UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan Live Winners and Losers, Results

After recent stops in London and Seattle, the UFC returned to the quiet of the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was an under-the-radar card, to put it mildly, but in the end, it exceeded all expectations, delivering some wild brawls and a whole bunch of memorable finishes.

One of those finishes occurred in the lightweight main event, where Brazilian veteran Renato Moicano turned away rising Scottish contender Chris Duncan with a second-round rear-naked choke. It was a vintage performance from the Brazilian, and proof that he still has plenty to offer the weight class, even at 36.

The co-main event failed to produce a finish, with Virna Jandiroba defeating Tabatha Ricci by decision to rebound from a failed title bid against Mackenzie Dern. However, the remainder of the main card featured some highlight-reel moments, including impressive wins from exciting prospects in Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev, Ethyn Ewing, and Tommy McMillen. The undercard was just as exciting, thanks to finishes from the likes of Alice Pereira and Tresean Gore, and a Fight of the Year contender involving Kai Kamaka III and Dakota Hope.

Sure, it would have been nice to have a few more big names on the bill, but it was an excellent night of fights that left us with a ton to unpack.

Read on for the full results of the event, and a rundown of the real winners and losers of the night.

UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan Complete Results

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155 lbs.: Renato Moicano def. Chris Duncan via submission (rear-naked choke), at 3:14 of round 2

115 lbs.: Virna Jandiroba def. Tabatha Ricci by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

205 lbs.: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Brendson Ribeiro via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:52 of round 1

135 lbs.: Ethyn Ewing def. Rafael Estevam via TKO (liver punch) at 1:44 of round 3

145 lbs.: Tommy McMillen def. Manolo Zecchini via TKO (knees, punches) at 3:57 of round 1

145 lbs.: Jose Delano def. Robert Ruchala via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)

265 lbs.: Thomas Petersen def. Guilherme Pat via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)

125 lbs.: Alessandro Costa def. Stewart Nicoll via TKO (punches) at 4:56 of round 2

155 lbs.: Darrius Flowers def. Lando Vannata via TKO (punches) at 0:52 of round 2

135 lbs.: Alice Pereira def. Hailey Cowan via KO (knee) at 4:24 of round 2

185 lbs.: Tresean Gore def. Azamat Bekoev via technical submission (guillotine choke) at 3:27 of round 3

125 lbs.: Dione Barbosa def. Melissa Gatto via majority decision (28-28, 28-27, 28-27)

155 lbs.: Kai Kamaka III def. Dakota Hope via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-29)

Winner: A Reliable Gatekeeper

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Renato Moicano may never get his hands on a UFC title, but he is clearly still a problem for all by the best lightweights in the world. 

The Brazilian returned to the Octagon in Saturday's headliner, taking on rising Scottish contender Chris Duncan—who happens to share his training space at American Top Team in Florida. Heading into the fight, Duncan had won four straight, and was seen as part of a new generation of lightweights, poised to overhaul the rankings.

Moicano didn't get the memo. 

Duncan started well enough, attacking his more experienced foe with punches and leg kicks. However, it didn't take long for Moicano to start responding with a steady diet of jabs, which bloodied his opponent's nose. He also started checking the Scotsman's kicks with immediate effect. By the time the second round was underway, Moicano seemed to be a level above, and before long, he proved it, first dropping his foe with a punch, then finishing him off with a rear-naked choke. 

In victory, Moicano finds himself in an interesting position. His situation is reflected in his recent results. In his last four fights, he has finished Duncan and Benoit Saint Denis, two members of the new generation at lightweight. Meanwhile, he has lost to Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, both of whom are extremely experienced against the best lightweights of the last generation. In other words, he's clearly capable of handling a lot of up-and-comers, even if he struggles against the established elite. 

Some fans would say that makes him a gatekeeper. That's not a bad thing. We need fighters like that in any division. They validate some prospects, and invalidate others. They maintain order. That's important. 

Whatever his current role, Moicano seems eager to get back to action soon. In a vintage post-fight interview, full of plenty of profanity and political commentary, he made his wishes known, and he doesn't seem to have any delusions about working his way to a title shot. 

"You better give me somebody who's easy who's in the rankings," he said, before threatening to retire if he doesn't get what he wants.

Alright then.

Winner: Getting Back on Track

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Brazilian strawweight contender Virna Jandiroba had to work very hard to earn her first UFC title shot. After 11 Octagon appearances and eight impressive wins, she finally got the opportunity late last year, when she battled Mackenzie Dern for their division's vacant throne. It did not got her way. She certainly fought well, but by the time five rounds were up, she had unfortunately not done enough, and lost a decision as a result.

