Athletes
Best Fights From UFC APEX Fight Nights
The Special Environment Inside The UFC APEX Has Hosted Some Of The Most Memorable Fights Since 2020
In May 2020, a new era in the UFC began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With most of the world closed, the promotion turned to its home base and held fights inside the UFC APEX, located next door to its Las Vegas headquarters.
UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs Burns was the first UFC event held there, featuring an intimate crowd and a 25-foot Octagon. That night, Gilbert Burns announced himself as a title contender with a dominant win over former champion Tyron Woodley. Future champion Jamahal Hill scored a TKO win (later overturned to a no contest) while eventual flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval made his debut in a Fight of the Night win over Tim Elliott.
READ: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates
More than four-and-a-half years later, the UFC APEX remains a fixture on the promotion’s calendar, and on November 9, UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates represents the 100th Fight Night card there. Along the way, fans have watched some of the best fights in recent memory go down in the unique setting.
Before “UFC Vegas 100,” take a look back at some of the most epic battles to go down inside the 25-foot Octagon:
Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker (June 27, 2020)
Full Fight | Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Full Fight | Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker
/
Not only was Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker’s bout one of the best to occur in the UFC APEX and a 2020 Fight of the Year contender, it’s one of the best fights in the promotion’s history full-stop.
For 25 minutes, the lightweight contenders battered, bruised and bludgeoned one another as the momentum swung like a pendulum. Hooker viewed the fight as his ticket to a title shot while Poirier, having come off a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, needed to cement his spot in a title picture that seemed to be turning a page.
RELATED: Neil Magny's Top Finishes | Gillian Robertson Submission Tour | Cortavious Romious' Journey Back To The Octagon
Frankly, this fight had everything. The second round is awe-inspiring, as it seemed neither man could miss a strike, ending with a thudding flurry from Hooker. The fight, perhaps more than any other to go down in the UFC APEX, shined a light on all the oddities of the time. Each strike felt amplified in the empty arena and warranted exclamations from the commentary booth the echoed into the surrounding microphones.
Somehow, some way, the fight went the full 25 minutes and instantly went into the shortlist of “must-watch” fights for hardcore fans and newbies alike.
Jiří Procházka vs Dominick Reyes (May 1, 2021)
Jiří Procházka rightfully gets flowers for his spinning elbow knockout of Dominick Reyes in their 2021 main event. However, that epic strike does overshadow what an incredible fight these two lightweights put on for almost two rounds of action.
The stakes ahead of the fight were as high as could be. Procházka burst onto the scene, knocking out Volkan Oezdemir in his UFC debut and eyed a title shot with a win over Reyes. Meanwhile, Reyes was looking to bounce back in a big way. Two fights prior, he pushed Jon Jones to a controversial decision loss at UFC 247 and had lost his second title shot for the vacant belt against Jan Błachowicz. The last thing his title chances needed was a third consecutive loss.
FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X
With that scaffolding around the bout, the two men created car crash after car crash in the UFC APEX. While Procházka’s striking and movement was tantalizing, Reyes fought very well, landing his heavy left hand and left kicks with regularity, hurting Procházka on occasion. The Czech samurai, sporting a now-signature ponytail for the first time, fought through it all, including a deep guillotine attempt. Reyes also hit Procházka with an upkick that appeared to badly hurt his opponent, but Procházka just kept pressing. Eventually, as Reyes started to wilt from the pressure, Procházka’s creativity went on full display for one of the cleanest and scariest spinning knockouts you’ll ever see.
Josh Emmett vs Shane Burgos (June 20, 2020)
Full Fight | Josh Emmett vs Shane Burgos
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Full Fight | Josh Emmett vs Shane Burgos
/
The lone three-round fight on this list has a shout for the most dynamic. The co-main event between Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos was a stunning display of power, cardio, pressure and resilience.
In the opening moments of the fight, Emmett appeared to injure his knee but pushed through for the better part of the 15-minute fight. The injury — which was later revealed as several to his left leg, including a torn ACL — didn’t stop Emmett from throwing bombs on a regular basis. Burgos wasn’t deterred, however, and continued to march forward while eating shots that have slept other men.
Order UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic
While Burgos found some success as he pressured the hobbled Emmett, it was Emmett who would eventually get the upper hand, dropping Burgos on several occasions en route to a decision win.
Matuesz Gamrot vs Arman Tsarukyan (June 25, 2022)
The main event between Matuesz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan took some by surprise when it was announced. They weren’t the highest-profile fighters on the roster, but when you looked at their runs up to that event, it was clear the two young lightweights more than deserved a headlining opportunity. Poland’s Gamrot rode into the fight on a three-fight winning streak with all finishes while Tsarukyan was on a five-fight winning streak and had pushed Islam Makhachev to a Fight of the Night in his UFC debut.
Nevertheless, when the two collided in the APEX, they put a level of MMA grappling on display that was beautiful for any fan to watch. Tsarukyan also put a lot of good work in with his kicks early in the fight, and he also knocked Gamrot down with a spinning backfist. Gamrot was able to push through the attacks to score takedowns and get advantageous positions, including a slick takedown early in the fifth round that likely pushed the scorecards in his favor.
Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez (November 13, 2021)
Coming off a master class performance, Max Holloway hoped to follow-up his win over Calvin Kattar with another over a hopeful featherweight contender in Yair Rodriguez. The fight dripped with entertainment value and intrigue, particularly because Rodriguez hadn’t fought for more than two years at the time. The dynamic Mexican fighter didn’t appear any sort of rusty and landed an arsenal of kicks to Holloway’s legs and head, but the former featherweight king pressed forward, nonetheless.
The real change-up came later in the fight as Holloway mixed in grappling to stymie Rodriguez’s offense. The adjustment worked, and Holloway cemented himself as the clear No.1 contender to Alexander Volkanovski’s throne.
Tags