The octagon returns to Meta APEX in Sin City this Saturday for UFC Vegas 122, a 12-bout Fight Night card headlined by middleweights Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan.
With so many fights slated for this weekend, it’s time to look at the card’s top storylines.
Brendan Allen & Christian Leroy Duncan try to enter UFC's middleweight elite
In the main event of UFC Vegas 122, it'll be a five-round bout between No. 5-ranked Brendan Allen and No. 10-ranked Christian Leroy Duncan. A key fight at 185 pounds, the winner will likely be closing in on a middleweight title shot.
Allen has won three straight fights entering Saturday over Edmen Shahbazyan, Reinier de Ridder, and Marvin Vettori, earning two Fight of the Night bonuses during that span. The 30-year-old Louisiana native first joined the UFC in 2019 and has racked up an impressive 15-4 record since then. However, he’s never gotten a title shot, as he’s lost a few key fights that have halted his progress up the rankings. If Allen can beat Duncan, though, he’ll be very close to finally fighting for the belt.
Duncan, meanwhile, is looking to thwart Allen’s ascension up the middleweight rankings but is also looking to extend his win streak to six in a row. The 31-year-old is 8-2 overall in the UFC and has been looking exceptional as of late. If he can go in there and pull off a slight upset against Allen in the UFC Vegas 122 main event, it could have the Brit closing in on the division’s elite.
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Vancouver’s Loopy Godinez looks to get back into win column
Also on the main card, UFC women’s strawweight contender Loopy Godinez looks to bounce back from a submission loss to Tatiana Suarez in her last fight when she battles Ketlen Souza.
Godinez, who is Mexican-born but now lives and trains in Vancouver, has been a bit inconsistent in the UFC with a 9-6 record since first joining the organization in 2021. But if she can get a big win over Souza, she’ll keep her No. 11 ranking at 115 pounds.
Meanwhile, Souza is looking to break into the UFC rankings. She only has a 4-3 UFC record overall, but she’s won two straight fights, and she’s also someone who has finishing ability at 115 pounds. This won’t be an easy fight for Godinez, but it’s one that she absolutely needs to win.
Bantamweight KO artist Malcolm Wellmaker returns after joining new camp
Kicking off the main card, Malcolm Wellmaker will hope to bounce back into the win column after two straight disappointing losses when he takes on Otari Tanzilovi on Saturday.
Wellmaker won his first two UFC fights by brutal KO but has since suffered two straight defeats as a big favorite, prompting him to move to American Top Team, arguably the best gym in MMA.
Following that big career change, Wellmaker returns against Tanzilovi in a fight that he should absolutely win, and one he could very well turn back the clock and score another highlight-reel KO. Wellmaker is a supreme talent, so don’t forget about him at 135 pounds.
Veteran Gerald Meerschaert’s Potential Last Stand
In the featured preliminary card bout, veteran Gerald Meerschaert will look to save his UFC job when he takes on Julius Walker in what is Meerschaert’s UFC light heavyweight debut.
With 12 stoppage wins, Meerschaert has the most finishes of any fighter in UFC middleweight history, one more than the legendary Anderson Silva. But the 38-year-old Meerschaert has lost five fights in a row, so he has moved up to light heavyweight to try and snap his losing skid.
Meerschaert is the underdog here against Walker, who is only 27 but is just 1-3 in the UFC. The matchmakers are therefore giving Meerschaert a winnable fight, so although he is a big betting underdog at the sportsbooks, you can’t count him out from getting a finish over Walker. If Meerschaert loses, though, it could spell the end of his UFC career and potentially retire him.
Niko Price’s retirement fight
There will be at least one definite retirement on Saturday, when Niko Price takes on Leon Shahbazyan on the UFC Vegas 122 preliminary card in what will be his final UFC fight.
Price was supposed to retire after a submission loss to Michael Chiesa at UFC Seattle in March, but matchmaker Sean Shelby asked him to fight one more time so the promotion could give him a better sendoff, as Chiesa also retired in that fight and got far more attention.
Not only is the UFC giving Price one more fight, but they are giving him a winnable matchup against Shahbazyan, who has an iffy chin and whom Price can very well stop. Although Price has lost four straight fights, don’t count him out from ending his career with a big win.
UFC's youngest fighter returns to octagon
Finally, we have a women’s bantamweight bout worth watching between Alice Pereira and Daria Zhelezniakova that is buried deep on the prelims but is one that’s intriguing.
At just 20 years old, Pereira is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster right now. After losing a disappointing split decision to Montse Rendon in her UFC debut last year, Pereira came back with a vengeance when she viciously KO’d Hailey Cowan with a knee in her second UFC fight.
Now, Pereira will look to break into the top-15 rankings at women’s 135 pounds against Zhelezniakova, who is 2-2 in the UFC and the No. 14-ranked fighter in the division. This will be an interesting fight to watch play out, as both women have their own paths to victory, with Pereira looking to keep the fight standing, while Zhelezniakova will prefer to take it to the mat.
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