At Meta APEX in Las Vegas, UFC Vegas 122 offered a reminder that combat sports, at their most elemental, are a negotiation between patience and force — and that on this night, those who pressed hardest were rewarded. Brendan Allen, after nearly five full rounds of mutual attrition, found Christian Leroy Duncan's back and refused to let go, earning a rear-naked choke submission that distilled the entire evening into a single, inevitable moment. The card around him echoed the same truth: finishes came swiftly and often, as fighters across divisions chose resolution over caution. In a sport where
Allen Submits Duncan in Round 5 Thriller at UFC Vegas 122
Allen took Duncan's back and sank in the choke.
Mark
So Allen and Duncan went all five rounds, but it still ended in a finish. That's unusual, isn't it?
Mimi
Not really. Five-round fights are designed to let things develop. Allen was methodical—he pressed, he controlled, he wore Duncan down. By the fifth round, Duncan was still throwing, but Allen had already answered every question Duncan asked.
Luke
The scorecards we have show Allen winning rounds 2, 3, and 4. So he was ahead going into the fifth. The submission was the punctuation mark, not a surprise comeback.
Mark
What was the quality of the grappling? Was Allen just stronger, or was there technique there?
Mimi
Allen took Duncan's back cleanly in the fifth. That's not luck—that's positioning. He'd been working toward that all night, pressing Duncan against the cage, creating scrambles. The rear-naked choke was tight enough that Duncan had to tap.
Luke
We should note that Duncan did fight the choke. He didn't tap immediately. But once Allen had both hooks in and the grip locked, there wasn't an escape.
Mark
The rest of the card seemed to be all finishes. Is that typical?
Mimi
UFC Vegas cards can go either way. This one had a lot of aggressive fighters who weren't content to let judges decide. Fili's head kick in twenty-two seconds, Tanzilovi's head kick in the second round—those are the kinds of moments that define a card.
Luke
Though we should separate the finishes. Some were dominant performances—Price's ground-and-pound, Prado's relentless striking. Others were just one good shot. Fili and Tanzilovi both got their opponents with single techniques.
Mark
Did anyone stand out as a prospect?
Mimi
Tanzilovi is 1-1 in the UFC now, but that head kick was clean. Frye Jr. got his second UFC win. Ribeiro ended a skid. There were some momentum shifts on that card.
Luke
Meerschaert retiring after his sixth straight loss—that's the other story. He'd been in the UFC for years. Sometimes a card is about who's coming up and who's stepping away.
O Pulso
- Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan pushed each other to the edge of exhaustion across five rounds before Allen finally secured the rear-naked choke at 2:46 of the fifth, turning a war of attrition into a submission finish.
- The undercard was a showcase of sudden violence — Andre Fili ended Kai Kamaka III in twenty-two seconds with a head kick, Otari Tanzilovi announced himself with a highlight-reel strike in just his second UFC bout, and Niko Price dismantled Leon Shahbazyan in under two minutes.
- Francisco Prado's dominant first-round finish of Ismael Bonfim was followed immediately by a callout of Drew Dober, signaling that the lightweight division has a new name demanding attention.
- Gerald Meerschaert's submission loss to Julius Walker — his sixth consecutive defeat — prompted the veteran to announce his retirement, closing a chapter in the sport's middleweight history.
- The lone draw of the night between Ernesta Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto stood as the card's only unresolved verdict, a reminder that not every contest yields a clean answer.
At Meta APEX in Las Vegas, UFC Vegas 122 offered a reminder that combat sports, at their most elemental, are a negotiation between patience and force — and that on this night, those who pressed hardest were rewarded. Brendan Allen, after nearly five full rounds of mutual attrition, found Christian Leroy Duncan's back and refused to let go, earning a rear-naked choke submission that distilled the entire evening into a single, inevitable moment. The card around him echoed the same truth: finishes came swiftly and often, as fighters across divisions chose resolution over caution. In a sport where ambiguity is always possible, Vegas 122 left little room for doubt.
UFC Vegas 122 at Meta APEX was a card built for finishers, and the fighters delivered accordingly. From the first bout to the main event, the judges' scorecards were largely an afterthought — someone almost always found a way to end it before the final bell.
The main event between Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan was the exception that proved the rule. For nearly twenty-three minutes, the two middleweights exchanged control, scrambled for position, and refused to yield. Allen, the more methodical of the two, pressed forward consistently. Duncan matched him in energy and technique, even finding a second wind in the fourth round after being stunned by a right hand. But Allen's pressure accumulated like interest — by the fifth round, with both men running on empty, he pressed Duncan to the cage, took his back, and sank in the rear-naked choke. Duncan fought it until there was nothing left to fight with, tapping at 2:46.
