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

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At 8-0 to start the night, Yakhyaev found Ribeiro coming off back-to-back losses, both finishes, most recently against Oumar Sy.

The 205-pounders started with heavy action, meeting in the center of the octagon to trade. Despite being the massive underdog, it was Ribeiro who found early success striking.

A beautiful high kick from Ribeiro landed directly on the chin of Yakhyaev, though surprisingly it didn’t affect the undefeated prospect; as Yakhyaev caught Ribeiro in a position of imbalance, driving him down to the canvas.

It wasn’t long before Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev started showing his grappling prowess once he brought Ribeiro to the ground, punishing the Brazilian with ground and pound before finding an opening for the finish, submitting Brendson Ribeiro in the first round with a rear-naked choke.

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev extends his unbeaten streak to nine, and is likely in prime position for a big opportunity next. While he’s still new to the division and not yet a contender, the vacant light heavyweight title is on the line next week at UFC 327 between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg, with the weight class feeling wide open.

Official Result: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Brendson Ribeiro by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:52

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“He’s good fighter. He fights till the very end,” Yakhyaev told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Probably the reason is we were born in the region where there was a war. Born in the region and raised to weather the mountains. Our soul is pretty brave and hard,” he said.

The Chechen fighter spoke on his ability to finish fights, but didn’t make it sound very complicated.

“It’s natural and just the result of hard training,” he said.

With the upcoming bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland set for UFC 328 Yakhyaev spoke on his fellow Chechen and the title.

“So I think Khamzat’s going to win. Maybe (by) submission,” he said.

Watch the entire media day scrum with Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev above. He faces Brendson Ribeiro at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.

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“Man I’ve fought guys that were undefeated, myself I had the hype and been undefeated once. I’m out to show people with a win on Saturday why I’m here, why I deserve to be here, and i’ll show that people,” Ribeiro told reporters on Wednesday through a translator.

Ribeiro (17-9) made it clear he’s approaching this matchup with a different level of urgency following his most recent loss. For him, this isn’t just another fight, it’s a pivotal moment to prove he belongs.

“I’m not going to run away from him, never run away from anybody here in the UFC or in other promotions. There’s a big difference (between us),” he said.

“He wants to win. I NEED to win.”

Ribeiro also pointed to the preparation behind the scenes as a driving force heading into Saturday night. Beyond the stakes, he’s motivated to showcase the effort he and his team have invested throughout camp.

“Besides the pressure obviously to having to win there’s also the work that we put in. I wan to show people the work that we put into this fight,” he said.

“I want to show the people my work and the work of my team that we put on to come out with the win. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Brendson Ribeiro above. He faces Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.

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Sy (11-1) is making the quick turnaround after dropping a fight to Alonzo Menifield in June. The loss was the first of his professional career and snapped a two-fight UFC win streak.

Ribeiro (17-8) had his own win streak snapped by Azmat Murzakanov who finished him at UFC 316 in June. The loss dropped him to 2-3 in the UFC so a victory in Paris is much needed by the Brazilian.

Round 1 – The roof blew off the place during the walkout and it did not stop when the fight started as they supported their hometown fighter in Sy. Sy landed a couple leg kicks before landing a right hand, and shooting and scoring a takedown pretty quick.

The crowd began so sing to Sy. Incredible environment.

Ribeiro tried to get his hips into play and change the position, but Sy was wise to it and kept him in place. Sy did really well to keep the position and land some damage from top. Ribeiro grabbed a kimura he used to get back to the feet.

Sy got him right back down, and landing shots on Ribeiro. Ribeiro went belly down and gave the back up to avoid punches, but then Sy began landing from behind and that was the fight.

Oumar Sy scores a massive win at home.

Official Result: Oumar Sy def. Brendson Ribeiro via R1 TKO, 4:42

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“I do feel the support of the fans. It’s important that I have much more fans behind me,” Murzakanov told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

Murzakanov (15-0) is in an odd position being what might be the most promising prospect at 205 pounds at 36-years-old. After completing his 5th UFC bout he’s ready to be more active in 2025.

