It's safe to say the UFC kicked off 2025 with a bang.

The promotion's first fight of the year went down in its Las Vegas Apex facility on Saturday night, and it turned out to be one of the most violent nights in the Octagon in quite some time.

The card was headlined by a strawweight bout, with BJJ specialist Mackenzie Dern looking for redemption against Amanda Ribas, who she lost a decision to back in 2019. Dern ultimately succeeded on her mission, scoring her first finish since 2021 with a third-round armbar. The co-headliner, meanwhile, was contested at welterweight, where Argentinian veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio survived an early scare to score a come-from-behind stoppage victory over Carlston Harris.

Arguably the most memorable performance of the night occurred earlier on the main card, when former kickboxer Cesar Almeida bounced back from an early knockdown to score a thunderous KO against Abdul Razak Alhassan. Viewers got a bit of a scare when Razak Alhassan struggled to get off the canvas for quite some time, but he seems to have made a quick recovery, so we can safely celebrate what was an early contender for 2025's Knockout of the Year honors.

Roman Kopylov, a Russian middleweight with a recent split-decision victory over Almeida, also won big on the card, taking out a proven contender in Chris Curtis with a last-second head kick that was immediately called an early stoppage by some.

It was a night we'll be talking about for quite some time—for a number of reasons—and it opened the door to some exciting matchups for the coming months.

Here are the fights we're hoping will be made in the aftermath.

Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xiaonan

It's fair to say Mackenzie Dern's dreams of becoming a UFC champion would have been dashed for good if she came up short to Amanda Ribas for a second time on Saturday.

As a decorated submission grappling competitor, Dern has always had obvious potential in MMA, but she's been very hot and cold. At times, when she's shown surprising punching power and improvements in terms of striking techniques, it's seemed like she might live up to her potential. At other times, when her striking has looked downright atrocious, it's looked more like she would never quite get there.

It remains to be seen if she will ever capture a UFC title, but by beating Ribas on Saturday, she at least kept hope alive.

From here, she should be matched up with China's Yan Xiaonan.

It would be another rematch, as she lost a majority decision to Yan in 2022, but it makes sense. Dern, ranked No. 6 ahead of Saturday, is now on a two-fight streak, and the third-ranked Yan recently rebounded from a failed title shot opposite Zhang Weili with a decision win over Tabatha Ricci. They're right in each other's orbits, and their first fight was close enough that a rematch is justifiable.

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Vicente Luque

Santiago Ponzinibbio may be 38 years old, but the "Argentine Dagger" is still razor sharp. In fact, it's possible we're all sleeping on how capable this guy remains.

His come-from-behind win over Carlston Harris was impressive enough on its own, but consider the other information available: He's a solid 30-8 overall, and three of his most recent losses were competitive split decisions against strong opposition. He probably won't ever get near a title shot, but we needn't be so squeamish as to refrain from matching him up with ranked foes.

On that note, our pick for his next fight is Vicente Luque.

Luque is currently ranked No. 14 at welterweight. While he was once closing in on a title shot, his recent losses have been far more indicative of decline than Ponzinibbio's. That said, the longtime contender recently defended his spot in the rankings with a quick submission win over Themba Gorimbo and looks like a great option for a fellow veteran in Ponzinibbio.

Cesar Almeida vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Cesar Almeida, who famously went 1-2 in a kickboxing trilogy with Alex Pereira, is off to a strong start in the UFC. After his devastating knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan, he's sporting a 3-1 Octagon record, with his lone loss coming to a proven commodity in Roman Kopylov by split decision.

It's too early to match him up with a ranked opponent, but he's definitely deserving of another tough fight.

Our pick for his next opponent is Dustin Stoltzfus. Stoltzfus has gone a rough 3-5 in the Octagon to date, but he recently showed what he's capable of with a blistering, one-punch KO of durable Quebecois veteran Marc-Andre Barriault.

It's a great fight on paper that is more than likely to end with some kind of blink-and-miss-it finish.

Roman Kopylov vs. Michel Pereira

Roman Kopylov's stoppage win over Chris Curtis was definitely somewhat dubious, but there's no question that the lightning quick Russian striker has the chops to make some waves at middleweight. He's now won six of his last seven fights, with his lone loss coming against surging contender Anthony Hernandez.

He's definitely got some interesting options in the division, but our pick for his next fight is No. 15-ranked middleweight contender Michel Pereira.

Pereira, a former welterweight known for his wild striking style, was recently on a serious hot streak but suffered a hype-killing loss to Hernandez in his last fight. When he's ready to get back in there, a guy like Kopylov seems like just the kind of opponent he should be matched up with.

It's an interesting clash of striking styles on paper, and it would tell us a lot about where they each belong in the crowded middleweight division.