Welcome to another year in mixed martial arts.

The UFC turned the calendar page and started a particularly busy stretch with a Fight Night show at its Las Vegas home base, where strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas headlined a 14-bout card in the rematch of their first get-together from 2019.

Ribas was a unanimous decision winner that night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., and she arrived to the second bout as the eighth-ranked contender at 115 pounds, two spots behind the sixth-ranked Dern, who'd won seven of 11 bouts since and earned a unanimous verdict over Loopy Godínez last summer in Abu Dhabi.

The promotion will take its pay-per-view act to southern California next weekend before crossing the Atlantic for a Fight Night show on February 1 in Saudi Arabia and another pay-per-view event on February 8 in Sydney, Australia.

The B/R combat team was in position for Saturday's show at the Apex to deliver a real-time list of definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the app comments.

Winner: Professorial Position

If you like your jiu-jitsu on a high level, this was your main event.

Mackenzie Dern's prowess on the mat was no secret to second-time opponent Amanda Ribas, but that didn't mean Ribas was immune from being lured into a precarious situation.

That's precisely what happened in the third round of the scheduled five-rounder, when Dern countered a Ribas takedown, swept to an advantageous position with an armbar and bent the left-side appendage until her foe surrendered with just four seconds to go.

It was Dern's second win in a row, her 10th in 15 UFC appearances and a measure of revenge after she'd dropped a three-round decision when the women met in 2019.

"From five years ago," she said, "to get this win was heavy on me."

Dern scored a takedown and controlled position on the floor for more than two minutes of the first round, but she was on the short end of a similar sequence in the second against Ribas, who was coming off a main-event loss to ex-champ Rose Namajunas last March.

Ribas got Dern to the mat again with a trip along the fence about 90 seconds into the third, but Dern immediately began focusing on her opponent's arm while making subtle position changes.

She made the aforementioned sweep to top control and committed to the maneuver by leaning backward and compromising Ribas' elbow enough to draw the tap at 4:56.

"That was Jiu-Jitsu 101," analyst Michael Bisping said. "The basics done to an incredibly high level."

Loser: Premature Finish

Make no mistake, Santiago Ponzinibbio was on the verge of a stoppage anyway.

He'd landed a torrent of third-round shots against a rapidly fading Carlston Harris and had reduced the Guyanan to near rag-doll status as their co-main event entered its 14th minute.

But rather than letting the "Argentine Dagger" beat his foe into a conclusive finish, referee Kerry Hatley decided to intervene a tick or two early–a move not everyone agreed with.

Analyst Dominick Cruz immediately said it was too quick and Harris concurred, saying he'd told Hatley he was "still in" even as the scrap officially ended at 3:13 of the third.

"He stopped it a little early," Harris said. "He caught me clean but I was still in."

Ponzinibbio had been on the receiving end of the hardest shots through two rounds but he surged in the final session and dropped Harris with a right hand followed by a left hook as Hatley stood nearby. But Harris climbed to his feet and Ponzinibbio had actually backed off a few steps when the official pulled the trigger on the finish, the 23rd of the winner's career.

"I feel bad for (Harris)," Ponzinibbio said. "He fought so good."

Winner: January Jolt

So you want to go for a KO, eh?

Middleweight banger Abdul Razak Alhassan had scored a knockdown, followed up with a combination and was continuing to chase a finish against a stricken Cesar Almeida when he forgot an elementary piece of combat sports strategy.

You've still got to remember to play defense.

Alhassan's momentum was stalled by a short counter right hand as Almeida pivoted off the cage and violently ended with the Brazilian's next shot, a devastating left hook that provided an instant early contender for the top stoppage of 2025.

Alhassan was unconscious by the time he hit the floor and remained prone for several moments, ultimately needing help to his stool and additional assistance down the stairs as he exited the cage.

The official time was 4:16 of the first round.

"That was one of the coldest KOs we've seen in recent history," Bisping said. "That's a career moment."

Alhassan arrived with 12 KOs in 12 pro wins and lost via that manner for the first time since he was finished in 30 seconds by Khaos Williams in 2020.

"It was a dangerous fight," Almeida said. "But I needed this fight to rise up in the division. The work is working."

