Heavyweights Vitor Petrino and Steven Asplund both looked to build on recent success in the second-to-last preliminary card bout of UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday.
The Meta Apex scrap found Petrino surging after moving up to the heavyweight division from 205lbs. Asplund had rather incredibly moved the other direction, losing a massive amount of weight just to make it as a heavyweight in MMA. He’d won his way into the promotion in 2025 via the Contender Series, and was moving to move to 2-0 inside the octagon against Brazil’s Petrino.
As Asplund jokingly put it ahead of the fight, it was the battle of the best physique versus the worst physique in the weight class— though both men had stopping power.
To start round one, Asplund opened on the feet with a few jabs at range, but Petrino quickly answered with a left hook. To no one’s surprise, Vitor Petrino soon changed levels for an explosive double-leg on Asplund, though the American impressed by scrambling effectively with the BJJ black belt.
The two continued trading in the center, with Vitor opening a cut on Asplund’s right cheek just below the eye. Petrino then fired a high kick that partially connected to the head, but Asplund still looked light on his feet in the striking exchanges, eventually dropping Petrino with a clubbing hook.
In response, Asplund then mooned (mimed it anyway) the grounded Petrino as the clock hit zero.
The mutual respect between the two seemed gone as they continued talking before round two began. Petrino flashed another high kick early, causing Asplund to slip and hit the canvas, opening the door for Vitor to enter the grappling exchanges.
Asplund continued to hold his own on the ground, eventually working back to his feet and escaping Petrino’s control. Back standing, both men appeared exhausted, but the striking opened up once again with Petrino landing a series of four hooks to the head of Asplund. As the round came to a close, Petrino blasted a straight left that sent Asplund’s mouthpiece flying across the octagon.
The third round brought even more chaos, as Asplund wobbled Petrino in the center of the cage to kick off another wild exchange. Petrino answered with another burst of hooks to the body of Steven Asplund. He then began attacking the legs, landing a steady stream of low kicks to Asplund’s lead leg. The two continued to stand and trade, with Petrino circling on the outside, darting in and out of the pocket, and reopening the cut on Asplund’s face.
Swinging for the fences, both men left it all in the octagon as the final seconds ticked away. When the fight went to the judges, Vitor Petrino had done enough to earn the unanimous decision victory. The Brazilian heavyweight now moves to 7-2 in the UFC. He’s 3-0 in his new weight class, and told Michael Bisping after the fight that he and Asplund had agreed to keep coming forward and put on an exciting fight.
Official Result: Vitor Petrino def. Steven Asplund by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
