Caio Borralho made a statement on Saturday night when he defeated Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC Vegas 96, and did so without using his high-level grappling chops. After the win, Borralho called out middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
Did he waste the callout, potentially taking another big fight off the table?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses what could be next for the surging middleweight contender after winning his first UFC main event. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Tabatha Ricci after defeating Angela Hill in the co-main event, TUF 32 winners Ryan Loder and Mairon Santos following their stoppage victories, Michael Morales after his impressive first-round finish of Neil Magny, Gerald Meerschaert following his record-breaking win against Edmen Shahbazyan, and more.
Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
It was Dricus du Plessis’ UFC 290 win over former champion Robert Whittaker that put him over so to speak. He had beaten Darrin Till and Derek Brunson heading into the Whittaker title eliminator bout but his win over “The Reaper” let everyone know that there was a new face in the top tier of the 185-pound division.
Du Plessis fought for the title in his next fight against then-champion Sean Strickland. He narrowly defeated “Tarzan” to capture UFC gold. At UFC 305 on Aug. 18, du Plessis successfully defended the belt for the first time against former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya. The win drew the attention of light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
“Coming down to 185 one more time.” Pereira said after watching du Plessis defeat Adesanya. Whittaker doesn’t think it’s the best idea for Pereira to drop back down to middleweight to take on the champion.
“Honestly, I don’t think that’s a good fight for him (Pereira),” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “I don’t think that’s a good fight for him.”
Having success in a division up is one thing. It’s pretty common. Daniel Cormier, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, etc. have pulled it off. It can have advantages like speed and not having to cut weight. But moving down a division hasn’t typically been a recipe for a successful outcome. It didn’t work out for former lightweight champions Frankie Edgar, or BJ Penn, or former featherweight titleholder Cody Garbrandt, to name a few.
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“When you move up to light heavyweight, moving back down is tricky,” Whittaker said. “It’s not like you move up for one fight. He’s stayed up there. He’s been fighting up there for awhile now, so it would take a lot out of him to get down. And Dricus is so strong there.”
“Alex gets hit, and Dricus likes getting hit. It’s hard to see someone with the amount of power to stop Dricus from walking forward into you,” Whittaker continued. “Dricus hits hard. You saw that in the fight with Adesanya. Adesanya has like a really good chin. Dricus was still hurting him enough to make him uncomfortable.”
Pereira puts his 205-pound title on the line in the UFC 307 main event againstKhalil Rountree Jr. in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5. Whittaker faces the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. Du Plessis is expected to rematch Strickland in his next title defense.
Whittaker is giving credit where credit is due to Du Plessis, whose fight style may not be pretty but certainly seems to work.
185 pound champion Dricus Du Plessis continues to shock and amaze fighters and fans with his unlikely wins, largely due to his unorthodox style that seems like it shouldn’t work but keeps earning him wins against the best middleweights in the world.
At UFC 305, he defeated Israel Adesanya to cement his position at the top of the division. And in July 2023 he took out Robert Whittaker, earning a TKO win in the second round. During a new interview with Submission Radio, “The Reaper” discussed “DDP” and his unlikely success.
“I thought Adesanya looked spectacular,” he said of the UFC 305 showdown. “I thought this was probably the best version we saw of him. He was very effective. He looked in his groove. He was landing big shots. But man, DDP is one of those guys that if you don’t kill him, he’s going to win the fight. You got to really take the fight to him for 25 minutes. And if you if you give him any space, if you give him any opportunity to crawl back in, he just keeps coming.”
“You cannot sit on your laurels. You need to be wired on, locked in for 25 minutes.”
“I’d like to think that I never underestimate my opponents, but I probably did him,” Whittaker admitted regarding Du Plessis. “Maybe. It’s hard to say. You know, the prep wasn’t ideal. And everybody says it: you look at him fight, and the guy looks like a pub fighter, right? But he just keeps smashing people. In that first fight with him, I saw the punches coming. I moved out of the way. I felt good in there. I was like, I got this. And then I got punched in the face, right?”
“It’s not a pretty style, but it’s effective. Super effective. And I think the biggest thing is the mentality behind his shots. If you’re not at that level, like, if you’re not on the same plane of offering as he is, then he’s going to run away with it.”
At this point, Whittaker doesn’t see any of the current big names beating Du Plessis. Not Sean Strickland, who the UFC has tapped for the next title shot, or Alex Pereira, who says he wants to move back down to middleweight to face the South African champion.
“He’s been fighting up there [at 205] for a while now,” Whittaker said of Pereira. “So it’s it would be it would take a lot out of him to get down. And Dricus is so strong there … Dricus hits hard. You saw that in the fight against Adesanya. Adesanya has a really good chin, and Dricus was still hurting him enough to make him uncomfortable.”
“Dricus is a hard fight. He just has that insane pressure and willingness to get hit to to land hits. And he wins that fight [against Strickland] a lot of the time. I think he’s going to be he’s a hard fight for a lot of people.”
