Well, not quite. Still, Brando Peričić will have to settle for a $25,000 finishing bonus, as he was not one of two Performance of the Night bonus winners on a ho-hum card at the O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday.

Instead, it was newcomer Shanelle Dyer and Judoka Iwo Baraniewski claiming Performance bonuses at the Fight Night event. Dyer kicked off the card (almost literally), landing a head kick on a slightly overweight Ravena Oliveira then putting her away with a knee and punches to start the night. That got Londoners on their feet, and seemed to set the table for a big night, only for a couple of plodding decisions to stall momentum throughout the evening.

Peričić and Danny Silva were bright spots and also had TKO finishes on the card, but it was Poland’s Baraniewski who truly stunned, putting away former heavyweight Austen Lane in just 28 seconds in a 205lb scrap.

Fight of the Night honors, meanwhile, went to Mason Jones and Axel Sola. The fight left Sola bloodied and needing multiple stitches, in particular to close up a nasty gash on his face.

All four bonus winners pocket $100,000 for their efforts. Bonuses were announced by UFC CEO and President Dana White at the night’s post-fight press conference. White listed 18,000 in attendance for a $4.5 million U.S. gate.

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Jones (17-2) continued his second stint in the UFC after a two-year run with Cage Warriors. He returned to the promotion in May 2025 with a decision win over Jeremy Stephens, then followed it up with a second-round TKO victory over Bolaji Oki last September.

Sosa (11-0-1) hoped to make it two consecutive victories after handing Rhys McKee a third round TKO loss last September. The French lightweight looked to begin a win streak over Jones in London.

The opening round began with Jones pushing the action, moving forward while throwing a strong straight right hand. Sola moved the outside looking to land a left hook at distance. Jones continued to move forward throwing a beautiful combination to the legs, body, and head of Sola. Out of nowhere a spinning back elbow from Sola landed flush on the chin of Jones. Somehow Jones was able to eat the strike and recover, but Sola landed a takedown. Working back to his feet, Jones was again pressing forward with a minute left in the round. Jones opened up a cut over the eye of Sola and began walking him down. Jones would get overzealous and Sola would time a takedown before round ended.

After a wild first five minutes both fighters were leaking blood in their corners, and had taken significant damage already. Jones started the seconds with a good low leg kick as Sola circled away. Sola worked the fight to the fence looking for a takedown but couldn’t take the fight to the ground. A big head kick landed for Jones before Sola answered with a straight left hand up the middle. Jones landed a solid right hand as Sola was down covered in blood with thirty seconds to go. The forward pressure of Jones seemed to be taking a tole on Sola who was slowing down significantly.

With the fight possibly scored at one round a piece it was anyone’s fight entering the third. Jones set up another head kick that wobbled Sola badly in the first ten seconds. Sola desperately looked for a takedown as he dragged Jones to the ground. Jones was able to work back to his feet. Both fighters exchanged in the clinch with Jones landing a well-timed knee. Sola ate another head kick and walked forward throwing a three punch combo of his own. A back and forth bloodbath with two minutes remaining, Sola was unable to find a takedown and got tagged with a big body kick on his way up. Another combination landed by Jones in the clinch as Sola was fading. With fifteen seconds left Jones turned the pressure up and landed 15 unanswered punches that put a statement on this barn burner of a fight.

The judges scored this contest for Jones, who is now riding a six fight win streak after improving his record to 17-2.

Official Result: Mason Jones def. Axel Sola by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)

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Nassourdine Imavov

With the middleweight division booming, the UFC seemingly set up an unofficial tournament between the four main contenders to see whose performance would stand out of the pack. The first of those matchups was between Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. While the Frenchman was in control the entire fight, it’s not like he put on the type of show that will raise his profile dramatically. Additionally, he mentioned a foot injury in his post-fight interview. Now, was that just an attempt at saving face for not getting even close to a finish or a genuine explanation for how the fight played out? I guess we won’t know, but with the way the fight looked combined with a potential injury, there are valid reasons to doubt Imavov’s chances at being the next title challenger.

However, Imavov was already the most deserving challenger when he knocked out Israel Adesanya in February. Add to that a clean victory over a rising Borralho who hadn’t lost in 10 years? As of right now, there’s no question he has earned his title shot.

