Chikadze
10. Bryce Mitchell
11. Edson Barboza
12. Dan Ige
13. Sodiq Yusuff
14. Lerone Murphy
15. Alex Caceres

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Dustin Poirier
4. Arman Tsarukyan
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Michael Chandler
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Dan Hooker
10. Jalin Turner
11. Benoit Saint-Denis
12. Rafael dos Anjos
13. Renato Moicano
14. Bobby Green
15. Drew Dober

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Leon Edwards

1. Kamaru Usman
2. Belal Muhammed
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Colby Covington
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Gilbert Burns
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Sean Brady
9. Stephen Thompson
10. Geoff Neal
11. Vicente Luque
12. Neil Magny
13. Michael Page
14. Kevin Holland
15. Michael Chiesa

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Dricus Du Plessis

1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Jared Cannonier
5. Marvin Vettori
6. Paulo Costa
7. Brendan Allen
8. Nassourdine Imavov
9. (T) Roman Dolidze
9. (T) Jack Hermansson
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Anthony Hernandez
13. Paul Craig
14. Chris Curtis
15. Caio Borralho

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Alex Pereira

1. Jamahal Hill
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Magomed Ankalaev
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Johnny Walker
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Anthony Smith
11. Ryan Spann
12. Alonzo Menifield
13. Azamat Murzakanov
14. Dominick Reyes
15. Dustin Jacoby

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Stipe Miocic
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Alexander Volkov
7. Jailton Almeida
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Serghei Spivac -1
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
12. Derrick Lewis
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Erin Blanchfield
5. Julianna Pena
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Raquel Pennington
8. Rose Namajunas
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Ketlen Vieira
14. Maycee Barber +1
15. Irene Aldana -1

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Yan Xiaonan
2. Tatiana Suarez
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Virna Jandiroba
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Luana Pinheiro
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Angela Hill
13. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
14. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
15. Gillian Robertson

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Erin Blanchfield
3. Manon Fiorot
4. Maycee Barber
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Katlyn Cerminara
7. Rose Namajunas *NR
8. Natalia Silva -1
9. Amanda Ribas -1
10. Viviane Araújo -1
11. Tracy Cortez -1
12. Ariane Lipski -1
13. Karine Silva -1
14. Casey O’Neill -1
15. Miranda Maverick -1

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Raquel Pennington

1. Julianna Pena
2. (T) Mayra Bueno Silva
2. (T) Ketlen Vieira
4. Irene Aldana
5. Holly Holm
6. Macy Chiasson
7. Miesha Tate
8. Karol Rosa
9. Pannie Kianzad
10. Yana Santos
11. Norma Dumont
12. Julia Avila
13. Chelsea Chandler
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Melissa Dixon

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the women’s flyweight division, following the UFC Atlantic City: “Blanchfield vs. Fiorot” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, scheduled for this Sat. night (March 30, 2024) at APEX in Las Vegas.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Heavyweights are heading to “The Garden State.”

According to a new report from Leo Guimaraes, Top 10-ranked Heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida have been booked for UFC 302, which is scheduled for Sat., June 1, 2024 from The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It’s one of the earliest announcements for the card, which is rumored to feature the possible return of Conor McGregor.

It’s a fairly quick return to action for Jailton Almeida, who is likely eager to rebound from his knockout loss to Chris Curtis at UFC 299. Prior to that defeat, the Brazilian grappling ace had won his last 15 bouts, climbing high into the ranks in the process.

Volkov, conversely, is riding a three-fight win streak in which he’s stopped Tai Tuivasa, Alexander Romanov, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (highlights). The last man to defeat him is current (interim) Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, but Volkov may actually be closer to a rematch than anyone would have expected.

It’s a classic big man style clash of grappler vs. striker. Almeida is a top-notch jiu-jitsu player, while Volkov is a rangy knockout artist. Historically, Volkov isn’t the most difficult man to take down, but he’s also tough to finish on the floor. The recipe is there for a dominant Almeida win or a late Volkov rally.

Who ya’ got?

Insomnia

UFC 300 cannot come soon enough for a variety of reasons.

For context, 20 million baht is about $ 550k. I also read that a lot of those gyms were in the more rural Isaan region of Thailand, so the money is going to do a lot of good!

Music has a big influence on how sparring sessions go!

Marvin Vettori reflects on the most iconic moment of his career:

Adrian Yanez is taking a big step back after consecutive knockout losses.