In Saturday's co-main event, Jandiroba returned to action in hopes of rebounding from that bitter setback opposite fellow contender Tabatha Ricci. It was a definite return to form for the recent title challenger. For three rounds, she used expertly timed takedowns and her trademark grappling to control her opponent without much issue. A finish unfortunately eluded her, but by the time three rounds were up, she had clearly done enough to warrant a unanimous decision victory.

After the win, Jandiroba did not beat around the bush. In her post-fight interview, she called for another crack at Dern and the belt. 

"Mackenzie Dern, I want my rematch," she proclaimed.

That's a tough ask. Not only did she just lose to Dern, but that setback was actually her second to the reigning champion. Unfortunately, her case is also weakened by the existence of former champ Zhang Weili, who will probably walk right into a title shot if she decides to return to the strawweight division.

All of that being said, Jandiroba needed a win heading into Saturday, and she got it. She almost certainly has more work to do if she's after another title shot, but with Ricci behind her, she's back on track.

Loser: Proper Matchmaking

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev is one of the hottest prospects in the light heavyweight division right now. That has been the case for some time.

By the time the Turkish "Hunter" was vying for a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series last summer, he was already 6-0, with five first-round finishes. He then picked up another first-round finish to earn his contract, and in his UFC debut in November, repeated the feat with a first-round submission of Raffael Cerqueira. It may be too early to be matching him up with fighters in the top 15, but he's clearly ready for fighters just outside the rankings at the very least. So why was he matched up with Brendson Ribeiro on Saturday's main card?

While Ribeiro does have two wins in the UFC to his credit, his Octagon record heading into Saturday stood at a rough 2-4, and he had been finished in the first round of three of those losses. Perhaps his is capable of beating the lowest level of UFC light heavyweights, but from the outset, it seemed very unlikely he would offer any resistance to Yakhyaev, and the pre-fight odds reflected this. 

In the end, Yakhyaev delivered as a massive betting favorite, and as expected, he made it look easy, tapping his opponent out inside a round. It was impressive, to be sure, but it also felt kind of pointless. Would we not have learned a lot more about this incredibly promising prospect if he'd been matched up with somebody a little more dangerous, with a little momentum of their own? Would we not have gotten a better sense of where his ceiling might be against a fighter who could actually challenge him? 

It was simply bad matchmaking, and that's a shame. 

Thankfully, Yakhyaev took very little damage on the way to his quick victory, and is seemingly eager to get back to action soon. 

"I just want to fight," he said in his post-fight interview. 

Hopefully, his next opponent is a little more credible. 

Loser: The New Crop of Bantamweights

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Bantamweight might be the best weight class in the UFC right now, and that's thanks in part to a fairly constant influx of new talent being signed to the division. Unfortunately, all of the starry-eyed prospects joining the weight class these days have a serious problem on their hands. His name is Ethyn Ewing, and they're simply going to have a very hard time outdoing him.

Ewing made his UFC debut last year. It was one for the books, largely because he was given very little chance of success. His debut occurred at the blockbuster UFC 322 card in New York City in November, when he stepped in to face surging prospect Malcolm Wellmaker on just days' notice. Despite the circumstances of his debut, and the skill of his opponent, he won with style points, finessing Wellmaker to a lopsided unanimous-decision win. 

Ewing made his second UFC appearance on Saturday. It was a very similar story to his debut. Once again, he was matched up with a very legit prospect, this time in the undefeated Rafael Estevam. And once again, he won decisively, absolutely styling on his opponent with some of the slickest striking you will encounter in a cage or ring. The big difference between his debut and second fight is that, this time around, he got it done inside the distance. Mid-way through the third round, he dug his fist into Estevam's liver, and that was all she wrote.

"If you fight me, your 'O' must go," Ewing said in his post-fight interview, sending a warning to anyone looking to slow him down. If they put you against me in the UFC, you better watch out. 

"I'm going all the way to the top… There's nothing that's going to stop me from getting me to that point."

Before he left the Octagon, he was given a chance to call somebody out. He declined, suggesting that, after his win over Estevam, he'll be the one getting called out.

He's not wrong. 

"They should all be watching out for me," he said. 

Winner: The Next Sean O'Malley?

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Ok. It's way too early to tout Tommy McMillen as the next Sean O'Malley, but he's definitely a fighter to watch in the jam-packed UFC featherweight division. 

