The UFC’s production house now seats roughly 1,200 spectators, making it more of a proper venue for fights. A welcome sight for fans tiring of empty warehouse battles.

The headliner, meanwhile, saw Salkilld getting his first feature billing. The Australian entered undefeated in the UFC, though he was getting a tough test in former KSW champ Gamrot.

Just 30 seconds in, Salkilld managed to hurt Gamrot with a jab, and just like that the Polish lightweight was in trouble. He dove in on a leg, buying a bit of time to recover, but was still compromised. Salkilled locked him up with a clinch, with Gamrot then rolling into a leg lock attempt. Dicey for a moment, but Salkilld defended and escaped back to the feet.

On the next exchange, Salkilld changed levels and landed another takedown. He’d have to watch out for submissions, but the Australian was proving he had a complete game. This time, he took the back and locked in a body triangle. Not for long, as Gamrot broke free and nearly reversed. Salkilld adjusted however, and wound up on the back again. Too high up, or so it seemed, as Salkilld managed to sneak under the chin anyway! Moments later, Mateusz Gamrot, a threat on the ground in his own right, was tapping!

A statement victory by Quillan Salkilld, who has arrived as a lightweight contender after calling out Gamrot.

Official Result: Quillan Salkilld def. Mateusz Gamrot by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:25

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The Brazilian veteran weathered Billy Quarantillo’s relentless pressure, countered effectively on the feet and showed off his grappling to earn a unanimous decision victory Saturday night at UFC Vegas 120, improving his professional record to 20-7.

Round 1 – Quarantillo immediately put the pressure on Ferreira, marching forward behind teep kicks and overhand rights as chants of “USA” rang through the arena.

Ferreira remained composed and caught Quarantillo with a clean left hook he never saw coming. Quarantillo continued to press forward, however, eventually changing levels for a takedown. Ferreira stuffed the attempt by pushing his opponent’s head down before the two returned to the feet.

Once there, Ferreira began attacking the body with kicks. Quarantillo continued to pressure, but just a few minutes into the opening round, the American already appeared to be slowing down.

Ferreira took advantage by sitting back and firing counters as Quarantillo came forward. Quarantillo tried to keep his chin tucked behind his shoulder while returning fire before shooting for another single leg takedown. Once again, Ferreira easily stuffed the attempt.

After breaking free, Ferreira connected with a sharp one-two combination.

Quarantillo continued charging forward, but Ferreira made him pay before changing levels and easily taking the fight to the canvas. The Brazilian worked his way into side control, though Quarantillo managed to recover half guard.

From top position, Ferreira looked to do damage with elbows while Quarantillo attempted to work into deep half guard and create an escape. Ferreira shut that down, flattening him onto his back and continuing to punish him from the top.

Quarantillo eventually battled his way back to his feet. With little time remaining, he went right back to pressuring Ferreira and throwing until the horn sounded.

Round 2 – Quarantillo came out aggressively to start the second, immediately putting Ferreira back on the defensive. Ferreira responded with a flurry of strikes as he looked to connect with a big hook, but nothing landed clean.

Round 3 – Quarantillo briefly jumped onto the cage before the third round began, firing himself up before immediately returning to his pressure-heavy approach.

Ferreira was ready for it, countering as Quarantillo came forward while mixing takedown attempts into his offense.

Quarantillo eventually backed Ferreira against the fence and connected with several heavy shots. He then changed levels, took the Brazilian down and began hunting for a submission. Ferreira responded by hitting a switch and taking Quarantillo’s back.

Ferreira was positioned too high, allowing Quarantillo to try shaking him off, but the scramble ultimately sent both fighters back to the canvas.

From there, Ferreira transitioned into mount and began unloading elbows. Quarantillo attacked the leg in an effort to create an escape and eventually used it to work his way back to his feet.

Once standing, Quarantillo went right back to work. He unloaded combinations, stuffed another Ferreira takedown attempt and continued throwing with everything he had.

Ferreira answered with a nasty right hand that rocked Quarantillo, but even that couldn’t slow the American down. With 90 seconds remaining, Quarantillo continued hunting for the finish and landed several clean shots, including a brutal uppercut that forced Ferreira to shoot for a takedown with less than a minute left.

Quarantillo continued attacking the body while looking for a submission with 30 seconds remaining.

Ferreira attempted a late sweep but couldn’t complete it, leaving Quarantillo on top to close out the fight with ground-and-pound.

