Sooo ... About Last Night

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Last night (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC Vegas 108. Generally, this card could easily be viewed as filler until UFC 319, an event without many ranked contenders or fan favorite names. The silver lining for those that did tune in, however, was that there were several talented prospects and quality match ups hidden throughout the event, making for a really fun night of action for those who did tune in.

Let’s take a look

back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Main Event Masterclass

Tatsuro Taira absolutely outclassed short-notice replacement opponent Hyun Sung Park.

Rebounding from the first defeat of his professional career, the 25-year-old jiu-jitsu ace actually began his domination on the feet. I’m not sure Park landed a single significant shot before a pair of crisp right hands floored him one minutes into the first, and then Taira was in his wheelhouse. Taira patiently moved to the back and didn’t rush his attack, easily controlling Park with his unique approach to back control.

On the start of round two, one more right hand lead to a gorgeous double leg and more back control. This time, Taira went hard on the rear naked choke attempt, finishing a crank over the jaw to secure a near flawless win.

He remains Japan’s best hope at UFC gold.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Lightweights Go To War

Both Esteban Ribovics vs. Elves Brenner and Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan were all-action affairs, some of the best fights of the year so far. Anyone in the know expected a good scrap, but both slugfests still exceeded expectations!

Ribovics vs. Brenner was largely decided by speed and athleticism. Ribovics just threw combinations that were faster and more powerful than Brenner, who could only seek to make up for that flaw with raw toughness. It ended up paying off a bit in the third when the Brazilian’s counters finally found their mark consistently, but he was too deep in the hole by that point to earn back the nod.

Rebecki, meanwhile, hardly took a step back in 15 minutes. His game plan was to circle to the outside, cut kick Duncan’s base leg when he kicked the body, and find a home for that overhand left. It was good strategy for the shorter fighter in an open stance match up, but I don’t think he (or anyone else) expected Duncan to be such a sharpshooter. The Scottish standout put on the finest kickboxing showcase of his career, stinging Rebecki with counter right hands, counter elbows, and about 30 hard kicks to the mid-section.

Both men were bloodied and battered by the end of the fight, but Duncan deservedly saw his hand raised for his third-straight upset victory.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Neil Magny Does It Again

37-year-old Neil Magny ain’t done yet!

It was hard to know what kind of “Haitian Sensation” would show up at UFC Vegas 108 given his two brutal knockout losses in his last two appearances. I have to say, however, Magny showed up pretty sharp and focused on the game plan opposite Elizeu Zaleski here. From the first bell, he was intent on forcing the clinch, drawing his foe into that typical exhausting Magny style. When the two were at distance, Magny still couldn’t check a low kick, but he generally did a better job of not getting clobbered by big swings.

Zaleski engaged his foe in the wrestling way too much — Magny convinces many of his opponents to do so to their own detriment. The Brazilian landed in better positions for much of the first seven minutes, but he couldn’t do much with them, and Magny was sapping his gas tank. There was a distinct turning point when Magny stood back to his feet, Zaleski looked a little tired, and then Magny turned the tables with his first takedown of the fight.

Credit to the veteran, he knows how to jump on a fatigued foe (as evidenced in his Mike Malott win as well). Right away, Magny was standing over Zaleski and dropping hard shots, forcing him to move. He transitioned into some heavy clinch knees then floored Zaleski again, taking his back and flattening him out.

When a lanky guy like Magny scores that position, it’s checkmate.

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Featherweight Prospects Throw Down

Kevin Vallejos vs. Danny Silva was a great fight.

For the opening couple minutes, Silva made Vallejos — the 23-year-old blue chip prospect who entered as a major favorite — look a little limited. Vallejos was just boxing, whereas Silva was firing kicks, elbows, and entering on shot attempts to offset his opponent’s timing. For a moment, it looked like an upset was brewing.

Vallejos, to his credit, was never rattled away from his game plan. He started hitting the body more often, which helped accelerate the natural slow down that comes with fighting in such an athletic, hands-down style. As soon as Silva’s feet were a little more stationary, that Vallejos right hand found its home with a thud more often.

Vallejos’ boxing took control of the fight towards the end of the first, but Silva remained really game. Round three was an obvious highlight, as the duo stood in front of each other and boxed in the pocket. Moving away from his kicks didn’t help Silva’s chances, but the exchanges were a whole lot of fun! Both men showed good eyes and head movement in the pocket while firing back, something of a rarity in MMA.

Ultimately, Vallejos took a clear-cut decision, but Silva raised his overall profile in my eyes with a strong showing in defeat.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Additional Thoughts

• Rinya Nakamura defeats Nathan Fletcher via first-round knockout (highlights): An outstanding wrestler with dangerous kicks is a wonderful combination. In Nakamura’s previous bout, he suffered a disappointing loss to Muin Gafarov after failing to take advantage of his wrestling edge. Did he learn a lesson? We didn’t find out last night, because he smoked Fletcher too quickly standing! The Japanese wrestling standout timed a left body kick perfectly, digging his toes into the liver right as Fletcher tried to step forward. It remains to be seen if Nakamura can effectively blend his kickboxing and wrestling moving forward, but it’s hard to be critical of a 62-second knockout win to rebound from his first career loss.
• Andrey Pulyaev defeats Nick Klein via second-round knockout (highlights): If you enjoy a good “weather the storm” fight, this “Prelims” bout is worth watching. Klein sprinted out of the gate, firing a couple big shots but mostly forcing his wrestling. He found good positions early, including a lengthy stint on Pulyaev’s back, but he wasn’t able to land anything too devastating. By the second half of the first, Pulyaev was back on his feet and landing short shots between his foe’s takedown attempts. Early in round two, Klein was fatigued, and a well-placed body kick from Pulyaev crumbled him to the canvas!
• Austin Bashi defeats John Yannis via first-round rear naked choke (highlights): Bashi responded from his first professional loss admirably here. He was handed a bit of a short-notice softball match up, sure, but Bashi took that pitch right out of the park. He scored the takedown early and made a point to continuously hit Yannis throughout exchanges, softening up his debuting foe. He jumped the back and timed his choke perfectly, punching under the neck mid-transition as Yannis moved to stand and couldn’t defend his throat. It was slick work from the 24-year-old Featherweight, who moves to 14-1 as a professional.

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For complete UFC Vegas 108 results and play-by-play, click here.

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