UFC Vegas 101 went down last night (Sat., Jan 11. 2025) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Mackenzie Dern defeat Amanda Ribas via third round submission (see it again here). In the co-main event of the evening, Santiago Ponzinibbio defeated Carlston Harris via technical knockout (TKO) in the third and final round (relive it here), while Cesar Almeida flattened Abdul Razak Alhassan in the first round in devastating fashion (watch highlights).
Winner: Mackenzie Dern
Who She Should Face Next: Yan Xiaonan rematch
Dern got her much-desired revenge against Ribas, so now she can possibly look forward to trying to do the same against Xiaonan, who defeated the jiu-jitsu ace back in Oct. 2022 via majority decision. Xiaonan is currently ranked No. 2 in the division and is coming off a win over Tabatha Ricci. If Dern really wants to make a championship push, she will have to conquer some more old enemies who have wins over her, which includes every single person ranked ahead of her at the moment except for the champion, Zhang Weili, and top contender, Tatiana Suarez.
Winner: Santiago Ponzinibbio
Who He Should Face Next: Michael Chiesa
Ponzinibbio snapped his two-fight win streak with an explosive knockout win over Carlston Harris (highlights). Up next for the Argentinian striker, a fight against Chiesa sounds intriguing. Both longtime veterans have been up and down over the last few years, though “Maverick” has found a little groove with two straight wins, most recently defeating Max Griffin via rear-naked choked at UFC 310.
Winner: Cesar Almeida
Who He Should Face Next: Jack Hermansson
Almeida won his second straight fight after violently knocking out Abdul Razak Alhassan with a devastating punch (see it here), Up next, I wouldn’t mind seeing a fight between Almeida and Hermansson, who was last seen defeating Joe Pyfer via unanimous decision almost a year ago. “The Joker” has alternated wins and losses for five years, believe it or not.
Winner: Roman Kopylov
Who He Should Face Next: Park Jun-yong
Kopylov won his second straight fight after stopping Chris Curtis in the closing seconds of the final round (see it again here). Controversies aside, Kopylov improved to 6-1 in his last seven UFC fights, so he’s really found his groove. A fight against Jun-yong sounds appealing since he, too, has found a nice winning formula as of late, going 5-1 in his last six UFC fights, which includes his most recent win over Brad Tavares via split-decision last October.
Winner: Christian Rodriguez
Who He Should Face Next: Sean Woodson
Rodriguez got back into the win column and improved to 5-1 over his last six UFC fights by defeating Austin Bashi via unanimous decision. Rodriguez has proven to be a legit force at featherweight, and is slowly climbing his way up to a spot in the Top 15. A fight against Woodson is a stellar matchup because he is also on a nice run, going 7-1-1 so far in his young UFC career.
Winner: Punahele Soriano
Who He Should Face Next: Ramiz Brahimaj
Soriano stormed out of the gates and knocked out Uros Medic in just 31-seconds to secure his second straight win. Prior to his streak, his was just 1-4 in five fights. I’d like to see him take on Brahimaj next, who hasn’t been able to find too much consistency under the UFC banner, going and even 3-3. He hasn’t won back-to-back fights in six years, though he is coming off a knockout win over Mickey Gall at UFC 309.
For complete UFC Vegas 101 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.