Following an entertaining preliminary card slate that featured a trio of finishes and some standout moments from emerging talents, Saturday’s main card continued to deliver excitement at the UFC APEX.
After a competitive middleweight clash between Andre Petroski and Rodolfo Vieira, Nazim Sadykhov and Edmen Shahbazyan turned in consecutive first-round finishes heading into the final two bouts of the day. In the co-main event, Youssef Zalal continued his winning ways, coming out of the gates sharp and holding on down the stretch against game veteran Calvin Kattar.
And then to close out the show, Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues teamed up for an absolutely slobberknocker in the middleweight division, with the Top 10 fixture collecting a thrilling fourth-round stoppage win.
It was another thoroughly entertaining evening in Las Vegas, and we have all the details collected for you below.
Main event scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Ascending bantamweight Jacqueline Cavalcanti pushed her record to 4-0 inside the Octagon with a clean and clear decision win over Julia Avila in Saturday’s opener.
From the outset, the 27-year-old Portuguese fighter was the more effective of the two, utilizing her long, straight shots to chip away and batter Avila. She busted up the returning “Raging Panda” in the second and continued to dominate the exchanges in the third, never allowing the trailing Avila to build any momentum.
This was another sharp effort for the streaking Cavalcanti, who has now won seven straight overall. She’s easily the most intriguing emerging name in the 135-pound weight class and should garner another step up in competition next time out after adding another one-sided win to her resume here.
Following the contest, Avila laid her gloves in the center of the Octagon, announcing her retirement from MMA. The 36-year-old walks away with a 9-4 record in 13 professional bouts, having spent the final half of her career competing on the biggest stage in the sport. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Valter Walker is out here hitting heel hooks like they’re his finishing maneuver, securing his second straight win with the rarely seen submission in the early stages of his heavyweight clash with Don’Tale Mayes.
Walker wasted no time closing the distance, locking his hands, and depositing Mayes on the canvas. From there, “The Clean Monster” quickly shifted his focus to attacking the heel hook, rolling through and securing the tap in just over a minute.
That’s now back-to-back finishes by heel hook for the 27-year-old heavyweight, who is quickly establishing himself as a genuine person of interest in the division. A big opportunity could be in his future after another rapid finish, and a spot in the Top 15 is all but assured. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Newcomer Elijah Smith and veteran Vince Morales teamed up for an entertaining bantamweight clash in the middle of Saturday’s preliminary card action at the UFC APEX.
Smith was the more effective of the two in the opening stanza, rallying from a hard low blow to out-strike Morales before the Las Vegas-based veteran drew level by controlling the second with his grappling, getting in deep on a couple different submission attempts. In the third, Smith blew up Morales’ nose with a clean uppercut, surviving a late bulldog choke attempt at the horn.
The recent Dana White’s Contender Series grad becomes the first second-generation fighter to garner a victory inside the Octagon. Just 22 years old, the future is bright for “Swift,” who advanced to 8-1 overall with the victory. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Gabriel Bonfim turned in his most impressive performance to date in the UFC, dominating and submitting Khaos Williams.
The 27-year-old Brazilian was sharp from the outset, using crisp striking and sound fundamentals to keep Williams off balance and pick at him from range. Late in the second round, Williams touched Bonfim with a decent right hand, prompting a level-change from the DWCS grad.
As Williams looked to clamber to his feet, Bonfim dove on a D’arce choke, putting the knockout artist to sleep with just two seconds left in the frame.
That’s now back-to-back wins since suffering his first loss for Bonfim, who kicks off a potentially great night for the family by securing the finish, as he now waits to see how his older brother Ismael does on the main card. This was a clean, professional effort from the talented prospect, who moved to 17-1 overall and 4-1 inside the Octagon with the win. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Rafael Estevam returned to action for the first time in well over a year, maintaining his unbeaten record with a gritty decision win over fellow DWCS grad Jesus Aguilar.
The Nova Uniao product was strong in the early going, using his grappling to neutralize the offense of his Mexican counterpart, repeatedly putting Aguilar on the deck and keeping him there for extended periods over the first two rounds. In the third, Aguilar had much more success as Estevam tired, but the Brazilian was able to avoid getting finished and close out the fight in top position.
Now 13-0 as a professional and owning a unanimous decision win over ranked flyweight Charles Johnson, the 28-year-old Estevam has shown a great deal of promise through his first two UFC assignments. With his health issues behind him and another quality win under his belt, “Macapa” merits another step up in competition next time out. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
Veteran Angela Hill and up-and-comer Ketlen Souza locked up in a competitive battle in the strawweight division that went the full 15 minutes.
Hill came out working at a high pace, taking the fight to the shorter, more powerful Brazilian before Souza appeared to find her footing and her range in the second, seemingly drawing level by landing the heavier blows throughout.
While Hill secured a takedown early in the third, Souza was able to work back to her feet, seemingly getting the better of the striking exchanges over the final three minutes of the fight.
The judges were tasked with determining the victor and when the scores were tallied, it was Hill that came out on the happy side of the split decision verdict. It’s the first time “Overkill” has landed on the positive side of a split decision, and a tremendous win over a talented emerging threat for the 40-year-old divisional stalwart. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
The MMA Lab has another promising prospect on their hands, as Jose Delgado rolled into his UFC debut and ran through Connor Matthews.
Delgado landed a clean spinning backfist on Matthews in the early stages of the opening round, which the New England native somehow managed to eat. But it didn’t take much longer for Delgado to put Matthews on the canvas, where he climbed into mount and quickly pounded out the finish, unleashing a torrent of unanswered that left Matthews face-down on the canvas.
The 26-year-old punched his ticket to the UFC with a win on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series, and looks poised to be the next fighter from the Arizona all-star team to potentially make an impact inside the Octagon. Just 10 fights into his professional career, Delgado is now 9-1 and someone to keep very close tabs on going forward. | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 15, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
