UFC Fight Night 256 Live Winners and Losers, Results
It was a last-stand Saturday night at the Apex in Las Vegas.
Veterans Gilbert Burns and Paul Craig, with 42 UFC appearances between them, were set to take to the octagon in the top two bouts on a 12-fight card.
Each veteran was to try to end a skid against a streaking opponent, with the 38-year-old Burns, who'd dropped three straight and four of seven since a failed welterweight title shot in 2021, facing an unbeaten 25-year-old in Michael Morales, who'd been 17-0 as a pro and 5-0 in the UFC since a Contender Series debut.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Craig, also a loser in three straight and five of six, was penciled in against 29-year-old Rodolfo Bellato, who'd gone 4-0-1 since last losing in 2022.
The B/R combat team was in place to take in the headliners and the other fights to compile a real-time list of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
Winner: Breaking Through
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Burns was billed as a welterweight gatekeeper.
Which clearly means Morales has zero regard for gates.
The streaking Ecuadorian beat the former title challenger in a way no UFC opponent ever had, dropping him with hard strikes and leaving him flailing, unsuccessfully, to survive in a single round of their Saturday night main event.
The end came at 3:39 of the first and left analyst Michael Bisping frothing.
“The toughest test of his career. The biggest opponent of his career in name, danger and skills set,” Bisping said, “and he just blazes right through him.
“The welterweight division, they’ve got a real problem on their hands. People have beaten him, but nobody has done that to Gilbert Burns.”
A series of hard shots from Morales about three minutes in prompted Burns to desperately chase a takedown, but a follow-up volley left him defenseless and forced the hand of referee Herb Dean to seal the winner’s 18th consecutive victory.
“This was tough work, hard work, but every fight to me is tough,” he said. “I was very nervous in the back, but they told me ‘Trust yourself, trust what you can do, trust your potential.’ Everybody is trying to take my head off, but as long as I’m healthy and ready to fight, let’s go.”
Loser: Co-Main Combat
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Well, so much for co-main events.
The show's penultimate bout between the aforementioned Bellato and Craig was scrubbed from the card shortly before the opening tap thanks to apparent backstage medical issues that Bellato was experiencing.
The 29-year-old Brazilian successfully weighed-in and no immediate issues were mentioned, but the broadcast crew broke the news shortly after 8 p.m.
Blow-by-blow man John Gooden said the fight was likely to be rescheduled on an imminent card, possibly as soon as the first week of June.
"As soon as I heard that news I was just devastated for Paul Craig and Bellato," analyst Paul Felder said. "You put all the time and effort in, and it's a lot of time to come here and sacrifice, and it just sucks."
Winner: Competitive Cool
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It’d be a stretch to call it a battle, and it was certainly not a war.
But what it lacked in titillation, the lightweight match between Sodiq Yusuff and Mairon Santos made up for in tactical acumen, particularly for the 24-year-old Brazilian.
Recently crowned champion of The Ultimate Fighter’s 32nd season, Santos was precise from distance and calm when things got rough on the way to a scorecard win after three rounds in what became the night’s second-to-last bout.
Beaten just once in his first 17 pro bouts, Santos was sharper and more effective in a stand-up position, nimbly defended a takedown along the fence in the second round and immediately got up when he was put on the floor in the third.
He greeted the final horn with a scream while Yusuff dropped his head and trudged to his corner, perhaps sensing the two 30-27 counts and one 29-28 score that ultimately went against him.
B/R’s W/L card also saw it 29-28 after giving Yusuff the opening round.
“I trained so hard for this guy because I knew he was gonna bring it,” Santos said. “I was trying to control everything and wait for the right moment, but he ate my kicks, and I had to change some things.”
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Winner: Going Both Ways
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Given that he’s 6’5” with a pterodactyl-like reach, it’s hardly surprising that Uzbek middleweight Nursulton Ruziboev is difficult to deal with in a stand-up fight.
But the rugged 31-year-old’s path to guaranteeing victory in a main-card bout with Dustin Stoltzfus was his ability to handle himself on the ground.
Ruziboev survived a pair of takedowns and shook off his foe’s multiple tries at a guillotine choke finish, scoring some heavy ground blows of his own to lock up a unanimous decision in which two judges gave him two of three rounds and a third saw it a shutout.
