UFC Vegas 104 featured a 13-fight card that boasted nine finishes in total. And what the card lacked in star power it more than made up for in the action that it delivered.
Several undefeated fighters also lost their 0s on Saturday. The six-fight main card had four fights end with stoppages. This included back-to-back kimura submission finishes. In the main event, a middleweight rematch, Roman Dolidze bested Marvin Vettori over the course of five rounds. And in the co-main event, Elizeu Zaleski suffered a rare stoppage defeat courtesy of Chidi Njokuani. A pair of TUF Season 31 vets are featured on this edition of losers matchmaker as well.
Marvin Vettori
Saturday, Marvin Vettori lost a competitive unanimous decision to familiar foe in Roman Dolidze. Marvin entered the fight ranked at #8 in the middleweight division while his opponent was ranked at #12.
The two men first fought almost two years ago with Vettori walking away with the unanimous decision nod (though that bout was only a three rounder). Saturday was the Italian fighter’s first time losing two fights in a row in his pro MMA career. Marvin is 2-3 since losing his title shot against then middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, in 2021.
This was a competitive bout especially factoring in the eye pokes by Dolidze. Realistically, Vettori and Dolidze are 1-1 thru two pretty competitive bouts as ranked middleweights. On Sunday, Vettori even reluctantly tweeted that he would be in favor of a trilogy.
While I could see a trilogy sometime in the future, an immediate one just doesn’t seem like fans want right now. The rematch between these two fighters might have even been a little premature.
Instead, Vettori should fight the winner of Bo Nickal vs Reinier de Ridder. That bout is scheduled for May 3rd. Both fighters are skilled grapplers though they boast different styles of grappling. Nickal, arguably one of the most hyped UFC additions ever, was a storied wrestler at Penn State and has absolutely dominated in MMA. Bo went 2-0 on the 2022 season of the Contender Series before racking up four wins with the promotion.
Reinier de Ridder is the #13 ranked UFC middleweight. Reinier is the former ONE FC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. de Ridder went 7-2 with ONE FC before he was picked up by the UFC late last year. Reinier’s last win came in January with a first-round sub over Kevin Holland. Bo’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory opposite of Paul Craig last November. It was Nickal’s first time hearing the final bell while competing in the sport.
These are two very talented prospects that a lot of fans have eyes on. Whoever makes it thru that May 3rd bout will need a fight against someone that has seen a good amount of elite UFC-level competition. Marvin would be the perfect matchup for the winner of the bout and fans would get a good grappler-striker matchup no matter what. It’d be a great opportunity for Marvin to show that he still has what it takes to be with the elites of the division. A finish of either fighter would be a huge statement.
Vettori’s next fight: Winner of Reinier de Ridder vs Bo Nickal
Elizeu Zaleski
Elizeu Zaleski was violently stopped by Chidi Njokuani in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 104, Saturday. The loss was just the second time that Elizeu has been finished in his 10-year, 17-fight UFC tenure. Elizeu, who turns 39 later this year, started out 7-1 with the promotion. And although Elizeu is 1-2-1 in his last four bouts, he always puts on a good scrap.
Chidi, Zaleski’s opponent, missed weight ahead of this bout so that’s an aspect that needs to be factored in as well.
Elizeu’s next opponent should be Bryan Battle. Bryan, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 in 2021, has gone 7-1, 1 NC while with the UFC.
It’s worth noting that Battle is also a guy that has struggled with his weight. “The Butcher” won TUF at middleweight but has since moved down to welterweight following his UFC debut. Bryan’s lone loss is to Rinat Fakhretidnov in 2022 who Elizeu fought to a draw the following year. Battle’s most recent fight was against Randy Brown who he defeated by split decision last December. (Though he missed weight for that bout by 4lbs.) Brown fought Zaleski in his fight prior to that one and defeated the Brazilian by unanimous decision. This fight makes too much sense not to happen as the trajectories of both fighters make this one a no-brainer. This fight has fun striking battle written all over it and the winner would be looking for maybe one more win to push towards a shot at the rankings.