Paulo Costa vs. Roman Dolidze ain’t happening, at least not at UFC 301.

Demetrious Johnson is one of the most skilled fighters of all time.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Running into an intercepting knee like this is a nightmare.

Feinting low then stepping into an overhand will always have place in MMA.

… I have no idea what the possible rules are here. I am, however, entertained.

Random Land

Keep it classy in fast food restaurants!

Midnight Music: Indie folk, 2017

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Craig Jones is showing his support for Ukraine.

The jiu-jitsu ace has become notorious for his silly antics and wacky personality throughout his career. Despite that, Jones is one of the most talented people in the world at his craft, and he shares his knowledge when he gets the chance.

Jones and his team held a seminar in Warsaw, Poland, this past weekend and then drove to Kyiv, Ukraine, for another. Upon his arrival in Kyiv, Jones shared on Instagram that during the night drive, 31 missiles were shot down. Luckily for Jones, he and others in the area avoided disaster as a missile struck down five minutes from his hotel, as seen in the embedded video above.

“Ballistic missile landed somewhere nearby,” Jones said.

“Here I’m holding part of the missile,” he continued when checking out the blast site. “4000-kilo missile that f—king hit five minutes from my hotel. Actually was shot down this morning. Obviously, here’s the crater. The guys are already filling their stuff back in now. But f—king crazy. Obviously, things are tense out here, but the air siren goes off, the missile gets shot down, everyone goes back to work afterward. The world doesn’t just stop.”

To Jones’ surprise, 250 people attended his Kyiv seminar. All proceeds from the event will go to Ukrainian soldiers who train jiu-jitsu.

Jones, 32, has picked up two stellar victories within the past month: first at Karate Combat 44 via a flying triangle (watch highlights) and then at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6. However, don’t expect the Australian wildman to return at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) tournament.

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A lot of fighters dream about biting their rivals, even UFC champions, but flyweight up-and-comer Igor Severino went one step further and actually chomped down on opponent Andre Lima, leading to a disqualification finish at UFC Vegas 89 last weekend in “Sin City.”

Regulators were not amused.

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) withheld the Brazilian’s purse and is expected to hand down both a fine and suspension at next month’s meeting, according to MMA Fighting. In addition, Severino was immediately cut by UFC CEO Dana White.

Lima has since petitioned UFC to reconsider.

Severino (8-1), just 20 years old, captured a UFC contract with his breakout performance on Dana White’s “Contender Series” last fall and was expected to become a major player at 125 pounds. Instead, he’ll join the not-so-illustrious list of UFC fighters banned for life.

For more news and notes from the UFC Vegas 89 fight card click here and here.

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UFC Vegas 89 returned to UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend (Sat., March 23, 2024), leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was A.J. Dobson, who was knocked out by Edmen Shahbazyan in the first round (see it again here). And Cameron Saaiman, who suffered a technical knockout loss at the hands of Payton Talbott (video here). But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Amanda Ribas.

Since 2020, the Brazilian Flyweight has been alternating wins and losses, racking up a record of 4-3 prior to her headlining bout against Namajunas. She was coming off an incredible highlight-reel knockouc win over Luana Pinheiro (watch it), but staying true to her pattern, things didn’t go well for her against “Thug.”

After 25 minutes of action, Ribas came up short on the judges scorecards, losing a unanimous decision to bring her to 4-4 in her past eight fights. It’s not that Ribas fought horribly because, well, she didn’t. She actually put up a good fight and had some shining moments. But, when facing a former champion, you have to be on your “A” game.

Ribas did show a lot of promise by starting off her UFC career with four straight, including derailing Mackenzie Dern’s hype train and sending Paige VanZant packing from the UFC ranks. Unfortunately for her, she just can’t seem to win the big one when it matters to get her over the hump.

And here’s the thing: winning one, then losing, then winning again simply won’t get her anywhere. Furthermore, this bouncing around from weight class to weight class isn’t going to cut it, either. She’s fluctuated from Strawweight to Flyweight four times since 2020, adding to her inconsistent patterns.

At the end of the day, Ribas — who oddly enough is ranked at No. 8 in both divisions — is going to have to pick a division and stick with it for a while to get a groove going. If she doesn’t she can expect the same results moving forward.

If she does decide to stay at Flyweight, she will probably look to fight someone like Casey O’Neill next. Like Ribas, O’Neill kicked off her UFC career with four straight wins, but then hit a roadblock and has now dropped her last two fights to Jennifer Maia and Ariane Lipski.

