Bonus Coverage | UFC Denver

Fight Of The Night: 

Jean Silva and Drew Dober had the intense fight everyone expected, with Silva winning by a third-round stoppage. They were evenly matched in the first round, but Silva took control in the second, turning a small cut over Dober's eye into a major wound. The fight was stopped early in the third round due to the severity of Dober's cut.

This victory is Silva's second stoppage win in three weeks and his third win of 2024, making for an impressive rookie year in the UFC. The Fighting Nerds team and the DWCS Class of '23 are really making their mark.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Charles Johnson

Charles Johnson made a statement in his fight against Joshua Van, finishing it early in the third round to avoid a decision. Johnson started strong and, despite Van finding his rhythm, came out fiercely in the third round. He wobbled Van with a right hand and finished him with a sharp uppercut.

Known for his high activity, Johnson has already racked up three wins this year. At 33, he's a crucial part of the flyweight division and shows no signs of slowing down.

Performance Of The Night: Montel Jackson

True to his nickname "Quik," Jackson knocked out Da’Mon Blackshear with a powerful left hand, ending the fight immediately.

Part of Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’18, Jackson has now won five straight fights in the Octagon, with the last two victories being first-round knockouts. With an 8-2 UFC record, the reserved Milwaukee native continues to make a strong impression through his performance.

Gross Total Revenue: $2,374,303 

Attendance: 16,884 *Sold Out

Fight Of The Night: Andre Fili vs Cub Swanson

Looking down the UFC 303 fight card for potential fight of the nights, one bout most people had circled was the prelim tilt between two of the promotion’s most game veterans (and tattoo enthusiasts), and the fighters did not disappoint. The 40-year-old Swanson looked as fast and crisp as he ever did and Fili countered him with his own still-evolving game. So close was the contest that the fact it ended in a split surprised no one who watched.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Joe Pyfer

“That is a scary man, ladies and gentlemen,” said Joe Rogan after watching the middleweight fold Marc-Andre Barriault with a devastating uppercut. After the lone setback in his MMA career, Pyfer rebounded in the biggest possible way and promptly put his division on notice.

Performance Of The Night: Macy Chiasson

The New Orleans native and Ultimate Fighter winner Macy Chiasson has always been a problem for her opponents with a lethal cocktail of size, strength and heart, and her main card tilt vs Mayra Bueno Silva was no exception. The Brazilian didn’t make it easy on Chiasson, landing 40 out of 50 significant strikes in the first round. But when Chiasson got Silva to the ground in the second round, she unleashed some brutal—and we mean brutal—ground and pound, punctuated by an elbow so sharp that it ripped open the flesh above Silva’s eye to create a wound that made the audience gasp audibly. The damage had been done and the referee called the fight on advice from the doctor. Chiasson now finds herself in striking distance of a bantamweight title shot.

Performance Of The Night: Payton Talbott

There’s just something special about Payton Talbott, the latest evidence being his 19-second KO of Yanis Ghemmouri, the first finish of the UFC 303 proceedings. 

“There’s an art to the way that kid puts people away,” Joe Rogan remarked of the still-undefeated 25-year-old.

“It feels like all my dreams are coming true,” he’d say afterwards before calling out Adrian Yanez. For the rest of us, it feels like we’re watching the origin story of a future legend

Performance Of The Night: Alex Pereira

Commentator Jon Anik remarked that he was “all out of superlatives” when it came to describing Alex Pereira, because his meteoric rise during a relatively short MMA career continues to astound. When his opponent, Jiří Procházka, was literally saved by the bell from a first round KO because the referee didn’t have time to stop the fight, “Poatan” put an exclamation point on the fight at the start of the second with a head kick the starched the former champion. Pereira teased a run a heavyweight following the win, and at least tonight, it’s difficult to imagine what he can’t do.

