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Thankfully, the new and improved Apex comes with more than a new name. There’s seating for fans, and while limited, it’s nice to have an actual cheering section in the building. It certainly made a difference in the broadcast, though it’s worth noting that as with every other UFC card, half the fans didn’t turn up until the back half of the night.

Four finishes peppered UFC Vegas 113, with two coming on the main card portion of the event. That included the main event, which saw bantamweight contender Mario Bautista submit Vinicius Oliveira.

What comes next for the losing half of UFC Vegas 113? With Bryson Hester down (but not out) with the flu, I’m filling in this week. Time to shake off the match-maker rust!

Vinicius Oliveira

The big story coming into UFC Vegas 113 was Vinicius Oliveira’s weight. A week out from the fight, he claimed to be 30 pounds heavy. That’s a lot of weight to lose in just days. Credit to his dedication, Oliveira did make weight for the fight, but he also gassed early. For a fighter in his first main event, claiming he’d fight for the bantamweight title inside of a year, it wasn’t a good look.

Oliveira noted during his media day appearance that he won’t be long for 135lbs and will move up to featherweight at some point. Honestly, he might want to consider that sooner than later. Arriving off the Contender Series in 2023, the now-30-year old took the long road to the UFC, with a 20-3 record when he made his promotional debut. He’s in his prime, and if the cut to 135 is that draining, he needs to move up now and get on a proper run.

It’s hard to justify a ranked opponent for Oliveira after Saturday’s showing, but since he’s coming off a main event, how about #15-ranked David Onama for a featherweight debut? Onama himself is coming off a loss to Steve Garcia. This probably works as a co-main event on another Apex card.

Oliveira’s next fight: David Onama, at featherweight

Amir Albazi

Flyweight Amir Albazi’s toughest opponents thus far have been injury and consistency. Oh, and Kyoji Horiguchi and Brandon Moreno.

Honestly, Albazi can take a mulligan on this one. He was out-worked by a savvy veteran with a speed advantage. Horiguchi, frankly, is a top three flyweight in the world, whatever his UFC ranking might be. He’s held gold in multiple major promotions, and is back in the UFC hunting the last title to have eluded him. Albazi, meanwhile, was yanked from a fight last year, not medically cleared, and had been out over a year when he stepped into the cage on Saturday.

What he needs is a reasonable turnaround, and honestly, a tune-up style fight. He’ll drop a bit back from his #6 ranking this week, but someone hovering around the #10 spot could work. Alex Perez, coming off a win over Charles Johnson in which Perez missed weight, holds that #10 ranking, and fits the bill.

Albazi’s next fight: Alex Perez

Jailton Almeida

With all due respect to the fighters, who no doubt put in hard training camps, there were no winners in Rizvan Kuniev vs. Jailton Almeida. Stepping in on short notice to replace the unranked Ryan Spann, Almeida, who holds the #6 spot at heavyweight, fought with a puzzling lack of urgency. When Kuniev held him against the fence, Almeida chose to more or less stand and wait for the ref to restart the action. Which he did, several times, but it led to a rather tepid fight that had fans at the Meta Apex raining down jeers.

Just a year or so ago Almeida was being looked at as a potential future champion. A former light heavyweight, he has speed and power, but he sometimes seems to forget just how good he is. All the tools needed to smash through an opponent like Kuniev, but he just couldn’t pull the trigger. You could blame the short-notice nature of the bout, but then he did choose to take the fight after all.

Almeida has now lost two straight, but that won’t hurt him much in the heavyweight division, which is so shallow that Gable Steveson, yet to fight in the UFC, is being looked at as the possible savior of the division. England’s Mick Parkin, ranked #12, is coming off the first loss of his career (to Marcin Tybura), and is 4-1 in the UFC. It’s hard to see that one going the distance. Just what the doctor ordered.

Almeida’s next fight: Mick Parkin

Marc-André Barriault

Canada’s “Power Bar” is about as fan-friendly a middleweight as you’ll find. Three straight post-fight bonuses. Two straight Fight of the Nights. Unfortunately, he was on the losing end of both of those. Still, his bank account is happy, and the UFC isn’t about to cut the Quebec Bonus Machine.