O’Neill is ranked No. 13 at the moment, and Ribas can expect to drop out of the Top 10. Both ladies will be fighting with extra pressure to secure a win, so it could bring out the best of them should this bout come to fruition.

For complete UFC Vegas 89 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.

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Prochazka has tightened up his overall game and is looking forward to showing his new level of fighting when he faces Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300.

Jiri Prochazka’s quest to regain his UFC light heavyweight title was derailed back in November 2023 by Alex Pereira when the scary Brazilian striker knocked him out in the second round (watch the finish here).

According to Prochazka, the defeat taught him the value of keeping his game tight during a firefight.

“I have to keep all the fight in my hands, every detail,” Prochazka told Inside Fighting in a new interview. “Every detail, every small step in the cage, everything. Because until that [KO] moment, I handled that fight. It was my mistake, it was small mistake, but in this game, there is no place for these small mistakes. So that’s why I’m making the steps up in these small things: to be the best.”

Now Alex Pereira is the 205 pound champion, and he will defend the title in the main event of UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill. Jiri is keeping a close eye on that fight, considering he’s hoping to fight the winner as soon as possible. While Hill is convinced the fight is a mismatch in his favor, Prochazka sees advantages for both men.

“More weapons in that fight I feel like there is on Jamahal Hill’s side,” he said. “Jamahal Hill will have the better chances at the start of the fight. When the fight will continue, there is more chance, like I’ve seen, for Pereira. But we’ll see, let the better win.”

Further down that same card, Prochazka is fighting Aleksandar Rakic. A powerful win, he hopes, will propel him right back into the No. 1 contender spot.

“I believe in that. I will do everything for that,” he said. “I believe I can be the champion, and I will.”

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After being accused of knowing nothing about MMA by the UFC vet, Sanko pointed out that she fought on the same card as Varner back in 2011.

Former WEC champion and UFC fighter Jamie Varner is sticking to his position that UFC commentator Laura Sanko knows nothing about MMA and should be replaced by a woman who’s actually competed in the promotion. It’s an opinion that has half of X (formerly Twitter) roasting him mercilessly, but Sanko has decided to take the high road in her response.

“Jamie Varner, you and I actually fought on the same card in 2011 for Titan FC,” she tweeted. “We warmed up next to each other in the basement of the Memorial Hall building in KCK. My best friend braided your hair because you couldn’t find anyone to do it. I remember thinking how cool it was at the time to be on a card with you. I had followed your career in the WEC and was a a little star struck to be honest.”

“It’s OK that you don’t like my commentary,” she continued. “But respectfully, I’ve been a part of this game and training since 2006. I’m a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and while I can’t compare my career to yours, I have in fact fought. And if UFC had a 105 division I would have fought a lot longer.”

Sanko didn’t just fight for Titan FC, she also ended up doing color commentary for the promotion. It’s that decade plus of experience on the mic that helped her claw her way up the UFC commentary ladder from Contender Series and Road to UFC shows all the way to UFC Fight Nights and international pay-per-views. But no matter how much experience a woman may have, there’ll always be someone to say they don’t deserve their position.

In this case it’s Jamie Varner, who continues to dig his hole on social media.

“I do remember that night, and appreciate your friend for doing what she did,” he replied to Sanko. “However when you rewatch the fights do you think you are doing a good job? You don’t feel like you are forcing it too much? Feels like overcompensating. There are fighters in my DM’s that agree w/me.”

“You’re high if you think she knows anything,” he argued with another X user. “She’s the worst I’ve ever heard in my life. Holly Holm should have that job.”

When another Sanko fan declared “she is a bigger name in the MMA community than you,” Varner brought up his Jakks UFC Collection action figure.

“Hahaha ok, how many belts and actions figures does she have?” he asked. “How about this how many Fight of the Night bonuses does she have? Last one, how many fight of the year awards does she have? I’ll wait for you to count them lol.”

Those who were around in 2010 may remember Varner’s career high notes, but that was a long time ago. These days, UFC fans see Laura Sanko at all the events, on the weigh-in shows, and during the broadcasts. There’s literally hundreds of hours of her doing mic work for the UFC, and if she knew nothing like Varner suggests she would have been exposed by the fanbase several times over by now.

Calling Laura Sanko an annoying try-hard is an opinion someone can have. But an unqualified know-nothing? Factually incorrect, sir.