Attendance: 18,881
Gate: $15,909,243
*4th highest gate in UFC history

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Robert Whittaker

Making good on his promise to fight anyone, anywhere, Whittaker didn’t back down when faced with dangerous newcomer Ikram Aliskerov as a short-notice replacement for Khamzat Chimaev. He didn’t even need a full two minutes to find the chin of his opponent with a swift uppercut that rocked the man riding a 7-fight win streak into the main event. Whittaker noted he’d be interested in being the backup fighter for the middleweight championship fight in Perth this August, and after peformances like this, who in their right mind would say no?

Performance Of The Night: Volkan Oezdemir

It was hard to be more succinct than Jon Anik when he yelled “Volkan Oezdemir stretchers Johnny Walker!” halfway through the first round of the first fight of the main card. Everyone knew the explosive potential of the bout going into it, but the result and the way it played out still managed to be completely surprising. “No Time is back” declared Oezdemir. Indeed.

Performance Of The Night: Shara Magomedov

Despite being a short-notice replacement, Antonio Trocoli’s size and strength kept him in the heat of the action for most of the scheduled fifteen minutes, but the undefeated Shara “Bullet” Magomedov appears to be every bit of the unstoppable freight train he has been touted as, halting his opponent by vicious knockout late in the final frame.

Performance Of The Night: Felipe Lima

The first finish of the UFC Saudi Arabia prelims was fittingly the first win the UFC career of the young Brazilian Felipe Lima who made his short-notice UFC debut against an incredible game Muhammad Naimov who led on the scorecards before Lima saw his opening for the rear naked choke. 

“It was a rollercoaster,” said Lima, who only got the phone call on Monday to join the promotion. “But I’m very happy.”

Fight Of The Night: Gabriella Fernandes vs Carli Judice

Gabriella Fernandes and Carli Judice went all out in their flyweight fight. 

Fernandes landed powerful strikes, while Judice focused on high volume. As the fight went on, Fernandes was low on gas, giving Judice an edge in the third round. The judges had a tough call, but Fernandes won by split decision, earning her first UFC win in three attempts and improving her record to 9-3.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Tatsuro Taira

This was a crucial performance for one of Japan's top representatives, Tatsuro Taira, who made the most of every moment. While maintaining Perez’s back position in the second, Taira off-balanced him, and as Perez fell, a knee injury forced an immediate stop to the fight.

This victory marks Taira's sixth consecutive UFC win and his 16th straight overall, solidifying his status as a rising star from Okinawa. After a dominant first main event and defeating a Top 5 fighter and former title challenger, Taira has firmly entered his name into the championship mix.

Performance Of The Night: Brady Hiestand

Brady Hiestand and Garrett Armfield had one of the most back and forth action-packed fights on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Perez vs Taira with "Bam Bam" getting the job done early in the third round.

Hiestand, a former Ultimate Fighter finalist, showed his grappling skills and toughness, surviving an armbar in the first round and a knockdown in the second. He dominated the latter half of the first round, threatening a rear-naked choke, and recovered well after being knocked down. At the start of the third round, Hiestand quickly secured a takedown, took Armfield's back, and finished with a choke. The 25-year-old once again impressed and is a rising star in the bantamweight division.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Raul Rosas Jr. 

The youngest athlete on the UFC roster proved his worth once again, as the 19-year-old submitted TUF winner Ricky Turcios in the second round of their main card bout at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov.

Turcios started strong in the first round, but Rosas Jr., focused on grappling, managed to take Turcios's back and secure his third submission in his fourth UFC appearance.

Performance Of The Night: Zachary Reese

Middleweight Zachary Reese made a statement just 0:20 seconds into the first round with a TKO victory over Julian Marquez.

Moments into the bout, Reese countered a low inside kick, driving Marquez to the fence. A swift series of follow-up blows forced referee Dan Miragliotta to step in, ending the fight. This marked a strong comeback for Reese after his debut loss in December.