Winner: Chaotic Closing

Just when it looked like the middleweight bout between Chris Curtis and Roman Kopylov looked like a cinch for Fight of the Night bonus honors, controversy arrived.

The 185-pound southpaws had reached the final seconds of their spirited stand-up when Kopylov, bloodied from deep cuts on the bridge of his nose and over his right eyebrow, landed a kick to Curtis' head that sent the American wobbling to the floor as the Russian walked away.

Curtis was on one knee and turning to face referee Mark Smith when the official abruptly waved it off with just one second remaining on the clock.

Curtis reacted angrily as cage-side personnel entered to keep him from confronting Smith, whose decision stood and gave Kopylov his 12th KO in 14 pro wins.

Kopylov said afterward that he didn't immediately follow up on the kick because he didn't want to injure an obviously compromised opponent, a decision that put Smith on the spot.

All three judges had it 1-1 in rounds heading to the finale and it was likely that Kopylov would have earned a unanimous decision, given his superior work in the final five minutes even before the finishing sequence.

"I think everything was correct. Everything was by the rules," he said. "I did not want to hurt him."

Winner: Killing Hype

Go ahead and call Christian Rodriguez the "Hype Killer."

Less than two years after he dumped teenage phenom Raul Rosas Jr. from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Wisconsin-based featherweight performed a similar number on Contender Series alum Austin Bashi in the 23-year-old's would-be main-card star turn.

The 13-0 Bashi was the biggest favorite of the night's spotlight portion but was blunted at nearly every turn by Rodriguez, who defended 15 of 18 takedown tries, was effective in scrambling his way out of danger and was clearly the better man when the combat went vertical.

Rodriguez cemented the trio of 29-28 scores with a strong third round, taking advantage of the younger man's emptying gas tank with precise combinations delivered with a confident flair.

The W/L card agreed, giving Rodriguez the first and third rounds for a one-point edge.

It was his fifth win in seven UFC bouts, including the unanimous nod over Rosas at UFC 287 in April 2023.

"He's a helluva prospect, but we've got an answer for everything," Rodriguez said. "The game plan was simple—don't get taken down and hit him."

Winner: Instant Ending

The idea that the main-card opener between Punahele Soriano and Uros Medic would end quickly—given their combined 14 first-round wins coming in—was hardly novel.

That it was Soriano orchestrating an early ending, though, was a bit of a shock.

The Vegas-based Hawaiian was in with a world-class kick boxer and was expected to focus on grappling to counter Medic's striking, but he turned the tables with a long left hand followed by a right hook that felled the Serbian like a tall tree and provided a stoppage after just 31 seconds.

"I was planning on wrestling him," Soriano said, "but that happened."

The former collegiate All-American wrestler was on the receiving end of a hard left to the body that he answered with the left that sent Medic backward in a straight line. Soriano followed with the decisive right hand and unleashed 11 ground strikes before referee Mike Beltran intervened.

It was his second straight win at welterweight since a move down from 185 pounds.

He had enough energy remaining to reel off 17 pushups after Beltran's wave-off and he started a post-fight chat with Bisping by announcing that he and his wife are expecting a baby in June.

"I'm very emotional," he said. "This meant a lot to us."

Loser: Stalled Style

Jose Johnson has the tools needed to be a phenom.

He's freakishly tall (6 feet) for a flyweight, and he's got a charisma that makes him an entertaining watch once he climbs the steps into the cage.

But the results simply haven't been there.

The 29-year-old began his prelim feature against Felipe Bunes with flashy strikes and frenetic movements but was out of his element when things got gritty, leaving himself open for the armbar that Bunes quickly seized and used to draw a submission at 2:04 of the first.

It was Johnson's third loss in four UFC appearances and second by submission after Da'Mon Blackshear got him with a rare twister finish on a Fight Night show 17 months ago.

Johnson got Canadian bantamweight Chad Anheliger with a rear-naked choke for a win in November 2023 but dropped a decision to Asu Almabayev last spring and is 16-10 as a pro since 2016.

Bunes leveled his UFC record at 1-1 and went to 14-7 as a pro.