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Blachowicz is inching closer to a UFC return now that both of his injured shoulders have been surgically repaired.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is hoping to regain that legendary Polish power with the help of a second shoulder surgery procedure.

Blachowicz was forced to pull out of a fight with Aleksandar Rakic in December 2023 after the strength in his arms decreased to the point where he felt “like a two-year-old girl.” A few weeks later he was on the operating table, where surgeons were set to operate on both of his shoulders. Unfortunately it took them so long to fix the right shoulder that they had to leave the left one for another date.

Three months later, and that date has finally arrived.

“It is what it is… Going under the knife again,” Blachowicz wrote on Instagram. “It’s time for the surgery of the other shoulder … Keep your fingers crossed! With the first shoulder it helped.”

He shared a follow-up after the surgery, which sounds like it was a success. Not only did they fix his left shoulder, but they cleared out the cartilage in his sinuses as well.

“I feel really good. I feel so relieved that I have this process behind me,” he wrote. “With this energy I’m entering the next step! Still want to do something big. For myself. For you guys. #LegendaryPolishPower #WillReturn.”

Jan Blachowicz won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in 2020 and defended it once when Israel Adesanya moved up a weight class chasing double champion status. He suffered an upset loss in his next defense against Glover Teixeira and has struggled to regain momentum since then. His last bout was a close split decision loss to Alex Pereira in July 2023 — a fight Jan still believes he won.

Hopefully with these surgeries and time off, the 41-year-old Blachowicz can make a splash in the division one more time.

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UFC Vegas 89 went down last night (Sat., March 23, 2024) inside UFC Apex featuring a women’s Flyweight fight that saw Rose Namajunas defeat Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Karl William defeated Junior Tafa, also via unanimous decision, after 15 minutes of Heavyweight action.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Winner: Rose Namajunas

Look, it wasn’t the most exciting fight, but Namajunas gets the nod her for the simple fact that she picked up a much-needed win, getting her back into the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly two and a half years. The victory snapped her two-fight losing streak and saved her from digging a deeper hole for herself because a third straight defeat would have been detrimental to her career. Instead, “Thug Rose” takes out the No. 8 ranked fighter at 125 pounds, which increases her chances of cracking the Top 15 in a division she’s only competed in two times. She still has a way to go before she starts getting into the championship conversation, but she has to be breathing sigh of relief after picking up her first win as a Flyweight.

Runner Up: Edmen Shahbazyan

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“The Golden Boy” hasn’t quite lived up to all the hype he had when he made his UFC debut in 2018, starting off his career with the promotion with four straight wins before going 1-4 in the five fights the followed coming into his fight against A.J. Dobson. And things weren’t looking all the great for him early in the fight after getting rocked by his foe. But a bit later in the opening frame, Shahbazyan turned it all around and managed to drop Dobson and eventually score a come-from-behind finish. It’s a win that likely saved his UFC career (for now), and will give him a ton of confidence going into his next fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Loser: Igor Severino

This one is no surprise. 20-year old Igor Severino came into his first fight with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with eight straight stoppage wins, an undefeated record (8-0) and all the potential in the world to make a nice career for himself on the biggest stage of them all. Unfortunately, he left without a job. For whatever reason, Severino decided to bite his opponent, Andre Lima, midway through the fight, leading to a bizarre disqualification. To make matters worse, Dana White immediately cut the Brazilian prospect, ending his UFC career before it even had a chance to take off. Now, not only will he never get the chance to fight inside the Octagon again, his reputation has been tarnished as a dirty fighter, which might make it difficult for him to land with another promotion anytime soon.

For complete UFC Vegas 89 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

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Last night (Sat., March 23, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) remain inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 89. At this point, it’s a step up for the average Apex main event to feature a former champion, even if Rose Namajunas did enter having lost her previous two bouts. “Thug Rose” aimed to get her career back on track opposite Amanda Ribas, while the rest of the main card featured a Heavyweight brawl, one struggling Middleweight former prospect, and two skilled young Bantamweight up-and-comers.

By and large, that’s the usual mix for nights such as these. Let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 89’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Namajunas Picks Up First Flyweight Win

I don’t believe I’m the only one who found Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas underwhelming.

Plain and simple, there are changes Namajunas needs to make to her game to compete at Flyweight. Namely, she has to throw more. Her punches are not sitting opponents down like they did at Strawweight. At no point in their shared 25 minutes did she manage to stun Ribas, who is not known for her durability. If the knockout is less realistic, volume becomes king once more.

