After the prelims wrapped with a quartet of decisions, the main card was all-action from the outset, with the first four fights ending inside the distance before the co-main and main events featured high-pace action the whole way through.
The Ultimate Fighter welcomed two new members to its ranks, with Mairon Santos and Ryan Loder earning second-round stoppage wins to win the featherweight and middleweight tournaments respectively, Michael Morales announced himself as another ascending, unbeaten standout to watch in the welterweight ranks with a first-round stoppage win over veteran Neil Magny.
In the co-main event, Tabatha Ricci landed on the favorable side of the scorecards in a high-paced punch-up with Angela Hill before Caio Borralho and Jared Cannonier teamed up to deliver an outstanding conclusion to a fun night of action at the UFC APEX.
Here’s a look back at how things played out on the main card.
Main event scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds.
Gerald Meerschaert can never be counted out.
After getting stung with an uppercut to the body early in the second round, “GM3” managed to survive the follow-up onslaught from Shahbazyan, responding just enough each time he was instructed to “move” by referee Mark Smith. He worked his way back to his feet, started landing a couple shots of his own, and then timed a level-change perfectly, putting Shahbazyan on his back in the center of the Octagon.
From there, Meerschaert clamped onto the arm-triangle choke, climbed off to the proper side, and squeezed out the tap to seal up the come-from-behind victory. With the finish, the Milwaukee native moved ahead of Anderson Silva for the most stoppage wins in UFC middleweight history.
Just a gutsy effort from the durable veteran finisher. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Michael Morales registered the biggest win of his career, posting a first-round stoppage win over Top 15 stalwart Neil Magny.
The finishing sequence began when Morales landed a beautiful spinning back elbow out of the clinch that sent the veteran tumbling to the ground. Morales chased him to the floor, climbed into high mount, and unloaded, forcing the stoppage in the waning moments of the opening stanza.
Still just 25, Morales is now 5-0 in the UFC and staring at a place in the rankings when they update early next week. The DWCS grad from Ecuador doesn’t get as much attention as his fellow unbeaten ascending talents in the welterweight ranks, but that is likely going to change after this performance. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Mairon Santos is your TUF 32 featherweight tournament winner!
The young Brazilian registered a second-round knockout win over fellow Team Grasso fighter Kaan Ofli, connecting with a left hook as the two traded blows in tight, sending Ofli to the canvas and Santos into celebration mode.
The 24-year-old Xtreme Couture representative joins the roll call of Ultimate Fighter winners, becoming the third main season featherweight winner and just the second Brazilian to claim a main season tournament win. Now 15-1, “The Legend” is one to watch going forward. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Ryan Loder is the latest middleweight tournament winner on The Ultimate Fighter after earning a second-round stoppage win over Robert Valetin.
In the opening round, the finalists engaged in a series of scrambles where each man had their moments, Loder threatening with a submission and Valentin responding in kind before the American closed out the round in top position.
In the second, Team Shevchenko’s lone finalist put Valentin on the canvas and worked to a mounted crucifix, securing the finish as he rained down unanswered elbows on the trapped Team Grasso member.
Loder, who only made his pro debut late in 2021, advances to 7-1 as a professional and extends his winning streak to four with the victory, becoming the second fighter from Team Alpha Male to win a season of The Ultimate Fighter. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Tabatha Ricci and Angela Hill worked at a break-neck pace in the co-main event, starting quickly and never letting off the gas to partner on a thoroughly entertaining 15-minute affair.
Ricci looked to force the action straight away, taking the fight to Hill by backing her into the fence and connecting with the more effective shots. The veteran Hill worked back into things in the second by keeping herself off the barrier before the duo continued their back-and-forth battle through to the final horn.
For the first time on the main card, the judges were called upon to render a verdict, and all three saw it the same, awarding Ricci the unanimous decision win. That’s now back-to-back wins in 2024 for “Baby Shark,” who moves to 6-1 in the strawweight division and 11-2 overall. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
With the fight seemingly hanging in the balance, Caio Borralho turned up the pressure and pace in the final round to earn the biggest win of his career, battering Jared Cannonier down the stretch en route to a unanimous decision win on the scorecards.
Borralho and Cannonier traded frames over the first four rounds, the Brazilian appearing to get the better of things in the first and third, while the former title challenger immediately responded to draw level each time out. But in the fifth, the Fighting Nerds lead horse ramped up the output and distanced himself down the stretch, dropping him in the final 90 seconds to close out a massive performance.
Now 7-0 in the UFC, the 31-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series graduate just punched his way into the upper echelon of the middleweight division, continuing his ascent and adding to the impressive run the team from Sao Paulo has been having over in 2024. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 24, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