A former TKO double champ, Barriault is 1-5 in his last six fights however. He needs a win, stat.

Enter Sedriques “SD” Dumas. “The Reaper” has practically harvested his own soul during his UFC run, with inconsistent results and multiple arrests for shenanigans outside of the octagon. It’s rather impressive that he still has a job; Dumas must have dirt on someone at the UFC. All joking aside, Dumas literally had to pull out of UFC 317 because he couldn’t get a judge to sign off on removing his ankle monitor in time. Dumas has two losses and a  No Contest (accidental foul) in his last three assignments. Barraiult might finally send him packing from the UFC.

Barriault’s next fight: SD Dumas

Jean Matsumoto

Bantamweight Jean Matsumoto fell to 1-2 in his last three with a loss to Farid Basharat at UFC Vegas 113.

Brazil’s Matsumoto started his UFC run with a couple of quick wins, then landed a short-notice fight with Rob Font when Dominick Cruz pulled out and retired. It’s hard to count that loss against him, but the Basharat loss will stall his momentum a little more (in between those setbacks, he earned a split decision win over Miles Johns).

Next up? TUF winner Ricky Turcios needs an opponent after Cameron Smotherman collapsed at the UFC 324 weigh-ins, cancelling their bout. That’s as solid a match-up as any.

Matsumoto’s next fight: Ricky Turcios

Julius Walker

The “Juice Box” Julius Walker fell to 1-2 in the UFC on Saturday, after being stopped by Dustin Jacoby. Gutsy effort, but the light heavyweight is now in a tough spot. He was originally supposed to face Uran Satybaldiev at the event, and if that fight can be rebooked, it makes the most sense.

Walker’s next fight: Uran Satybaldiev

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With original opponent Ryan Spann out, Kuniev received a serious upgrade, going from the unranked Spann to #6-ranked Almeida. For a fighter who had struggled to stay active in the UFC, it was a major blessing for Kuniev, if he could capitalize.

Early on, Almedia focused on driving Kuniev into the fence, though Kuniev was able to get one underhook in and come off the cage, then reverse and get Jailton there. Kuniev looked to sneak in an elbow, but Almeida took that moment to try and duck for a takedown. Neither man was successful and they went back to the fence. The ref, calling for action, finally restarted them at center. That led to Almeida punching his way in, and Kuniev instead getting in control and taking the Brazilian to the fence again.

That led to a second restart by ref “Big” Dan Miragliotta. After some feints and misstarts, Kuniev fired a kick, closed the distance, let hands fly, and got Almeida back to the fence. They’d end the round with one last clinch and a quick exchange.

Lots of room for improvement in round two. Almeida got a low kick going. He’d also shoot for a takedown, but Kuniev easily fought that off, putting the Brazilian on the fence again. He ripped the body once, then again. Added a knee. Almeida essentially stood there, as if waiting for another restart by the ref. Not exactly a winning strategy. Off the fence, Almeida got a few short punches in, while Kuniev worked his jab and threw combos to close the distance.

After two low-action rounds, it was back to the fence in the third, with the small group of fans in the newly renovated Meta Apex letting their displeasure be heard. Kuniev was in control more often than not, and Almeida just seemed to have little answer while in that position. 90 seconds in he’d free himself and fire a couple quick punches to the body. Kuniev response with a hook, and Almeida finally attacked with another volley of his own. And then… back to the fence. This time, Almeida escaped quickly. Kuniev landed a jab. Almeida fired a right hand, getting Kuniev to back up.

Perhaps the wildest thing about Alemeida vs. Kuniev was that it turned out to be a heavyweight fight where neither man seemed to ever be in danger of being knocked out. With just under two minutes left, the ref pulled them off the fence once again. Big Dan was doing all he could do to force an entertaining bout. Almeida opted to fire a combination, with Kuniev pinning him again. Almeida tried a trip, but the Russian stayed standing. More stalling. Another restart by Big Dan. Almeida pointed to center, and Kuniev actually obliged, swinging.

If only the whole fight had been as exciting. 10 seconds of action in a 15 minute fight wasn’t what fight fans were looking for. Kuniev took the decision, and might even crack the rankings, but there were no real winners in Rizvan Kuniev vs. Jailton Alemeida.

