Brendan Allen dramatically strengthened his case for a future middleweight title opportunity on Saturday night, securing a late-round submission victory over Christian Leroy Duncan in the main event of UFC Vegas 122 at the Meta Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The high-stakes encounter, broadcast live across the globe, delivered a compelling clash of styles that featured sharp striking exchanges, intense grappling sequences, and high drama over the course of nearly five full rounds. While Duncan utilized his length and athleticism to find success on the feet, Allen’s relentless grappling and suffocating mat pressure ultimately dictated the momentum of the bout.
Brendan Allen Secures Fifth-Round Rear-Naked Choke Against Christian Leroy Duncan
The main event was characterized by fluctuating fortunes from the opening bell. Both men traded heavy blows in the center of the Octagon during the early frames, with Duncan using his dynamic striking arsenal to keep Allen on the defensive at times. However, the fight’s complexion shifted significantly in the second round when referee intervention was required following an accidental eye poke from Duncan. The infraction resulted in an immediate point deduction against Duncan, altering the mathematical landscape of the scorecards and forcing the British contender to chase the fight more aggressively.
Despite the setback, Duncan (15-3) continued to showcase dangerous moments in the striking exchanges, but Allen’s veteran poise and world-class submission grappling proved to be the deciding factors as the championship rounds approached. "All In" methodically wore down his opponent, neutralizing the explosive attacks that "CLD" attempted to mount.
The decisive sequence arrived in the fifth and final round. Allen successfully secured a clutch takedown against the cage, expertly transitioning from a body lock to Duncan’s back. With supreme control, Allen worked his way into position and slipped his forearm under the chin, locking in a tight rear-naked choke. Duncan valiantly attempted to shake off the submission and escape the perilous position, but the leverage proved insurmountable. He was forced to tap out at the 2:46 mark of the fifth round, bringing an emphatic end to the grueling contest.
With the victory, Allen improved his stellar professional mixed martial arts record to 28-7, further cementing his status among the elite contenders in the UFC’s talent-rich middleweight division and placing himself squarely in the conversation for the next opportunity at championship gold.
In the lightweight co-main event of the evening, Jai Herbert earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Matheus Camilo. The bout was a tactical and physical test of endurance. Camilo (11-4) came out of the gate strong, utilizing effective technical striking and superior ground control to win the favor of the judges in the opening round. However, "The Black Country Banger" demonstrated incredible resilience, seizing crucial momentum on the canvas during the second stanza before pouring on the pressure in the third. Herbert targeted Camilo’s body and head with a relentless volume of punches, swaying the judges’ opinions down the stretch. All three cageside judges submitted identical scorecards of 29-28 in favor of Herbert, who elevated his professional record to 15-6-1.
The main card also featured a closely contested women’s flyweight matchup between Lupita Godinez and Ketlen Souza. Souza found significant success with her crisp boxing and technical striking in the first two rounds, repeatedly troubling Godinez on the feet. Recognizing the deficit, "Loopy" adjusted her game plan ahead of the third frame, executing a timely takedown and establishing dominant positional control for the majority of the remaining action. The late surge proved crucial, as all three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Godinez, pushing her record to 15-6 while Souza dropped to 17-7.
Earlier on the card, UFC veteran Andre Fili delivered one of the most explosive highlights of the night in his featherweight clash against Kai Kamaka III. After a competitive start, Fili caught Kamaka with a sharp left hook early in the second round that immediately stunned his opponent. Seizing the opening, "Touchy" instantly followed up with a devastating right head kick that rendered Kamaka completely unconscious before he even hit the canvas. Referee Chris Tognoni rushed in to halt the contest instantly, awarding Fili a spectacular knockout victory just 22 seconds into the second round. The win lifts Fili’s veteran record to 26-14, while Kamaka falls to 18-9-1.
