The Scorecard | UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs Oliveira

His striking and controlled pressure had already hit Oliveira’s gas tank in the first round. And, with the Brazilian slowing and turning to his grappling in a bid to take control, he unwittingly entered Bautista’s world, and had to tap his way out.

RELATED: Bautista Backstage Interview | Bautista Submits Oliveira In the Second Round

The finish, a slick sequence that saw Bautista transition through a succession of submission techniques before locking up the fight-ending rear-naked choke, was a thing of beauty, and showcased just how dangerous the 32-year-old is on the ground.

It was an outstanding performance from Bautista, who bounced back from his decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov last October, and showed the world that he’s still very much a factor in the bantamweight top 10.

Kyoji Horiguchi

Tasked with defeating a fighter with just three career losses and zero defeats by finish, Kyoji Horiguchi probably had a feeling he was in for a long night against Amir Albazi. But the Japanese star still managed to produce a performance that enhanced his already sky-high credentials as he looks to position himself for a title shot later this year.

Horiguchi was as quick as a hiccup, and constantly had Albazi on the back foot. It felt like whenever Horiguchi decided to launch an attack, he was always one step ahead. The only thing missing from his performance was a finish, and the absence of a knockout or submission left Horiguchi a little disappointed when he gave his post-fight interview with Paul Felder in the Octagon.

It was a great showing from Jacoby, and even more impressive given that he had flown to Sydney to fight at UFC 325 only for his bout with Jimmy Crute to be scrapped after Crute sustained an injury. Jacoby stuck around, cornered teammate Cody Brundage, then flew home and took Saturday’s short-notice assignment with Walker. 

Jacoby’s victory puts him on a three-fight win streak, with all three wins coming by knockout. It means his chances of his request to be a part of the upcoming UFC card at the White House may have improved somewhat. His other request – to play a round of golf with the President – might be a trickier wish to grant.

Rizvan Kuniev

His fight won’t end up making any end-of-year highlight reels, but after losing to Curtis Blaydes on his UFC debut last time out, Rizvan Kuniev’s victory over Jailton Almeida might just be one of the most important of his career to date.

In a fight where he had to focus more than normal on his takedown defense, Kuniev effectively shut down Almeida’s threat at source as he stuffed each and every one of the eight takedowns the Brazilian attempted over the course of the fight. And while much of the bout was spent defending Almeida’s takedowns, when his hands were free, Kuniev put them to good use, landing 102 strikes, 43 of them significant, over the 15-minute contest.

It was the sort of fight that an ill-prepared fighter could easily have lost, but Kuniev stayed diligent throughout to earn the unanimous decision win, with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. And, with Almeida ranked sixth heading into the weekend, the unranked Kuniev may well find himself not only with a number next to his name this week, but potentially a spot inside the top 10.

The tests will only get tougher from here, but Kuniev has just passed an important one.

Klaudia Sygula

After losing her Octagon debut via TKO back in November 2024, Poland’s Klaudia Sygula knew she needed to up her game. And in her two performances since, she’s done exactly that.

On Saturday, Sygula followed up her June 2025 win over Irina Alekseeva with a hard-earned victory over Brazil’s Priscila Cachoeira as she kicked off the event with a win.