“I definitely want to be more active this year. If I can do one or two more fights this year that would be great,” he said.

Two more fights in 2025, specially if they’re finishes, can find the light heavyweight in the title picture. He hopes for an opponent that will get him to the belt soon as possible.

“I would like to fight with anyone who can get me closer to the title fight,” said Murzakanov.

“Doesn’t matter who that person in.”

With the UFC having a lack of clear star power it’ll be interesting to see if Murzakanov’s performances get him to the front of the line.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Azamat Murzakanov above.

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Murzakanov was 4-0 in the UFC since entering off the Contender Series in 2021, with activity, or lack thereof, his only flaw to date. Brazil’s Ribeireo, meanwhile, had won his last two fights, most recently submitting Diyar Nurgozhay in March.

Entering this fight as a 6-1 betting favorite Murzakanov plodded forward from the opening bell in the southpaw stance. Ribeiro bounced back and forth darting in and out with a jab and low leg kicks. Murzakanov threatened multiple straight left hands in a row snapping the head back of Ribeiro. A picture perfect left hand again found the chin of Ribeiro as “The Professional” Azamat Muzakanov systematically dispatched his opponent, remaining undefeated. Viscous ground and pound forced veteran referee Mike Beltran to call a stop to the fight early in the first round.

This was dominant and crushing performance from Murzakanov who should face elite competition next time out. In his post fight interview with Joe Rogan, the Russian contender stated that he is “underrated and needs more fights”. Extending his UFC win streak to five in a row, Murzakanov also wants to get a main event next and get five round experience.

Official Result: Azamat Murzakanov def. Brendson Ribeiro by TKO, Round 1, 3:25

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Roman Dolidze

After Merab Dvalishvili upset Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 and Ilia Topuria’s brother Aleksandre was successful in his UFC debut, Georgia had been garnering some momentum. The country was now looking to Roman Dolidze to keep the streak going in this main event. It wasn’t without adversity, but the Georgian got his hand raised after winning a unanimous decision and got his revenge on “The Italian Dream”.

Winner of now three consecutive fights, Dolidze called out former champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. Personally, I doubt he gets either of these names. Yes, he has won three straights, but it isn’t exactly the sexiest three-fight stretch. The first of those wins came at light-heavyweight against an Anthony Smith on the brink of retirement. The next one was against a blown-up welterweight in Kevin Holland and the fight ended due to an injury. This was a nice win, but Dolidze will need to do more in order to force the UFC’s hand and get a top5 matchup.

Jared Cannonier is ranked inside the top 10 and is coming off a nice rebound victory over Gregory Rodrigues. He’s in a similar boat as Dolidze in terms of title aspirations and it’s a winnable fight for both men that could realistically headline another Apex show.

Dolidze’s next fight: Jared Cannonier

Chidi Njokuani

This is now three straight victories for Njokuani since dropping to welterweight, though it should be noted he weighed-in 1.2 pounds over the limit for UFC Vegas 104. This was the best opponent he’s faced in his new division, and he became only the second man to ever finish Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via strikes. Under normal circumstances, Njokuani could justifiably call out a ranked opponent, but the weight miss will hold him back.

If he is to fight one more time before looking at the rankings, I think Punahele Soriano makes perfect sense for him. Soriano is another former middleweight who’s undefeated (2-0) since making the cut to 170. He also fought in January so the timing should align for them to face off early this summer.

Njokuani’s next fight: Punahele Soriano

Alexander Hernandez

This is the first time Hernandez has won back-to-back fights since coming into the UFC and defeating Beneil Dariush and Olivier Aubin-Mercier back in 2018. He’s been juggling wins and losses ever since, but he has actually won his last three fights at lightweight. His more recent losses came as a result of an unsuccessful stint at featherweight.

At 32 years of age, if the once highly touted Hernandez was ever to put it all together, now would be the time. I think a fight with against with someone like Myktybek Orolbai would tell us a lot. Orolbai is a young prospect who dropped his last fight, but his stock seems to still be quite high. This would represent a very respectable win for either man.