The final horn sounded with Quarantillo in control, sending the fight to the judges’ scorecards.

At 42-years-old Ferreira took the unanimous decision getting his record to 20-7.

Official Result: Diego Ferreira def. Billy Quarantillo via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

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“The Damage” had never missed weight for a fight, rarely had a boring performance, and was the sort of dependable name the UFC used to have in abundance, prior to the Contender Series era and the constant churn of fighters coming and going. Yet all good things must come to an end and in his 40s, Elkins’ time in the sport, at least as an athlete, had come to an end.

Del Valle came out fast pressing the action early on Elkins, who shot in for a takedown. Del Valle was able to defend successfully and return to his feet. Moments late Yaider loaded up on a big left hook that sat Elkins down against the cage. Veteran referee Kerry Hatley rushed in to call an end to the contest, a massive knockout win for Yaider del Valle in his young career. Only needing thirty five seconds to score this victory, we may see the Cuban prospect back in the cage very soon.

In his post fight interview with Daniel Cormier, del Valle showed sportsmanship and stated that he was happy to share the octagon with Elkins, who as expected retired following the loss. Yaider also dedicated the win to his former coach who passed away, while Elkins was emotional while laying down his gloves after his final performance.

Official Result: Yaider del Valle def. Darren Elkins by KO, Round 1, 0:35

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Lemos had gone through something of a struggle with her weight cut, requiring three attempts to his the mark. Still, she had made weight for the fight; the effects of doing so were the question.

Thainara actually looked like the bigger, or at least thicker, fighter on Saturday. Early on she utilized kicks, and pinned Lemos to the fence, firing knees in the clinch and digging the body with punches. Lemos, who happened to have a win over current champ Mackenzie Dern on her record, appeared to handle this well until Thainara landed a low blow. That led to a pause, and Lemos took her time to recover, then went on the attack. Thainara, however, hit the mark with a left hook. Both ladies were swinging hard! That led Thainara to tie things up by the cage, where the rest of the round would play out.

Amanda Lemos opened round two with a front kick, with the pair then trading punches. Lemos connected with a right hand and moments later fired a combo, with Alexia failing to have an answer. She’d uncork her own volley shortly after, and soon the pair were going back-and-forth, taking turns initiating. With Lemos hitting her mark with greater frequency, Thainara again took the fight to the fence. For good reason. As soon as she found an opening, Lemos cracked Thainara with a right hand, wobbling her! Thainara was on skates and quickly clinched up. That bought Thainara time to recover, leading to the pair trading punches in tight before Lemos was able to separate with half a minute left in the second frame. Lemos would land a jab, and Thainara a counter right, followed by a Thainara takedown to end the round.

The action carried straight into round three, with Thaiara landing a body shot and an uppercut. Lemos landed a right, but Thainara ate it as she clinched up. Alexia was able to control a lot of the action along the cage, where she’d found her best success throughout the fight. Lemos would break free with just under a minute remaining; Thainara rewarded her efforts with an outside leg kick. Lemos was getting wild, launching haymakers, nearly paid for it, nearly connected, but ultimately they would go the distance.

It was Thainara taking the win on all three scorecards, with the only anomaly being one judge awarding all three rounds to her. She improves to 4-0 in the UFC, and ranked #12 in the media-voted official rankings, will likely crack the top 10 shortly.

Official Result: Alexia Thainara def. Amanda Lemos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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Goff was returning from 15-month layoff, and fighting for just the fourth time since 2022. Early on, Goff managed to lock Miller up against the cage, clasping his hands and looking for a trip takedown. Miller, however, forced his way off the fence, and at center fired a head kick that partially landed, though Goff caught it and briefly dumped Miller on his back. Miller was right back up, but Goff was back on him with a bodylock.

Back at center, Goff pressed the action, mixing in kicks, while Miller landed a right hand. Goff would shoot again, driving Miller into the fence, hands clasped once again. Miller’s takedown defense was solid, but he wasn’t winner points that way. Back at range was a different story, as Miller started finding his mark more often in the final minute of round one.

Round two opened with Miller landing his jab repeatedly, giving Goff fits and starts. Miller really had his range down, while Goff seemingly struggled to clinch up the way he had in the opening frame. Two minutes in, Miller landed a combo, then follow up moments later by knocking Billy Ray Goff down! Miller went to his knees, dropping ground n’ pound while Goff covered up. He’d get to a sitting position, hanging on to Miller. They’d come up in a clinch, but Miller broke free, and went back on the hunt. An uppercut connected for Miller; Goff fired a body shot in return. A spinning back elbow sailed wide for Goff. In the final minute, Miller seemingly landed at will, as Goff covered up, bobbed, weaved, and barely survived the round.