B/R’s W/L card went with the majority and gave it to the winner, 29-28.
“Dustin Stoltzfus was a great opponent. He was tougher than I thought,” Ruziboev said. “I tried to finish him, but he didn’t give me a chance.”
It was an experiment at 185 pounds after earlier fights at welterweight for the winner, who came prepared with a high-profile callout of a former collegiate wrestling standout.
“Dana White, Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard,” Ruziboev said, “get me Bo Nickal."
Winner: Earning a Break
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Maybe this time Melquizael Costa will take a few months off.
The Brazilian featherweight is among the company’s busiest fighters with three fights through the year’s first 137 days, but he’s liable to rethink the perpetual activity after a grueling 15 minutes on the way to a unanimous but fair decision over Julian Erosa.
The victory came by a trio of 29-28 scores after the 28-year-old outhustled and outworked his older foe in the first two rounds, chased a guillotine after an Erosa takedown and was simply the more effective half of a competitive scrap.
Erosa, 35, showed his trademark resilience in the final round and had Costa reeling from intermittently hard strikes, but was never able to string enough together to near a finish.
“I knew this was gonna be a war,” said Costa, who’s taken five of his last six and had already scored 2025 wins in February and March. “I’ve seen him turn fights around, so I had to keep going.”
Loser: Finishing the Job
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Matheus Camilo had the look of a winner.
The Brazilian UFC newbie was a betting favorite and strutted across the mat during introductions as if he’d belonged there since birth.
But when he landed a hard right hand in the first round against Gabe Green and nothing happened, things changed. Then, when a second-round chase for a triangle choke ended with Green popping out of danger, his resolve crumbled.
“It was deep, but I was thinking I’m not gonna freak out. It’s just a triangle. I’m just gonna go to sleep. We’ve all gone to sleep,” Green said. “Then as soon as I got out, I felt like he was ‘Ah man, I didn’t get it.’ And that was the turning point.”
Indeed, it was.
Green quickly reversed and took Camilo’s back, wrapped his left arm around the 24-year-old’s neck and drew a quick tap at 3:43 of the second.
It was Green’s first fight in more than two years and his first trip back down to lightweight from 170 pounds after a two-fight skid.
“It’s nothing new,” he said. “My life has had a lot of adversity in it. This is just another example.”
Winner: Frustration as Fuel
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Jared Gordon is a frustrated guy.
He entered Saturday believing he’d deserved wins in each of the fights that had instead left him with a pedestrian 2-2 record alongside a no contest since the summer of 2022.
So, it’s no surprise he faced Thiago Moises with an intent to keep judges out of it.
It happened courtesy of an overhand right that knocked the Brazilian lightweight stiff and left him defenseless to three follow-up ground strikes that sealed a KO at 3:37 of the first.
It was the 21st pro win and eighth knockout for Gordon, who boosted his UFC mark to 9-6 since his arrival in 2017.
“In my mind I’m now on a six-fight win streak,” he said. “I come in here with the confidence that I’m on this streak. I know I can hang with the best. I hope this performance got me that.”
Gordon scored an early takedown but was just as comfortable on his feet, shaking off a cut on his forehead while eluding a left hand from Moises to land his decisive right.
“I knew my boxing was better,” Gordon said. “I just had to wait for the big moment. Then I caught him coming in and got the KO.”
Winner: Starting Strong
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UFC featherweights, you have a problem.
A “Cuban Problem,” to be exact.
Contender Series alumnus Yadier del Valle, in the U.S. for nine years since arriving from Cuba, made a significant impression in his official octagonal debut by plowing through Connor Matthews on the way to a first-round rear-naked choke submission.
The 28-year-old del Valle was consistently aggressive before scoring a takedown just 90 seconds into the round, then pounded Matthews with strikes before taking his back and wrapping his left arm around his stricken foe’s throat until the tap came at 2:54.
“I came prepared,” he said. “We knew that Connor is a tough dude. We did this in training. We did this 100 times and here it showed.”
It was his ninth straight win since going pro in 2019 and his third submission alongside a pair of KOs.