McMillen, who trains with the former bantamweight champ O'Malley in Arizona, made his UFC debut on Saturday's main card. His opponent was gritty Italian Manolo Zecchini, who was looking for his first UFC win after losing a one-off with the promotion several years back.

The fight was quick and violent. From the opening bell, the two hungry featherweights were pelting each other with looping punches and knees down the center. However, it soon became clear that McMillen, who had a notable size advantage, had the upper hand. Gradually, he began to wear his Italian foe down, and when he began to smell blood in the water, he swarmed. 

The fight was waved off before the first round was up, and McMillen followed his quick win with a rousing post-fight interview that will surely appear in promotional material for the rest of his career. 

"I believed this was going to happen since I was a little kid," he said, oozing confidence. 

While it's way too early too predict that McMillen will achieve anything near O'Malley's success in the UFC, there are definitely parallels between them. Despite coming from a wrestling background, McMillen is a very willing striker, and has seemingly picked up a lot from his decorated training partner. Then there's that confidence we've already discussed. Confidence has always been a strong suit for O'Malley, and McMillen seems to have just as much, perhaps even more. 

Needless to say, it's going to be fun to see how he evolves over the next few years. And from the sounds of it, he's not going to be the last fighter from their gym to make it to the UFC. 

"We've got five guys fighting in Arizona tonight," he said, proclaiming that many of his young training partners will soon join him on the UFC roster. 

Loser: A Raw Prospect

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There's no debating Guilherme Pat looks the part. At 6'6", and with a physique straight out of a video game, the hulking Brazilian is your stereotypical, terrifying heavyweight. 

Unfortunately, his skills don't seem to match his look. At least, not yet. 

The imposing 31-year-old made his second Octagon appearance on Saturday, following a debut win over Allen Frye Jr. that brought his record to 6-0 overall. His opponent this time around was gritty American wrestler Thomas Petersen. 

Credit to the UFC matchmakers: this was just the kind of matchup Pat needed. While Petersen had won two bouts in the Octagon, he had also lost three, making him a tough but surmountable challenge for an up-and-comer like the Brazilian.

Unfortunately, it proved to be way too much too soon.

Pat started pretty strong, landing some very hard kicks and punches in the early going. Before the first round was even over, however, it was clear that he was reluctant to pull the trigger. Instead, he spent much of the fight on the back foot, clearly anticipating Petersen takedowns that did not come nearly as often as he feared, and generally hesitating to engage. Things then went from bad to worse in the third, as he was floored by a punch that had him wobbly legs for quite some time. While he survived to the final bell, it was clear he had come up short, and the judges ultimately awarded a majority decision win to Petersen. The American was just a level above.

Pat could still achieve great things in the Octagon. He has an impressive karate background, and showed flashes of his striking skill on Saturday. His takedown defense held up reasonably well too. And as we've already covered, he clearly has the physical tools in spades.

Still, Saturday proved that he still has a lot of work to do if he intends to mix it up with the UFC's truly elite heavyweights.

Winner: A Welcome Addition

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With the exception of the heavyweight division, there is probably no UFC weight class more desperate for quality talent than women's bantamweight. While the division has been home to legendary fighters like Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, and is now the domain of the fearsome Kayla Harrison, it has just never been that deep.

That remains true in 2026. While a planned championship clash between Harrison and Nunes will supercharge interest in the division, it is still home to just a handful of credible challenges to either woman. That's a problem.

Enter Alice Pereira. 

At 20 years old, Brazil's "Golden Girl" is the youngest female fighter on the UFC roster. And at Saturday's event in Las Vegas, she gave a strong indication that her future in the promotion is very, very bright.

Pereira made her return to the Octagon opposite Texan Hailey Cowan. The bout was her opportunity to get back on track after losing a split decision to Mexico's Montse Rendon in her UFC debut. She did not let that chance go to waste. 

After fighting off some takedown attempts in the early going, Pereira put a stamp on things in round three, obliderating her opponent with a knee to the dome. That was all it took. Cowan hit the deck, and it was over. 

Of course, Pereira is still just 1-1 in the UFC. She has a lot of work to do before she works her way to the very top of the division, let alone cracks the top 15. Still, her first Octagon win proved she has plenty of raw talent, and at 20, she clearly has tons of time to refine it into something very dangerous.

This is very good news for the women's bantamweight division. Hopefully, the UFC's talent scouts are able to track down similar prospects in the coming months and years, and slowly but surely, the division will reach the level of some of the promotion's more robust weight classes. 