Hernandez’s next fight: Myktybek Orolbai

Da’Mon Blackshear

The 30-year-old might be 4-3-1 in the UFC, but that is a deceiving record. His draw came in his short-notice debut against the now ranked featherweight Youssef Zalal. His losses came to undefeated Farid Basharat and extreme short-notice bouts against Mario Bautista and Montel Jackson, both of whom are ranked. Also, all his win have come via finish, which includes one of the very few twister submissions in the promotion’s history.

For those reasons, I think Blackshear is closer to a ranked opponent than most might believe. After getting the kimura finish on the veteran Cody Gibson, I think Blackshear deserves a fight against another streaking bantamweight. Brady Hiestand has gone unbeaten (3-0) since losing a narrow decision in the 2021 TUF Finale. With both fighters on a similar trajectory, this fight would serve as a form of number 1 contender fight for who gets a ranked opponent next.

Blackshear’s next fight: Brady Hiestand

Brendson Ribeiro

Ribeiro scored the upset win over the undefeated Diyar Nurgozhay who came in heavy both in weight and as a betting favourite. This was by far his best showing since his win on the Contender Series.

Ribeiro now finds himself on a win streak, but even considering the division’s shallowness, I doubt he’s looking at anything other than a similar matchup in his next outing. Nurgozhay might still have a promising future, but a reset is in order. Ibo Aslan was also looking promising, but he lost his last fight. Let’s see if Aslan can pass the test Nurgozhay couldn’t.

Ribeiro’s next fight: Ibo Aslan

Kevin Vallejos

It’s not often a prospect shows this much promise this early. Vallejos is incredibly young, and he just dispatched a legitimate opponent with real UFC experience in SeungWoo Choi in the very first round of their fight at UFC Vegas 104. At just 23 years old, there is no reason to rush him towards the top. But it’s hard not to salivate at the thought when you remember he gave Jean Silva hell in his first Contender Series fight back when he was just 21.

A that age, I do believe gaining experience and cage time goes a long way. He should be matchmade for appropriately in terms of level of competition while fighting as often as possible. Having won in just 3:09, there’s no reason to think May 10^th is a date that would be off the table for him. That is the date for UFC 315 in Montreal. Gavin Tucker is a Canadian fighter that could be fighting on that card and represents the level of fighter Vallejos should be looking at right now. Let’s put a prospect of that calibre in front of a crowd!

Vallejos’ next fight: Gavin Tucker

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The light heavyweight missed the mark by a full 4.5 pounds, resulting in a 210.5lb catchweight, and was probably thanking his lucky stars that the bout moved forward at all. Or maybe not, as the undefeated prospect did not have the debut he was hoping for.

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The card featured a pair of two-time champions in the main and co-main events. Canadian fighters went 2-2 to complete the rest of the main card. It started with a mix of timid decisions and fun finishes before Brandon Moreno capped it off with one of his better performances to date. Let’s look at what should be next for Moreno, Erin Blanchfield and the rest of the winners on the main card.

Brandon Moreno

The Assassin Baby looked rejuvenated after losing a pair of split decisions to the current champion and the current number 1 ranked contender. He fought like someone who needed some time off and clearly benefited from it. He took all five rounds on all but one judge’s scorecard. He found his rhythm early and made sure Amir Albazi couldn’t catch up to him.

With this win, he gets to keep his number 2 ranking, but it does put him in an interesting position. He’s in a very similar spot as Max Holloway was when he lost his rematch to Alexander Volkanovski. Like Holloway after he dismantled Calvin Kattar, beating one contender won’t be enough when 0-2 against the champion.

With Moreno having fought everyone ranked in the top5, some of them multiple times, who can he fight next? A fight that could make sense is Henry Cejudo should he ever choose to drop back down to flyweight, though there are no apparent signs that it will happen. We then go to the next closest contender who isn’t coming off a loss, and that is Kazakhstan’s Asu Almabayev. He is ranked 7^th and is undefeated in the UFC, having won all four of his fights. It’s a tough fight for Almabayev, but he did call for the elite of the division after his most recent fight against Matheus Nicolau. So let’s see what’s got.