Performance Of The Night: Brunno Ferreira

“The Hulk” lived up to his name tonight, securing a TKO victory against Dustin Stoltzfus and once again avoiding the scorecards. Ferreira, known for his powerful strikes, continues to be a formidable presence in the division. After some consistent back and forth the Brazilian not only claimed a win but also achieved the eighth spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history. Watching his evolution in the middleweight division will definitely be fascinating.

Performance Of The Night: Carlos Prates

What a finish from Carlos Prates!

In the opening round against Charles Radtke, Prates landed a back knee to Radtke's midsection, swiftly ending the fight and sending him to the canvas. This marks two finishes in two appearances for the skilled Brazilian welterweight, who has now achieved nine consecutive victories and looks like a promising addition to the 170-pound division.

Gross Total Revenue: $2,500,652 (Announced Live Gate)
Attendance: 19,578
Highest Grossing sporting event in KFC Yum! Center History
Highest Grossing U.S UFC Fight Night of all time

Fight Of The Night: Islam Makhackev vs Dustin Poirier

As we get a little distance from this fight, the magnitude of it will start to sink in a little more. Are we in the midst of the greatest lightweight championship run of all time? Did we just watch the great Dustin Poirier fight for the last time?

It’s too much to contemplate on this beautiful evening in Newark, so we’ll just have to bask in the glow of an outstanding title fight that exemplified—over and over—why these two warriors will own a huge percentage of the UFC’s most memorable moments of this generation.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Islam Makhachev

That’s three straight title defenses and 14 straight wins overall for the great Islam Makhachev, who is now poised to become the most dominant lightweight champion in the history of the sport. Khabib Nurmagomedov beamed proudly from the champ’s corner as he watched his star pupil survive a game Dustin Poirier, and once again prove that Makhachev is a puzzle that can never quite be solved. The champ has been considering a run in the welterweight ranks, and watching him tonight, it’s hard to imagine who could stop him.

Performance Of The Night: Kevin Holland

He called himself the UFC’s “best gatekeeper” in his post-win speech, but Kevin Holland is far more than that. A pure menace across both the welterweight and (like tonight) middleweight divisions, tonight he showed off his largely unsung submission skills, locking Michal Oleksiejczuk into a positively gruesome first round armbar to the sheer delight of the Prudential Center crowd.

Attendance: 17,834 (Sold Out)

Gate: $7,255,040 (Highest grossing event in Prudential Center history)

Fight Of The Night: Edson Barboza vs Lerone Murphy

Have a day Lerone Murphy!

The Manchester native made good on his first UFC main event, putting on the best performance of his UFC career opposite of Edson Barboza. For 25 minutes Murphy put the pressure on Barboza, not giving the dangerous Brazilian striker a chance to get on the gas. Murphy survived a scare in the final moments of the first frame and flipped a switch in between rounds that put him in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the fight.

Murphy landed 220 significant strikes and scored four of his six takedowns to stifle Barboza. The durability of both fighters was impressive, and by the end of the fifth round there was no doubt – Lerone Murphy is a true player at featherweight.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Khaos Williams

During fight week Khaos Williams said he was capable of more than knocking people out, it’s just what happens when he fights, and it happened against at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs Murphy.

90 seconds into his co-main event bout with Carlston Harris, the 30-year-old landed a right hook that put the lights out on Harris. It was a perfect knockout and the perfect statement for Williams to make as he angles his way to the welterweight rankings.

Performance Of The Night: Angela Hill

For years, Angela Hill has been working for an elusive UFC finish. Well, she finally got it and got it in the form of her first career submission win. In the second round Hill locked up a guillotine choke on Luana Pinheiro that forced the tap. It was a triumphant moment for the 39-year-old, who continues to prove that she absolutely deserves to be competing with the best strawweights in the world. With 25 UFC fights under her belt, and with back-to-back wins, Hill is in a prime position to make a run.

Fight Of The Night: Billy Ray Goff vs Trey Waters

Watching the welterweight bout between Billy Ray Goff and Trey Waters was totally unpredictable.

