The 11-fight UFC Vegas 100 card at the UFC Apex on Saturday signaled the promotion’s 100th event in the APEX. While no one could have guessed that fight cards at the UFC’s ‘home base’ would have continued for this long, they have provided an intimate and unique viewing experience for the fights they have hosted.
UFC Vegas 100 featured a five-fight main card that produced three thrilling finishes. In the co-main event, ONE Championship’s former two-division champion, Reiner de Ridder, submitted UFC vet Gerald Meerschaert to capture his first win with the promotion. And in the main event, Carlos Prates firmly arrived as a fresh contender for the UFC’s welterweight division as he stunned viewers, flatlining veteran gatekeeper Neil Magny. A few new faces and some wily vets need to be matched after suffering defeat at UFC Vegas 100.
Neil Magny
Neil Magny was starched in the first round of the main event of UFC Vegas 100 by hot prospect Carlos Prates. It’s an undoubtedly tough loss for Magny to stomach as the 37-year-old has now been finished two times in a row and lost three of his last four fights. Magny entered the fight Saturday ranked at #15 in the UFC’s welterweight division, so he will be unranked when the new rankings come out.
Magny’s next fight should be against Elizeu Zaleski. Elizeu picked up a win earlier in the night when he smoked undefeated replacement fighter Zach Scoggin in the first round (Elizeu was originally supposed to take on Nicolas Dalby before Dalby withdrew). Zaleski has gone 2-1-1 in his last four fights, with the loss coming to Randy Brown back in June. Magny and Zleski share a common opponent in Li Jingliang. Neil defeated ‘The Leech’ via unanimous decision while Elizeu suffered a TKO defeat in the third round. The 38-year-old would match up well against Magny and the winner would likely be looking for another fight to break back into the rankings.
Neil’s next fight: Elizeu Zaleski
Gerald Meerschaert
Gerald Meerschaert was submitted late in his three round co main event against UFC newcomer, Reinier de Ridder. Meerschaert had a good showing on Saturday despite being dropped early but could not find a path to victory. Meerschaert is now 12-10 in the UFC and 2-2 in his last four fights. Gerald holds the middleweight submission record for the UFC. He is one of the most active threats in the grappling department with the promotion.
With Meerschaert turning 37 next month he is still dangerous and has a lot of tread left on the tires of his career, as can be seen with his last win, a second-round submission over Edmen Shahbazyan in August.
Gerald’s next fight should be against Abus Magomedov. This is a fight that the UFC has scheduled on two separate occasions at this point. In December of 2021 a fight between the two middleweights was scheduled, but it was cancelled due to Magomedov’s visa complications. In February of 2023, the second scheduling of this fight, the date was cancelled again thanks to the same reasons. However, Gerald has only fought outside of the U.S. one time in his entire pro career so this bout might logistically not workout.
A good back up would be the loser of Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal on UFC 309. Timing works out as the bouts are within a week of each other. And both fighters would offer another grappling heavy type of matchup for Meerschaert.
Gerald’s next fight: Abus Magomedov or Loser of Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
Cortavious Romious
Cortavious Romious was defeated in a lopsided unaimous decision at the hands of Gaston Bolanos on Saturday. Romious fought on the 2023 season of the Contender Series losing to Ramon Taveras. Cortavius was miraculously invited back earlier this year for a shot at redemption. The 30-year-old will begin his career in the UFC’s bantamweight division at 0-1.
Cortavious should fight the loser of Long Xiao vs. Quang Le. The two men are scheduled to fight on November 23rd, so the bouts are only a few weeks apart. Both Cortavious and Long were Contender Series fighters that competed on the 2024 season of the show. Quang came thru the LFA and went undefeated thru seven fights before dropping his first (short notice) fight in the UFC to Chris Gutierrez. Quang was also supposed to be on the 2024 season of the Contender Series but was signed instead. Long also lost his first fight in the UFC losing a split decision to Chang Ho Lee in June. Three men in very similar positions. Whoever loses the bout on the 23rd should fight Cortavious for their first victory in the UFC.
Cortavious’ next fight: Loser of Long Xiao vs. Quang Le
Luana Pinheiro
Luana Pinheiro lost a unanimous decision to UFC vet, Gillian Robertson, on the main card of UFC Vegas 100 on Saturday. Pinheiro has now lost three straight fights and has been finished in two of them (by Amanda Ribas and Angela Hill).
Pinheiro, a 2020 Contender Series alum, now has a promotional record of 3-3 after starting off hot with the UFC. Luana, now 30, has no wins against current UFC fighters as Randa Markos and Sam Hughes have since been released by the organization. And Michelle Waterson-Gomez has since retired, so not a good look for Pinheiro.
Luana’s next fight should be against Yazmin Jauregui. Yazmin has a similar record as Luana as she’s 11-2 and Lunana is 11-3 as a pro. Jauregui is 3-2 in the UFC but has lost two of her last three fights and was finished in the first round of both. This fight would be a classic striker vs grappler match up and would offer both fighters a chance to get back on the right track in their respective UFC careers.
Luana’s next fight: Yazmin Jauregui
Dusko Todorovic
Dusko Todorovic was relentlessly beaten and stopped to open the main card of UFC Vegas 100 on Saturday. Dusko’s opponent, Mansur Abdul-Malik, was an undefeated Contender Series fighter looking to make a statement and unfortunately, he did so with his finish of Dusko. Rough outcome for Todorovic as he was just returning to action after suffering a fight ending knee injury against Christian Leroy Duncan that has had him out of action since March of 2023.
Todorovic is now 3-5 with the promotion since he was signed from the 2019 season of the Contender Series. Todorovic has lost three of his last four fights and been stopped in all three. Of Dusko’s three victories, all of his opponents have since been released (Dequan Townsend, Maki Pitolo and Jordan Wright).
Dusko should fight Ihor Potieria in his next fight. Ihor was last in action at UFC 307 in October when he lost a unanimous decision to Cesar Almedia. Potieria is 2-5 in the UFC and has lost four of his last five bouts. Ihor defeated Mauricio Rua in his retirement bout in early 2023. And Ihor won a unanimous decision over Robert Bryczek back in February but missed weight ahead of that bout. Good fight to make as both fighters are on the hot seat and bring exciting striking to the table.
Dusko’s next fight: Ihor Potieria