Winner: An Unusual Case

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Tresean Gore is not your cookie cutter UFC fighter. While the Georgia-based middleweight is clearly a high-level athlete, he doesn't have a typical resume for a fighter in his position. At 31, he has still only fought 11 times, which makes him more inexperienced the majority of fighters on the UFC roster. What's even more amazing is that he made his debut with the promotion at just 3-0, following a stint on The Ultimate Fighter.

Gore's inexperience has shown in the Octagon, as he started 2026 with a 2-4 promotional record. That record has led to some understandable debate as to whether he deserves his spot on the UFC roster, but on Saturday, he definitely proved he belongs.

Gore made his return to the Octagon opposite Azamat Bekoev, a dangerous Russian with more than twice his pro experience. Despite that glaring disadvantage, he still found a way to win, defying the oddsmakers by choking his opponent unconscious with a guillotine in round three. Most will agree it was the best win of his career to date.

He says it will mark the beginning of his rise to the top.

"I have title aspirations, but I've just got to take my time," he told Michael Bisping in his post-fight interview. "I'll fight anybody, and I'll beat them. It will be a one-sided fight. This is the beginning of the evolution of Tresean Gore." 

Gore clearly has a long road ahead if he hopes to become a serious contender in the perilous middleweight division, but for now, let's give the man his flowers. His path has been anything but conventional so far, but somehow, he's making it work.

Loser: Protecting the Fighters

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Referees and cageside physicians exist to keep fighters safe. In the second bout of Saturday's UFC card, a flyweight clash between Melissa Gatto and Dione Barbosa, they failed grotesquely to meet that duty. 

The trouble began in the first round, when Barbosa — clearly by accident — kicked Gatto square in the face at point-blank range. The problem is that Gatto's knee was seemingly still on the canvas at the time, which made her a grounded fighter, which in turn made the attack completely illegal. 

Unfortunately, the foul seemed to knock Gatto right out. At the very least, it left her unmoving on the ground for several worrying seconds. Given all that, she should have been awarded a disqualification win. More importantly, the bout obviously should have been stopped. Neither thing happened. Instead, after several minutes of frantic debate and review among the referee and other officials, all the foul amounted to was Barbosa receiving a point deduction, as the cageside physician allegedly deemed Gatto fit to continue. The action then resumed.

Even if Gatto wasn't seriously injured after chowing down on her opponent's shin, which frankly seems impossible, she was at least extremely compromised. That means that, in addition to being exposed to risk of additional injury, she was also being sent back into a professional fight at a serious disadvantage. With her hands tied behind her back, effectively. It was an egregious failure by the officials involved to protect the fighters in their charge.

The fight went about as expected after the devastating foul. Gatto never really got back into the fight, and Barbosa did more or less what she wanted until the third round ended. Because she received a point deduction, she had to settle for a majority decision win rather than a unanimous verdict, but it's a victory all the same. 

Gatto, meanwhile, leaves the Octagon having been completely shorted. Hopefully, she is at least in good health. 

Winner: Happy Returns

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The first bout of Saturday's UFC card was booked under somewhat unusual circumstances. In one corner, we had Hawaiian veteran Kai Kamaka III, who was returning to the UFC over five years after his first run with the promotion ended. In the other, we had Dakota Hope, who was making his UFC debut. The pair accepted the booking less than a week ahead of time.

Despite the short-notice circumstances, it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic fight. The two lightweights traded heavy artillery in the pocket for all three rounds, flaunting high-level striking and incredible durability in the face of immense punishment. By the time was over, the judges clearly had a tough decision to make, but they ultimately sided with Kamaka.

It was a feel good moment for "The Fighting Hawaiian."

Kamaka's first UFC run kicked off in 2020, by which point he already had experience in LFA and Bellator. He got off to a good start with the promotion, beating Tony Kelley by decision in his debut. Unfortunately, he was let go by the promotion following a pair of losses to Jonathan Pearce and TJ Brown, and a draw against Danny Chavez.

What followed was something of a world tour for the Hawaiian slugger, with stops back in Bellator, then in the PFL, and most recently, Tuff-N-Uff. While he won the majority of those bouts, there was never a guarantee he'd ever get a call to return to the UFC.

After Saturday, he's not only back on the UFC roster, but riding his best performance in the Octagon to date. And the most amazing part? He's still just 31. Despite his long journey, he's got still upside.

"I had a career that was not linear but we're back and I want to keep climbing," he said after the win. "I want to thank everybody for believing in me."