Both guys wore their heart on their sleeve and went to battle and pushed themselves to the brink for 15 minutes. The fight could have been stopped on either side but neither man would completely fade. In the end, it was the power of Waters that made a difference, as "The Truth" damaged Goff on multiple occasions. The judges rewarded that and gave Waters his second UFC his win.

The Jacksonville, Florida native is now 2-0 in the UFC and with performances like this it won't be long until he's on the radar of every fight fan out there.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Carlos Ulberg

Carlos Ulberg only needed 12 seconds in St. Louis to notch his sixth consecutive victory.

No. 11 ranked Alonzo Menifield blitzed the City Kickboxing Product right off the horn, prompting a side step counter hook from Ulberg that landed right on the money. The shot took Menifield off balance and Ulberg poured on a couple more powerful strikes for good measure and got out of the bout without a scratch.

That's six wins in a row, with five finishes for the surging light heavyweight contender. Big things are ahead for Ulberg and it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the upper tier in the division going forward.

Performance Of The Night: Diego Ferreira

In June it'll be ten years since Diego Ferreira joined the UFC, and his veteran savvy continues to pay dividends. He faced a shiny prospect in Mateusz Rebecki and had adversity in the first round when he was dropped by Rebecki. But in the second round he flipped the tables completely, repeatedly hurting Rebecki and landing an impressive number of strikes. Rebecki was significantly beaten up by the end of the second and Ferreira put his foot on the gas in the final frame and didn't stop until the fight was called off with just nine seconds remaining.

Back to back great wins for Ferreira, who was a mainstay in the lightweight rankings before injuries and some losses took him out. He's now primed to get a fight with a ranked fighter in his next trip to the Octagon.

{Attendance: 15,960}

{Announced Live Gate: $2,470,197}

{Highest Grossing United States UFC Fight Night of all-time}

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Alessandro Costa 

Alessandro Costa got the night started off strong for the Brazilians, earning a second round stoppage against Peru’s Kevin Borjas. Things went well for Costa in the first round, landing a handful for damaging jabs, something he carried into the second frame. He switched gears and starting throw a series of leg kicks that visibly hurt Borjas. It was all gas, no brakes as “Nono” starting landing a storm of jabs allowing him to leave the Octagon victorious. 

Performance Of The Night: Mauricio Ruffy 

The lightweight division has an exciting new fighter as Mauricio Ruffy put himself on the map in his UFC debut against Jamie Mullarkey. The Brazilian was dominant from the start, connecting on all cylinders as he carefully picked his shots and continued to put it on Mullarkey, forcing the ref to stop the fight at 4:42 of the first round. In his Octagon interview, he had a message to the champion Islam Makhachev, telling him to enjoy his days because ‘a new king is coming’. 

Performance Of The Night: Caio Borralho 

Caio Borralho continues to make a name for himself in the middleweight division, and he did so against Scotland’s Paul Craig in Rio on Saturday night. It was all Borralho throughout the first round and as things moved into the second, The Fighting Nerds product stung Craig, and continued to put the pressure on, throwing a clean left hand that sent “Bearjew” down and out. 

Performance Of The Night: Michel Pereira

It’s never a boring fight when Michel Pereira steps in the Octagon and that was no different tonight. Pereira wasted no time getting things started, hurting Potieira with a jab that sent him to the canvas. Things got even crazier from there as Pereira back flipped, landing on his opponent, and securing a guillotine that would force Potieira to tap. The win extends Pereira’s win streak to eight. 

Attendance: 14,514

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić got back in the win column in a big way and kicked off the main card with some heat as he knocked out Tim Means in 2:09 into the first round. The welterweights spent the first few minutes feeling each other out, but once Means came forward and tried to do a level change, Medić clipped with a left uppercut that sent “The Dirty Bird” to the canvas. 

Performance Of The Night: Jhonata Diniz 

Jhonata Diniz made waves in his UFC debut and left with a performance to remember as he continued the string of knockouts inside the Octagon on Saturday night. The Brazilian faced a bit of adversity in the first round as Lane spent most of the round with him wrestling, but things quickly shifted in the second round. Three minutes into the second round, Diniz started landing huge blows to Lane’s chins, finally finding one that sent the heavyweight down and putting an end to the fight. 