Official Result: Rizvan Kuniev def. Jailton Almeida by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Ciryl Gane

Ciryl Gane put on a solid performance in the four minutes leading up to the eye poke that triggered an eventual no contest result against Tom Aspinall on Saturday. Gane entered the fight riding a two-fight winning streak since first round stoppage loss to Jon Jones for the title back in March of 2023. Gane had stopped Sergehi Spivac and edged out Alexander Volkov with a unanimous decision since then.

Without a definitive ending and with the bout stopping so early on into the title fight, it’s obvious that this one needs to be ran back immediately. Aspinall retained the belt; Gane headed into this fight ranked at #1 in the division. UFC brass should just rebook this one for the main event of another PPV. Goal is likely: get this fight on a PPV card before the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Ciryl’s next fight: Tom Aspinall Rematch

Virna Jandiroba

Mackenzie Dern topped Virna Jandiroba in a hard fought five-round unanimous decision to capture the vacant UFC Strawweight title. Jandiroba had her moments, especially early on in the fight, but Dern was able to rally and take over. Virna came into the bout ranked at #1 in the division (tied with Tatiana Suarez), while Dern was ranked at #5. The loss snapped a 5-fight win streak for the 37-year-old dating back to her 2021 loss to Amanda Ribas.

Jandiroba is now 8-4 in the UFC, with two of her losses with the promotion coming against Mackenzie. Within the last couple years, Jandiroba has fought nearly every fighter currently ranked in the top 5 of the division, Suarez is the only one that she hasn’t fought- but Tatiana with likely fight for the belt next. Even though the pair have had two cancelled bouts. But a fresh opponent would be Tabatha Ricci.

Ricci was last in action back in July when she stopped Amanda Ribas in the second round of their bout.; Before that, Ricci lost to Yan Xiaonan. Tabatha is currently ranked at #8 in the division and doesn’t have a fight booked. With a 7-3 record in the UFC and some shared opponents, this is a fight that makes a lot of since. Could be high on the main card of a PPV or a fight night card with the winner propelling themselves toward a title shot conversation.

Virna’s next fight: Tabatha Ricci

Mairo Bautista

Umar Nurmagomedov weathered a few moments of adversity on Saturday and secured a unanimous decision win against Mario Bautista. Mario had been riding an impressive 8-fight win streak with his last loss coming in early 2021 against Trevin Jones. Bautista entered the fight ranked at #9 in the division while Umar was all the way at #2.

There’s a scenario where Bautista is paired up with a fighter like Marlon Vera, though not sure if that’s the right matchup for Bautista at this point. It makes a lot of sense from a timing standpoint and the two have already had two scheduled bouts fall through earlier this year. Vera’s ranked at #8 in the division and is coming off a split decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi recently. That said, another option would be against #5 ranked, Song Yadong. Song’s coming off a technical decision to Henry Cejudo in February and is 3-2 in his last five. His two most recent losses are to elite competition (Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen). Leaning towards Chito- but expect Song or anyone else in the top 15 for an exciting fighter like Bautista. His stock is still rising.

Mairo’s next fight: Song Yadong or Marlon Vera

Jailton Almedia

Jailton Almedia was edged out by Alexander Volkov in a controversial split decision on the main card of UFC 321. Almedia entered the fight ranked at #5 in the heavyweight division while Volkov was ranked at #2. Almedia is now 2-2 in his last four fights, stopping both Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac after losing to Curtis Blaydes last March.

Jailton is now 8-2 with the promotion since being signed off the Contender Series in 2021. The best fight for Jailton to take moving forward is against Sergei Pavolvich. Sergei is ranked at #3 in the heavyweight division and is 8-3 with the promotion. In his last five fights he has an identical record to Alemdia going 3-2. They also share some common opponents as Pavlovich’s last loss was against Alexander Volkov in 2024. Both fighters also recently took on Curtis Blaydes. Pavlovich is currently riding a two-fight win streak as he scored a pair of unanimous decisions earlier this year, against Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Jailton’s next fight: Sergei Pavlovich

Aleksandar Rakic

Azamat Murzakanov stayed perfect as he opened up the UFC 321 main card on Saturday with a first round stoppage of Aleksandar Rakic. Rakic now moves to just 6-5 with the promotion and has lost his last four fights. Aleksandar was stopped in all but one of those losses. It’s been absolutely abysmal for Rakic since 2022 when he suffered a horrific knee injury in his fight with Jan Blachowicz. It took nearly two full years for Rakic to recover and make his return. It’s truly been all downhill from there for the now 33-year-old light heavyweight.