Imavov’s next fight: Title shot

Benoit Saint Denis

After a rough 2024 capped off by a true ass-kicking in front of his own crowd, Saint Denis was looking to gain back some of that momentum he had back in 2023. He first bounced back in May (at UFC 315, beating Kyle Prepolec) and was now facing the highly touted Mauricio Ruffy. After dominating the opening round, BSD got the fight back down to the mat and found a rear-naked choke along the fence. Now winner of back-to-back fights, Saint Denis called out Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot for a fight at Madison Square Garden. While I think Tsarukyan is a long shot, Gamrot is a very smart and realistic callout. Enough so that I don’t mind at all fulfilling his wish.

Saint Denis’ next fight: Mateusz Gamrot

Modestas Bukauskas

After fighting his way back to the promotion, The Baltic Gladiator was looking to go 6-1 since joining the UFC again in 2023. There’s no doubt putting the veteran Paul Craig out with a buzzer-beating elbow is Bukauskas’ most important win to date. Now winner of four straight, he has built a case for a shot at the rankings. I think any of Johnny Walker, Zhang Mingyang and Alonzo Menifield are fine options, but I went with Nikita Krylov. On the wrong end of two straight knockout losses, Krylov needs a step back in competition and Bukauskas represents that type of test he needs at this moment in time.

Bukauskas’ next fight: Nikita Krylov

Mason Jones

After going 1-2 (1) in his first UFC stint, it’s easy to forget that at 30 years of age, Mason Jones is only now entering the prime of his career. He suffered losses to Mike Davis and Ludovit Klein as a 25 and 27-year-old and his sole win for over David Onama, a now top15-ranked featherweight. The Welsh fighter was now looking to add to his successful comeback in May against Jeremy Stephens. He overcame a scare in the first round and got the TKO finish in the second after getting to full mount. Why not put Jones up against another lightweight prospect on his second UFC stint? China’s Rongzhu is also on a two-fight win streak after going 1-2 in his first run. Let’s see which of the two can keep their streak going.

Jones’ next fight: Rongzhu

Axel Sola

The undefeated 27-year-old Sola was making his UFC debut as one of the bigger prospects on the French MMA scene. With a former Ares champion with four title defences facing a former two-time Cage Warriors champion, it was the Frenchman Sola who came out on top. After a back-and-forth in the first two rounds, Sola’s knockdown and follow up shots forced Herb Dean to step in despite the fact that McKee was working his way back up. Stoppage controversy aside, it was a successful debut for the prospect Sola. With the adversity McKee offered, there’s no reason to rush Sola up the queue. I think someone like the veteran Song Kenan would be an appropriate test for where Sola is at, right now.

Sola’s next fight: Song Kenan

William Gomis

After suffering his first UFC setback in March, the Frenchman Gomis was welcoming KSW champion Robert Ruchala. It looked like what we’ve come to expect from Gomis: a technical yet tepid decision. Getting the win is always the most important thing, but Gomis has yet to produce a signature highlight in the now three years since he joined the promotion. For that reason, I doubt he will be rewarded with a name any bigger than Ruchala’s. I think Andre Fili, who’s coming off a win from a month ago, is exactly the kind of name the UFC will be looking at.

Gomis’ next fight: Andre Fili

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In the end, forgoing a Fight of the Night, the promotion opted to award four Performance of the Night bonuses following Saturday’s Fight Night event at the Accor Arena in Paris, France.

Among the winners, incoming heavyweight Ante Delija, a former PFL champion who the UFC had first attempted to sign years ago. The Croatian made his debut opposite Marcin Tybura, a tried and battle-tested Polish big man who has consistently hung with some of the best in the division. He didn’t hang with Delija for long, however, with the knockout finish coming just past two minutes into the opening round.

Co-headliner Benoit Saint-Denis, meanwhile, submitted Fighting Nerd Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event to secure his own $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus at UFC Paris. “BSD” was dominant with his wrestling and cruising to victory regardless when he sunk in a rear-naked choke in the second round. It was a rough night for Brazil’s Fighting Nerds, as Ruffy’s teammate Caio Borralho was soundly defeated in his main event fight opposite Nassourdine Imavov.

The remaining two Performance bonuses at UFC Paris were awarded to Mason Jones, for a TKO finish of Bolaji Oki, and Kaue Fernandes, who chopped down newcomer and ex-Cage Warriors champ Harry Hardwick with leg kicks. Only two fights went the distance on the night, with all seven fights on the prelims and four more on the main card ending early.

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Oki (10-2) comes into the fight off a decision victory over Michael Aswell in May. The DWCS contract winner is 2-1 in the UFC with his sole loss at the hands of Chris Duncan.

Jones (16-2) continues a wild 5-fight win streak coming into this one. After leaving the UFC in 2022 he put together 4 victories in Cage Warriors, three of those finishes, before returning to beat Jeremy Stephens in May.