Performance Of The Night: Bogdan Guskov 

The light heavyweight division has a new contender as Bodgan Guskov took out ranked contender Ryan Spann in the second round. The first round didn’t go as anticipated for Guskov, but heading into the second frame, he was able to find success after the two spent time throwing blows back and forth. Guskov threw a hook that connected with Spann, followed up by a few strikes, Herb Dean was forced to call the fight, moving Guskov’s record to 16-3. 

Performance Of The Night: Alex Perez 

Alex Perez is back in the win column and it couldn’t have come in a bigger way than in the main event spotlight against Brazil’s Matheus Nicolau. 

From the bell, Perez was on point, throwing combinations as Nicolau searched for his groove. The judges had Perez up on the scorecards heading into the second frame and he continued to put his foot on the gas, throwing a right hand that sent Nicolau’s legs buckling and forcing him. The flyweight was out to prove he still belongs with the best and he certainly did that tonight. 

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Jaqueline Amorim

With the extensive jiu jitsu background that Jaquelien Amorim has, it was only a matter of time until she locked up her first UFC submission.

The strawweight prospect went right to work against Cory McKenna – transitioning through a few submission attempts before finding the armbar early in the first round. Amorim’s submission was the fourth fasted in women’s strawweight history and it showcased just how talented Amorim is on the canvas.

Performance Of The Night: Jafel Filho

For the second fight in a row, Jafel Filho has put the flyweight division on notice.

Filho nearly submitted rising contender Muhammad Mokaev in his debut and then he succeeded in submitting Daniel Barez in his sophomore UFC appearance. At UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs Tybura he went back to the well against veteran Ode’ Osbourne.

Filho timed a shot and got Osbourne to the canvas. After that he just waited for Osbourne to make a mistake before sinking in a rear naked choke and forcing the tap. At this rate Filho will make himself one of the names to watch at 125-pounds.

Performance Of The Night: Macy Chiasson

Welcome back Macy Chiasson!

The bantamweight contender was away from the Octagon for a year and half and came back with a vengeance. Chiasson faced a familiar foe in Pannie Kianzad as the two fought almost six years ago on The Ultimate Fighter, with Chiasson winning by submission.

It was the same result at UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs Tybura. Chiasson took Kianzad to the floor and found the rear naked choke to get the win. It was an important win for Chiasson who is right back on track.

Performance Of The Night: Marcin Tybura

A heavyweight main event usually is a signal of banger fight and for as long as it lasted, that’s exactly what Tai Tuivasa vs Marcin Tybura was.

Tuivasa came out of the gate swinging, clipping Tybura with an elbow that opened up a cut on his head, but the Polish contender didn’t flinch. Tybura worked for a takedown and then started pouring strikes down on Tuivasa. When Tuivasa made an attempt to get of danger Tybura jumped on his neck and finished the fight.

It was the perfect bounce back performance for Tybura and keeps him right in the mix at the top tier of the heavyweight division.

Fight Of The Night: Dustin Poirier vs Benoît Saint Denis

Fans had this fight circled on their calendar from the moment it was announced and for good reason. Benoît Saint Denis entered the fight on a five-fight win streak and started the first frame of strong, pressuring Poirier and utilizing his wrestling and power throughout.

Poirier almost got to show his jiu-jitsu skills once again as he went for multiple guillotine attempts.But heading into the second round, “The Diamond” started to find success on the feet, as he dropped Saint Denis and followed up with a few punches on the canvas, forcing the referee to come in and stop the fight.

It was a high risk, high reward for Poirier who sits currently No. 3 in the lightweight division, compared to Saint Denis’ No. 12, but the “The Diamond” got back in the win column in a massive way inside the Kaseya Center.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Sean O'Malley

It truly was the “Suga” show in the 305.

