UFC tonight: start time, seven Brazilians and a jiu-jitsu black belt in the main event
Brendan Allen, who has 14 submissions in 27 wins, faces Christian Leroy Duncan this Saturday in Las Vegas; prelims start at 5 p.m. ET and three Brazilians missed weight
This Saturday’s UFC card in Las Vegas (Oct. 10) has a jiu-jitsu black belt in the main event and seven Brazilians on the lineup. Brendan Allen, who has won 14 of his 27 fights by submission, faces England’s Christian Leroy Duncan at middleweight. The prelims start at 5 p.m. ET and the main card at 8 p.m. ET.
Start time and how to watch
The event takes place at the Meta APEX, the UFC’s own venue in Las Vegas. In the United States, the full card streams live on Paramount+, according to the UFC.
- 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT: prelims, seven fights
- 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT: main card, five fights
Brendan Allen, the submission threat in the main event
Allen is 30, trains at Kill Cliff FC and holds a jiu-jitsu black belt under Daniel Wanderley. His record is 27 wins and 7 losses. Fourteen of those wins came by submission, six by knockout and seven by decision. The rear-naked choke shows up most often: that is how he beat Paul Craig, Krzysztof Jotko, Kevin Holland and Brazil’s André Muniz in the UFC. He comes in on a three-fight win streak.
On the other side is a very different fighter. Christian Leroy Duncan, 31, from England, has 15 wins, most of them by knockout, and 2 losses, and has won five in a row. This is his first UFC main event. Both men are ranked in the middleweight top 10.
The middleweight submission record holder is on the prelims
Gerald Meerschaert is another black belt on the card. The 38-year-old American holds the record for most submission wins in UFC middleweight history, with 11, and has 29 submissions among his 37 career wins. On Saturday he fights at light heavyweight against Julius Walker.
The seven Brazilians on the card
- Matheus Camilo vs. Jai Herbert, lightweight, main card. From Rio Branco, in the Amazon state of Acre, he is 25 and has 11 wins and 3 losses.
- Ketlen Souza vs. Loopy Godinez, strawweight, main card. From Manaus, she is 32 and has 17 wins and 6 losses.
- Ismael Bonfim vs. Francisco Prado, lightweight, prelims. From Brasília, he is 30 and has 20 wins and 7 losses.
- Felipe Franco vs. Brendson Ribeiro, light heavyweight, prelims. It is the only all-Brazilian fight of the night. Franco, from Salvador, is 25 and has 11 wins and 2 losses. Ribeiro, from the state of Pará, is 30 and has 17 wins, seven of them by submission, and 11 losses.
- Alice Pereira vs. Daria Zhelezniakova, bantamweight, prelims. From Feira de Santana, Bahia, she is 20 and has 7 wins and 1 loss.
- Melissa Gatto vs. Ernesta Kareckaite, flyweight, in the opening fight. At 30, she has 9 wins, four of them by submission, 3 losses and 2 draws.
Three Brazilians missed weight at Friday’s weigh-in. Souza came in at 117 lbs, over the 116-lb strawweight limit. Bonfim weighed 163.5 lbs, with the lightweight limit at 156. Ribeiro was 208.5 lbs, with the light heavyweight limit at 206. The fights stay on, and each gives up part of the purse: 20%, 25% and 20%, in that order.
Full fight card
Main card, from 8 p.m. ET:
- Brendan Allen vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (middleweight)
- Matheus Camilo vs. Jai Herbert (lightweight)
- Loopy Godinez vs. Ketlen Souza (strawweight)
- Andre Fili vs. Kai Kamaka III (featherweight)
- Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Otari Tanzilovi (bantamweight)
Prelims, from 5 p.m. ET:
- Julius Walker vs. Gerald Meerschaert (light heavyweight)
- Francisco Prado vs. Ismael Bonfim (lightweight)
- Niko Price vs. Leon Shahbazyan (welterweight)
- Felipe Franco vs. Brendson Ribeiro (light heavyweight)
- Allen Frye Jr. vs. RJ Harris (heavyweight)
- Alice Pereira vs. Daria Zhelezniakova (bantamweight)
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Melissa Gatto (flyweight)
For more on how jiu-jitsu fits into another UFC star’s career, read Is Poatan a Jiu-Jitsu black belt?
Does Allen get the submission, or does Duncan find the knockout? Leave your pick in the comments.