Round 1 Oki came out on fire landing big shots on Jones before dropping him an then going off looking for the finish. Jones was able to survive getting dropped twice. Oki clearly spent a lot of energy in the flurry and Jones knew it. He dropped Oki, landed on top dropping big shots, before Oki got back to his feet. Then he took Oki down and controlled the position or the rest of the round.

Round 2 Jones came out on calculated and consistent with the pace putting it on Oki. Oki clearly slowed from the first round effort got dominated for as long as the round lasted. Jones took him down, took mount, and landed an assault of elbows before the ref stopped the fight saving Oki.

Big time win for Mason Jones.

Official Result: Mason Jones def. Bolaji Oki via R2 TKO, 3:18

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Cory Sandhagen

With Merab Dvalishvili rematching Sean O’Malley next month and having already beaten names like Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov, the path to a title shot finally seemed clear for Cory Sandhagen. A statement win in the main event was probably going to be enough as he represents a fresh match up for both Dvalishvili and O’Malley. And a statement win is what the Sandman delivered. Yes, the finish may have looked anti-climactic, but Figueiredo’s knee injury came as a direct result of a grappling exchange that Sandhagen was purposefully engaging in. Additionally, Sandhagen was thoroughly dominating Figueiredo, out landing him 92 to 8 in total strikes and going two-for-two on takedowns.

Time will tell if this version of Sandhagen will be able to capture a title against the likes of Dvalishvili or O’Malley, but one thing is sure, he shouldn’t have to fight again before facing either one of them.

Sandhagen’s next fight: Dvalishvili/O’Malley 2 winner

Reinier de Ridder

Reinier de Ridder knew Bo Nickal’s lack of experience at the highest level of MMA could cost him in a matchup like this one. The 34-year-old RDR, who has been there and done that in this sport, got right in Nickal’s face from the get-go. He did most of his work in the clinch, where he kept bullying Nickal with knees to the body until he ultimately folded in round 2.

This is by far the highest profile of de Ridder’s three UFC wins. When a known name loses, he doesn’t always transfer his star power to his opponent, but this time it appears it did. After the fight, there was a lot of talk about Nickal’s poor showing, but there was also just as much praise for RDR as fans felt he was disrespected by the betting odds. After his win, de Ridder called out Sean Strickland, a sound callout given the lay of the land at middleweight. Given his age and the momentum he has already accrued in the 6 months since he’s joined the promotion, it’s not unreasonable to aim for a top5 matchup. There is a trio of former champions that would all make sense for RDR in Strickland, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. My personal favourite of these would be “The Last Stylebender”.

de Ridder’s next fight: Israel Adesanya

Daniel Rodriguez

After ending his three-fight skid in October against Alex Morono, D-Rod is now officially back on a winning streak after stopping Santiago Ponzinibbio in the third round at UFC Des Moines. The matchup with the Argentinian fighter was perfect given where both are at this stage of their careers. Now that he has put himself back in the mix, I could see the UFC try to use the juice left in Rodriguez to push a youngster like Bryan Battle, Gabriel Bonfim or Jacobe Smith. Personally, I would rather have him fight one more age-appropriate matchup before thinking of throwing him back in there with the young guns.

Gunnar Nelson appears to only show up sporadically for cards in the UK, but the UFC does go there fairly often. So next time Gunni shows up, why not do it against D-Rod?

Rodriguez’s next fight: Gunnar Nelson

Montel Jackson

Montel Jackson kept the trend of undefeated fighters having a rough time in 2025 going, earning 30-27s across the board against Daniel Marcos. Jackson had to earn his ranking the hard way, winning five straight to get the #15 spot. And he immediately had to defend it against an undefeated, unranked fighter in the Peruvian Marcos. Now winner of six in a row, I think Jackson deserves to fight up the rankings.

There is a fight between Marlon Vera and Mario Bautista going down in Newark a month from now (coincidentally, that was originally booked for Des Moines). The loser of that fight will be ranked at the edge of the top10, exactly the range Jackson should be looking at.

Jackson’s next fight: Vera/Bautista loser

Serhiy Sidey

After losing his promotional debut in Toronto, the Canadian Sidey has now won back-to-back contests. He followed his closely contested decision win against Garrett Armfield last November with a clearer win this time around against Cam Smotherman.

In UFC Vegas 105’s edition of What’s Next, I had the winner of this Sidey vs Smotherman bout penciled in to face Chang Ho Lee next. My mind hasn’t changed since then. It should be a fun fight.

