The UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV will be the setting for this weekend’s card, the final card at the venue this month. After UFC Vegas 111 on Saturday, the promotion won’t return to the Apex until the night of December 13 for the final UFC event of the year and the last on ESPN+ after a seven-year stint while the promotion broadcast and streamed at home in the United States.
As for this week’s promotion. live coverage of UFC Vegas 111 begins with the prelims at 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT with the prelims on ESPN+ before moving to the main card at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. After a few postponements on the card and subsequent shuffling of the fight order, if no further adjustments occur, there will be 12 fights on Saturday.
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UFC Vegas 111 Main Event: No. 14 contender Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown
At the top of the program on Saturday evening, the welterweights will compete in the UFC Vegas 111 main event. No. 14 contender Gabriel Bonfim (18-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) collides with unranked Randy Brown (20-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC). This main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds of five minutes per round to close out the show.
The UFC Vegas 111 main event is a rebooking of a postponed bout from the October 11 UFC Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro. Bonfim and Brown saw their fight pushed back to this Saturday. Heading into this rebooked bout, Gabriel Bonfim has a record of 4-1 in his last five fights.
He has had his hand raised victoriously three times in a row. Most recently, he scored a split-decision victory over Stephen Thompson (17-9-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) at UFC Nashville in July.
Gabriel Bonfim enters UFC Vegas 111 at the bottom of the rankings at 170, but he’s been on a good run lately. Will he be able to continue his rise on Saturday?
Meanwhile, Randy Brown will make the walk this weekend after going 4-1 himself in his past five games. The last time he fell, he knocked out Nicolas Dalby (23-6-1, 2 NC MMA, 7-5-1, 1 NC UFC) on April 26 in Kansas City, KS.
This week he fights with a purpose. Randy Brown hails from Jamaica, where the devastation of Hurricane Melissa made landfall last week, and he is providing assistance to those affected by the storm’s aftermath through the Randy Brown Foundation, to which the UFC has donated money in the aftermath of the hurricane.
A win here would mean much more than a place in the rankings. It would give people back home something to cheer about.
UFC Vegas 111 Co-Main Event: Matt Schnell vs. Joseph Morales
Immediately before that, the co-main attraction of UFC Vegas 111 takes place at flyweight when Matt Schnell (17-9, 1 NC MMA, 7-7, 1 NC UFC) meets Joseph Morales (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the latter’s promotional return. This is a three-round fight of five minutes per round.
Schnell will make the walk Saturday night at the Apex with a mark of 2-3 in his five most recent appearances. He returned to victory lane on April 26 against Jimmy Flick (17-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in Kansas City at Sprint Center. The victory marked the end of a three-fight winless streak dating back to 2022.
Can he stay there now that he’s back in the win column? Tune in and find out.
On the other side, Joseph Morales enters the weekend with a 4-1 record in his last five fights, which counts towards his professional MMA record. After victories in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of last season The ultimate fighter, he secured a second UFC contract with a second-round submission via triangle choke against Alibi Idiris (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in The ultimate fighter flyweight final at UFC 319 in August.
It’s not often that life gives someone a second chance. With his victory in August in the T.U.F final in Chicago, this is exactly what Joseph Morales has to offer, starting Saturday at UFC Vegas 111.
UFC Vegas 111: Muslim Salikhov vs. Uros Medic
Also on Saturday night’s main card, more welterweight action takes place inside the legendary Octagon as Muslim Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) fights Uros Medic (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), a 2020 alumnus of Contender series. Salikhov has a 3-2 record in his past five matches and has won three straight.
Last summer, he scored his third consecutive victory by first-round knockout (counter right hook) in just 42 seconds against Carlos Leal (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on ABC. In doing so, he earned his second post-fight bonus of $50,000 (USD) for the night’s performance.
Of the possible 30 minutes of action in Salikhov’s last two fights, he only needs 4:31 to complete the action. Saturday’s fight will be Medic’s ninth fight under the promotional banner and he hasn’t taken much time to complete his assignments lately. Will it be another short evening at the office?
In the other corner, Uros Medic is 3-2 in his last five fights. On August 9, he finished Gilbert Urbina (7-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) with a straight left in one minute and three seconds at the UFC Apex.
By the time Saturday’s match takes place, only 89 days will have passed between fights for Medic. How will he fare here?
Rest of the map
The UFC Vegas 111 main card is rounded out by these fights:
- A lightweight showcase pairing of Chris Padilla (16-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Ismael Bonfim (20-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
- and a middleweight bout that paired Christian Leroy Duncan (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) with Marco Tulio (14-1 MMA, 2-0).
Which of the main card battles are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
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