UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday in Las Vegas was just the third Fight Night APEX card of year. This one featured a 13-fight card with an extended six-fight main card. Four of the six fights ended with a finish. In the main event, a changing of the guard fight in the always deep lightweight division between (#10) Renato Moicano and an unranked Chris Duncan. In the co-main event, a title eliminator bout between strawweights, (#3) Virna Jandiroba and (#7) Tabatha Ricci. A wide variety of fighters to matchup on this edition of losers.
Chris Duncan
(#10) Renato Moicano showed that he was still a legitimate force to be reckoned with as he dropped, battered and submitted the streaking unranked Chris Duncan, in the main event on Saturday. “The Problem” now falls to 6-2 in the UFC and loses the momentum of his four-fight win streak.
Chris has some options for his next bout since this was a huge step-up fight for him. A fight against Nasrat Haqparast is a very attractive option. Only thing that doesn’t really work is timing as Haqparast was last in the cage back in October. Haqparast is 10-5 with the UFC, but has gone 4-1 in his last five and was also finished in his most recent bout just like Duncan. These guys are in a similar spot, and this is a good fight to make that could sneak onto the main card of a Fight Night.
Giving Chris the loser of Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics could make a lot of sense as a backup. That bout would match up well timing-wise as it’s slated for UFC 327 on April 11. Gamrot is inside the top 10 but has gone 1-2 in his last three bouts. He’s lost to Dan Hooker, and in his most recent bout, was submitted by Charles Oliveira. Gamrot would be 1-3 in his last four leading into his fight with Chris (and have just lost to an unranked fighter). Esteban is currently 4-2 with the promotion and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Ribovics is similar to Duncan in getting this opportunity at a ranked matchup as he’s impressed recently, earning three straight Fight of the Night honors
Duncan’s next fight: Nasrat Haqparast or Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics Loser
Tabatha Ricci
(#3) Virna Jandiroba out grappled (#7) Tabatha Ricci on her way to a fairly routine victory in a huge strawweight fight in the co main event of UFC Vegas 115. Ricci now falls to 3-3 in her last six bouts as she has stepped up in competition. Her losses over this nearly three-year, six-fight stretch are to Lupita Godinez, Yan Xiaonan and now Virna Jandiroba. Ricci was not stopped in any of those bouts.
Ricci’s next matchup should be against (#11) Fatima Kline. Fatima is just outside the top ten at 115lbs. and is 3-0 with the promotion since her short notice promotional debut loss in 2024. Her last fight was against Angela Hill in November of last year where she scored a unanimous decision victory. Timing wouldn’t work the best here, but it’s still an excellent fight to make and could do some heavy lifting for both fighters. A halfway decent backup would be Amanda Lemos, who just fought and lost last month to Gillian Robertson. As mentioned in that loser’s article, the UFC won’t be doing Lemos any favors anytime soon. Fans could expect to see the nearly 40-year-old fighter against a younger lesser-known fighter, and Ricci somewhat fits that bill. Fight could easily be on the main card of a fight night card with the winner moving into the top five.
Ricci’s next fight: Fatima Kline or Amanda Lemos
Brendson Ribeiro
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev stayed perfect Saturday, scoring a rear naked choke victory and becoming the third fighter in a row to finish Brendson Ribeiro in the first round. This was Brendson’s fifth time facing an undefeated fighter either with the UFC or the Contender Series. Ribeiro is now 2-3 (one of those victories was on the CS). Brendson is now on a 3-fight skid and is 2-5 with the UFC.
It’s debatable whether Brendson is in danger of being cut considering that he is within one of the weakest divisions in the UFC. More likely than not, Brendson will be kept with the promotion. His next bout should be against Julius Walker or Urlan Satybaldiev. Julius Walker is 1-2 with the UFC and last fought in February when he fell to Dustin Jacoby via second round stoppage. Urlan is 1-1 with the promotion. Julius vs Urlan was a matchup featured on a past Losers article, as the bout been made before. If that fight doesn’t materialize, Brendson is a good backup for either light heavyweight.
Ribeiro’s next fight: Julius Walker or Urlan Satybaldiev
Rafael Estevam
Ethyn Ewing stayed perfect on Saturday as he found the liver with a perfectly placed hook in his fight against Rafael Estevan in the third round. Devastating loss for Rafael as it’s the first loss of his 15-fight career and he’s now 3-1 with the UFC. Rafael has UFC victories over Charles Johnson, Jesus Aguilar and Felipe Bunes. Also worth noting here: Estevam has struggled heavily on the scale. Rafael has missed weight three times in the UFC, and now across two different weight divisions.
Lots of potential matchups for Rafael here as flyweight-featherweight has lots of guys who are forced up in weight classes. Best fight for here is to matchup Rafael with the loser of Aorquileng vs Cody Haddon.
Everyone knows how the UFC feels about fighters who miss weight, especially repeatedly. Nothing special will be done for Estevam. He should stay at bantamweight, make weight, and look for the loser of that May 30th bout. Aoriquileng would be 4-5, 1 no contest if he loses to Cody. While Haddon would be 1-1 with the UFC. Haddon was matched up against Malcom Welmaker for his second fight before breaking his foot and forcing the Ethyn Ewing short notice coming out party. Aoriquileng’s record may look spotty but he’s lost to names like Cody Durden, Aiemann Zahabi, and most recently, Raul Rosas Jr. Great fight to make and would provide endless action.
Estevan’s next fight: Aoriquileng vs Cody Haddon Loser
Manolo Zecchini
Tommy McMillen melted Manolo Zecchini with punches and knees in the first round of their mini war on the main card of UFC Vegas 115. The fight was under four minutes but still secured fight of the night honors, a rare feat in the UFC. Manolo came up short against an undefeated prospect and now falls to 0-2 with the promotion. Zecchini has been on the shelf a while, as his debut came back in September of 2023 when he was finished in the first round via body kicks by Morgan Charriere. That was also Morgan’s promotional debut, and he has gone 2-3 since then, only losing to top competition (Chepe Mariscal, Nathaniel Wood, Melquizael Costa).
Easiest fight to make here is to simply pair Manolo up with Robert Ruchala. Robert fought just before Manolo on the main card of UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday. They have identical records with the promotion, and both fighters were paired up against tough guys for their promotional debuts. Their standup styles also mix well. This matchup has the potential to be a nice scrap that could land on the undercard of a fight night.
Zecchini’s next fight: Robert Ruchala
Robert Ruchala
Jose Delano pieced up Robert Ruchala on the feet on his way to a unanimous decision victory to open the main card of UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday. Jose, a 2025 Contender Series product was making his much-anticipated UFC debut. 27-year-old Ruchala, on the other hand, falls to 0-2 with the promotion. He dropped his debut against a tough nosed William Gomis via decision last September.
Best fight to make here is Robert vs Manolo. Despite these two not getting into the win column while with the UFC, it’s doubtful either of them faces the axe just yet.
Ruchala’s next fight: Manolo Zecchini
