Esteemed veterans Ricky Simon and Raoni Barcelos went toe-to-toe in a spirited 15-minute bantamweight bout on the preliminary card of Saturday's UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, with Barcelos extending his winning streak to four straight with a unanimous decision victory.
Barcelos dropped Simon in the first round on all three judges' scorecards, then used his boxing and solid takedown defense to give him the advantage in each of the final two rounds. The 38-year-old Brazilian posted consecutive wins over Christian Quinones, Payton Talbott and former 135-pound champion Cody Garbrandt before ending Simon's two-fight streak.
Highly-touted heavyweight prospect Josh Hokit made a successful UFC debut, knocking out fellow rookie Max Gimenis in 56 seconds.
The 27-year-old American is a former college football player who spent time on several NFL practice squads from 2020 to 2022 and is now 7-0 in mixed martial arts. Hokit earned a UFC contract in August thanks to his win over Guilherme Uriel at Dana White's Contender Series.
After a quick knockout, Hokit stepped up to the microphone and called out fast-moving heavyweight Walter Walker.
“I’ve already trampled two Brazilians (Gimenis and Uriel) and I’m looking for a third,” Hokit said, before adding: “Walter Walker, you suck.”
Walker has made a name for himself as of late, winning his last four fights via heel submission in the first round. this is a UFC record.
The qualifying matches began with a pair of chokes in the second round.
Daniel Marcos put Miles Jones to sleep in a bantamweight bout. Peru's Marcos, 32, improved to 18-1 as a professional and bounced back from his first loss to Montel Jackson in May. It was his first stoppage win in the UFC since his promotional debut nearly three years ago. Jones, 31, has lost three straight after starting his career 14-2.
Zachary Reese scored a short win over Jackson McVay in a 195-pound catchweight bout to open the card. Reese secured the finish after taking a dominant position on the ground following the first back and forth round. The match was scheduled for midweek after McVay's original opponent, Robert Valentine, withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
Also on the preliminary card, Jamall Emmers scored timely takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over fellow featherweight Haider Emil. Jacqueline Cavalcanti improved to 5-0 in the UFC with a unanimous decision victory over former women's bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva, who is currently riding a four-fight losing streak. Denise Gomez won her fourth fight in a row, outpointing Tesha Pennington in their strawweight bout.
