The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday kicks off its 2025 campaign at the UFC Apex, and the UFC Vegas 101 undercard offers some solid points of interest. Flyweights Jose Johnson and Felipe Bunes get the featured slot in Las Vegas, but the two best-matched bouts can be found at 155 pounds. Thiago Moises collides with fellow neutralizer Trey Ogden, and top prospect Nurullo Aliev returns from a two-year layoff for a tough test against Joe Solecki. Beyond that, the show provides the stage for a number of recent Dana White’s Contender Series graduates to debut, led by welterweight Jacobe Smith.
Flyweights
Jose Johnson (16-9, 1-2 UFC) vs. Felipe Bunes (13-7, 0-1 UFC)ODDS: Johnson (-175), Bunes (+145)
This should be a strange one. Johnson is already a strange fighter, particularly after his cut to flyweight that now seems to be the norm going forward. Fighters simply aren’t usually built with the type of frame that allows Johnson to make 125 pounds while being 6-foot. Even at bantamweight, Johnson was able to leverage his long frame into confusing opponents in some messy fights, and it looks like that trend will continue at flyweight after his loss to Asu Almabayev in June. Johnson’s takedown defense remained porous, but he was still able to cause some frustration as an aggressive grappling threat due to his length. That all makes for a fascinating dynamic against Bunes, a decade-plus veteran who has built his own unorthodox game leveraging what would typically be a long frame for the division. Bunes can find some knockouts and submissions when pressed into action, but he usually takes an overly patient approach that results in a lot of inactivity. The Brazilian’s long-overdue UFC debut against Joshua Van about a year ago showed the downside of that approach. Van took the initiative and poured things on enough to eventually put Bunes away, and that’s certainly also a concern here, even if Johnson’s not quite as potent of an opponent. Bunes could just wrestle his way to a win, but even if that happens, Johnson’s aggressive submission hunting figures to keep the Brazilian uncomfortable throughout the fight. If Bunes doesn’t score a knockout, Johnson should be able to consistently take the initiative and fight a winning fight, even if it looks sloppy. The pick is Johnson via decision.
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Johnson vs. Bunes
Tulio vs. Potieria
Moises vs. Ogden
Smith vs. Parsons
Karekcaite vs. Caliari
Gadzhiyasulov vs. Lopes
Kline vs. Dudakova
Aliev vs. Solecki