Moreno’s next fight: Asu Almabayev

Erin Blanchfield

This is by far the biggest win of Blanchfield’s career. While her game plan looked confusing after two rounds, she did eventually impose herself and took the remaining three rounds on all the scorecards.

Her next fight is fairly obvious and it’s the one she called for on the mic: Alexa Grasso. The former champion is in need of a couple great wins if she wants to stay in the mix after the egg she laid at the Sphere. A win over a surging contender like Blanchfield is a great place to start.

Blanchfield’s next fight: Alexa Grasso

Brendson Ribeiro

Ribeiro came into the UFC with a big upset knockout on last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series. It was then his turn to get knocked out in the first round when he lost to Zhang Mingyang in his debut. Those two fights showed us that the Brazilian wasn’t afraid to throw down and whether he would win or lose, he would make it entertaining. However, since that loss, he has fought a lot more timidly. Losing a decision to Magomed Gadzhiyasulov back in June and now winning a close, uneventful one against Caio Machado.

I thought there was a good chance the loser of this fight would be presented with their walking papers, so getting the win is what mattered. While Ribeiro was probably never going to become a real player at 205 lbs, he has now sent the message that he cannot even be relied upon to deliver exciting fights, making him even less valuable. For that reason, I see him being fed to someone the promotion actually has some stock in.

That description fits the 27-year-old, 10-0 Diyar Nurgozhay who got a sweet head kick KO on this year’s Contender Series.

Ribeiro’s next fight: Diyar Nurgozhay

Jasmine Jasudavicius

Jasudavicius used her size to overwhelm Ariane da Silva and get her second D’arce choke finish of the year. She now finds herself on a three-fight win streak and keeps climbing the rankings. Already being 35, the Canadian will look to keep fighting women ranked above her. Still, having lost convincingly to Natalia Silva and Tracy Cortez, she cannot be fast tracked to the top.

In two weeks, veteran Viviane Araújo will take on ascending contender Karine Silva at Madison Square Garden. With both of them ranked not too far ahead of Jasudavicius, the loser of that fight makes a lot of sense for her.

Jasudavicius’ next fight: Loser of Araújo/K. Silva

Dustin Stoltzfus

Stoltzfus got a great bounce back win after getting knocked out by Brunno Ferreira back in June. After the win, former foe Joe Pyfer called for a rematch with Stoltzfus after losing to him in 2020 on the Contenders Series because of a slam that resulted in an injury. It’s clear that since then, the UFC has put a lot more stock into Pyfer and this is most likely a matchup that he would now be favoured to win.

If Pyfer wants to avenge it and the UFC wants to be in the Joe Pyfer business, why not? They can even argue over who got the better KO of Marc-André Barriault.

Stoltzfus’ next fight: Joe Pyfer

Mike Malott

Proper Mike was by far the biggest hope Canada had coming into this year. He came into the UFC getting three consecutive finishes and was set up to enter the rankings this past January when he fought Neil Magny. He was well on his way to win when he suddenly imploded and got finished in the last minute of the fight. That finish soured a lot of people, and it was going to be tough for Malott to regain the hype he once had.

Trevin Giles, a man he had already beaten in a grappling match, should have given him plenty of confidence entering this fight. Yet, he clearly didn’t feel comfortable chasing a finish like he used to do, and instead opted to point-fight his way to a decision.

With him turning 33 this week, it’s not even like the UFC can take their time to rebuild him. Let’s put him in there with another prospect who finds himself in a similar position. Gabriel Bonfim also came into the promotion with a ton of hype and lost to a veteran before rebounding this year with a forgettable decision victory. It’s sink-or-swim time. Let’s see who the UFC should put their stock into.

Malott’s next fight: Gabriel Bonfim

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