But there is still tread left on the tires! Rakic came into this fight ranked at #7 in the division while Murzakanov was ranked at #10. Rakic doesn’t necessarily need a gimmie fight per se, but it’s imperative that he gets back into the win column against a ranked opponent or potentially face the promotional axe.

Next fight for Rakic should be against Nikita Krylov. Nikita is ranked at #13 in the division and has lost his last two fights. (Pair of first round stoppage losses, Dominick Reyes, Bogdan Guskov). Kryolv was last in action in July against Guskov, but both of those losses have come within the calendar year of 2025. Krylov even had a fight booked against Azamat before those bouts (Azmat withdrew). Krylov’s last win came in 2023 against Ryan Spann. He needs to get in the win column, badly. So does Rakic. A scrappy fight between two 33-year-olds, still in their primes but have had multiple hiccups along their journey.  Winner would get a top 10 ranking. A devastating loss could mean being on the dreaded shortlist.

Aleksandar’s next fight: Nikita Krylov

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Almeida had come in on a two-fight win streak, while Volkov was looking to bounce back from a controversial loss to Ciryl Gane that many had seen going the other way.

Round 1 – Almeida shot the second after the two touched gloves, getting Volkov down 10 seconds in. Almeida settled in half guard and worked on just controlling Volkov while smothering him with his control. Volkov worked to his side and put Almeida on his hip, eventually overpowering and reversing position.

Almeida did a good job of holding Volkov and giving him little space to work. Volkov postured up and landed some big elbows while trying to pry Almeida off his leg, and the round ended in the awkward position.

Round 2 – The second round saw Volkov get taken down 20 seconds in, with Almeida settling in half guard and being more active on top. After a scramble, he worked to the back and secured a hook on Volkov, leaning over him as he crouched. Volkov was able to roll over and get back in full guard, where the action stalled once again, leading to a standup from Marc Goddard.

Almeida immediately speared Volkov back to the ground once forced up, and fended off a kimura attempt as the round came to a close.

Round 3 – Volkov pressed on the front foot and defended a takedown attempt early, pushing Almeida to the cage. In the clinch, Volkov bombed some knees into the body of Almeida before being taken down once again. The fight once again stalled in full guard, with Volkov tapping him with punches from the bottom. Volkov nearly caught Almeida in a triangle, but the Brazilian was wise to it and avoided the submission. Another back take led nowhere, and another stand-up followed after settling back in full guard. In a shocking turn of events. Almeida shot another takedown and ended the fight on top.

It was a strange fight to score. The damage and activity clearly favored Volkov, but Almeida racked up a lot of control time. The judges sided with the activity and awarded Alexander Volkov a Split Decision win to halt Jailton Almeida’s title hype.

Official Result: Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

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Islam Makhachev

The pound-for-pound king was originally supposed to rematch Arman Tsarukyan, but the Armenian pulled out the day before the fight due to a back injury. Renato Moicano, who already had a fight scheduled on this card, stepped in after making championship weight. For some, the extreme short-notice nature of the fight might lessen the impressiveness of what Makhachev did, but Moicano wasn’t coming off the couch. He had a full training camp in him and was on a roll, having won his previous four fights, three of which came by finish. Still, Makhachev dispatched him inside a round.

There was a lot of talk about whether this would be Makhachev’s last fight at lightweight but having had to face someone other than Tsarukyan on Saturday could keep him at 155 due to that unfinished business. However, Dana White refused to guarantee that Tsarukyan would get the next shot, and the Armenian took to social media to say he agrees that he needs to go back out there and get a win. So, who would Islam face should he stay at 155lbs? Having taken no damage in this fight, the champion should be ready to get back in the octagon as soon as Ramadan ends. The winner of Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker will have a case, but knowing how their fighting styles, we shouldn’t expect the winner of that fight to make a quick turnaround.