Between rounds, Goff’s corner basically told him to retreat, perhaps to buy recovery time. It didn’t work out. Miller landed a punch to the eye, and Goff went down. A few more punches sealed Goff’s fate, and Miller had the TKO win.

Official Result: Ty Miller def. Billy Ray Goff by TKO, Round 3, 0:15

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Pat looked to avenge his loss to Asplund’s teammate, Thomas Petersen, who was in Asplund’s corner. Both men came in with 1-1 UFC records.

Round 1 – Asplund came out applying pressure, looking to land right away. Pat snatched up a clinch to prevent him from landing, with the two swapping positions back-and-forth against the cage. Pat landed some nice knees to the body and thighs of Asplund, who returned a few of his own. On the break, Asplund landed a big elbow, then disengaged and leaped right back in with a nice punch that caught Pat unexpectedly. After another clinch, both landed well in an exchange, with Pat ending with a nice leg kick. Asplund continued applying the pressure, but was eating big leg kicks repeatedly. After a headbutt, Asplund landed a big right hand on the back of a 1-2, dropping Pat. Asplund swarmed on the ground for the finish and landed some nice elbows, but the fight continued to Round 2.

Round 2 – Asplund pressured again to start the round, walking right into a massive right hand. Pat started to match Asplund’s boxing volume, but was again dropped in a sloppy exchange. After allowing Pat to his feet, another back-and-forth clinch that the ref eventually separated. The two met at distance, with Pat dropping Asplund with a quick left hook, but clinching instead of following up with punches. After grabbing the top of the cage for the second time, his position was taken away. Pat continued to sting Asplund with quick punches on the outside while Asplund looked to brawl his way into the pocket and clinch. Pat’s jab looked sharp, but didn’t manage to keep Asplund at bay as he held the clinch to end the round. A potential 19-19 fight heading into Round 3.

Round 3 – Asplund was wearing much more damage to start the third round and slowed down his pace and pressure. After a wild striking exchange, Asplund launched a lead high kick that wobbled Pat. Pat went to grab on, but Asplund looked for a standing guillotine that proved unsuccessful. After resetting, Pat landed a nice body shot, with Asplund landing a nice elbow before Pat clinched. This led to nothing before a separation, with the two clearly being significantly fatigued. Pat seemed content with holding Asplund in the clinch, and Asplund seemed content riding it out there.

All three judges saw it the same, with Asplund picking up the decision win. He called for “whatever fat boy” the UFC wants to put in front of him next, in his usual, boisterous fashion.

Official Result: Steven Asplund def. Guilherme Pat by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Both men had identical 1-2 records inside the octagon, but while Lopes was coming off back-to-back losses, Nurgozhay had picked up his first UFC win back in March.

The big boys met in the middle, with Nurgozhay taking an early lead on the feet behind a steady volume of low kicks. Lopes responded with just one significant shot in the opening minute, taking a more patient approach to the octagon. Things started to pick up around the three-minute mark, with Lopes finding his rhythm behind two crisp body kicks. Nurgozhay was more than willing to play the kicking game, continuing to pepper Lopes’ lead leg before attacking the body with a straight.

With around a minute left in the opening round, the fight was briefly stopped after Nurgozhay rushed in with an overhand and caught Lopes’ thumb in the eye. Once the action resumed, the two immediately turned up the heat. Nurgozhay caught Bruno Lopes with a massive shot that crumbled him, but Lopes somehow survived the first big moment. It wasn’t long before Nurgozhay was back on the hunt, eventually finding Lopes’ chin and putting him away with the TKO following a few more strikes.

Official Result: Diyar Nurgozhay def. Bruno Lopes by TKO (punches), Round 1, 4:59 

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Brazil’s Montanha had won three straight, while Sutherland was coming off his first UFC victory, opposite Tai Tuivasa. That left Montanha as the underdog, despite Suthland’s losing record in the UFC.

