Mackenzie Dern avenged her loss to Amanda Ribas in 2019 with an armbar submission with four seconds left in the third round.

Here’s a look at the spectacular and highly technical finish.

If you love mixed martial arts, UFC Apex 101 has a little bit of everything. The main event was for the grappling enthusiasts as Dern defeated Ribas en route to victory.

After winning the first round with a well-timed takedown, Dern lost the second frame when Ribas turned the tables, taking her down and maintaining control.

In the third round, Ribas was defeated again, but Dern showed her superiority on the ground by applying an armbar from behind, which she completed in the final seconds of the third round.

The win gave Dern, the No. 6 ranked fighter in the women’s strawweight division, two straight victories. She also received one of the Performance of the Night bonuses. The loss likely won’t drop Ribas below No. 8, but she is now on a two-fight losing streak.

Former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor praised the card.

Here’s a look at the results of the first UFC event of 2025 and the bonus winners:

• Mackenzie Dern defeated. Amanda Ribas via submission in the third round (armbar)
• Santiago Ponzinibbio defeated. Carlston Harris via TKO in the third round

In the co-main event, Ponzinibbio had to dig deep, recovering from first-round defeats and fending off more hard blows in the second frame to secure a third-round TKO victory.

Ponzinibbio needed the win and he got it with an entertaining and spectacular finish.

• Cesar Almeida defeated. Abdul Razak Alhassan via KO in the first round

Wow!

It’s the first event of the year, but we may not see another knockout like this for the rest of 2025. Almeida was dropped early in the first round, but he got back to his feet and countered a wild punch from Alhassan with a gigantic left hook that knocked the latter out cold. Almeida received a performance bonus for graduating.

• Roman Kopylov defeated. Chris Curtis via TKO in the third round

What a great fight. Kopylov and Curtis battled for nearly 15 minutes, exchanging shots and going toe-to-toe. The fight ended with some controversy when referee Mark Smith waved it off with one second left.

Kopylov hit Curtis with a headbutt that knocked him to the ground. Curtis was hurt but not out. Smith decided to stop the fight, which immediately provoked an angry reaction from Curtis.

Luckily, Kopylov was almost certainly on his way to a decision victory, so Smith’s stoppage didn’t cost Curtis the win. The two warriors still earned the Fight of the Night bonus.

• Christian Rodriguez defeated. Austin Bashi by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Punahele Soriano defeated. Uros Medic via TKO in the first round

• Felipe Bunes defeated. Jose Johnson via submission in the first round (armbar)

• Marco Tulio defeated. Ihor Potieria via KO in the first round

• Thiago Moises defeated. Trey Ogden by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
• Jacobe Smith defeated. Preston Parsons via KO in the first round

Smith had the best performance of any Contender Series fighter making their main roster debut. Smith’s explosiveness and striking power pair well with his world-class wrestling.

• Ernesta Kareckaite defeated. Nicolle Caliari via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
• Bruno Lopes defeated. Magomed Gadzhiyasulov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Fatima Kline defeated. Victoria Dudakova via TKO in the second round

• Nurullo Aliev defeated. Joe Solecki by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)