The first Apex card since May was initially supposed to be headlined by young star Tatsuro Taira opposite Amir Albazi. It then became the first ever all-Asian main event in UFC history when the undefeated Korean Hyun Sung Park stepped in on short notice to face Taira. Now that the event is behind us, let’s look ahead at some matchups that could be ahead for the victorious fighters from Saturday.

Tatsuro Taira

The young Japanese rising star bounced back nicely after suffering his first professional loss to Brandon Royval last October. The promotion clearly thinks highly of Taira as this was his third consecutive main event opportunity, and it’s easy to understand why after the performance he put on. Despite not being known to the masses yet, Park came in as an undefeated 29-year-old on a 9-fight finishing streak with a Road to UFC tournament win to his name. This is a win for Taira that has the potential to age quite nicely if Park can bounce back and keep steadily rising the way he was.

Considering the flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, seemingly has a date with Joshua Van in December, it’s an almost certainty that Taira will have to win one more fight before getting his shot at the title. Manel Kape is another name that had a lot of momentum before falling to Muhammad Mokaev a year ago. He has since gained back this momentum, but an untimely pullout against Brandon Royval in June opened the door for Van to steal his spot. To me, locking Taira and Kape together in the cage is an easy call to make as this fight would inevitably produce the next worthy contender. Putting it on the same card as Pantoja vs Van so the UFC can have a backup fighter ready is also an obvious call to make.

Taira’s next fight: Manel Kape

Chris Duncan

The UFC Vegas 108 card was blessed with two lightweight bangers right before the main event. In the co-main, we had Chris Duncan outlasting Mateusz Rebecki in very similar fashion to how Rebecki narrowly outlasted Myktybek Orolbai in his Fight of the Year contender at UFC 308. Now 5-1 in the UFC, the Scottish fighter has clearly been adding layers to his game since his two Contender Series bouts. He’s an action fighter who’s been producing results worthy of a steady increase in competition. Even if Esteban Ribovics had not competed on this card, there’s a good chance I would’ve picked him as Duncan’s next opponent anyway. With both of them escaping this card with hard-fought wins, the timing is almost sure to work out for them to meet a couple months down the line.

Duncan’s next fight: Esteban Ribovics

Esteban Ribovics

Not unlike the co-main event, two action fighters faced off in the feature bout. Both Ribovics and Elves Brener were looking to get back in the win column and it was the Argentinian who ended up with his hand raised. Ribovics landed some nice combinations, but Brener’s insane toughness allowed him to survive long enough for the Argentinian to start to slow down a bit, but not enough to steal the victory. My reasoning for matching up Ribovics with Duncan is the same as the one explained above. Even if Duncan didn’t fight on this card, I still would’ve matched them up together as they are in very similar spots in the division.

Ribovics’ next fighter: Chris Duncan

Karol Rosa

Brazilian Rosa, who’s been a mainstay of the women’s bantamweight top 10, has been juggling wins and losses for her past eight fights. I think the way the promotion has been using her as a gatekeeper to the top 10 has been effective. Fighters like Norma Dumont, Irene Aldana and Ailín Pérez have gotten passed her, while at UFC Vegas 108, Nora Cornolle couldn’t. We now know what kind of expectations we should have for the Frenchwoman. Mayra Bueno Silva got on a hot streak and rode it to a vacant title shot, but what kind of expectations should we realistically have for the former title challenger? Let’s have her fight Rosa and truly find out.

Rosa’s next fight: Mayra Bueno Silva

Neil Magny

After getting viciously getting knocked out by rising stars Michael Morales and Carlos Prates in just two and a half months, most of us thought it was end for Neil Magny. The savvy veteran still has enough gas in the tank to get some wins at the UFC level, as demonstrated by his TKO finish over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Even though it seems Magny has seemingly fought everyone already, there is a matchup out there that I find intriguing. Chris Curtis recently went down to welterweight and was victorious doing so. Curtis is former middleweight, but always looked small for that weight class, while Magny is tall and lanky for his division. It’s an age-appropriate matchup between two fighters with similar roles in the division. Why not?