"He's a tough guy. He's a tall dude," Bunes said. "It was tough for us to find someone to emulate him. We put the work together."

Loser: Familiar Fate

It's been a brutal run lately for Ihor Potieria.

The Ukrainian middleweight lost a decision to Cesar Almeida three months ago after spending 15 minutes getting hit low and poked in the eyes while referee Dave Seljestad remained curiously uninvolved.

So when he was kneed in the groin by Marco Tulio just two minutes into their Saturday prelim, it had to feel painfully familiar.

Poteria took a three-minute break to work through the pain but he returned to even more suffering against his aggressive Brazilian foe, who quickly landed a flurry of strikes that left Poteria wobbled, bloodied and eventually finished after just 3:04 of the first.

It's three straight losses and a 2-6 record in the company for the beaten man, while Tulio came off a pair of Contender Series wins to take his official octagonal debut and improve to 13-1 as a pro.

"This is what I visualized. I saw myself knocking this guy out so many times," Tulio said. "Expect big things from me. I have a lot of stuff to show."

Winner: Staying Perfect

Jacobe Smith was one of two prelim fighters to arrive unbeaten.

If his 73-second erasure of Preston Parsons is indicative, he'll remain so for a while.

The Texas-based welterweight provided the evening's first head-turner with a pretty one-two combination that dumped his foe to the floor and boosted his pro record to a pristine 10-0.

And when Bisping approached with a microphone, he was ready for that as well while giving a nod toward the reigning 170-pound king.

"This is my house," the 28-year-old said. "Belal, knock knock."

A right hand followed by a left hook landed flush and abruptly ended matters for Parsons, while the show's other early unbeaten—light heavyweight Magomed Gadzhiyasulov—had an equally disappointing, albeit less violent result with a unanimous decision loss to UFC newbie Bruno Lopes.

Gadzhiyasulov arrived 9-0 overall and 1-0 in the promotion but was visibly frustrated by his foe's aggressive style and seemed spent down the stretch as Lopes secured the trio of 29-28 scorecards with a busy third round.

The W/L scorecard also had it for Lopes by a one-point margin.

Winner: Early Excellence

It was a good afternoon for prospect hunters.

The first two bouts featured the card's two biggest favorites and neither disappointed, with -750 pick Fatima Kline handling strawweight foe Viktoriia Dudakova and unbeaten lightweight Nurullo Aliev, a -700 selection, taking care of eight-fight UFC vet Joe Solecki.

Kline, a 24-year-old from New York, debuted as a short-notice flyweight against ranked contender Jasmine Jasudavicius six months ago and dropped a unanimous decision but she was more than ready to deal with Dudakova, countering her aggressive style and dominating on the mat on the way to a second-round TKO finish.

"That's a little bit of me," Kline said. "I feel big for this weight class. I feel tall. And this is only the start of me being dominant."

It was a similarly one-sided clinic for Aliev, who took Solecki down early in the first two rounds and eluded replies from a desperate opponent down the stretch while winning an easy-to-call decision with two 29-28 scores and one 30-27.

The W/L card agreed with the majority and gave Aliev two of three rounds.

Full Card Results

Main Card

Mackenzie Dern def. Amanda Ribas by submission (armbar), 4:56, Round 3

Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Carlston Harris by KO (punches), 3:13, Round 3

Cesar Almeida def. Abdul Razak Alhassan by KO (punch), 4:16, Round 1

Roman Kopylov def. Chris Curtis by KO (kick), 4:59, Round 3

Christian Rodriguez def. Austin Bashi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Punahele Soriano def. Uros Medic by KO (punch), 0:31, Round 1

Preliminary Card

Felipe Bunes def. Jose Johnson by submission (armbar), 2:04, Round 1

Marco Tulio def. Ihor Potieria by KO (punches), 3:04, Round 1

Thiago Moises def. Trey Ogden by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Jacobe Smith def. Preston Parsons by KO (punch), 1:13, Round 1

Ernesta Kareckaite def. Nicolle Caliari by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Bruno Lopes def. Magomed Gadzhiyasulov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Fatima Kline def. Viktoriia Dudakova by KO (elbows), 4:27, Round 2

Nurullo Aliev def. Joe Solecki by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)