The rest of the card moved faster. Andre Fili needed twenty-two seconds of the second round to drop Kai Kamaka III with a head kick. Otari Tanzilovi, in only his second UFC appearance, landed a massive head kick on Malcolm Wellmaker at 2:39 of the second — the kind of finish that builds careers overnight. Niko Price finished Leon Shahbazyan in ninety-eight seconds with ground-and-pound, and Francisco Prado walked through Ismael Bonfim before calling out Drew Dober, staking his claim in the lightweight division.
Not everything ended in a blaze. Jai Herbert and Loopy Godinez each earned unanimous decisions, both by 29-28 margins. Brendson Ribeiro snapped a four-fight skid with a guillotine choke ninety-nine seconds in. Allen Frye Jr. put RJ Harris down at 2:59 of the first in the heavyweight division. And Gerald Meerschaert, submitted by Julius Walker in the second round for his sixth straight loss, used the post-fight moment to announce his retirement — a quiet, dignified exit from a long career.
The only unresolved outcome of the night was the majority draw between Ernesta Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto, a women's flyweight bout where control shifted but decisive damage never came. It was the card's lone asterisk — everything else had an ending. UFC Vegas 122 gave the sport what it asks for most: clarity.
The night at Meta APEX belonged to the finishers. UFC Vegas 122 unfolded as a card where patience was punished and aggression rewarded—a sequence of fights that rarely saw the judges' scorecards, because someone always found a way to end it first.
The main event delivered exactly what the card had promised: a five-round war that came down to positioning and will. Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan traded control for nearly twenty-three minutes, each man finding moments of dominance before losing them again. Allen, carrying a 16-4 UFC record into the cage, pressed forward methodically. Duncan, at 8-3 in the promotion, had the energy and the technique to match him. They clinched, they scrambled, they reversed positions. In the fourth round, Allen landed a right hand that stunned Duncan, but Duncan found a second wind, throwing combinations as Allen chased him down. The round was close enough that it could have gone either way, but Allen's pressure and control gave him the edge. By the fifth round, both men were operating on fumes. Duncan threw a combination early, energized by the desperation of the final round. Allen closed the distance, pressed Duncan against the cage, and then did what he had been working toward all night: he took Duncan's back. The rear-naked choke was sunk in tight. Duncan fought it, his body tensing against the hold, but there was nowhere left to go. At 2:46 of the fifth round, he tapped.
The rest of the card was a clinic in finishing. Andre Fili needed only twenty-two seconds of the second round to end Kai Kamaka III with a head kick that dropped him like a tree. Otari Tanzilovi, fighting in just his second UFC bout, caught Malcolm Wellmaker with a massive head kick at 2:39 of the second round—the kind of strike that makes highlight reels. Niko Price, a welterweight with a complicated record, finished Leon Shahbazyan in ninety-eight seconds of the first round with ground-and-pound, Shahbazyan unable to defend himself as Price rained down shots. Francisco Prado walked through Ismael Bonfim in the first round, landing a big left hand and then taking him down to unleash a relentless barrage of strikes until the referee had to stop it. Prado, after the win, called out Drew Dober, signaling his ambition to climb the lightweight ladder.
Not every fight ended in violence. Jai Herbert outpointed Matheus Camilo across three rounds, with all three judges scoring it 29-28. Loopy Godinez took a unanimous decision over Ketlen Souza, also 29-28 across the board. Julius Walker submitted Gerald Meerschaert in the second round with ground-and-pound, and Meerschaert, after his sixth consecutive loss, announced his retirement from the sport. Brendson Ribeiro caught Felipe Franco in a guillotine choke just ninety-nine seconds into their light heavyweight bout, ending a four-fight losing streak with an upset. Allen Frye Jr. pieced up RJ Harris in the heavyweight division, landing a huge shot that sent Harris down at 2:59 of the first round.
Alice Pereira's fight with Daria Zhelezniakova never made it to the second round. Pereira landed big elbows from the top position in the first, opening a significant cut on Zhelezniakova's face. When the referee asked if she could continue between rounds, Zhelezniakova said no. The only draw of the night came between Ernesta Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto in the women's flyweight division—a majority draw with one judge scoring it 29-27 for Kareckaite and two judges seeing it as 28-28. It was a fight where neither fighter could quite pull away, where control changed hands but neither could convert it into decisive damage.
By the time the night was over, UFC Vegas 122 had delivered what fight cards are supposed to deliver: decisive outcomes, emerging talent, and a main event that went the distance but still found its ending. Allen had his submission. Duncan had his answer. And the card had its story.
Citações Notáveis
Francisco Prado called out Drew Dober after his knockout victory over Ismael Bonfim— Francisco Prado
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