Next up for Robert Whittaker is a long-awaited showdown with Khamzat Chimaev in Abu Dhabi at UFC 208 on October 26th. It’s a pivotal fight for the Australian’s career, and “Bobby Knuckles” believes his gameplan is no big secret.
“It’s quite simple, you know,” he said. “You’ve got to worry about how hard he’s going to push the wrestling envelope in the first few rounds. And then what I’m going to do after that, after I stop the takedowns, after I get back up or whatever, and just taking the fight to him? Everyone can see how this fight’s going to play out. Everyone can make a rough plan on how to approach it. So what you’re thinking is probably what I’m doing.”
Joaquin Buckley returns at UFC 307 against Stephen Thompson, but his most interesting interaction that week may actually happen when he runs into Daniel Cormier.
Back in May, Buckley scored a unanimous decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev in front of a hometown crowd in St. Louis. Afterward, he decided to use his post-fight interview to call out UFC superstar Conor McGregor rather than anybody ahead of him in the welterweight rankings. Cormier was one of many within the MMA community to skewer the decision as a waste Buckley’s microphone time, especially with UFC CEO Dana White emphatically shutting down the request just minutes later at the post-fight press conference.
That led to Buckley firing a shot at Cormier and other commentators for criticizing him, proclaiming, “Ya mommas raised some hoes.” Cormier then unleashed an expletive filled tirade aimed at Buckley for daring to mention his mother, who died in 2022.
Months have passed since the altercation, but Buckley finally has a chance to see Cormier in person when he fights in Salt Lake City, as the Hall of Famer and former two-division UFC champion is expected to serve as part of the broadcast team for UFC 307.
“I’ve been praying to the MMA gods that I run into DC,” Buckley told MMA Fighting. “I’m the type [of] person, I’m a fan of Daniel Cormier and all the things that he’s done in his MMA career. If you’re talking about from Strikeforce to coming into the UFC and dominating and end up winning two straps in the UFC, because of how difficult that is and holding them simultaneously at one time, I’ve got to respect it.
“But at the end of the day, it’s like as fighters, I believe that for me, the things that I’m trying to do, I feel like DC could have helped me with trying to go where I’m trying to go instead of trying to diminish me or break me down.”
Buckley says his biggest issue with Cormier came down to the decision to criticize his callout rather than praise what Buckley did well in the fight, which counted as his fourth win in a row since moving to the welterweight division.
Because Cormier has such a massive audience as one of the primary voices for major UFC broadcasts, he commands a lot of attention whenever he says anything. That’s why Buckley was initially upset at Cormier in the aftermath of his win.
“Somebody like him has such a massive voice and a massive platform, any negative thing that he puts out there on me, there’s a lot of fans that are going to have backlash on me and not kind of see my point of view,” Buckley said. “Because he knew where I was coming from, but regardless, he went to a different direction and took it. That was his choice.”
During fight week, the athletes competing on a card typically sit down for a meeting with the broadcast team to discuss training, preparation, and the upcoming battle ahead.
Those encounters have led to some interesting discussions in the past, but Buckley isn’t looking to start trouble with Cormier just because they exchanged words over social media.
That said, the 30-year-old contender welcomes the chance to get in some time with Cormier on the mats, but not in some confrontational way as if he’s going to start throwing punches as soon as they lock eyes with each other.
“Now at the end of the day, we’re all fighters though, right?” Buckley said. “I will be blessed to get that work with DC because if I can’t really talk it out with you, then we can work it out. Does that make sense? I feel like me and DC, I would love to see DC, but it’s not on some personal [level] like, ‘As soon as I see DC, I’m fitting to swing on him.’ No, because I ain’t about that.
“If DC wants to make it like that, which I highly doubt, but at the end of the day, we can always get this work in as martial artists and hash it out.”
With his full focus on “Wonderboy” and the chance to take another step forward in his pursuit of UFC gold, Buckley isn’t stressing much about a potential encounter with Cormier, but he does hope they get a chance to talk.
Buckley maintains he’s not holding a grudge or just waiting for the chance to unload on Cormier when they run into each other in Utah. Instead, Buckley would love to turn a negative past with Cormier into a positive future.
“Ain’t no beef on my end,” Buckley said. “I like to [break] balls, too. My thing is, just like at the end of the day, we’re all just having fun, we’re all just talking stuff. But we can really figure this stuff out if there’s an issue or a misunderstanding.”
Chingiz Allazov is a decorated fighter in ONE Championship who holds the Featherweight Kickboxing World Title, but he is looking to leave it behind. After capturing gold in K-1 and ONE, ‘Chinga’ Allazov holds the top rank as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer on earth, but wants to step away from ONE.