That leaves us with Charles Oliveira. The former champion was originally booked to rematch Makhachev in October of 2023, but had to withdraw due to an injury and then never got his rematch. It makes sense given the circumstances and the timelines match, so I say book it now.

Makhachev’s next fight: Charles Oliveira

Merab Dvalishvili

The champion Dvalishvili came in as a sizeable betting underdog and alluded to being forced by the promotion to make the quick four-month turnaround and take this fight against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. The deck was stacked against him, but ‘The Machine’ lived up to his nickname and managed to win the last three rounds to pull away with the victory.

A monumental win for the Georgian considering the circumstances and the fact that this was by far considered his toughest assignment. With Nurmagomedov out of the way, Dvalishvili now finds himself in the spot every champion wishes to be: with nothing but rematches on the horizon against fighters he has already dominated.

The idea of a Sean O’Malley rematch has been floating out there, but that would be blatant favouritism for a champion who only had one title defence. In our UFC 311 losers matchmaker piece, we suggested an immediate rematch. That may not be in the cards, as Dana White didn’t seem high on the idea. If not, the first order of business should absolutely be Petr Yan, who earned his way back to a title shot with a successful 2024 campaign.

Dvalishvili’s next fight: Petr Yan

Jiri Prochazka

This was a fight two years in the making. When Jiri Prochazka vacated the belt, Jamahal Hill became the beneficiary of that vacancy by beating Glover Teixeira. They then both proceeded to call each other out and ‘Hill vs Prochazka’ was the fight fans were anticipating. So when Hill also had to vacate his belt, Alex Pereira was the one who benefited the most.

Both Prochazka and Hill got thoroughly beaten by Poatan, yet the hype behind the fight on Saturday did not feel diminished by that. It was a guaranteed banger that delivered. Prochazka showed improvements in his defence and ultimately finished Hill after knocking him down multiple times.

With Pereira now booked against Magomed Ankalaev in March, there is a decent chance that it will be his last title defence at light heavyweight, as he’s been hinting at a move up to heavyweight. And if he loses, he will probably get an immediate rematch. That means Prochazka will need another win to stay busy. That means no other fight makes more sense than fighting the winner of Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg in London.

Prochazka’s next fight: Blachowicz/Ulberg winner

Jailton Almeida

This was an important win for Almeida to stay relevant in the division’s top 10. Fans are hoping we get the Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall fight, but if we don’t then the picking order at heavyweight becomes a bit messy for Aspinall.

Ciryl Gane has won two straight fights, but his last win was a very uninspired performance in which he says he suffered an injury. Alexander Volkov was on a good run but lost on the cards to Gane. However controversially, it is still officially a loss. There are important fights between Sergei Pavlovich, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev coming up, but the permutations will really depend on the results of those fights.

With the title picture being as blurry as it is, Almeida isn’t lacking in options. I ultimately chose Alexander Volkov as that fight was booked last June, and with Gane probably being out a little while due to his injury, the timing probably won’t work between Almeida and the Frenchman.

Almeida’s next fight: Alexander Volkov

Reinier de Ridder

Two fights, two finishes for de Ridder so far in the UFC. The Dutch King ran through Kevin Holland at UFC 311, submitting him in just three and a half minutes. Last week, I matchmade for Cesar Almeida who scored an incredible knockout and said he should fight the winner of this RDR/Holland bout. I must admit, I didn’t necessarily expect the de Ridder to make such a statement.

With this type of performance, I fully expect the UFC to give RDR a ranked opponent next, which means the Almeida fight is off the table. Michel Pereira would make for a fun fight, but last week I had him fight Roman Kopylov and I still prefer that matchup. I believe the right fight to make is Jack Hermansson, who has been rehabilitating injuries since upsetting Joe Pyfer last February. Hermansson is the gatekeeper to the top 10 at middleweight and if de Ridder fancies himself fighting the top of that division, this is a test he needs to pass.

de Ridder’s next fight: Jack Hermansson

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