“The intention was actually to get the KO,” he said. “A lot of people through I came here to strike but my background is in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I’m going to continue to train, make adjustments every time and be ready when we get the call.”
Winner: Adhering to Plan
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Luana Santos had the winner’s routine down pat.
She let loose with a joyous scream and found the nearest cage-side camera before going ahead with a planned-out dance routine that was followed by another scream.
It was all justified given what she’d accomplished, becoming the first UFC woman to end a fight with the Americana arm lock that secured a second-round defeat of Tainara Lisboa.
“I came to make history,” Santos said. “I’m already a Tik-Tokker, and now the Americana. That’s what we do. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.”
Santos, a judo ace, spent better than three minutes in positional control in the first round, then got it back to the floor in the first minute of the second before eventually isolating Lisboa’s left arm and cranking until the Brazilian submitted at 4:59.
It was the first fight in a return to 135 pounds for Santos, who promised big things. “I’m becoming better,” she said. “I came to smash some girls.”
Loser: Unsuccessful Underdog
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It was all going well for Elise Reed. Until it wasn’t.
The 32-year-old from New Jersey was in a familiar spot as an underdog against strawweight Denise Gomes and started well in the initial moments with a high work rate and aggression that forced the Brazilian onto her back foot and closer to the cage.
Then came a hard right hand. The first of many, in fact.
A counter shot from Gomes instantly changed the fight and ultimately sent Reed to a half-round’s worth of misery on the mat. Another right, much earlier this time, came just seconds into the second round and led to an abrupt finish after only 30 seconds.
It was Gomes’ seventh KO in 11 career wins and the fifth time that Reed, on the B-side of the betting ledger for the seventh time in nine UFC fights, was finished.
“I’ve been watching her. There was a little bit of a flaw in her game,” Gomes said. “I love to knock people out, but I try to build myself every time in here. I’m trying to become a more complete fighter.”
Winner: Back in Action
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It’s been a while. Still, it looked like HyunSung Park had never left.
The 29-year-old Korean had been sidelined since late 2023 thanks to a knee injury but he didn’t miss a step during a first-round blowout of flyweight rival Carlos Hernandez that ended in less than three minutes thanks to a rear-naked choke.
The submission was a longshot proposition for bettors, but the winner suggested it was something he’d been considering from the opening tap.”
“Of course,” he said. “The choke is my game plan.”
He got it after a quick, effective session of stalking in which he drove Hernandez backward with strikes then quickly seized his back on a takedown along the fence. Within seconds, his left arm was snaked around his foe’s neck and referee Kerry Hatley was intervening.
The official time was 2:26.
“I want to be really active,” Park said. “I’m here to move up.”
Winner: Moving on Up?
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Tecia Pennington believes she deserves better than a No. 13 next to her name.
Whether a narrow three-round decision over a contender two spots below her does that or not remains a mystery, but the 35-year-old strawweight did her part in staying active and sharp on the way to a unanimous nod over skidding Luana Pinheiro in the show’s first bout.
It’s the 11th win in 18 UFC appearances for Pennington, whose family was cage-side in Vegas and cheered when she got 29-28 nods on all three scorecards thanks to her superior activity and creativity in what was largely a stand-up fight.
Pinheiro has lost four in a row since starting her UFC run at 3-0.
“I’m most definitely happy with it,” Pennington said. “I thought maybe she’d go for the takedowns, but I think I waited it out and used my taekwondo in and out.”
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Michael Morales def. Gilbert Burns by TKO (punches), 3:39, Round 1
Rodolfo Bellato v Paul Craig (postponed, health issues)
Mairon Santos def. Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nursulton Ruziboev def. Dustin Stoltzfus by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Melquizael Costa def. Julian Erosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Gabe Green def. Matheus Camilo by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:43, Round 2
Jared Gordon def. Thiago Moises by KO (punch), 3:37, Round 1
Yadier del Valle def. Connor Matthews by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:54, Round 1
Luana Santos def. Tainara Lisboa by submission (Americana), 4:59, Round 2
Denise Gomes def. Elise Reed by TKO (punches), 0:30, Round 2
HyunSung Park def. Carlos Hernandez by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:26, Round 1
Tecia Pennington def. Luana Pinheiro by unanimous decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)
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