After a much-needed three-week break, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back! And the first event of the new year. UFC Vegas 101 goes down this weekend (Sat., Jan. 11, 2025) from inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Five fighters are making their UFC debut, and funny enough, they all come from season eight of Contender Series.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Austin Bashi
Weight Class: Featherweight
Age: 23
Record: 13-0
Austin Bashi has long been touted as the best American prospect out there. The Michigan native could have easily been in the UFC a few years ago, but he chose to take his time and rack up experience before jumping into the deep end of UFC competition.
The thing about Bashi that sticks out is the level of competition he fought on the regional scene. Some fighters choose to pad their records before the UFC, but the 23-year-old did not. In fact, he has only ever fought one fighter with a losing record, and that was on very short notice after Bellator veteran Ricky Bandejas.
Bashi has terrific wrestling and grappling, and his stand-up improves fight by fight. He also has a ridiculous gas tank.
The undefeated fighter is coming off a second-round submission win over Dorian Ramos, which secured him a UFC contract on the Contender Series.
Bashi takes on Christian Rodriguez on the main card of UFC Vegas 101.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jacobe Smith
Weight Class: Welterweight
Age: 28
Record: 9-0
If Bashi is the best prospect from last season of Contender Series, Jacobe Smith is not far behind him in terms of pure talent.
Smith is a former high-level Oklahoma State wrestler who started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career as one of Daniel Cormier’s proteges. For the first few fights, he trained at the legendary gym AKA but then transitioned to Fortis MMA in Texas to be closer to family.
Smith uses his wrestling if he needs to, but he has fallen in love with knocking people unconscious and has done so in seven of his nine fights. He is a freak athlete, and we’ve yet to see his peak, which could be terrifying for other Welterweights.
The only question is his gas tank. While it hasn’t been a problem yet, and he has gone 15 minutes twice, who knows how it will hold up against UFC competition?
We won’t have to wait long to find out, as he faces the ultra-tough Preston Parsons on short notice this weekend.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Marco Tulio
Weight Class: Middleweight
Age: 30
Record: 12-1
The latest fighter from Chute Boxe, Marco Tulio, makes his debut this weekend against Ukrainian madman Ihor Potieria.
To be honest, I haven’t been too impressed with Tulio thus far. While he got a finish in his second Contender Series fight to secure him a contract after getting passed over in season seven because of a decision win, he didn’t look great.
His UFC debut will answer many questions. While Potieria is 2-5 in the promotion, he has lost to several good fighters and will make his opponent go through fire to win (Tulio is a -530 betting favorite).
Tulio can be an aggressive striker, and he has power. His grappling is fine, but he prefers to box.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Bruno Lopes
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight
Age: 31
Record: 13-1
Bruno Lopes secured his UFC contract with a second-round knockout over Mikheil Sazhiniani in the first week of Contender Series last season, but that was after he got brutally knocked out by Brendson Ribeiro, a season before in what ended up being one of the biggest upsets of the year (Lopes was a -600 favorite).
Lopes is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Light Heavyweight champion and a straight-up finisher. He holds an 84% finish rate with six knockouts and five submissions.
“Brunão” may seem like a glass cannon sometimes, but in other instances, he can start out slow and plotting to outlast his opponents and suffocate them with his underrated ground game. The Brazilian is well-rounded in all aspects and has fought solid competition to get him to this point.
Lopes faces Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, who is coming off a win over Ribeiro, who holds a knockout win over Lopes.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Nicolle Caliari
Weight Class: Women’s Flyweight
Age: 28
Record: 8-2
Even though it was sloppy, Nicolle Caliari secured her contract by running through Corinne Laframboise in the first round via armbar submission.
Caliari is riding a four-fight win streak and faces a relative newcomer, Ernesta Kareckaite, who is coming off a controversial unanimous decision loss to Dione Barbosa in her UFC debut.
The 28-year-old Brazilian is an aggressive fighter who is always looking for the finish. She has found it in all of her wins, as she holds a 100% finish rate with five knockouts and three submission wins.
LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 101 On ESPN+
STRAWWEIGHT SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads back to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Jan. 11, 2025, with an important 115-pound main event featuring jiu-jitsu phenom Mackenzie Dern, who looks to avenge her 2019 loss to Brazilian bruiser Amanda Ribas. In addition, longtime welterweight slugger Santiago Ponzinibbio returns to face off against “Mocambique” mauler Carlston Harris in UFC Vegas 101’s hard-hitting co-headliner.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 101 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 101: “Dern vs. Ribas 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
