By Gabriel F. Cordero
It was an exciting night at the UFC event held at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring nine solid bouts.
In the main event—a bantamweight clash—the rising Mexican-American fighter Raul Rosas Jr. defeated the experienced Brazilian Raoni Barcelos with a stunning knockout at the 1:38 mark of the fifth round.
It was a great fight that showcased a more active and faster Rosas Jr. in the early rounds, while Barcelos remained technical throughout, even managing to knock Rosas Jr. down.
Barcelos landed combinations and strikes from mid-range and succeeded in knocking Rosas Jr. to the canvas in the third round, but Rosas Jr. managed to get back up and stay in the fight.
In the fourth round, Barcelos remained active with his technique and even had an opportunity for a chokehold, but Rosas Jr. held his defense and managed to withstand the pressure.
In the fifth round, Barcelos came out aggressively looking for takedowns, but Rosas Jr. appeared to have better conditioning; he held his ground and executed a takedown on Barcelos, who fell to the canvas and was rendered unconscious by a heavy blow to the head upon impact.
Following the incident, Barcelos was immediately removed from the Octagon to receive medical attention; reports indicated he remained conscious but was being transported to a hospital.
The 21-year-old Rosas Jr. continues his steady rise, aiming for a title shot to become the youngest champion in UFC history.
The co-main event featured a women’s bantamweight bout between Norma Dumont and Ailin Pérez.
In the first round, Dumont came out determined, landing strong kicks, but Pérez stopped her and secured a takedown, though Dumont managed to recover. The second round leaned more in Dumont’s favor, though the fight began to lose some of its excitement. In the third round, both fighters traded blows, though there was no standout action.
Ultimately, Pérez won via unanimous decision—with all three judges scoring it 29-28—securing her seventh consecutive victory and positioning herself as a potential challenger to the winner of the bout between Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison.
In the middleweight division, Luis Hernández secured a submission victory over Sedriques Dumas just 57 seconds into the first round, marking the sixth submission win of his promising career. He was also awarded Fight of the Night!
Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu defeated Mehemmedali Osmanli by disqualification after receiving an illegal knee while on the canvas at the 2:19 mark of the first round; the bout served as the bantamweight grand final for Season 34 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
In a women’s strawweight bout, Valesca Machado displayed speed and precision to defeat Melissa Amaya at 3:19 of the second round in the grand final, becoming the first Brazilian woman to win “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Other results:
Brady Hiestand secured his fourth consecutive victory by defeating the consistent Rinya Nakamura via submission (choke) at 4:07 of the second round in a bantamweight bout.
Renowned five-time world champion Rodolfo Vieira returned to the win column by defeating Robert Bryczek via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a middleweight contest.
Experienced Bellator MMA veteran Christian Edwards outperformed Rodolfo Bellato, securing a victory via strikes at 1:47 of the third round in a light heavyweight bout.
Elves Brener also returned to the win column, surprising veteran Josiah Harrell with a knockout at 4:14 of the first round—marking the tenth first-round knockout of his career—in a lightweight bout.
In a rematch, Montel Jackson defeated Ricky Simon, evening their head-to-head record at one win apiece, by knocking him out with precise strikes at 2:39 of the second round in a bantamweight fight.
Heili Alateng defeated John Castaneda in an entertaining and closely contested bout, earning a split decision (29-28, 29-28 for Alateng, and 29-28 for Castaneda) in a lightweight fight.
Yazmin Jauregui surprised Vanessa Demopoulos right from the start, defeating her just 62 seconds into the first round of a strawweight bout.
