The UFC returned this Saturday from a brief holiday hiatus, for UFC Vegas 101, featuring a main event clash between ranked Strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. What was a somewhat un-compelling card on paper turned out to be an exciting start to the year, full of finishes and stunning upsets.

Here are the highlights:

Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas

In a rematch from 2019 that saw her lose a lopsided decision, Mackenzie Dern avenged her loss to Amanda Ribas, snatching up an armbar in the 3rd round and earning a submission win. As mentioned in our breakdown, Dern’s world class jiu-jitsu was her key to victory … A critique of Dern in the past had been her poor execution of takedowns, leaving her oftentimes stuck out of her element in striking matches with better competition. Dern showed much improvement in this facet, grabbing a nice looking single-leg takedown in round one. Yes, Dern did find herself on bottom at multiple points during the fight, but it suited her strategy well. She is so dangerous anywhere on the mat that Ribas was going to have to maintain perfect defense. Something she paid dearly for.

I was critical of Dern’s ability to improve on her mistakes from her last loss to Ribas, and she seems to have proved me wrong. This was her first consecutive win in nearly four years, and she is now tied for the most submissions in her division all time. In a division where most of the top 5 already own a win over Dern, it will be interesting to see how she fares going forward. The 31 year old still has time to make a title run, but the competition ahead is a big step up.

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris

Santiago Ponzinibbio got a much needed win after a two fight loses streak, mounting a comeback after being hurt early by his opponent, Carlston Harris. The Welterweight veteran and Spanish UFC commentator proved that he does still have a little left in the tank, landing a perfect cross to Harris’s chin late in the third round and swarming him against the cage for a TKO stoppage that was albeit, a little early, but well deserved nonetheless.

This was a signature win for the Argentinian, coming back after being down two rounds … He remains hopeful to put together a title run before his career is said and done.

Cesar Almeida vs Abdul Razak Alhassan 

In the nights featured bout, Cesar Almeida earned a performance of the night bonus when he delivered a devasting knockout to Abdul Razak Alhassan in round one of their Middleweight bout. Almeida, a prolific kickboxer before entering the UFC, was stunned hard early in the round by Alhassan, who continued to chase Almeida, looking for a finish. Almeida took advantage of a wildly swinging opponent, landing a clean left that shut Alhassan’s lights off.

The KO was so devastating that Alhassan remained down for several minutes, and he appeared wobbly as he was helped out of the cage. Almeida, who only has one loss in the UFC, will try and build off of the big win and establish himself in the rankings later this year.

Roman Kopylov vs. Chris Curtis

In the Fight Of The Night, Roman Kopylov stopped Chris Curtis with a second left in the final round in a controversial call by referee Mark Smith that left his opponent visibly frustrated.

In a fight that likely should have been in the co-main event slot, Kopylov and Curtis went to war for the full 15 minutes, staying evenly paced on the feet and entering the final round tied on the judges scorecards … With seconds left in the fight, Kopylov would score a headkick that dropped Curtis, prompting Mark Smith to call the fight with one second left on the clock.

Whether or not the fight went the distance, Kopylov would have still likely scored the victory, as the head kick would have won him the round.

Also on the card: 

– Christian Rodriguez maintained his reputation as the “Prospect Killer”, when he won a unanimous decision over the undefeated Austin Bashi

– Punahele Soriano defeated Uros Medic via KO in round one

– Felipe Bunes defeated Jose Johnson via armbar submission in round one

– Marco Tulio defeated Ihor Potieria via TKO in round one

– Thiago Moises defeated Trey Ogden via unanimous decision

– Jacobe Smith won his UFC debut against Preston Parson and stayed undefeated via a round 1 KO

– Ernesta Kareckaite defeated Nicole Caliari via split decision

– Bruno Lopes defeated Magomed Gadzhiyasulov via unanimous decision

– Fatima Kline defeated Viktoriia Dudakova via TKO in round 2

– Nurullo Aliev defeated Joe Solecki via unanimous decision

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1/14/2024