UFC Vegas 117 featured 13 bouts and eight finishes. The six fight main card had four finishes itself, including an upset submission defeat in the people’s main event, and a body shot finish in the co main event.
Only a couple of ranked fighters on the main card of this one, with the main event seeing (#7) Arnold Allen proving he still belongs amongst the elites of the featherweight division with his five round unanimous decision shut out of the ascending (#12) Melquizael Costa on Saturday. Some interesting matchups to come out of this event!
Melquizael Costa
Arnold Allen secured the unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday. It was the grappling and transitions that sealed the defeat for Costa, as he has his six-fight win streak snapped. Melquizael is now 7-3 with the UFC.
The best next fight for Costa here is to have him take on (#8) Youssef Zalal. This matchup was featured in a previous losers article and it makes even more sense with the outcome on Saturday. Timing makes sense too, as Zalal just fought on UFC Vegas 116 on April 25th. Zalal also lost a unanimous decision snapping a lengthy (8-fight) win streak. And Zalal also lost against higher ranked competition in the form of Aljamain Sterling. Perfect reset fight for both of them, that could potentially be a fight night main or co main event. Both are coming off of their first UFC main events. Both bring the action on the feet and are relatively new faces within the upper ranks of the featherweight division. Easy one to book for matchmakers.
Costa’s next fight: (#8) Youssef Zalal
Daniel Santos
Doo Ho Choi delivered yet another thrilling fight and victory on Saturday as he engaged in a war with Daniel Santos before delivering the TKO in the second round, crumpling his opponent with body shots. This fight ended up winning fight of the night honors but snapped a four-fight win streak for Daniel Santos. Santos is now 4-2 in the UFC with his only other loss with the promotion coming in his debut back in 2022 to Julio Arce.
Daniel’s next fight should be against Morgan Charriere. That would be an excellent high-action scrap. Charriere is also coming off of a stoppage loss. The timing doesn’t exactly matchup here as Morgan’s loss came to Melquizael Costa back in December. However, it was a head kick finish while Santos was put away predominately with body shots, so maybe it could work out. Morgan is a bonus machine and in his 6-fight UFC career he already has four bonuses. (Santos has two bonuses in six fights). These guys matchup well and have similar records with the promotion as Charriere is 3-3. This would be a strong standup matchup that has quick-twitch violence written all over it.
Santos’s next fight: Morgan Charriere
Malcolm Wellmaker
Juan Diaz pulled off the big upset on Saturday with his second round submission victory of Malcolm Wellmaker at UFC Vegas 117. The finish even earned Diaz a performance bonus. Devastating outcome for Wellmaker here, as the 2024 Contender Series alum has watched nearly all of his hype and momentum evaporate since last November. After his first round finish on the Contender Series and two subsequent first round finishes to start his career with the UFC, things were looking up (All of those finishes came via a mean check-right hook too). Last November, after losing multiple opponent, Malcolm took on last second fill in, Ethyn Ewing, and lost his first pro fight via unanimous decision. Now the outcome on Saturday. Rough for Wellmaker, and its time to reset.
Malcolm’s next fight should be against Timmy Cuamba. Went back and forth with this one (potentially Kai Asakura if he’s badly beaten and finished by Cameron Smootherman.) But the Timmy fight is way more attractive for Malcolm here. Timing would be great too, as Timmy lost earlier on the main card and was also finished.
Kai is a decent backup as he has a name within the sport but has not performed since being signed to the UFC. Asukura is 0-2 since being signed from RIZIN in 2024. He lost his promotional debut title shot opposite of Alexandre Pantoja and lost to Tim Elliot. If Kai loses to a 2023 Contender Series product who is 1-2 with the UFC in Smotherman, well he could potentially be cut. But Wellmaker could be a decent choice in that scenario too, maybe even for Cameron, depending on how the fight ends. That bout is on May 30 so timing would be great too. Still options there for Wellmaker, but he badly needs a win.
Wellmaker’s next fight: Timmy Cuamba or Kai Asukura if he loses to Cameron Smotherman
Christian Edwards
Modestas Bukauskas edged out his short notice replacement, Christian Edwards, on the main card of UFC Vegas 117 to capture the split decision victory. Edwards was making his UFC debut on short notice after Rodolfo Bellato, the originally scheduled opponent of Modestas, withdrew. Also part of the reason that this fight was a catchweight bout at 215lbs. Not a bad showing/debut for Edwards who now falls to 8-5 in his pro MMA career.
Christian should fight Bruno Lopes for his next fight. Bruno is a 2024 Contender Series alum that has gone 1-2 with the promotion. He’s 14-3 as a pro. Lopes is currently riding a 2-fight skid, he was finished in the first round by Dustin Jacoby and was stopped in his last time out by Navajo Stirling back in late March. Bruno’s only win in the UFC came against Magomed Gadzhiyasulov in 2025. Great matchup here for both fighters to try and find their footing within the light heavyweight division.
Edwards’s next fight: Bruno Lopes
Timmy Cuamba
Benardo Sopaj delivered an exciting bout with his opponent, Timmy Cuamba, on Saturday before dropping his opponent and scrambling on the rear naked choke to log a second round submission victory. Timmy, a 2023 Contender Series veteran now falls below the .500 line in the UFC, as he’s 2-3. This loss snapped the 2-fight winning steak that Timmy had amassed in the calendar year of 2025.
Timmy should look for a fight against Ricky Turcios here. This would be a good move for Timmy as Ricky was on the Contender Series in 2017 but also was the The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 winner. Turcios has a decent name but is 2-4 with the promotion. He’s actually riding a 3-fight losing streak. The losses have been against Raul Rosas Jr., Benardo Sopaj and most recently, Alberto Montes, on March 7. So the timing wouldn’t be too bad and they have a recent common opponent. Good high action scrap to make here. But of course lots of options in that bantamweight division for Timmy.
Cuamba’s next fight: Ricky Turcios or Malcolm Wellmaker
Nikolay Veretennikov
Khaos Williams returned to form after a 2-fight skid rendering his opponent, Nikolay Veretennikov, unable to continue with a right hook to log a first round finish. The stoppage didn’t produce a bonus but Nikolay is now 2-4 with the UFC all the same. His victories include a split decision win over Francisco Prado and a first round stoppage against the now-retired, Niko Price. Plainly said, he’s yet to get a win against a current UFC caliber fighter.
Great next fight for Nikolay would be against Chidi Njokuani. Chidi is on a 2-fight losing skid. Jake Matthews choked him out in the first round of their July 2025 bout, and most recently, Chidi lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Leal back in February. Njokuani is a 2021 Contender Series alum that has a 5-5 record with the UFC.
Back up here would be a matchup against Jean-Paul Lebsnoyani. Lebsnoyani is 1-0 with the promotion since being signed off last year’s season of the Contender Series. His debut was a split decision victory over Phil Rowe who was cut from the promotion after losing. Jean-Paul was originally supposed to debut against former Bellator standout, Austin Vanderford.
Veretennikov’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani or Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani
