Carlos Prates’ win over Neil Magny was a significant step forward in his career. But while the main event provided an exciting showcase for a young fighter, the event made it seem like the UFC was back to delivering exciting content. Throughout most of 2024, the UFC had several events that featured a high number of fights that went the distance.

But that wasn’t an issue Saturday night when the promotion had to scramble to fill time on air because of how quickly the fights ended. Part of the reason there were so many fights that ended via stoppage is that the fights were booked with mismatches. But I’m OK with anything they were willing to do to get the action going again.

During the main event, Prates had a tough challenger in Neil Magny. But the veteran fighter met the same fate as many other fighters who fought Prates. The MMAfighting latest news shows that Magny melted under Prates’ power.

During the first round, Prates was able to keep the fight standing. With Magny along the cage, Prates put away the already-rocked Magny with a punch to his temple. UFC CEO Dana White had difficulty determining who got bonuses during the 100th edition of the promotion, holding fights at the Apex in Las Vegas.

De Ridder Makes Successful Debut

Reinier de Ridder may have made more waves with the microphone after the fight than during his time fighting with Gerald Meerschaert. Following his third-round submission win over Meerschaert, de Ridder gave a warning to any fighter wanting to sign with ONE Championship. De Ridder, a two-time champion in ONE, said the organization doesn’t have anything to offer young fighters.

MMA breaking news shows that de Ridder will have his hands full in the UFC. While de Ridder could lock up an arm-triangle submission to stop Meerschaert, his striking looked a little below UFC caliber. De Ridder improved to 18-2 in his career and has 12 wins by submission.

De Ridder will have an interesting next step in his career. Many people are skeptical about his success in other promotions. There are plenty of fun challengers at middleweight. The UFC should find a way to keep de Ridder as busy as he would like to be with tough challenges.

Robertson Can’t Earn a Stoppage

During a night of dominant performances, strawweight Gillian Robertson hoped to join the rest of the group. But Robertson had a hard time figuring out how to put away Luana Pinheiro.

The best MMA news sites even show that Robertson scored a takedown early in the third round. For the next 3.5 minutes, Robertson had top control and tried to work to a crucifix position. While Robertson eventually got Pinheiro in that spot, she couldn’t do enough damage to secure a finish.

Pinheiro would actually prefer to go down a weight class, but the UFC doesn’t have an atomweight division. There have been some talks about adding a 105-pound women’s division, but nothing has been announced.

Todorović May Want to Look for New Work

Duško Todorović has had a difficult run as of late in the UFC. During three of Todorović’s last fights, he has taken a lot of damage. Things didn’t change when Todorović had the challenge of facing a debuting Mansur Abdul-Malik.

Abdul-Malik had earned a contract through Dana White’s Contender Series and wanted to show what he could do. Abdul-Malik now has seven wins in his career by first-round finish. He finished off Todorović with a solid knee and then followed up with punches to put him away.

Scroggin Takes His Opportunity

Zach Scroggin wanted a chance to succeed in the UFC. He chose to answer the call to fight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on less than five days’ notice. The previously undefeated Scroggin had a rough week after making the decision.

He wasn’t able to make weight. When Scroggin got into the octagon, he struggled to find a way to compete in the catchweight bout. Dos Santos came out striking and quickly put Scroggin on the back foot.

When dos Santos dropped Scroggin with strikes, he quickly followed up with ground-and-pound to bring the fight to an end in 75 seconds.

Chuck Buffalo Makes Quick Work of Semelsberger

Matthew Semelsberger was never looked at as a championship-level fighter, but when he first came to the UFC, he was a difficult fighter to earn a knockout against. That has changed considerably over the past few years.

Semelsberger has now lost four straight fights and has taken two knockout losses. His most recent defeat to Charles Radtke was especially difficult to swallow. Radtke blitzed Semelsberger from the beginning of the first and never allowed him to make the contest close.

Gore Wraps Up Impressive Decision

Fighting with a height advantage can be comforting for any fighter. However, Tresean Gore isn’t afraid of locking horns with anyone. Fighting against Antonio Troccoli saw Gore on the wrong side of a taller opponent.

However, Gore didn’t make any excuses. Instead, he would catch Troccoli off guard and lock up a standing guillotine. Troccoli would be forced to tap out in the first round.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:

Bantamweight, Gaston Bolanos win by decision over Cortavious Romious, 30-27 (x2) 30-26

Women’s strawweight, Denise Gomes win by decision over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, 30-27 (x2), 29-28

Bantamweight, Da’Mon Blackshear win by submission over Cody Stamann, Round 1 4:19

Catchweight (137 pounds), Melissa Mullins win by TKO over Klaudia Sygula, Round 2 1:23

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.