Sidey’s next fight: Chang Ho Lee

Mason Jones

Mason Jones played spoiler to the returning hometown fan favourite Jeremy Stephens at UFC Des Moines, as he defeated him by unanimous decision. Stephens was returning to the UFC after stints in PFL, Gamebred Boxing and BKFC since leaving the UFC in 2021. However, let’s not forget Jones was also coming back to the promotion.

The Welsh fighter went 1-2 with 1 No Contest between 2021 and 2022, but this record is deceiving. His win was against David Onama, while his losses were to Mike Davis and Ludovit Klein. Tough assignments for someone who was 26 with only 10 professional fights to his name when he joined the party. After his release, Jones went 4-0 in Cage Warriors with three finishes to claw his way back to the UFC.

Now that he started his second stint on a positive note, let’s build him up a bit slower than the first time. I think someone like Charlie Campbell would be a proper opponent. Campbell is 29 with a 2-0 record in the promotion after coming through the Contender Series. Both are at similar stages of their careers where it would make sense for them to meet.

Jones’ next fight: Charlie Campbell

The post What’s Next: UFC Des Moines Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jones vs. Stephens easily could have snagged Fight of the Night in Des Moines, had the UFC awarded one (instead, they handed out four Performance of the Night bonuses). Jones’ absence from the Performance bonus-list wasn’t for lack of effort either. He had his moments where Stephens was either hurt, or fending off submission attempts.

“That guy’s built with power, so it was just like, let’s not be stupid, let’s go back and make it clean. His jiu-jitsu wasn’t great, but it was like everything he did was quite solid, he was slippery, he was bleeding a little bit, and I just couldn’t get in position to finish him,” Jones (16-2, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. A kimura attempt came close, but Stephens fended that off through “good, old fashioned, smart intelligent play.”

Later, Jones admitted that he could probably have taken Stephens down early in the fight, and maybe even found a finish that way. The desire to knock the returning UFC veteran out overrode that. “I wanted to knock him out so badly, but he is who he is. He’s Jeremy Lil Heathen Stephens. When that name came across my desk, I said ‘listen, I’m going to give him a firefight.'”

Mason Jones, a former double champ in Cage Warriors at lightweight and welterweight, returned to the UFC’s 155lb division on Saturday off the strength of a four-fight win streak back in his old promotion. So where does a win over Stephens, a definitive one, leave him in terms of bargaining power?

“With this game, a lot of people don’t understand, one, this is television. This is film. No one wants to see someone hold someone down. This is all about exciting fights, I give exciting fights,” he stated. “I go out there, I want to go out there and beat people like Justin Gaethje beats people. I don’t want to go out there and take people down, hold them down.”

Jones knows he may have to do it eventually — even Khabib Nurmagomedov had a fight where he mostly held his opponent down, Jones noted — “but I want to go out there and give exciting fights, I want to go out there and decimate people, I want to destroy people on TV. But as for bargaining people, we earn it. We earn it as we go.”

After a rocky first four fights in the UFC that included just a single win, “today I proved that I’m experienced enough that I can get a win no matter what,” Jones later added. “I can go out there, I can give exciting fights, then I can make the win happen. I went out there with the whole mentality of, ‘I’m going to set fire to his career, burn what’s left of it, and mine’s going to grow from the ashes.'”

Watch Mason Jones’ full UFC Des Moines post-fight press conference above.

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Stephens (29-21) owns a highlight reel of wars whether he was winning or losing. One of MMA’s fan favorite brawlers Stephens made his way back to the UFC after a run in boxing and in BKFC among other promotions. Last time he stepped into a UFC octagon he lost via submission against Mateusz Gamrot.

Jones (15-2) also made his return to the UFC in Des Moines. Jones left the UFC following a loss to L’udovit Klein and then rattled off 4-straight victories with Cage Warriors. The 30-year-old looked to add the Stephens name to his resume on Saturday night.

Round 1 ref said go and Jones sent a head kick right away. Stephens played it way safer than fans are used to blocking kicks and sending his own. Jones worked the jab pretty well early on and avoided most of the early heavy attacks from Stephens.

Jones put the pressure on Stephens landing combinations and leg kicks to end them. Stephens finally popped off some hands, but it did nothing to stop Jones from coming forward. Stephens landed a heavy right hand around the 2:30 mark, but Jones made him pay for it with a combo.

Jones in the first round moved like a finely tuned race car. He took Stephens down twice in the round and finished it on the back looking for the RNC before running out of time.

