Las Vegas – UFC kicks off its first occasion of 2025 at UFC APEX with a compelling strawweight principal occasion as No. 6 ranked contender Mackenzie Dern and No. 8 ranked Amanda Ribas collide with the hopes of breaking into the High 5. Additionally on the cardboard, thrilling middleweight strikers face off as Chris Curtis battles Roman Kopylov.
UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs Ribas 2 will happen on Saturday, January 11, 2025, in Las Vegas. The complete occasion will stream reside on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) starting with the prelims at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, adopted by the principle card at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Submission specialist Dern (14-5) combating out of Huntington Seashore, Calif. goals to even the rating with Ribas with a standout efficiency. A relentless grappler, she has put her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt expertise on show in spectacular wins over Crazy Godinez, Angela Hill, and Tecia Pennington. She now seems so as to add to her file for probably the most submissions in UFC strawweight historical past and insert herself into the title dialog.
Ribas (13-5) combating out of Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil seeks to start out off her 2025 marketing campaign by replicating her October 2019 victory over Dern. A black belt in each judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, she has confirmed herself as among the finest within the division with finishes of Luana Pinheiro, Paige VanZant, and Emily Whitmire. Ribas now has her sights set on making an announcement in her return to the 115-pound weight class.
Curtis (31-11 1NC) combating out of Las Vegas, Nev. by the use of Cincinnati, Ohio returns to the Octagon with hopes of kickstarting a run up the rankings. A well-rounded athlete, Curtis has entertained followers in wins over Marc-Andre Barriault, Joaquin Buckley and Rodolfo Vieira. He now hopes to steal the present with a definitive exhibiting in opposition to Kopylov.
Thrilling striker Kopylov (13-3) combating out of Bachatsky, Kemerovo, Russia seems to notch the most important victory of his UFC profession. Winner of 5 of his final six bouts, he has impressed with notable knockouts of Josh Fremd, Claudio Ribeiro, and Alessio Di Chirico. Kopylov now plans to make a case to interrupt into the High 15 with a thunderous win over Curtis.
Extra bouts on the cardboard embrace, Dana White’s Contender Sequence signee Marco Tulio (12-1) combating out of São Paulo, Brazil goals to impress in his UFC debut in opposition to Ihor Potieria (21-7) combating out of Kiev, Ukraine at middleweight. An thrilling light-weight matchup sees Thiago Moises (18-8) combating out of Indaiatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) tackle Trey Ogden (18-6) combating out of Kansas Metropolis, Mo.
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (9-0) combating out of Kingdom of Bahrain) plans to stay undefeated as he faces debuting Dana White’s Contender Sequence contract winner Bruno Lopes (13-1) combating out of Cotia, Sao Paulo, Brazil in a light-weight heavyweight bout. Former skilled kickboxer Cesar Almeida (6-1) combating out of Sao Paulo, Brazil takes on Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) combating out of Denver, Colo. by the use of Accra, Ghana in a battle of all-action middleweights.
Christian Rodriguez (11-2) combating out of Milwaukee, Wisc. seems to derail the rise of Dana White’s Contender Sequence standout Austin Bashi (13-0) combating out of West Bloomfield, Mich. at featherweight. Veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-8) combating out of Coconut Creek, Fla. seems to make an announcement in opposition to Carlston Harris (19-6) combating out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by the use of Skeldon, Guyana at welterweight.
Dana White’s Contender Sequence veterans Punahele Soriano(10-4) combating out of Las Vegas, Nev. by the use of Oahu, Hawaii and Uros Medic (10-2) combating out of Anchorage, Alaska by the use of Novi Unhappy, Serbia go toe-to-toe at welterweight. Jose Johnson (16-9) combating out of Copperas Cove, Texas by the use of La Romana, Dominican Republic takes on Felipe Bunes (13-7) combating out of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil at flyweight.
Nurullo Aliev (9-0) combating out of Dushanbe, Tajikistan goals to maintain his good file intact when he battles Yanal Ashmouz (8-1) combating out of Fairfield, N.J. by the use of Kfar Kama, Israel in a light-weight bout. Ernesta Kareckaite (5-1-1) combating out of Kaunas, Lithuania hopes to earn her first UFC victory when she meets Nicolle Caliari (8-2) combating out of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil in a flyweight bout.
Welterweight motion sees Preston Parsons (11-5) combating out of Jacksonville Seashore, Fla. face off with Dana White’s Contender Sequence signee Andreas Gustafsson (11-2) combating out of Västerås, Sweden. Fatima Kline (6-1) combating out of Hyde Park, N.Y. meets Dana White’s Contender Sequence alum Viktoriia Dudakova (8-1) combating out of Volgograd, Russia in a strawweight conflict positive to ship fireworks.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Govt Author, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a ardour for Fight Sports activities and likewise a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s additionally a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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