You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
Three rookies made their Octagon debuts in “Sin City” last night (Sat., March 7, 2025) at UFC 326 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The newcomers went 1-2 overall, with one of them scoring a slick submission win over an The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner.
Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:
Alberto Montes
Alberto Montes entered his UFC debut riding a three-fight submission streak, including one on Season
9 of Contender Series that earned him a contract. He continued that streak against UFC veteran Ricky Turcios.
Montes defended an early takedown from Turcios, but after that it was three minutes of straight scrapping — and Montes was getting the better of the exchanges, tagging Turcios with crisp striking.
Montes came out aggressive again in Round 2, throwing wild kicks. Turcios shot for a lazy takedown, Montes defended it, locked up a D’Arce choke, and put Turcios to sleep (watch highlights).
That’s about as good of a debut as a fighter could ask for — you know, other than a highlight first-round knockout. Montes showed a complete game in just two rounds and instantly became someone to keep an eye on in 2026 because he’s going to be very fun to watch.
Montes has an elite ground game, very good striking, and solid fight IQ.
I would like to see him fight Jack Jenkins in two months at UFC Perth.
Final grade: A+
Rafael Tobias
Expectations were high for Rafael Tobias, who earned a contract on Season 9 of Contender Series — but unfortunately, those expectations were not met.
The first round consisted mostly of Tobias missing a wild looping left hook several times while eating low kicks and straight left hands from Diyar Nurgozhay. At one point, an uppercut landed low and halted the fight for a couple of minutes.
Tobias became a little more aggressive in Round 2 and tried hard to take Nurgozhay down, but Nurgozhay defended well (though he also illegally grabbed the fence). Halfway through the round, Tobias landed a nasty combination that rocked Nurgozhay and led to a takedown. Nurgozhay eventually got back to his feet, and Tobias looked completely gassed heading into the corner.
Tobias didn’t do much in the final round other than absorb more teeps and calf kicks as fatigue clearly set in. Although he attempted a Suloev stretch late, time ran out and Nurgozhay secured a unanimous decision victory.
There were definitely glimpses that Tobias could still be a promising prospect, but the reality is he ran into someone fighting for their job — and ultimately, he wasn’t aggressive enough.
He could face Kevin Christian in his next outing.
Final grade: D+
Luke Fernandez
Luke Fernandez was tasked with opening the UFC 326 prelims — but unfortunately, he ended up on the wrong side of a stoppage loss that ruined his undefeated record.
It was one of those fights where Fernandez looked good… until he didn’t.
He could barely miss Rodolfo Bellato’s face with his heavy jab early on, but he began to get a little too aggressive against a UFC veteran known for absorbing damage. That aggression cost him when Bellato landed a counter left hook that dropped Fernandez before pouncing to finish the fight (watch highlights).
I previously highlighted Fernandez as a fighter to watch at UFC 326, but also noted that he had never faced anyone as experienced as Bellato — and that gap clearly showed.
If Fernandez couldn’t get past Bellato in what was a favorable matchup, it raises some questions about his ceiling in the division.
He should fight Tuco Tokkos in his sophomore outing.
Final grade: F
For complete UFC 326 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