The fight started with both guys engaging early and tying up a minute in. Montanha was able to get a knee tap, taking Sutherland down. Montanha landed in side control. Sutherland tried to scramble up, and Montanha took the back. Montanha didn’t even have the choke in, as it was a face crank that forced Sutherland to tap. Replay showed that Montanha was actually switching his grip on the hold while Sutherland tapped.

“I wish that my father could be here to see me,” Montanha said following the fight. “I was a karate guy all along, so I was ready for striking. I was very surprised when he chose to go to the ground,” he added, stating that he has the grappling and jiu-jitsu needed.

Montanha improves to 7-1 overall with the victory, while Sutherland drops to 11-6, with a 1-3 record under the UFC banner.

Official Result: Jose Montanha def. Louie Sutherland by submission (face crank), Round 1, 1:50

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Miranda had taken the long road to the UFC, defending his LFA belt twice, though he was at least getting to skip the Contender Series. Sousa had won his own promotional debut last time out.

The first action of the fight came from a heavy left hand by Sousa, who was looking to make the fight happen in close quarters. When there was more space, Miranda did land a long left hand. Sousa would eventually overswing on a punch and throw himself off balance, allowing Miranda to secure the takedown.

Miranda took Sousa’s back and immediately got to work. He secured both hooks and stayed busy with ground-and-pound. Sousa did a good job staying safe by fighting the wrists, but Miranda eventually abandoned the submission attempt and started landing some heavy ground-and-pound until the bell. Sousa did manage to get back to his feet at the bell, but it was a difficult round for him.

Round two started with a heavy leg kick from Sousa. Miranda was already hurt to that leg coming into the round, and Sousa was immediately all over it. He began attacking the lead leg consistently, which had Miranda desperately shooting for takedowns. Miranda would shoot, Sousa would defend, and then Sousa would start ripping into Miranda against the cage.

Two minutes in, Miranda was in full retreat, seemingly hoping to buy himself some time to recover. Sousa was patient and waited for his opportunities. A few inside leg kicks followed by a body shot dropped Miranda. Miranda showed great heart, grabbing onto Sousa to survive the moment, but he couldn’t get him down or hold onto him for long.

With thirty seconds left, Sousa was swinging for the fences. He clipped Miranda with a couple of powerful hooks before landing another heavy leg kick at the bell. Heading into the final round, it was one round apiece, but all of the momentum was with Sousa.

The third round started with both fighters whiffing on some early strikes. It wasn’t long before Sousa began finding his range. He landed several good leg kicks along with a heavy left hook that got Miranda’s attention. Sousa continued mixing in a lot of cage work, which seemed to give Miranda more time to breathe than anything else.

Back at range, Sousa landed another heavy leg kick and sprawled on a takedown attempt. The Brazilian continued pushing forward and kept Miranda on his back foot. With a little over a minute remaining, Sousa was firmly in control. Miranda landed some nice shots of his own, but they weren’t having the same impact as Sousa’s offense.

With thirty seconds left, Miranda got deep on a takedown attempt, but Sousa defended and stayed upright until the final bell. A less resilient fighter might have gone down early, but Miranda at least took it to the bell. The hard-hitting Sousa, however, took home the unanimous decision win.

Official Result: Manoel Sousa def. Richie Miranda by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Johns had been booked into a bantamweight scrap with Jesse Rosas, brother of UFC star Raul Rosas Jr. However, with Rosas not cleared to compete due to a cut, it was Vazquez returning to the UFC, after being cut earlier this year off another short-notice opportunity, for which he missed weight.

That fight, a loss to Javid Basharat, left Vasquez back on the regional circuit, where he picked up a win for Combate Global. Prior to accepting the fight with Johns, he’d been booked for a fight at LFA 239 later this month.

Johns himself had all of 10 days notice for the fight, but that was still a heck of a lot better than two. He started the fight holding center, and just over a minute in, connected with a nicely-placed right hand. After some more feeling out, Johns fired an overhand right that had some heat on it. Vazquez fired a leg kick, but was mostly mobile, on the outside, Johns walking him down with his guard high and right hand ready to fire. Vazquez, however, clipped Johnss coming in, hurting him. Yet just as the momentum had shifted, it shifted right back! Surviving a knockdown, Johns leapt forward with a left hand, flooring Vasquez! A few more follow-up shots and Vasquez was done.

Miles Johns has his first win since June of 2024, snapping a three fight skid. Vazquez, meanwhile, is knocked out for the first time.

Official Result: Miles Johns def. Gianni Vazquez by TKO (punches), Round 1, 3:09

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