The UFC’s 13th visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featured the second retiring of the legendary featherweight and elite bantamweight fighter, Jose Aldo. The 12-fight UFC Rio card featured nine finishes with the five-fight main card boasting three of those nine stoppages. In the main event, Brazil’s own, former UFC lightweight champion, #4 Charles Oliveria added yet another submission victory to his promotional record, stopping short notice fill-in, #8 Mateusz Gamrot, in the second.
In the co-main event, a pair of ranked bantamweights fought to a split decision as former UFC flyweight champion, #6 Deiveson Figueiredo, topped #15, Montel Jackson. A variety of fighters on this edition of losers from ranked guys to tenured near .500 fighters.
Matuesz Gamrot
Charles Oliveira added to his UFC record for submission finishes as he strangled Matuesz Gamrot in the second round of their main event scrap on Saturday. Oliveira was originally scheduled to take on Rafael Fiziev- but he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Gamrot stepped in and became the 17th fighter to be submitted by Charles in the UFC octagon. Gamrot has now lost two of his last three but before that, was riding a three-fight win streak. It’s worth noting that the other loss was a split decision in 2024, and a fight of the night performance against Dan Hooker. Gamrot entered the fight ranked at #8, Rafael is ranked at #10, and Charles is #4.
Matuesz’s next fight should be against Paddy Pimblett. Extremely unlikely matchup? Maybe. But it’s a matchup that not only makes sense for both fighters, but also has potential upside for both.
Pimblett is 7-0 in the UFC and is ranked at #7 within the division. His most recent fight was in April when he finished Michael Chandler with strikes in the third round. In the fight prior, Chandler lost a unanimous decision to Charles Oliveria in November of 2024. Matching up Pimblett and Gamrot would give Paddy an opportunity to add a real elite in-his-prime name to his resume. On the flip side, it gives Gamrot a chance to show that he can scalp a top rising prospect. Grappler vs grappler matchup that holds huge weight for the division and could easily serve as a main event for a fight night. Winner would be on the short list for a title shot.
Matuesz’s next fight: Paddy Pimblett
Montel Jackson
Deiveson Figueiredo edged out Montel Jackson in a split decision in the co main event of UFC Rio on Saturday. The loss snaps Montel’s six-fight win streak dating back to 2020. Jackson is now 9-3 with the UFC. Considering Jackson entered this fight rounding out the rankings at #15, while Figueiredo was all the way down at #6- Saturday’s split decision bout was a solid showing for Jackson. However, on the other hand, Jackson left Rio without securing a win at 5’10” with a 75.5″ reach against a 5’5″ fighter with a 68″ reach. Difficult to stomach, but he was close and deserves another ranked matchup.
Montel’s next fight should be against the loser of Aiemann Zahabi vs Marlon Vera. That fight goes down on October 18th, so the timing would be perfect. Vera is ranked at #7 in the bantamweight division while Zahabi is at #9. Bout would make sense as Chito’s last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Figueiredo. Fight should be on the main card of a fight night or high on the undercard of a PPV. Winner would get a top #7-10 ranking.
Montel’s next fight: Loser of Aiemann Zahabi vs Marlon Vera
Vicente Luque
Vicente Luque welcomed Joel Alvarez to the welterweight division at UFC Rio Saturday, but ended up being on the wrong side of a hard-fought unanimous decision. Luque is now on a two-fight skid and has lost three of his last four fights. On the bright side for the 33-year-old, 16-8 UFC veteran, this was the first loss in that stretch where he was not finished. Luque was originally scheduled to face UFC veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio on Saturday, but Santiago withdrew from the bout.
Vicente’s next fight should be against Santiago Ponzinibbio. That matchup should be rebooked. Considering how Vicente has looked in his last few fights, despite his age, it warrants him being booked against a tough veteran like Santiago. Ponzinibbio has also lost three of his last four fights, and has been finished in all of those except one. The matchup fits perfectly. And because both fighters are respected by fans this could be on the undercard of a PPV or the main card of a fight night event. Winner would inch towards being 2-3 more victories from fighting for a ranking. Loser would start to get rumblings about retirement, especially if finished.
Vicente’s next fight: Santiago Ponzinibbio
Jhonata Diniz
Undefeated fighter, Mario Pinto, smoked Jhonata Diniz in the second round of their bout on Saturday. Pinto finished the fight via ground strikes in the second, handing Diniz just his second loss with the UFC in five fights.
Jhonata’s next fight should be against Justin Tafa or Thomas Peterson. Diniz was scheduled to fight Tafa earlier this year, but the fight was cancelled when Justin withdrew. Diniz has gone 1-1 since that cancellation, while Tafa has yet to compete. That fight is still one that could be booked by UFC brass. Another option could be pairing Jhonata up with Thomas Peterson, who fought on the undercard of UFC Rio on Saturday. Peterson was finished, in devastating fashion, by Vitor Petrino in the final round of their bout. Thomas, a 2023 Contender Series product, is 2-3 within the UFC. Leaning towards rebooking the matchup with Justin, but either matchup could work just fine, as heavyweight outside of the top 15 is wide open.
Jhonata’s next fight: Justin Tafa or Thomas Peterson
Ricardo Ramos
Kaan Ofli opened the main card of UFC Rio Saturday with a first round submission victory over Ricardo Ramos. Ramos has now lost four of his last five fights in the last two years. Ricardo’s only victory in the time span, Josh Culibao, was a split decision. Ramos is in a dire position currently.
Ricardo’s next fight should be against Lucas Almedia. Lucas has also lost four of his last five fights in around the last two years. And Almedia’s only win in the time span was a unanimous decision victory against Timmy Cuamba. Ricardo’s UFC career over the past two years closely mirrors Almedia’s. Great ‘hot-seat’ fight where the loser of the bout would be on the short list for being released from the promotion.
Ricardo’s next fight: Lucas Almedia