Magny’s next fight: Chris Curtis

Kevin Vallejos

While Danny Silva clearly offered more resistance than Vallejos’ last two opponents, he still couldn’t get past the youngster. Vallejos is a blue-chip prospect whose only professional loss is his Contender Series fight with Fighting Nerd Jean Silva. The 23-year-old Argentinian does appear to have a bright future and when the UFC knows that they have a potential star on their hands, they usually try to put them up against names the fans will recognize. This is a cut-throat business and despite losing his 5^th fight in a row, all signs point to Calvin Kattar still being under contract with the MMA leader. If they’re not going to cut him, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use what is left of him to best serve their future interests. A couple years ago, Kattar would’ve been too much too soon for a young prospect like Vallejos. But now, the Bostonian has the exact profile you would want as Vallejos’s next opponent. He’s a recognizable name with several main events under his belt, but clearly long enough in the tooth that you would favour the Argentinian to win.

Vallejos’ next fight: Calvin Kattar

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Rosa had been trading wins and losses of late, while Cornolle had picked up a win over Hailey Cowan at UFC 314 in Miami back in April.

Rosa and Cornolle were both active in the opening minute, firing some big shots, feinting, and exchanging kicks. Rosa in particular was firing with ill intent, and landed heavy before tying things up against the fence. That slowed the fight down, with positional battles following for what seemed like (and actually was) several minutes. Rosa was in control most of the time, with Cornolle unable to reverse or get her back off the fence, though in the final minute she did finally separate, firing an elbow over the top as she did.

Karol Rosa, however, tried to clinch up again, though this time it wouldn’t last.

Round two opened with an emphatic takedown being landed by Rosa. She settled into half guard, the pair a couple of a feet away from the fence to start. Cornolle tied up one arm, but Rosa pounded away at the body with her free hand.

And there they would stay, Rosa on top for pretty much the entirety of the round. She would hunt a choke towards the end of the round, though time ran out before she could secure it.

There was a decent argument that Karol Rosa had won the opening round. There was no question she had won the second. In the third, she immediately took Nora Cornolle down again, once again finding herself in half guard. Cornolle, meanwhile, just could not get out from under Rosa. Rosa’s top control was too strong, her ground game far superior. By the end of 15 minutes, there was zero question as to who the winner was, with Karol Rosa winning a one-sided decision.

Official Result: Karol Rosa def. Nora Cornolle by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)

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“I’m excited to show the work on Saturday,” Rosa (18-7) told reporters during this week’s UFC Vegas 108 media day. Rosa is booked opposite Nora Cornolle at the Fight Night event taking place at the UFC Apex.

What sparked that move? The three fighters all leaving their former camps. And the desire to have a place where just female fighters could train together.

“When we left, when all three of us left our former team, we wanted to actually put the project in place. A place we would have a voice, we would have a say, we would actually do and set up our own training. And that was pretty much the catalyst. A place that we could have just girls training, and make sure that again we would have control, we would have a voice, we could plan training and camp. So basically, that was the catalyst.”

Andrade fell to Jasmine Jasudavicius back in May, while Gomes picked up a win later that month. Rosa will look to build on that success against France’s Cornolle, following a camp she called “more focused, more pleasant, and more catered towards the women.”

When it comes to Cornolle, Rosa also sees a favorable match-up. “I think that she’s got a style that I like to fight. I know that she likes her striking, so she’s wants to come in and do Muay Thai. And I just do believe that I have strength there as well.”

“I think I’m a smart striker, that’s how I feel. And I feel more and more polished on the ground. I think that’s pretty much it. I see myself as the smarter striker, and someone that can get her on the ground if she decides to take me down.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 108 media day appearance by Karol Rosa above.

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Cornolle (9-2) missed weight for her fight against Hailey Cowan in Miami at UFC 314 in April. Since then she’s taken the necessary steps to ensure that won’t happen again.