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defended his title in style, besting Marlon “Chito” Vera over the course of five rounds. O’Malley landed strikes from all angles for 25-minutes, with a second-round knee up the middle standing out as the hardest strike of the fight. Vera never gave up, pressing through the damage and through O’Malley wide variety of attacks.

This was the type of performance that fight fans needed to see from O’Malley who was in control from start to finish, but also showed how the champ would deal with someone as tough and resilient as Vera. The “Suga” era is just getting started.

Performance Of The Night: Jack Della Maddalena

Jack Della Maddalena with another finish for the highlight reel.

It was a back and forth battle between Della Maddalena and Gilbert Burns, with the Brazilian up on the scorecards heading into the second round. In the third round, the Australian escaped from a grappling exchange and as the two stood up he threw a knee that severely hurt Burns, sending him back toward the canvas. He followed up with several elbows with just over a minute left in the fight to get the job done.

This is a big win for Della Maddalena who looks to continue his rise in the welterweight division.

Performance Of The Night: Curtis Blaydes

The heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida was the ultimate test to see which top 10 heavyweight had the better grappling – and in the first round it was all Almeida.

And when Almeida went back to the well at the beginning of the first round Blaydes made him pay for it. Blaydes landed a short uppercut on Almeida’s entry and then followed up with a series of furious hammerfists which planted Almeida to the canvas and put a sudden end to the bout.

It was an important bounce-back win for Blaydes, who proved once again that he’s one of the best heavyweights in the world for a reason.

Performance Of The Night: Michel Pereira

Michel Pereira continues to shine at middleweight, as he extended his win streak to seven in a row with his performance at UFC 299.

Before we talk about Pereira's win, we have to discuss the walk out. It was a coordinated effort that saw Pereira bust a move before he delivered one of his best performances to date. Pereira hit the body of Michal Oleksiejczuk, forcing him to retreat, and that's when Pereira put his foot on the gas and went after Oleksiejczuk's neck. Pereira wrapped up the rear naked choke submission in 61 seconds.

Big things are on the horizon for Pereira, but "Demolidor" wants to fight in Brazil his next time out - maybe at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.

Performance Of The Night: Robelis Despaigne

What a debut for Robelis Despaigne.

The heavyweight newcomer had a reputation for finishing his fights quickly and he lived up to that reputation against Josh Parisian. Wildly swinging and retreating after a slip, "The Big Boy" caught Parisian with a strike that put him to floor. He added a follow up strike before the ref stepped in to stop the fight. 19 seconds.

The performance instantly makes Robelis must see TV in the heavyweight division.

Attendance: 19,165 (Sold Out)

Gross Total Revenue: $14,142,904 (Announced Live Gate)

*Highest grossing event at Kaseya Center of all-time

**4th highest grossing UFC event of all-time

Fight Of The Night: Vinicius Oliveira vs Benardo Sopaj 

Two fighters walking to the Octagon for the first time tonight made an incredible first impression, as Vinicius Oliveira knocked out Benardo Sopaj with a flying knee late in the third round. 

The two debutants went back and forth in the opening round, with the first round going to Sopaj who found more success. Sopaj kept things going into the second round, but Oliveira started to find his groove, wearing down the 23-year-old into the final frame. With under a minute left to go, Oliveira threw a flying knee that put Sopaj on the canvas, giving us an early Knockout of the Year candidate. 

Oliveira also won a Performance of the Night bonus tonight, leaving the APEX with $100,000 in his pocket. 

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Steve Erceg

Steve Erceg secured his third UFC win in a row, defeating his biggest test to date in a big way. Erceg and Matt Schnell exchanged a handful of punches in the first frame, with the Australian getting the nod from the judges after five rounds. 

The action continued in the second round, as “Astroboy” threw a left hook that sent Schnell to the canvas, leaving him with his hand raised. Erceg currently sits at No. 12 in the rankings, with Schnell at No. 9, meaning his jaw dropping victory tonight could very well push him to the top 10. 

