UFC in 2025: Year Opens With Top Women's Strawweight Contenders Headliner at The Apex

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UFC in 2025: The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off 2025 at UFC APEX with UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs. Ribas 2, headlined by a compelling strawweight rankers clash as No. 6 ranked contender Mackenzie Dern and No. 8 ranked Amanda Ribas collide with the hopes of breaking into the Top 5.

A relentless grappler and submission specialist Dern (14-5, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) aims to even the score with Ribas with a standout performance, having lost to her compatriot in 2019 via unanimous decision in UFC Fight Night 161 event in Tampa, Florida.

Dern has put her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt skills on display in impressive wins over Loopy Godinez, Angela Hill, and Tecia Pennington. She now looks to add to her record for the most submissions in UFC strawweight history and insert herself into the title conversation.

A black belt in both judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Ribas (13-5, fighting out of Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil), on the other hand, seeks to start off her 2025 campaign by replicating her October 2019 victory over Dern.

Ribas has proven herself as one of the best in the division with finishes of Luana Pinheiro, Paige VanZant, and Emily Whitmire. Ribas now has her sights set on making a statement in her return to the 115-pound weight class.

Also on the card for the UFC Fight Night event that takes place on 11th January 2025 in Las Vegas, exciting middleweight strikers face off as Chris Curtis battles Roman Kopylov.

A well-rounded athlete, Curtis (31-11 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Cincinnati, Ohio) returns to the Octagon with hopes of kickstarting a run up the rankings.

Curtis has entertained fans in wins over Marc-Andre Barriault, Joaquin Buckley and Rodolfo Vieira. He now hopes to steal the show with a definitive showing against Kopylov on the potential main card bout.

Winner of five of his last six bouts, exciting striker Kopylov (13-3, fighting out of Bachatsky, Kemerovo, Russia), on the other hand, looks to notch the biggest victory of his UFC career.

The Russian has impressed with notable knockouts of Josh Fremd, Claudio Ribeiro, and Alessio Di Chirico. Kopylov now plans to make a case to break into the Top 15 with a thunderous win over Curtis.

Additional bouts on the UFC Vegas 1010 card include: 

• Dana White's Contender Series signee Marco Tulio (12-1, fighting out of São Paulo, Brazil) aims to impress in his UFC debut against Ihor Potieria (21-7, fighting out of Kiev, Ukraine) at middleweight.
• An exciting lightweight matchup sees Thiago Moises (18-8, fighting out of Indaiatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) take on Trey Ogden (18-6, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.).
• Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (9-0, fighting out of Kingdom of Bahrain) plans to remain undefeated as he faces debuting Dana White's Contender Series contract winner Bruno Lopes (13-1, fighting out of Cotia, Sao Paulo, Brazil) in a light heavyweight bout.
• Former professional kickboxer Cesar Almeida (6-1, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) takes on Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6, fighting out of Denver, Colo. by way of Accra, Ghana) in a battle of all-action middleweights.
• Christian Rodriguez (11-2, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) looks to derail the rise of Dana White's Contender Series standout Austin Bashi (13-0, fighting out of West Bloomfield, Mich.) at featherweight.
• Veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-8, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) looks to make a statement against Carlston Harris (19-6, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by way of Skeldon, Guyana) at welterweight.
• Dana White's Contender Series veterans Punahele Soriano (10-4, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Oahu, Hawaii) and Uros Medic (10-2, fighting out of Anchorage, Alaska by way of Novi Sad, Serbia) go toe-to-toe at welterweight.
• Jose Johnson (16-9, fighting out of Copperas Cove, Texas by way of La Romana, Dominican Republic) takes on Felipe Bunes (13-7, fighting out of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) at flyweight.
• Nurullo Aliev (9-0, fighting out of Dushanbe, Tajikistan) aims to keep his perfect record intact when he battles Yanal Ashmouz (8-1, fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. by way of Kfar Kama, Israel) in a lightweight bout.
• Ernesta Kareckaite (5-1-1, fighting out of Kaunas, Lithuania) hopes to earn her first UFC victory when she meets Nicolle Caliari (8-2, fighting out of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil) in a flyweight bout.
• Welterweight action sees Preston Parsons (11-5, fighting out of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) face off with Dana White's Contender Series signee Andreas Gustafsson (11-2, fighting out of Västerås, Sweden).
• Fatima Kline (6-1, fighting out of Hyde Park, N.Y.) meets Dana White's Contender Series alum Viktoriia Dudakova (8-1, fighting out of Volgograd, Russia) in a strawweight clash sure to deliver fireworks.

UFC Vegas 101 Broadcast & VIP Package Details

UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2 takes place on Saturday, January 11 in Las Vegas. The entire event will stream live on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) beginning with the prelims at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT, followed by the main card at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT. 

UFC APEX VIP Experience packages are available via On Location, UFC's Official VIP Experience Provider. Enjoy exclusive access with an official ticket package that includes premium seating, all-inclusive hospitality, in-seat beverage service, meet-and-greets with UFC Octagon Girls and more. Visit UFCVIP.com for more information.

Source: Press Release