The bantamweight division also played host to a dramatic finish as Malcolm Wellmaker and Otari Tanzilovi squared off. Following a fiercely contested opening round that left little to separate the two competitors, Tanzilovi altered the trajectory of the bout abruptly in the second. The Georgian bantamweight landed a crushing head kick that dropped Wellmaker to the floor, quickly following up with decisive punches to seal the deal. Referee Marc Goddard waved off the contest at 2:39 of the second round, awarding Tanzilovi a technical knockout victory and bringing his record to 11-2, while Wellmaker moves to 10-3.
In the featured preliminary attraction, Julius Walker delivered a commanding performance against veteran Gerald Meerschaert in a light heavyweight encounter. "Juice Box" utilized his wrestling base to secure multiple takedown conversions, maintaining relentless top pressure and punishing Meerschaert with heavy ground-and-pound. Referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout at the 3:35 mark of the second round, bringing Walker’s record to 8-3. Following the conclusion of the fight, the 37-year-old Meerschaert announced his official retirement from professional competition, bringing the curtain down on a long and respected career that saw him compile a 37-23 record.
Francisco Prado snapped a four-fight decision skid in style, securing his first victory inside the Octagon in over three years. The Argentine lightweight applied immense pressure on Ismael Bonfim, overwhelming him with a heavy volume of strikes and successful takedowns before transitioning to the mat to finish the fight with unanswered ground-and-pound. Referee Jason Herzog intervened at 4:23 of the first round. Bonfim, who struggled significantly on the scale earlier in the week and missed the lightweight limit by 7.5 pounds, saw his record drop to 20-8, while Prado improved to 13-5.
Niko Price made a successful and impressive return from retirement, overpowering Leon Shahbazyan to secure a first-round stoppage in their welterweight collision. Price applied immediate forward pressure, mixing up his strikes and effortlessly reversing a takedown attempt to claim top position. He maintained a suffocating attack until referee Chris Tognoni stepped in at the 1:58 mark of the opening frame. The win improved Price’s career mark to 17-11 with 2 no-contests, while Shahbazyan fell to 12-6.
Brendson Ribeiro bounced back from a difficult four-fight skid in dramatic fashion, locking in a swift submission against Felipe Franco. "The Gorilla" snared Franco in a tight standing guillotine choke as the fight went to the canvas, maintaining the submission squeeze and rolling directly into full mount to force a rapid tapout at 1:49 of the first round. Ribeiro, who also missed weight ahead of the event, offered a heartfelt apology to fans in his post-fight interview, detailing a uniquely challenging personal year. The win brought his record to 18-11 with 1 no-contest, while Franco dropped to 11-3.
In heavyweight action, Allen Frye Jr. overcame early adversity to stop Richard Harris in the first round. "AJ" recovered swiftly from an initial counter right hand from Harris, turning the tide with a punishing barrage of strikes that knocked his opponent down. Frye continued his offensive output on the mat until referee Herb Dean intervened at 2:59, awarding him a technical knockout victory that lifts his record to 7-1 and drops Harris to 6-1.
Twenty-year-old Alice Pereira, the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster, added another impressive win to her resume by defeating Russia’s Darya Zheleznyakova. "The Golden Girl" utilized her striking on the feet before securing a crucial takedown and raining down heavy ground-and-pound. A slicing elbow opened a deep cut on Zheleznyakova’s forehead late in the first round, prompting her corner to decline continuation between rounds. The technical knockout was officially recorded at 5:00 of the first round, lifting Pereira’s record to 8-1 and handing Zheleznyakova her fourth career loss.
Opening the card’s action, a women’s flyweight bout between Ernesta "Heavy-Handed" Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto ended in a majority draw. Kareckaite suffered a critical point deduction in the opening round for grabbing the cage fence, an infraction that ultimately cost her a split decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. At the conclusion of the three rounds, one judge scored the bout 29-27 for Gatto, while the remaining two officials submitted matching 28-28 scorecards, bringing Kareckaite’s record to 6-2-2 and Gatto’s to 9-3-3.
