The action touched down inside the Meta APEX for the first time in 2026 on Saturday. Following an entertaining preliminary card slate, the six-fight main card that opened with a finish and wrapped in the loaded bantamweight division.
Get caught up on all the action from inside the Octagon with our recaps below.
Just a handful of months after having his lengthy winning streak halted, Mario Bautista quickly and emphatically got things moving in the right direction again, collecting a second-round submission win over Vinicius Oliveira to close out Saturday’s fight card.
The MMA Lab representative dominated his Brazilian foe from the outset, leaning on his experience and more diverse skill set to thoroughly outclass the Dana White’s Contender Series alum. Late in the second, Bautista worked to a mounted crucifix, battering Oliveira before transitioning to the back out of a scramble, quickly locking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
This was an outstanding performance for the humble and skilled Bautista, who not only defending his spot in the rankings, but issues a statement to anyone looking to advance at his expense. Seeking to move forward in the loaded division, he called for a rematch with Cory Sandhagen, who submitted him several years ago when Bautista made his short notice debut in Brooklyn.
Kyoji Horiguchi made it two straight wins over ranked opponents since returning to the UFC, defeating the returning Amir Albazi in Saturday’s co-main event at the Meta APEX.
The 35-year-old standout flashed his signature quickly and darting style, closing the distance swiftly to land and doing well to avoid eating too much significant return fire. He cut and wobbled Albazi in the second and poured it on in the third, stinging him once more and piling up the damage om the way to running away with the contest.
While the judges were tasked with determining the victor, the outcome was never in doubt, as Horiguchi earned a clean sweep of the scorecards. Now unbeaten in eight straight bouts and riding a five-fight winning streak, the “Karate Kid” is once again a title contender in the UFC 125-pound weight class.
The heavyweight matchup between Rizvan Kuniev and Jailton Almeida turned into an odd tussle with prolonged periods of inactivity along the fence and single-shot striking in space.
As both men prefer to grapple, you knew there would be stretches where they battled for position, but neither was able to do much in those entanglements. When they did throw shots, Kuniev was the more fluid and more successful of the two, scoring with short knees and uppercuts inside and slightly more volume in space.
Kuniev earned a clean sweep of the scorecards and should be catapulted into the Top 15 after toppling the sixth-ranked Brazilian for his first UFC win. This was a second straight low-output showing and second straight loss for “Malhadinho,” who opened his UFC career with wins in eight of his first nine appearances, including seven finishes. His sudden aversion to attacking remains one of the more perplexing developments of the last year.
Michal Oleksiejczuk and Marc-Andre Barriault engaged in an entertaining slobberknocker on Saturday night, splitting the opening two rounds and leaving the outcoming hanging on how things played out in the final stanza.
Oleksiejczuk was technical and smooth in the first, taking the fight to the French-Canadian veteran as he searched for a third straight first-round finish. Barriault responded in the second, dirtying things up by deploying his usual close quarters style to draw level. In the third, they each leaned on their respective styles and had moments of success, one scoring before the other responded in kind, leaving the outcome in the hands of the judges.
All three officials scored the fight in favor of Oleksiejczuk, who earned his third consecutive victory and 10th career UFC victory. The Polish middleweight is now 3-0 since joining forces with the Fighting Nerds, continuing his climb towards the Top 15.
Farid Basharat continued his undefeated march forward in the talent-rich bantamweight division with a hard-fought win over fellow prospect Jean Matsumoto.
The 28-year-old showed all the facets of his game, cutting Matsumoto with an elbow straight out of the gates while mixing in his usual blend of technical striking and timely wrestling. Matsumoto had moments, landing a smattering of quality shots and chasing grappling exchanges of his own, only for Basharat to find shots of his own.
This one highlighted the scoring criteria, as Basharat did the appreciable damage and came out on the happy side of the split decision verdict. That’s now six straight in the UFC and 15 consecutive wins overall for the ascending Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, who takes another step towards the Top 15 with the victory.
Dustin Jacoby collected his third straight stoppage victory to kick off the main card of Saturday’s first Fight Night event of the Paramount+ Era, pounding out a second-round finish against Julius Walker.
This was a tale of two fights and two styles, with Jacoby dominating in space, but Walker having success in the grappling interactions in the opening round, twice depositing the veteran to the canvas with high amplitude slams. But at the start of the second, Jacoby came out firing and caught Walker, putting him on skates and eventually chasing down the finish.
Originally scheduled to compete last weekend at UFC 325, this was a strong performance by “The Hanyak,” who added to his winning streak and continued his push towards the Top 15. The veteran kickboxer called for an opportunity to compete on the June White House show, which also suggesting he and President Trump tee it up later this year.
UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs Oliveira took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 7, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