“This time I worked even more with my nutritionist from the PI, Glenn, and things went really good,” Cornolle told reporters on Wednesday.

“I’m not really afraid about the weight this time.”

Coming in at #12 Cornolle is facing the #10 Rosa. A win over her likely gets Cornolle into the top 10 and into bigger matchups on her way up the ladder.

“I hope so. She’s #10, I’m 12, so I think if I beat I’m going to be #10. At least that will be the logic. I’m just aiming to fight even more girls from the top 10 after that. Go for whatever it takes,” she said.

It’s a tough matchup for both fighters as they seem to match each other pretty well in the striking. This one may turn into a fan-friendly type of fight.

“The biggest thing is that she has more experience than me. Besides that she’s maybe the only one with me that has good Muay Thai. She has some level on the ground, she’s ok in wrestling, not much but I think the main thing with her is going to be standing,” said Cornolle.

Now with women’s bantamweight sporting a new champion in Kayla Harrison girls like Cornolle have a new target.

“She’s going to be the woman to kill now for like every girl in the top 10,” Cornolle said with a smile.

“I think everybody want to call her out. I’m not in a hurry. I want the belt of course like every female of this category, but you know, step by step. There is way to beat her.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Nora Cornolle above. She takes on Karol Rosa at UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday night.

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“Very happy. Not only for the win, but also for shutting a lot of people up,” Perez told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“First and foremost making weight was a way to shut people up, and also just putting on a class inside the octagon.”

Perez (12-2) holds a 5-fight win streak with the victory over Rosa which is the longest current one at 135 pounds. Such an accolade could open the door for a big fight if not a title shot.

“I want to fight for the title. The current title holder she is sh*tting her pants. She does not want to take on Kayla Harrison so let me take that. I’m coming off of five straight wins, all of them dominant wins, great finish in Paris. Three dominant wins before,” she said.

“There’s no reason why they wouldn’t give me a chance and actually put me on for a fight for (the interim title).”

On her way to her post-fight press conference, reportedly, UFC flyweight fighter Tracy Cortez had some words for Perez which caught the attention of the media. Cortez and Perez have gone back and forth on social media the past few months.

“That’s trash. Don’t name her in this conversation right now. Get better quality people to have beef with me while I’m here,”she said.

Perez clearly has disdain for the flyweight contender and refused to say much about her at first.

“She was trying to provoke me. Please don’t name her. She’s dirty,” Perez told Cageside Press.

“Every time she sees me she wants to jump me. I think she wants to be me. She is probably outside trying maybe waiting for a picture (with) me. She cannot believe how beautiful I am.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Ailin Perez above.

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Rosa made the inspired choice of walking out to Metallica’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, unfortunately for her, it wasn’t Perez the bell was tolling for.

Perez went after a bodylock early, which Rosa fought off. A second takedown attempt by Perez was successful, however, with the Argentinian changing levels and powering through, planting Rosa on her back. Perez had plenty of time on top, and neither fighter seemed to show much in the way of urgency. Perez eventually stepped over and passed into half-guard, improving her position then threatening to mount. Instead, she was pushed back by an upkick; Perez allowed Rosa back up after that.

With slightly under two minutes left in the opening round, Rosa landed a low kick. Another kick followed, which Perez threatened to catch. With just sixty seconds on the clock, Perez fired a spinning back fist. They’d finish out the round with Perez clearly taking it.

Round two opened with a blow blow on Ailin Perez, leading to a brief pause. From there, the pair engaged in some back-and-forth action on the feet. Perez again added in a spinning back fist. Rosa walked Perez down, firing her 1-2. Perez answered with kicks to the body. Rosa appeared to be finishing her groove, but Ailin Perez would finally get a takedown with about two minutes to go, latching on to a leg and putting Rosa on her back. She would finish the round out there, potentially stealing it back after a strong start by Karol Rosa.