Chingiz Allazov
Allazov has taken the kickboxing world by storm. The aggressive kickboxer has highly impressive wins against the likes of K-1 MAX Champion Yasuhiro Kido, GLORY Champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, the top-ranked Jo Nattawut, all-time great Superbon Singha Mawynn, and K-1 and GLORY titleholder Marat Grigorian. With these notable victories, Chingiz Allazov is ranked among all-time greats and is the top pound-for-pound kickboxer right now.
In an IG live interview, Marat Grigorian recently said that Allazov has vacated his kickboxing world title in ONE and is stepping away from the organization. In a conversation with Chingiz Allazov, we can update his side of the story.
Chingiz Allazov Leaving ONE
Speaking to the world champion Chingiz Allazov, he explained:
“Yes, it’s true. Before the fight between Marat Grigorian and Superbon, I told ONE Championship that I would leave my belt for this fight, but they said no … They offered me the fight with Superbon before Marat Grigorian, and I said, ‘If I fight Marat, I will finish my career.’”
Over five rounds, Allazov defended his title against Grigorian in 2023. Grigorian then defeated Sitthichai before losing to Superbon for the interim title. ‘Chinga’ was hoping that the Superbon vs. Grigorian fight would be for the undisputed championship.
Allazov continued, after his win over Grigorian he wanted either the Muay Thai Champion Tawanchai in kickboxing or a rematch to avenge a prior loss to Giorgio Petrosyan. He added:
“After that, I asked for a fight with Tawanchai, or even Giorgio Petrosyan again. But Petrosyan is done fighting in ONE Championship, and Tawanchai doesn’t seem interested in a kickboxing match with me. But now, I have a different plan. My own plan for my life and future, not the same plan as ONE Championship.”
Chingiz Allazov continued:
“But this news is true … I’m done fighting in ONE Championship, and I said I would leave my belt for Marat and Superbon to fight for. Before, Superbon won the interim title fight, but after this fight, they offered me another contract. However, I told them no, I’m finishing my career. I have different plans for my life. Maybe in the future, Inshallah, I’ll return to fight other fighters, but for now, I train every day, focus on my life, and focus on my family. Inshallah, always.”
Despite leaving the organization and leaving his illustrious title behind, he has nothing to say but good things about them. Allazov said:
“I wish all the best to all the fighters in ONE Championship, and I want to thank ONE Championship. I have a lot of respect for the whole ONE Championship team and Chatri.”
Chingiz Allazov has had public issues with ONE in the past. It’s not clear what’s next for either party. ONE has not yet officially removed the title from Allazov. ‘Chinga’ may move into fighting with K-1 or somewhere in central Asia. He said he is not yet done with kickboxing as a whole and he will continue to fight.
Chingiz Allazov to Vacate Kickboxing World Title: “I’m done fighting in ONE Championship” pic.twitter.com/xEhH9HDScg
— Timothy Wheaton MMA (@TimWheatonMMA) August 26, 2024
There is a realistic possibility that we could be seeing Jiří Procházka competing in a new weight class next time out.
Just as he did some time after UFC 303, Procházka continued to tease a drop down in weight in a new video on his YouTube channel.
In the video, the Czech star mentions feeling ready to fight again now, but he is currently waiting for the right conditions to go into a matchup sharp in mind, body, and spirit.
The interviewer then asks Procházka about the weight he plans to return at. The former light heavyweight champion states that if Dricus Du Plessis were to win at UFC 305, he would look at the possibility of moving down to middleweight. The South African retained the middleweight championship earlier this month at UFC 305, submitting Israel Adesanya.
“I’ll clear things up a bit there and take the belt,” Procházka said. “But I feel good and strong in the light heavyweight division, even though the guys there are a bit heavier, almost all of them. So I have to say that I have no problem physically and strength-wise, or in any way, with clearing them out.
“But it would certainly be a challenge for me to go for the belt in the (middleweight) division and then move (back) up. But I’ll really let it flow and see how it unfolds.”
Jiří Procházka Eyeing Move Down To Middleweight To Challenge Dricus Du Plessis
Procházka is coming off an unsuccessful challenge of Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 303 in June. The result marked the second time in about seven months that the two clashed over the championship.
Pereira recently teased his own move down to middleweight to challenge Du Plessis and try to become a simultaneous two-division champion, having already held the 185-pound gold before his move up to 205 pounds.
Procházka was also asked about rumors of a potential fight with another former light heavyweight champion in Jamahal Hill. “Sweet Dreams” fell in his own challenge of “Poatan” at UFC 300 — the same card that saw Procházka finish Aleksandar Rakić.
The Czechia native poured cold water on such rumors during this interview.
“There hasn’t been any negotiation or discussion with the manager, or anyone else yet,” Procházka said. “I just sent one message regarding Hill, just as an informational note, and I’m not sure if anything has progressed or if someone let something slip. But for now, it’s all just speculation.”
Read More: UFC Fight Night Results & Highlights: Caio Borralho Decisions Jared Cannonier
Continue Reading Jiří Procházka Reiterates Plan To Move Down To Middleweight Following Dricus Du Plessis’ Title Defense at MMA News.
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