Round 2 Stephens came out on fire landing big shots and forcing Jones to fight. The younger fighter decided he’d play ‘Lil Heathen’s’ game a bit with the striking. Jones was able to land a menu of techniques on Stephens including flying knees and spinning back elbows, but the veteran fighter would not go away.

Jones scored a takedown with 35 seconds left in the round to slow Stephens down. Crowd didn’t like it, but MMA is MMA.

Round 3 Jones decided to stop playing with Stephens and went all out on takedowns and ground attacks. Stephens didn’t make it hard to get him to the ground so Jones took what he gave him.

Jones took top position looking for a kimura, but Stephens bought time to recover and got to his feet. Jones got him right back to the ground moments later, and with less than 90 seconds left in the fight Stephens was running out of time.

Fight ended with Jones in mount looking for ground and pound.

Official Result: Mason Jones def. Jeremy Stephens via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3) 

The post Mason Jones Dominates Wrestling Late, Gets Dec Over Stephens appeared first on Cageside Press.

Stephens is booked into a lightweight clash with Mason Jones, a former Cage Warriors double champion whose first stint with the UFC ended in 2022. Jones (15-2, 1NC) had entered the company with a fair amount of hype, and big things were expected. The 1-2, 1NC run that ensued didn’t live up to those admittedly lofty expectations, leading to “The Dragon” being shown the door.

Four more wins in Cage Warriors and Jones is back, however, booked into a fight with Des Moines native Stephens, whos signed with the UFC when Mason Jones was just seven years old. The hometown fight for Stephens means Jones will be in hostile territory at the Wells Fargo Arena, but the 30-year old sounds well-prepared.

“I’m Welsh. I’m looking forward to it,” Jones told media outlets including Cageside Press this week, speaking at the UFC Des Moines media day. “If someone doesn’t spit on me, I’m probably going to be annoyed.”

That may not come to pass, whether Jones is annoyed or not. “Everyone keeps saying how nice the Des Moines are, the Des Monians, however you say it,” he added.

“It’s not something I worry about. I’m going in there to do a job, I’m going in there to destroy a man. A man who’s 39, he’s nine almost ten years my senior. I’m going in there to finish his career. For me, the crowd doesn’t matter. Jeremy doesn’t matter. All that matters is me showing I deserve to be here, and how good I can perform, and putting my footstep back on that ladder,” explained Jones, who clearly is looking to rewrite a bit of history with his return to the UFC. “Because my last trip here, my last four fights I had on the UFC roster, none of them went well. None of them performed. I had issues and problems and all the excuses you can imagine.”

That’s in stark contrast to his latest fight camp. This time around, “everything’s gone well. There’s no injuries. My camp’s gone brilliant, I feel fantastic,” stated Jones. “So Saturday night I get to go out there and put on the pinnacle performance I can do, and show the world that I’m going to be in the top 15, and show the world I’m going to be top 10, I’m going to be top 5, and I’m going to contest for that belt one day.”

Jones also had a little message for anyone who might doubt those claims. “For those looking at this interview before the fight thinking ‘hmmm,’ just wait.”

Watch Mason Jones’ full UFC Des Moines media day appearance above.

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Months after being “drafted” by the fledgling GFL, Jeremy Stephens has apparently parted ways with that organization and re-signed with the UFC. Stephens (29-21, 1NC) was recently announced by promotion officials as returning to the octagon for UFC Des Moines on May 3, 2025, where he’ll take on Mason Jones.

Jones, like Stephens, is making his return to the company in the fight. For Jeremy Stephens, however, the fight is a homecoming, both in terms of his return to the UFC, and fighting in his birthplace of Des Moines, Iowa.

That makes the signing a little more understandable. Once a fan-favorite in the promotion’s lightweight division, Stephens exited the company in 2021 off a loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He then joined the PFL, going 1-2 across three fights before moving on to boxing and bareknuckle boxing, the latter under the BKFC banner.

While Stephens has three straight wins in BKFC, his last fight in MMA was a 2022 loss in the PFL to Natan Schulte. Still, adding the 38-year old to UFC Des Moines is sure to make the local fans happy. The veteran has shared the cage with the likes of Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, Jose Aldo, Josh Emmett, Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Cub Swanson, Renan Barao, and Charles Oliveira, among others.

Mason Jones has spent the last two years competing for Cage Warriors, where he’s won four straight fights.

UFC Des Moines takes place May 5 at the Wells Fargo Arena with the following match-ups reported for the event:

• Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones
• Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
• Trevor Peek vs. Lee Jeong-yeong
• Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
• Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
• Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev

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