Rosa connected with a low kick to open the third and final round, with Perez changing stances in response. Perez mixed in high kicks and targeted the body, holding her own against a solid striker in Rosa. When they tied up against the fence, Perez was in the driver’s seat. They’re break, giving Rosa a bit of time to get back in it, but Perez continued to stay right there in the striking battle. Another spinning attack landed for Perez. She touched the inside of the leg with a kick; Rosa landed back with a harder outside leg kick.

No finish to be found, Ailin Perez and Karol Rosa would go the distance, the fourth straight fight to start UFC 311 to do so.

Official Result: Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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While its location, venue, and broadcast plan are yet to be announced, UFC 311 has a number of fights reported for it. The most recent sees women’s 135’ers Ailin Perez (11-2) and Karol Rosa (18-6) face off.

ESPN Knockout’s Gaston Reyno was first to report the booking. Rosa later confirmed the match-up on her Instagram Story.

Argentina’s Perez has turned heads since entering the promotion in 2022, debuting at that year’s UFC Paris card. After losing that fight, Perez rattled off four consecutive victories, while becoming known for twerking in her post-fight celebrations (not to mention at weigh-ins, and in various videos posted online).

The only blemish on her recent record came in her last outing, when Ailin Perez missed weight for her fight with Darya Zheleznyakova. Perez won the bout by arm-triangle choke in the opening round.

Rosa, a Brazilian who debuted for the UFC in 2019, has been trading wins and losses since 2021. Most recently, she picked up a victory over Pannie Kianzad.

UFC 311 does not have a main event currently announced. The following match-ups have been reported for the event on January 18, 2025:

• Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
• Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
• Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas
• Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez

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The Fight Night event at the UFC Apex found both fighters looking to return to the winner’s circle. Kianzad had lost two straight, to Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson, while Rosa was coming off a single loss to Irene Aldana.

Rosa was ranked #8, Kianzad #11 to start the night.

Kianzad opened the fight with a jab to the body, while Rosa looked to find a home for her low kicks. Kianzad fired back with one of her own, but Rosa landed another, sharper calf kick. And another. Kianzad tried to keep up in the kicking exchanges, but just didn’t have the power behind her own. Rosa then fired a 1-2, with Kianzad returning a jab in response.

Rosa continued to chop the lead leg of Pannie Kianzad, who was already showing damage. An outside kick connected, then another, that nearly took Kianzad off her feet. Soon, Pannie was stepping gingerly on that leg, and opted to switch stances. That bought her some time, but soon enough, Rosa was chopping the opposite leg as well. In the final minute, Kianzad actually fell throwing a kick of her own, unable to support herself on her compromised leg.

Rosa and Kianzad got to trading in the opening minute of round two, Rosa holding her ground throughout the exchanges and mixing in a lead elbow. One of those blows opened up a cut on Kianzad, who was soon leaking blood along the hairline. Rosa continued to chop the legs, and rag-dolled Kianzad a bit. Her face a mask of blood, Kianzad was likely to have some issues with vision at some point, though much of the blood was running alongside her nose.

Clinching up, Rosa fired an elbow, continuing to impose her will. Kianzad was still answering, but throwing less, landing less, and doing far less damage. Rosa’s own face was bloodied, from rubbing against Kianzad in the clinch. Wearing her opponents blood, Rosa kept up the kicks, leading to Kianzad hopping at one point. Pannie did get a decent combo off in the final minute, but it felt like a few more kicks might topple the TUF 28 alum.

Early in the third, Rosa tied things up, with Pannie firing a knee in the clinch. Rosa threw a few weak shots to the body, then looked to land a standing elbow before the broke, moving back to center. Another clinch went nowhere, then Kianzad got her hands going. Rosa, however, opted to take a different track, landing a trip takedown with over three minutes on the clock. Kianzad closed her guard, accepting the position despite the low percentage that she’d be able to win from bottom. At least she wasn’t about to be kicked in the leg with Rosa on top of her.