Zaleski dos Santos’s next fight: Bryan Battle
Kurt Holobaugh
Kurt Holobaugh dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Hernandez on Saturday at UFC Vegas 104. Holobaugh, who has experienced chance after chance with the UFC, is now 2-6 with the promotion. Kurt has lost two of his last three fights since defeating Austin Hubbard to win Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Next fight for the 38-year-old should be against Viacheslav Borshchev. Viacheslav is a 2021 Contender Series veteran that has yet to be in a boring UFC fight. “Slava Claus” is 3-4, 1 NC, thru his 8-fight UFC stint. With three performance bonuses, Borshchev always brings the striking action. Borshchev lost a unaimous decision to Tom Nolan in his most recent fight on February 8th. This would be a solid lightweight scrap between two former Contender Series guys that put on entertaining fights but are clawing to remain on the UFC’s crowded 155lbs. roster.
Holobaugh’s next fight: Viacheslav Borshchev
Cody Gibson
Cody Gibson was submitted via kimura late in the second round of his UFC Vegas 104 fight against Da’mon Blackshear Saturday. Gibson is 2-2 since losing the tournament championship of Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter to Brad Katona in 2023.
Gibson’s next fight should be against the loser of Davey Grant vs Daniel Santos. That fight is scheduled for April 5th. Cody has had just one canceled fight during this stint with the UFC, and it was against Davey Grant. Davey is 7-6 with the UFC since 2013. Grant has won three of his last four fights only losing a split decision to Daniel Marcos in 2023. Daniel Santos is 2-1 with the promotion but last fought in 2023 with his unanimous decision victory over Johnny Munoz Jr. Santos has had five cancelled fights since he entered the UFC (with four of those cancellations being because of him) so it’s unfortunate that Gibson likely won’t be in a position to step in for this one should something happen pre-fight.
Winner of this fight would be looking to get a foothold on their UFC career, everyone here is fighting to stay above .500.
Gibson’s Next fight: Loser of Daniel Santos vs David Grant
Diyar Nurgozhay
Diyar Nurgozhay suffered the first defeat of his professional career Saturday when he was submitted by Brendson Ribeiro. Nurgozhay entered the fight with a perfect 10-0 pro MMA record. A veteran of Dagestan, Russia’s Eagle Fighting Championship, Diyar won the EFC light heavyweight championship in 2022. Nurgozhay impressed on last year’s season of the Contender Series with his second-round head kick finish that earned himself a UFC contract.
Diyar missed weight ahead of this fight (by 4.5lbs.) so losing his undefeated record and being finished on top of that, really has to sting. And that first round didn’t go the greatest either, it was an all-around rough debut for Nurgozhay. I’m reasonably confident that the 6’2″, 27-year-old will stay at 205lbs. as he has competed at as light as 185lbs. in his pro MMA career.
Diyar should fight the loser of Navajo Stirling vs Ivan Erslan. That fight is set to go down on the undercard of UFC 315 on May 10th. Navajo Stirling is a 27-year-old prospect out of City Kickboxing. Stirling earned a UFC contract last year with his second round KO on the Contender Series. The undefeated striker won his UFC debut last year with a unaimous decision victory over Tuco Tokkos. Ivan Erslan is a 33-year-old former KSW standout. Erslan dropped his first UFC fight, losing split decision to Ion Cutelaba last September. Whoever loses that fight should get Diyar. All three fighters have potential though Erslan is noticeably farther in his career than both the Contender Series vets.
Nurgozhay’s next fight: Loser of Ivan Erslan vs Navajo Stirling
Seung Woo Choi
Seung Woo Choi was flattened and finished in round one of his bout with Kevin Vallejos to kick off UFC Vegas 104’s main card. Choi has now lost five of his last six fights dating back to late 2021. And to add insult to injury, Seung has been finished in four of those five losses.
Choi’s record with the UFC now sits at 4-7 though he’s only lost two in a row. Seung is in real danger of being cut here. But at 32 years old, and competing in the featherweight division, Seung still has some tread left on the tires. And the South Korean has certainly had some difficult competition in his tenure with the promotion.
Seung Woo Choi should face Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in his next fight. Shayilan is 3-3 with the UFC since being signed in 2021. The Chinese fighter has lost his last two fights being finished by Steve Garcia and most recently, Melquizael Costa, last June. Nuerdanbieke also has a unanimous decision defeat to Josh Culibao. Choi is now also just one fight removed from being finished by Garcia. And Seung also lost a decision to Josh Culibao who has since been released by the UFC (more evidence of how close Seung is to being cut). This would be a striker vs. grappler matchup with the loser on the hot seat.
Choi’s next fight: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