Really, Namajunas won this bout because she capitalized on Ribas’ mistakes. Bad mistakes. Ribas threw away three separate rounds by attempting crappy headlock throws and landing in bottom position. It’s a bad takedown, and it was really frustrating to watch Ribas continually fall onto her back when she was doing fairly well on the feet.

It was better than the co-main event between Justin Tafa and Karl Williams, but that ain’t saying much!

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Gritty Golden Boy

Edmen Shahbazyan scored his first comeback win last night.

We’ve seen Shahbazyan score first-round finishes before, and we’ve seen him fall apart late when faced with fatigue and adversity. Historically, it’s one or the other for “Golden Boy,” who has just a single decision win in 13 fights. When AJ Dobson came out unexpectedly hot and stunned Shahbazyan with punches almost right away, the situation looked really bad for Shahbazyan.

Credit to him, however, Shahbazyan stayed in the fight. He survived some bad spots and worked back to his feet. When the two separated following some wrestling, both were fatigued. Nevertheless, Shahbazyan stepped back into the pocket, stood his ground, and returned the favor by knocking down Dobson.

Was it a good sign that Dobson was able to hurt Shahbazyan? Not really. Still, Shahbazyan hung tough when his reputation said he would fold, and that deserves props.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Talbott Overwhelms Saaiman

Payton Talbott absolutely torched Cameron Saaiman.

Nothing he threw missed. It’s that simple! From very early in the fight, Talbott was throwing power combinations and landing all three of the punches. His right leg scored with brutal consistency, both as a knee and a kick. When the two clinched up, Talbott would land multiple elbows, and his check hook floored Saaiman on two occasions. All the offensive weapons were flowing, and Saaiman couldn’t stand up to the barrage despite his best efforts.

A stellar performance from the undefeated prospect.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Return Of The Moroccan Devil

Back in 2020, Youssef Zalal made a bit of a name for himself by fighting frequently on the early Apex cards. He picked up a few wins and showed some talent, but a losing streak saw him released soon afterward. Classic Apex era stuff: fighters come and go quickly and are replaced by the next wave of prospects.

Few make it back after being released. Zalal proved himself a cut above the rest by going back to the gym, getting better, and then chipping away on the regional scene until able to score another opportunity at the prime time. When given a short-notice chance last night vs. Quarantillo, he absolutely made the most of it.

Zalal was just so sharp. His boxing, intercepting knees, and calf kicks were all timed so well, and he was sitting down on his shots more than in previous appearances. He stunned the ultra durable “Billy Q” badly, evaded his powerful swings with absolute composure, and then dominated the jiu-jitsu black belt on the floor too. He looked in complete control the entire fight, beating Quarantillo more easily than anyone else and becoming the first to finish him.

It was an incredible performance.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Severino Bares Teeth

Igor Severino vs. Andre Lima was such a great fight! Two young and undefeated Brazilian prospects were putting all their skills on display. Both showed off versatile and powerful approaches to kickboxing, and there were some really great wrestling and ground exchanges as well.

Overall, Lima was the sharper and more powerful striker. However, Severino’s raw grit and relentless pace was potentially taking over in the second. We’ll never know for sure though, because Severino threw it all away by viciously biting his opponent. He was promptly disqualified and then released in short fashion.

That’s an absolute d—k move that benefitted nobody.

Additional Thoughts

• Fernando Padillo defeats Luis Pajuelo via first-round d’arce choke (HIGHLIGHTS): Padillo really impressed in this win. The fight didn’t last long, but Padillo immediately demonstrated a better understanding and use of his range compared to his previous showing. He picked apart Pajuelo, landing lots of longe distance blows and forcing Pajuelo to get desperate. When the Peruvian really tried to force the action, Padillo punished him with a nasty counter shot then promptly wrapped up the neck to secure a pretty flawless victory.
• Julian Erosa defeats Ricardo Ramos via first-round guillotine choke (HIGHLIGHTS): Ramos was in the midst of dropping hammers on Erosa. He stunned his foe with a right hand, scored his signature spinning elbow, and bounced Erosa’s head off the canvas with ground shots. Ramos appeared to be in complete control until the moment Erosa snatched up his neck in response to a double leg, and all of a sudden, the fight was over! “Juicy J” is quite the opportunist, and he needed this win badly.

For complete UFC Vegas 89 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

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