To her credit, Kianzad, tough as nails throughout the fight, made it back to her feet. A nasty elbow from Rosa with a minute forty left on the clock connected. A combination from Karol Rosa saw lefts and rights land. Kianzad held on, landing some short right hands in a clinch along the fence. Rosa put her weight on her, battling for position and perhaps a takedown. 45 seconds to go, and there was little question that, barring a miracle, Karol Rosa had the fight in the bag. One more elbow eaten by Kianzad, another flurry, and some knees, and the horn sounded to close things out. Zero question whatsoever as to the winner. A worthy scrap for the featured prelim spot.

Official Result: Karol Rosa def. Pannie Kianzad by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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The women’s bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa hadn’t exactly screamed fire on paper. Aldana was fresh off a loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 in June in a failed title bid; Rosa had been trading wins and losses and was returning to 135lbs.

Yet as the fight got underway, Rosa quickly showed off a smart game plan, chopping at the legs of the ex-title challenger. Aldana, eating some nasty leg kicks, stood firm, eventually getting her boxing going and busting up the face of Rosa— while being bloodied herself.

Aldana, with two prior Fight of the Night bonuses to her name, would go on to win a unanimous decision with triplicate 29-28 scores. She now owns three Fight of the Night and two Performance of the Night bonuses since arriving in the UFC in 2016. For Rosa, though defeated, the bonus money should soften the blow.

Three Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded at UFC 296, as Shamil Gaviev, Ariane Lipski, and Josh Emmett all collected. Emmett’s knockout of Bryce Mitchell came with such force that the Arkansas native was left convulsing on the mat afterwards, in a frightening scene. While he eventually came to and was able to stand, wobbly legs required him to be escorted from the cage with assistance; a lengthy medical suspension is no doubt in Mitchell’s future.

Emmett, meanwhile, remains one of the most hard-hitting featherweights in the business. As for Lipski, the “Queen of Violence” lived up to her moniker in the best performance of her UFC run, as she put on a one-sided drubbing of Casey O’Neill that ended with an arm-bar submission.

Heavyweight Gaziev opened the UFC 296 card with a TKO finish of Martin Buday. All four bonuses winning fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 on top of their show/win money.

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Rosa, coming off a July win over Yana Santos, had been trading wins and losses across her last several fights.

The opening minute of the preliminary card fight saw little action, with Aldana keeping her guard high and tight. Rosa found some success with her leg kicks, something that would continue throughout the round, and would be worth keeping an eye on. Before two minutes had passed, Aldana, showing redness on her lead leg, was nearly taken off her feet by a kick. And given Aldana’s boxing-first approach, those kicks were preventing her from getting off any offense.

Through the first half of the round, Rosa’s game plan was working to perfection. Irene Aldana began incorporating more lateral movement, while trying to change her angles on the way in and avoid those kicks. Despite that, Aldana nearly had her legs taken out from under her again with just over 90 seconds left on the clock. Not a great start for the recent title challenger, who was reacting to even slight touches to her leg as time went on. Rosa capped off the round hurting Aldana, and clipping her with a head kick.

Karol Rosa went right back to work early in round two, firing a combination capped off with a leg kick, soon adding several more. Inside and out, the leg kicks kept coming. Aldana stood pat, relying solely on her boxing, not attempting any takedowns. A right hand landed for Aldana, her best strike of the fight, and suddenly Rosa was on the defensive. When Rosa slipped off an Aldana jab, Irene opted not to try to get on top — an interesting choice, given all the damage those legs had taken. But Karol Rosa was showing damage around one eye herself. And Aldana was connecting more and more.

After a rough first round, a comeback second including a crisp uppercut late in the frame had Irene Aldana back in it.

Aldana went back to work with her uppercut early in round three, while Rosa pressed forward, looking to land more kicks. Aldana then connected to the body, which hurt Rosa, who was suddenly backpedaling. The mouse under Rosa’s eye now had a bloody red tail as well; Aldana’s own face was a mask of red. With neither woman able to find a finish, the bout went to the scorecards, with Irene Aldana taking home the win in a clear candidate for Fight of the Night.

Following her victory, Aldana revealed she had come into the fight with a knee injury.

Official Result: Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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