UFC's return to Mexico City, Mexico provided fight fans with an exciting night of fights. With 13 fighters of Mexican descent competing, there were plenty of highs for the crowd at Arena CDMX. Here's the fighters who shined extra bright on Mexican soil.

Fight Card | Prelim Results | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards

Fight Of The Night: Amanda Lemos vs Mackenzie Dern

The featured prelim was a wild one, as Brazilian strawweights shined in a 15-minute battle.

The first round was a tale of two styles, as Amanda Lemos found great success on the feet until Mackenzie Dern a was able to get the fight to the canvas. It was a very close round and prompted Lemos to turn things up in the second frame.

Lemos landed a picture-perfect straight right as Dern entered and dropped the submission ace to the floor. Lemos pressed the action and connected with another strike that dropped Dern again, this time forcing her to shell up. The fight was nearly stopped but Dern showed next-level toughness to hang on and push the fight to the third.

Beat-up but far from out, Dern got the Anaheim crowd on their feet and fought her heart out for the last five minutes. She was able to get the fight to the floor and gain some control time and have her best round of the fight, but Lemos’ big first two rounds were too much to overcome. It was a great fight and shows just how great the strawweight division is.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses 

Performance Of The Night: Ilia Topuria

It doesn’t get any better than what Ilia Topuria accomplished tonight.

Topuria took his time and found the hole he needed to exploit in Alexander Volkanovski’s game. Volk had success in the first round and was picking away at Topuria for most of the third then out of nowhere Topuria rushed the longtime champion.

Topuria’s furious combo was capped off with a right-hand right on the button and put Volkanovski out up against the fence. It was shocking to everyone in Honda Center except Topuria. He was confident this would happen and he believed he would knock him out in the second round. Job done.

Topuria became the fifth featherweight UFC champion in history with the win and brings the belt back to Spain and Georgia.

Performance Of The Night: Anthony Hernandez

“Fluffy” needs to get the recognition he deserves. The middleweight contender has won five straight fights and he’s done them in impressive fashion.

Anthony Hernandez accepted a dangerous fight with knockout artist Roman Kopylov and he turned in a trademark performance. It was gritty and it was relentless, and eventually he was able to work his way into a favorable position and choke out Kopylov.

Only big things are on the horizon for the No. 15 ranked Hernandez who certainly earned the chance to fight up in the rankings his next time out.

Performance Of The Night: Zhang Mingyang

We saw a brief glimpse of Zhang Mingyang’s power when he fought on Road To UFC back in 2022. Well now we’ve had a full introduction to just how fun it is to watch the light heavyweight from China compete in the Octagon.

Zhang’s debut came against Brendson Ribeiro, who looked incredible on Dana White’s Contender Series. The two went toe-to-toe until someone was knocked out and it was Zhang who emerged from the battle victorious. With the win he became the first fighter from China to win a fight in a weight class of light heavyweight or higher.

Attendance - 18,186

Announced Live Gate - $7,264,734

Highest Grossing Live Event At Honda Center

Highest Grossing MMA Event In California History

The first pay-per-view of 2024 saw the Octagon return to Toronto for the first time since December 2018 and featured nine Canadians as well as a pair of title fights. Dricus Du Plessis became South Africa’s first champion with a split decision defeat of Sean Strickland, and Raquel Pennington outhustled Mayra Bueno Silva to claim the vacant bantamweight crown. Throughout the rest of the card, hotly contested fights decorated the card, including a meaningful featherweight contest between Movsar Evloev and a classic comeback effort from Neil Magny.

Fight Card | Final Results | Official Scorecards

UFC welcomed 2024 with an action-packed, highlight-loaded affair at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Light heavyweight contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker collided to settle their score, while Jim Miller added to his record breaking UFC career against Gabriel Benitez. The card was also stacked with newcomers, prospects, and veterans trying to make good on their goals for the year.

Fight Card | Final Results | Official Scorecards