From August 16 to October 25, the UFC calendar had nine straight events outside the Apex. Before going back on the road for UFC 322, UFC Qatar, and UFC 323, we had two Apex cards sandwiched in between. If last week’s card stood out for its extracurricular activities coming in the form of scandals and controversies, this one, UFC Vegas 111, instead stood out for its in-cage entertainment. Eight of the twelve fights on the card ended via finish, including all five main card bouts. With this surprisingly fun night of fights behind us, let’s look at what’s next for Saturday’s victorious finishers.
Gabriel Bonfim
We can argue whether Gabriel Bonfim had rightfully earned this main event spot or not, but what we cannot argue is whether or not he made the most of it. He came into the promotion with quite a bit of hype, pushing his then undefeated record to 15-0 by winning his first two UFC fights in a combined 2:02. A tough loss against the veteran Nicolas Dalby, who was streaking at the time, clearly affected Bonfim’s confidence. Despite the nice showing against Khaos Williams, the Brazilian prospect looked shaky even in winning efforts against Ange Loosa and an aging Stephen Thompson. This latest win against Randy Brown should be very restorative for Bonfim’s confidence who earned a sick KO win off a knee exiting the clinch. Ending the year in a main event and producing a highlight like this should propel him into 2026 with a swagger he hasn’t had since his UFC debut.
In UFC Vancouver’s edition of What’s Next, I had Mike Malott face the winner of this fight, but I’ve changed my mind considering how different Malott’s and Bonfim’s wins are. Malott barely got passed a clearly compromised Kevin Holland after fouling him. Meanwhile, Bonfim just blasted a very respected opponent in Randy Brown. I think Bonfim has earned the right to face a name like Colby Covington, should “Chaos” still be looking to fight at all…
Bonfim’s next fight: Colby Covington
Joseph Morales
Usually, fighters who get cut from the UFC don’t get to fight their way back into it. Even rarer are the occasions where a fighter gets a second stint and manages to make some noise with it. Time will tell if Joseph Morales can have his own Brandon Moreno-type story, but there are valid reasons to be optimistic about what he can do. He came into the UFC as a 23-year-old with just seven professional fights to his name and won his debut. He then lost his next two, one of those losses coming to Deiveson Figueiredo, and that was all she wrote. After going undefeated on the regional scene and winning The Ultimate Fighter, Morales now found himself in a co-main event slot against veteran Matt Schnell, who he submitted in less than three minutes. While I wouldn’t be against trying to ride Morales’ hot streak into the rankings, I would give him one more unranked opponent before doing so. I think a name like Andre Lima would be a fine test before looking at ranked names.
Morales’ next fight: Andre Lima
Uros Medic
If you just looked at Uros Medic and Muslim Salikhov’s ages before the fight, you would’ve though this was a squash match of the highest order. The tale of the tape was misleading as the 41-year-old Sailkhov was riding a three-fight win streak, including back-to-back highlight reel KOs, which explained the close betting odds. To his credit, Medic did, in fact, make it look like the squash match it may have looked like on the surface. That is now two straight bouts that Medic ends via KO in just 63 seconds. Salikhov had been trying to get a fight with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and a win may have just got him there. But this is a cruel sport and I’m very inclined to give Medic the Wonderboy fight that Salikhov has been craving for.
Medic’s next fight: Stephen Thompson
Chris Padilla
The UFC story of Chris Padilla has been equally as enjoyable as it has been unexpected. Padilla came into the UFC with the profile of someone who simply wouldn’t last. He had a 13-6 record, was on a 6-6 stretch and was coming in as a short-notice replacement. Everything about him smelled of someone who would sign with the promotion, go 0-2 or 0-3 and then get cut. But all the credit goes to “Taco”, who has done nothing if not continuously get better. He’s now 4-0 in the promotion with three finishes while never closing as the betting favourite. The only thing not working in his favour is how stacked the lightweight division currently is. His 4-fight win streak isn’t even the longest one amongst unranked lightweights, as that would be Fares Ziam with five, who is already booked for next month. He’s tied with Alexander Hernandez and Tom Nolan. Just trailing them, with three, are Evan Elder, Kaue Fernandes, MarQuel Mederos, Michael Johnson and Quillan Salkilld. The lightweight division is a shark tank, and Padilla won’t be lacking in tough challenges. Of those names, Tom Nolan is the one that intrigues me the most, especially with rumours of an Australia card in February.
Padilla’s next fight: Tom Nolan
Christian Leroy Duncan
This win not only gave Duncan his longest win streak so far in the promotion, it was also probably his best win yet. While CLD has been able to produce exciting finishes, it’s his snoozefests that will probably give the UFC some pause before truly try to push him up the ladder. He’s coming off back-to-back finishes off of spinning attacks, yet his fight against Andrey Pulyaev is still too recent to forget. That is why before looking at the Jared Cannoniers and Paulo Costas of the world, he’ll probably have to get through someone like the winner of the upcoming Marvin Vettori and Brunno Ferreira fight.
Duncan’s next fight: Vettori/Ferreira winner
