UFC Vegas 108 Rookie Report Card: A Sacrificial Lamb

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

And only one athlete debuted in “Sin City” last night (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025) at UFC Vegas 108 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, but it did not go so well.

UFC Vegas 108’s rookie lost, and now that the dust has settled, let’s grade his performance below:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

John Yannis

Fury Fighting Championship (Fury FC) Featherweight champion John Yannis stepped up on five days’ notice to face top prospect Austin Bashi after Francis Marshall withdrew. Unfortunately for Yannis,

the short-notice gamble didn’t pay off as he was steamrolled and tapped out in the first round (watch highlights).

Bashi, a 23-year-old grappling phenom, stumbled in his UFC debut but was out to prove he’s a future contender. Facing him on short notice is a nightmare for anyone, and Yannis, a knockout artist with crisp boxing, learned that the hard way.

The fight was pure domination. After a tense few seconds of circling, Bashi came out swinging, unleashing a wild combo that barely missed. Yannis fired back with a body kick, but Bashi’s response was surgical—a picture-perfect double-leg takedown that planted Yannis on the canvas.

From there, it was one-way traffic. Bashi swarmed Yannis’ back, raining down precise ground-and-pound. Yannis fended off early submission attempts but couldn’t escape Bashi’s suffocating control. As Yannis tried to posture up, he couldn’t handle Bashi’s hand control. Bashi toyed with him, transitioning to a body triangle and securing two hooks.

Bashi kept the pressure relentless, peppering Yannis with strikes. When Yannis briefly stood up, Bashi pounced, quickly climbing his back, sinking a rear-naked choke, and forcing the tap at 3:39 of round one.

Let’s call it what it was: a squash match. Yannis was a sacrificial lamb to get Bashi his first UFC win and some shine after a rocky debut. Yannis’ vaunted knockout power? Nonexistent here—he landed zero significant strikes, going 2 for 9 on total strikes.

Is Yannis UFC material? No, but in the modern UFC, where the standard of being a UFC fighter is low, he might scrape by for a couple of fights.

Hopefully, the matchmakers throw the 31-year-old a bone like Dennis Buzukja, so the fanbase can see him strike a little bit before being released.

Final Grade: F

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

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