Kevin Vallejos shines in first UFC main event, stops Josh Emmett early

Kevin Vallejos lived up to the hype and then some in his first UFC main event.

The 24-year-old standout featherweight from Argentina improved to 18-1 in mixed martial arts and 4-0 in the UFC after putting away seasoned veteran Josh Emmett within one round Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Vallejos was respectful of Emmett all week but also stated he wouldn’t shy away from seeking the knockout, and that's exactly how the tilt unfolded.

The 17-year age gap was immediately apparent, and Vallejos used his clear speed advantage to begin piecing up his 41-year-old opponent.

Vallejos dropped Emmett with a stiff right hand as the pair exchanged in the centre of the cage, and Emmett was eventually overwhelmed by Vallejos’s fierce follow-up strikes and the referee waved it off.

Vallejos capped off his perfect 2025 rookie campaign with a spinning backfist knockout finish of touted kickboxer Giga Chikadze to get into the rankings, and he just made it look easy against the No. 11 contender.

As Vallejos was entering the Octagon at the Meta Apex, cageside commentator Michael Bisping made a comparison to Ilia Topuria, the former undisputed featherweight champion and current lightweight titleholder. It’s not the first time Vallejos has drawn comparisons to Topuria, but they come with lofty expectations.

One of Topuria’s biggest breakthrough performances on his road to UFC gold was in 2023 when he schooled Emmett for five rounds in a Fight Night main event. Topuria’s win over Emmett earned him a title shot in his next outing, and he went on to defeat Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in consecutive knockout victories. 

A win over Emmett in 2026 doesn’t mean quite as much as it did a few years ago, so this technical knockout win won't push Vallejos into immediate title contention. However, the decisive stoppage sent a clear message to the entire 145-pound division: that Vallejos represents the next generation of contenders and that he’s ready to make a run at the title.

To date, the only loss Vallejos has experienced in MMA was a competitive decision to Jean Silva in 2023 in his first of two Contender Series appearances. The loss has aged extremely well considering Silva has gone 6-1 in the UFC since beating Vallejos and is currently ranked No. 6 in the division.

Emmett, meanwhile, has lost three in a row for the first time in his career and is 1-5 over the past three years overall. He only managed to land three strikes on Vallejos, who was more than a five-to-one betting favourite. This was also the fifth consecutive fight at the Meta Apex for Vallejos.

The main event was one of three featherweight matchups on the 14-bout card.

Marwan Rahiki is making a habit out of getting into wild slugfests at the Meta Apex. The 23-year-old Australian featherweight earned his UFC contract with a thrilling comeback stoppage on Dana White’s Contender Series in October, and on Saturday, he thrilled again in a technical knockout win over Harry Hardwick.

Rahiki landed 90 significant strikes in a 10-minute span, and Hardwick’s corner waved off the fight before the final round due to the 31-year-old from England sustaining a jaw injury when Rahiki landed a flurry of punches midway through Round 2. Rahiki made his MMA debut less than three years ago but is already 8-0 as a pro. Hardwick fell to 0-2 in the UFC. 

Also on the main card, Andre Fili and Jose Delgado required the judges in a spirited featherweight bout. Delgado edged out Fili and walked away with the split decision nod.

The night’s co-main event saw Canada’s Gillian Robertson extend her winning streak with a unanimous decision over Brazil’s Amanda Lemos in a meeting of top strawweights.

Robertson had some trouble with Lemos on the feet early, but she was able to dictate where the fight took place over the final two rounds. After the win, she said she is ready for a title shot.

Mackenzie Dern is the current titleholder at 115 pounds, and it’s possible former champ Zhang Weili will return to the weight class after vacating the title last year and moving up to challenge 125-pound champion Valentina Shevchanko.

Robertson can expect to move into the top five when the rankings next update. The 30-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., has risen to No. 8 during her current streak and the one-time title challenger Lemos, 38, was ranked No. 5 in the division prior to facing Robertson.

Ion Cutelaba is enjoying the best stretch of his UFC tenure since before 2018. The aggressive 205-pounder from Moldova has won three of his past four, and he picked up another submission win. Cutelaba forced a quick tap from Oumar Sy when he locked up a guillotine choke in Round 1.

Since he took little damage from Sy, after his win, Cutelaba requested a spot on the April 4 Fight Night card scheduled for the Meta Apex.

Charles Johnson opened the main card with a split decision over Bruno Silva in flyweight action. Johnson was making a quick turnaround after being knocked out by Alex Perez in January.

Johnson entered the weekend ranked No. 12 at 125 pounds and holds notable TKO wins over current titleholder Joshua Van and rising contender Lone’er Kavanagh, who recently shot up the rankings after defeating former champ Bradon Moreno.

Manoel Sousa and Myktybek Orolbai were among the fighters to impress on the eight-fight preliminary card.

This was the second Apex Fight Night event so far this year. The next one is in three weeks. Next weekend, the UFC travels to London, England, for a Fight Night event headlined by a featherweight title eliminator between unbeaten contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy.