A bye-week for the UFC turned into a bye-week for our Weekly Interview Round-Up as yours truly was struck down by a bout of COVID-19. Let’s take a look back over the last two weeks of interviews on MMANews.com Recap Of Last Week (10/1/22) Last we…
A bye-week for the UFC turned into a bye-week for our Weekly Interview Round-Up as yours truly was struck down by a bout of COVID-19. Let’s take a look back over the last two weeks of interviews on MMANews.com Recap Of Last Week (10/1/22) Last week, we were joined by John “Sexi Mexi” Castañeda, Don…
Landing the first submission victory of his professional mixed martial arts career — and in quite timely fashion to boot, featherweight contender, Sodiq Yusuff makes incredibly light work of short-notice replacement, Don Shainis, stopping the newcomer with a slew of brutal knee strikes to the body before an eventual guillotine choke — all within 30-seconds. […]
Landing the first submission victory of his professional mixed martial arts career — and in quite timely fashion to boot, featherweight contender, Sodiq Yusuff makes incredibly light work of short-notice replacement, Don Shainis, stopping the newcomer with a slew of brutal knee strikes to the body before an eventual guillotine choke — all within 30-seconds.
Yusuff, who was initially scheduled to share the UFC Vegas 61 Octagon with Georgian striker, Giga Chikadze, saw the bout cancelled after the latter suffered an undisclosed injury.
The 29-year-old featherweight contender, who entered tonight’s main card clash with Shainis off the back of a prior unanimous decision win over division veteran, Alex Caceres, made shockingly short work of Shainis — unloading with a series of brutal knee strikes to the body, repeatedly.
Softening Shainis up near the fence with knee strikes to the body, Yusuff would then grab hold of the former’s neck, roll into a guillotine choke, and force the tap — all within just 30-seconds. Off the back of his victory, Yusuff called for a fight with former featherweight title challenger, Chan Sung Jung.
Below, catch the highlights from Sodiq Yusuff’s timely win at UFC Vegas 61
New FAC lightweight champion Don Shainis has grinded his way through the U.S. regional scene, and he now wants an opportunity in the UFC. Shainis took a lightweight title fight on short notice and ended up making the most of it against former UFC fighter Cody Pfister at FAC 13. He earned a brutal knockout…
New FAC lightweight champion Don Shainis has grinded his way through the U.S. regional scene, and he now wants an opportunity in the UFC.
Shainis took a lightweight title fight on short notice and ended up making the most of it against former UFC fighter Cody Pfister at FAC 13. He earned a brutal knockout over Pfister just minutes into the bout despite being a last-second replacement.
Shainis has now won four in a row after falling to former PFL fighter Nathan Williams at Cage Titans 48 last July. He’s not one to take long layoffs in between fights and prides himself on being active as he moves closer to a shot in the UFC.
A former Bellator fighter, Shainis is no stranger to big stages. He earned back-to-back wins in Bellator in 2017 but decided to return to his familiar MMA home in Cage Titans.
Shainis competed in front of UFC President Dana White at FAC 12 during the coined ‘Lookin’ For a Fight’ event. Despite earning a unanimous decision win over Cris Lencioni, it wasn’t enough to earn himself a UFC contract.
During an exclusive interview, Shainis was direct when asked about what he sees happening for him by the end of the year.
“By the end of the year, I want two UFC fights,” Shainis told MMA News. “I wrote that goal down earlier, and I truly believe I’m gonna get there. I’m a late bloomer, I’m coming into my prime. I’m 31, but there are a lot of these young guns who are getting these opportunities and I feel like I’m almost getting overlooked.
“So to stay active, to be a gangster, one of these old-school dudes…I need to stay active, stay busy, rack up these wins and finishes so that way when I come across the UFC, I’m banging out as many fights as I can.”
Before making the potential move to the UFC, Shainis will fight Brice Picaud for the Cage Titans featherweight title on June 4th. Another title win would make it hard for the UFC matchmakers to pass him up for a shot in the Octagon.
“I’m gonna snag up another belt,” Shainis said. “Expect to see me in the UFC. I don’t know if it’s going to be Contender Series, UFC, but my goal is to fight. I’m gonna kill myself to get in. And not just in, but stay in and be one of the guys that is just down.”
At 30 years old, Shainis feels he’s in the prime of his career, especially after making the move to Glory MMA & Fitness in Missouri under the tutelage of head coach James Krause. He’s out to prove that age is just a number and that it’s never too late to make a run towards the biggest spotlight in the sport.