Last night (Sat., Jan. 11, 2025), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 101. The first show of the year didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but quality of the level name. In fact, the highlight was a rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas that no one really asked for. Luckily, the fights themselves turned out to be pretty awesome!

Let’s take a look back at the best performances and techniques from UFC Vegas 101:

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He deserves revenge

Mackenzie Dern has improved since 2019.

The improvement can sometimes be difficult to notice. After all, Dern has lost several fights recently, and many of the weaknesses she displayed in 2019 are still being exploited. Just because she’s still an imperfect fighter doesn’t mean there hasn’t been progress, and a rematch win against Amanda Ribas was perfect evidence of that.

On his feet, Dern still moves in straight lines and doesn’t have the best sense of distance. But this time she held her own, using surprisingly effective low kicks and the always dangerous overhand to keep Ribas honest. Her wrestling is still inconsistent, but the double leg in the first was fairly well timed and she couldn’t beat Ribas at all in the first bout.

Progress is progress.

Luckily, it’s not her weak points that make Dern a special fighter. That would be her jiu-jitsu, which she showcased twice when Ribas decided to take top position after clinch fights. The first Omoplata moved backwards into top position while the second armbar finally ended the fight.

Plain and simple: Der can take down anyone on the floor. This means her unique style is a match for the division’s elite and is always dangerous, no matter how inferior she may be in other areas. At 31 years old, there is still a real chance for her to fight for the belt before her career is over.

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Ponzi still has that DOG in him

Santiago Ponzinibbio is not at his best. He has declined significantly over the years and is no longer a top contender. Nevertheless, the Argentine’s fights are definitely worth watching as he still brings the action every time.

Carlston Harris was a great addition to Gente Boa. Everything about his game and the way he throws shots is awkward, but he makes it work by being long and powerful. He spent most of the first round getting pounded by Ponzinibbio, only to knock him down with the ugliest right hand you’ll ever see.

Ponzinibbio fought his way back into the fight in the second fight and won the technical kickboxing fight again. The fight heated up again in the final frame as Ponzinibbio’s right hand just couldn’t miss. He threw everything into these blows and tried to cut off Harris’ head. The referee intervened at an unusual time, but Ponzinibbio definitely did enough damage to get the knockout victory.

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KOTY!

I completely understand that we only have a dozen fights and one UFC event left in 2025, but I have a feeling that Cesar Almeida vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan will be remembered in December. After all, we remember Cheick Kongo knocking out Pat Barry in 2011, and that fight had a similarly dramatic final sequence.

Alhassan does nothing without absolute power. He lives and dies by the sword, and for a moment the momentum wavered in his direction. He knocked the decorated kickboxer down with a big swing, followed by some thunderous connections on the ground. As Almeida got back to his feet, Alhassan continued to hit the fences.

The problem is that Almeida has about 50 professional kickboxing fights and 30 knockout victories. He’s been rocked before and knows how to fight back. In this case, he managed a perfect left hook between Alhassan swings, incapacitating his opponent in a brutal reversal.

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Middleweights Bring The Violence

Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov was always great. Leading up to it, most were baffled that the fight was booked as anything other than the co-main event, which was oddly placed far down the card. These thoughts were immediately confirmed by the incredible war that was taking place.

Kopylov is so fast. He trained Curtis for most of the first round, stabbing him with sharp jabs and paralyzing the lead leg with booming low kicks. However, Curtis did a better job of separating the cage than in previous fights, and he began to find his range. With his lead hand, Curtis grabbed the collar and drilled uppercuts into his opponent’s face, then shredded his opponent’s body as well. A few minutes into the second, Curtis appeared to be in control, picking up the pace and delivering hard blows to a bloodied opponent.

Thanks to Kopylov, he stuck with it despite the damage and fatigue. Curtis does a great job with rolling shots, but Kopylov’s left hand found the target more often, leaving the durable “Action Man” wobbling. Everything was on the line in the third round, and Kopylov mixed it up pretty well, hurting Curtis with a left hand and surprising him with a takedown. He was probably on his way to a unanimous decision nod (rounds one and three) when a high kick sent Curtis down… and the referee saved a fairly unconscious Curtis with just a single second left while Kopylov was on the other side of the cage was.

I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad decision – I don’t think it’s a good decision either! – but there’s also the fact that “The Action Man” is unlucky. Curtis was fouled twice in the second game and Kopylov didn’t lose any points. Then the referee takes away any chance of a decision? Under a different (better?) referee it could easily be a draw.

Regardless of this minor controversy, this fight was ultimately the most entertaining of the night.

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Punahele reborn

Welterweight definitely seems to be the right weight class for Punahele Soriano. At middleweight he felt like a very limited fighter. He was athletic and fast for the division, and his southpaw overhand was no joke…but that was it! However, in his last bout at welterweight, he showed a really solid wrestling approach by knocking out Miguel Baeza over three rounds.

Last night, Soriano confirmed that his knockout power extended down a division. Uros Medic is a BAD striker, but Soriano managed to turn him with a long right hook at the right time. It landed right on the button and Medic walked out immediately.

Impressive punching power and quality wrestling are a proven combination in the welterweight division more than any other division. Soriano, now 2-0 at 170 pounds, could be a standout candidate in his new class.

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Additional thoughts

• Felipe Bunes defeats Jose Johnson via first round armbar: It’s hard to feel much sympathy when a 6-foot flyweight doesn’t make the 125-pound barrier. Phew! Johnson used his size to take Bunes down early, but he was a bit lazy with his arm position. Bunes was then able to attack the arm more than once, wrapping up the limb and tapout on his second attempt. The 35-year-old has now won nine fights by submission and emerged as a clear underdog!
• Marco Tullio defeated Ihor Potieria via first round knockout: Potieria is not a happy fighter. Because he was constantly being fouled, the Ukrainian striker took a hard shot below the belt at the start of this fight. Not long after the restart, Tullio brought Potieria to the ground with a powerful right hand strike. Potieria was barely there…just conscious enough to survive for a moment and being shattered by a series of powerful blows. “Duellist” has now lost three straight and missed weight here, so this could mean the end of his UFC stay.
• Jacobe Smith defeats Preston Parsons via first-round knockout (highlights): It’s always fun when a talented college wrestler makes the transition to MMA and starts to gain confidence in his hands. Smith, a former OSU wrestler, made his UFC debut here against Parsons, who has proven to be a powerful striker in five previous UFC fights. However, this didn’t last long as Smith shot a 1-2-3 straight down the pipe early on. The final hook caught Parsons square in the jaw, sending him over his own knee as he hit the ground hard. One or two more hammer punches sealed the deal and gave Smith his eighth knockout win in ten fights. It’s still early, but “Cobe” looks to be a welterweight to keep an eye on!
• Fatima Kline defeated Victoria Dudakova in the round of 16 (highlights): Kline picked up her first UFC win here in good style. The 24-year-old prospect lost her UFC debut on short notice and moved up a weight class to Jasmine Jasudavicius, making it feel like a much more accurate demonstration of her skills. In a largely wrestling match, Kline wore down Dudakova, taking top position and beating her for a second-round stoppage. Dudakova wasn’t a demanding test, but Kline remains an interesting 115-pound prospect for the future.

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For complete UFC Vegas 101 results and play-by-play click here Here.