Last night (Sat., Oct. 10, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 122. In the main event, veteran Middleweight contender Brendan Allen aimed to turn away rising finisher Christian Leroy Duncan. Both men were just outside of the immediate 185-pound title picture and looking to take that final step. The rest of the card was thoroughly fine, featuring a handful of lovable veterans and decent prospects … alongside a bunch of fighters
on extended losing streaks.
Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and highlight finishes of the evening:
Middleweights Underwhelm
Allen vs. Duncan wasn’t a bad fight but an irritating one, filled with baffling in-fight decisions from both men.
Duncan seemingly doesn’t know his own strengths and weaknesses. Faster and longer, Duncan would be picking apart Allen at distance and then purposefully close into the clinch to his own detriment. On the canvas, he routinely hung around rather than disengage, giving his jiu-jitsu black belt opponent many opportunities to reverse position and remain in the fight.
Allen, meanwhile, failed to capitalize on his own grappling advantage. He took Duncan down with body lock takedowns multiple times … then just opted not to shoot for the entire fourth round, allowing “CLD” to touch him up and hurt the body. In the fifth, Allen remembered he’s the grappler, shot a takedown, and then choked out Duncan in a really wild sequence.
That’s great, but … what took so long?
For a competitive five-round fight with a dramatic conclusion, it wasn’t that fun. It genuinely felt like both fighters were hampered by their own decision-making. As a result, neither fringe contender feels like a particularly real threat to the Middleweight title.
Fili Finds The Head Kick
Andre Fili performed beautifully against Kai Kamaka III.
The veteran established the jab right away on his shorter opponent. Kamaka tried to counter with low kicks and lunging combinations, but Fili kept stabbing his face with the jab. When Kamaka attempted to push through that range, he ran into heavy check hooks that calmed him back down. When Fili switched southpaw, he timed his left hand well and ripped a couple body kicks.
Classic “Touchy” Fili, in short.
Early in round two, Fili secured the third high kick KO of his UFC career (previous victims include Sheymon Moraes and Gabriel Benitez). Hiding the right high kick behind a 1-2, he knocked Kamaka out cold with a single connection. Kamaka fell to the floor in slow motion, and Fili managed to withhold his final haymaker in a very kind display.
After 13 years in the Octagon, Fili remains a dangerous divisional stalwart who always comes to scrap. You don’t make it to 28 UFC fights by accident!
A Bantamweight Banger
I don’t want to spoil the rest of my article below, but the “Prelims” were awful. Thankfully, the main card kicked off with a 135-pound war between Otari Tanzilovi and Malcolm Wellmaker that was both competitive and high-level.
Tanzilovi was known for his wrestling in the cage previously, but he came out looking to strike here. He was fast right away, firing up quick high kicks against his southpaw foe and blitzing him with counter combinations. Wellmaker’s power made an appearance early, however. He was throwing power with both hands and doubled up on the right hook to clip Tanzilovi on the temple, badly stunning the Georgian prospect.
In round two, however, Tanzilovi really settled into the fight. He found his range and stymied Wellmaker’s offense, never allowing Wellmaker to unleash his loaded-up power shots. Suddenly, that fast right high kick found the mark, hidden by a crafty right hand/right post on the side of the head. Wellmaker’s hand was by his chin, but the kick still knocked him silly.
A Retirement Redo
Niko Price was given a rare second chance to retire versus the unheralded Leon Shahbazyan, and he absolutely made the most of it.
Throughout his pro career, Shahbazyan wins entirely via submission and loses only via strikes. Even after all his injuries and wars, Price was smart enough to know that offense was a great solution for that kind of fighter. He attacked Shahbazyan right away, and “S.O.G” looked incredibly uncomfortable. He tried to jump guard with a guillotine that wasn’t remotely locked in, and then Price just beat the crap out of him from top position.
He looked like a random BJJ purple belt forced into a cage fight.
Abysmal level of competition aside, it’s nice to see “The Hybrid” get his flowers and walk away on a victory. Price was never an elite contender, but he was a consistently fun and unique finisher who always brought the fight to his opponent.
Additional Thoughts
- Julius Walker defeats Gerald Meerschaert via second-round knockout: Sadly, this was one-sided traffic from Walker, as moving up to Light Heavyweight did not alleviate the simple fact that “GM3” is worn down after 60 professional fights. He just doesn’t have it anymore — his sole highlight here was an armbar attempt that got him slammed on his head. Walker is still rough around the edges, but he’s a great athlete fighting out of a good camp, and so he was easily able to avoid the classic Meerschaert pitfalls while pummeling him with elbows. Meerschaert retired following this latest defeat, an overdue move that was still nice to see. Like Price, Meerschaert was game even when outclassed, and his jiu-jitsu prowess created more than one awesome come-from-behind win.
- Francisco Prado defeats Ismael Bonfim via first-round knockout (highlights): Man, it’s great to see Prado down at 155 pounds. Despite obvious talent and toughness, he didn’t have the height and reach to compete with the upper echelon of the Welterweight division. The 24-year-old Argentinian reignited his UFC career in a more appropriate weight class here, and he looked great even against a foe who missed weight by eight pounds! Prado pushed the pace and found competitive striking exchanges, so he switched it up with a well-timed takedown along the fence. Once on top, he was able to bully the Brazilian and overwhelm him with ground strikes to maintain his 100% finishing rate.
- Brendson Ribeiro defeats Felipe Franco via first-round guillotine choke: Like the fight that preceded it, this was a low-level affair. Ribeiro is ostensibly a Muay Thai fighter and joined the UFC with most of his wins via knockout. Somehow, he only wins in the UFC via tapout! Franco dove neck-first into a guillotine, took a moment to consider his situation, then slammed Ribeiro straight into closed guard. He offered absolutely no defense, resulting in a surprisingly simple upset loss.
- Allen Frye Jr. defeats RJ Harris via first-round knockout: The most notable thing about this fight was that it felt like a random regional bout forced onto a UFC card. Neither Frye Jr. nor Harris looked particularly athletic, skilled, nor in shape. If you told me it was the main event of a California amateur MMA card, I would have believed you. Frye Jr. was the less powerful man, but he won anyway because Harris didn’t bother to raise his hands or move his head at any point. Truly, that path to the UFC roster has never been shorter or less arduous.
- Alice Pereira defeats Darya Zheleznyakova via first-round knockout/cut (highlights): Pereira is one of very few impressive Bantamweight prospects, and she may have just earned a spot in the rankings at 20 years of age. Lanky yet powerful, Pereira throws with serious heat. She was clobbering Zheleznyakova in the pocket repeatedly, rocked the Russian, and then took her down along the fence. The commentary team was critical of that decision — a knockout did seem available on the feet — but it allowed Pereira a chance to show off her ground skills. She applied good pressure, passed to mount, and then battered “The Iron Lady.” An elbow just before the bell punched a hole into Zheleznyakova’s forehead, prompting the veteran to say “No Mas” between rounds. Vicious, athletic, and talented, Pereira is a rare bright light at 135 pounds!
