You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
Three rookies made their first walks to the Octagon this past weekend (Sat., April 25, 2026) at UFC Vegas 116 inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The newcomers went 1-2 overall, with only one of them showing much of anything.
Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances.
Adrian Luna Martinetti
Martinetti entered with hype after one of the best Contender Series fights ever — and he delivered on entertainment, if nothing else, in a war
against veteran Davey Grant.
He came out aggressive, constantly in Grant’s face, but paid for it by eating calf kicks, knees, and overhand rights. He briefly secured a takedown, but Grant quickly neutralized it. Martinetti ramped things up in Round 2, landing a solid liver shot, a partially connected jumping high kick, and a clean uppercut late — but Grant never backed off.
Round 3 was a full-on slugfest, with both fighters trading until Grant broke Martinetti’s nose by the final horn. Martinetti ultimately lost a unanimous decision but ended winning Fight of the Night.
He’s going to be a fun addition — tough, aggressive, and willing to scrap. Of the three rookies, he likely has the longest runway in the promotion.
He should fight Cristian Quinonez in his next outing.
Final grade: C-
Lucas Brennan
After spending most of his career in Bellator (beating cans), Lucas Brennan stepped in on short notice against Francis Marshall — and looked completely out of his depth.
Brennan opened with awkward feints before getting cracked repeatedly. He attempted a takedown but was reversed and controlled on the mat, where Marshall unloaded ground-and-pound. A late heel hook attempt failed, and Marshall finished the round on top.
Round 2 followed the same script: Brennan got tagged, panic-shot for a takedown, and was again reversed and controlled. In Round 3, despite clearly needing a finish, Brennan offered little offense, continuing to feint and absorb damage en route to a lopsided decision loss.
It was an awful debut for a guy that shouldn’t be in the UFC. He hasn’t proven himself at all and is now 2-3 in his last five — make it make sense. Brennan is ridiciously one diminsonal with only a submission game. He won’t be in the promotion for long.
I guess he can fight Manolo Zecchini for his second outing?
Final grade: F
Victor Valenzuela
Chile’s Victor Valenzuela lost on Season 9 of Contender Series by knockout but then rebounded with a knockout win on the regional scene against former UFC fighter Yusaku Kinoshita, which led to a call on short notice to take on UFC veteran Max Griffin and made the most of it.
He started fast, pushing forward with calf kicks and sharp combinations. Though his initial takedown attempts were stuffed, he landed the best punch of Round 1 late. The second frame saw wild exchanges, including spinning attacks from Valenzuela, while Griffin mixed in takedowns. Still, Valenzuela consistently found moments to land the cleaner shots.
Both fighters were gassed in the third, but continued trading. Griffin had success with straight rights, while Valenzuela ripped the body and edged the exchanges. In the end, Valenzuela secured a hard-fought unanimous decision win.
Griffin’s grind-heavy style makes him a tough test for anyone, and Valenzuela passed it. With the right opponents, Valenzuela will be a very fun fighter to watch but his ceiling might not be extremely high.
He should fight Ty Miller for his next outing.
Final grade: B-
For complete UFC Vegas 116 results, coverage, and results click HERE.
