UFC Fight Night Dern vs. Ribas 2 Preview – Best Fights & Fighters to Watch

The UFC returns this weekend with a strawweight main event.

Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Following a nearly month-long break, the UFC is set to kick off its 2025 schedule this Saturday with a Fight Night card featuring a rematch between top strawweight contenders.

The Main Event

The main event will see Mackenzie Dern try to avenge her previous loss to Amanda Ribas in a matchup that holds significant implications for the UFC strawweight division.

Looking to start 2025 off with a BANG 💥@MackenzieDern headlines #UFCVegas101 this SATURDAY! pic.twitter.com/BH4ydkbXt1

— UFC (@ufc) January 6, 2025

The 2019 meeting between the two women saw Dern suffer the first loss of her MMA career, and Ribas will now try to snatch her opponent’s #6 strawweight ranking after coming up short against two-time titleholder Rose Namajunas in a women’s flyweight main event back in March.

She has no problem finishing a fight on the ground 💪

Don't miss @AmandaRibasUFC in the #UFCVegas101 main event! pic.twitter.com/EM2D1ZRM1m

— UFC (@ufc) January 6, 2025

Dana White Unveils Stacked UFC Seattle Card Featuring Dominick Cruz, Henry Cejudo

The Co-Main Event

The night’s co-main event is a battle between welterweight veterans Santiago Ponzinibbio and Carlston Harris.

NEVER COUNT HIM OUT OF A FIGHT 🫡@SPonzinibbioMMA RETURNS this Saturday at #UFCVegas101! pic.twitter.com/ZvSvzl0sxY

— UFC (@ufc) January 6, 2025

Back-to-back losses and a 2-5 run dating back to 2021 have put Ponzinibbio in a precarious position heading into the first UFC event of 2025, while Harris had established some momentum with a pair of wins in 2023 before he was knocked out by Khaos Williams in his only Octagon outing last year.

Mar 11, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Carlston Harris (red gloves) fights Jared Gooden (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Virgin Hotel. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Fights You Don’t Want To Miss

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida

Two hard-hitting middleweights meet in a matchup that looks like it should almost certainly provide one of the first UFC knockouts of the year.

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; UFC referee Dan Miragliotta pauses the fight between Abdul Razak Alhassan (red gloves) and Cody Brundage (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Almeida suffered the first loss of his MMA career last June but rebounded with a win over Ihor Potieria. The former kickboxer will now try to build some momentum against a longtime UFC veteran in Alhassan, who saw his last fight end in a No Contest after he landed shots to the back of Cody Brundage’s head while pursuing one of his signature sub-minute finishes.

Eddie Alvarez Deems Dustin Poirier ‘Most Violent’ of UFC Lightweight Stars

Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov

The winner of this matchup will almost certainly earn a crack at the middleweight rankings in their next outing, and stylistically it also looks to be a potential candidate for Fight of the Night honors.

Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Chris Curtis (red glove) fights Marc-Andre Barriault (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Curtis came one scorecard short of earning his second win over Brendan Allen in a short-notice main event last April, and “The Action Man” will now test his striking against Kopylov after the Russian handed the aforementioned Almeida his first MMA loss in June.

Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez

Bashi enters his UFC debut with a significant amount of hype as an undefeated prospect coming off of Dana White’s Contender Series, but fans have already seen Rodriguez upset three formerly unbeaten fighters in Cameron Saaiman, Isaac Dulgarian, and Raul Rosas Jr.

Apr 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Raul Rosas Jr (red gloves) fights Christian Rodriguez (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. / Rich Storry-Imagn Images

“Ceerod” had a four-fight win streak snapped when he was submitted by Julian Erosa in June, and while Rodriguez has plenty of experience against undefeated prospects he’ll need to be wary of Bashi’s finishing skills when he welcomes the 23-year-old to the Octagon for the first time.

Fighters to Watch

Fatima Kline

One of the more highly-touted female prospects in recent memory, Kline made her UFC debut on short-notice at women’s flyweight last July and suffered a unanimous decision loss to the division’s #12-ranked contender in Jasmine Jasudavicius.

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jasmine Jasudavicius (red gloves) fights Fatima Kline (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“The Archangel” will return to strawweight for this matchup with Dudakova, who suffered the first loss of her professional and amateur MMA careers in August when she dropped a split decision to Sam Hughes.

UFC CEO Dana White to Join Mark Zuckerberg on Meta Board of Directors

Nurullo Aliev

Aliev’s infamous UFC debut saw the undefeated lightweight take a majority decision over Rafael Alves despite being deducted a point for allegedly biting the Brazilian during the course of their bout.

Nurullo Aliev of Tajikistan punches Rafael Alves of Brazil in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 25, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. / (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

It’s now been almost two years since Aliev stepped into the Octagon for the first time, and he’ll try to distance himself from his controversial debut when he takes on an experienced UFC veteran in Joe Solecki.

Ihor Potieria

Potieria has been given some difficult matchups during his seven-fight UFC career, and this weekend the Ukraninian once again finds himself as a betting underdog against the debuting Marco Tulio.

Oct 5, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Cesar Almeida (red gloves) fights Ihor Potieria (blue gloves) during UFC 307 at Delta Center. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“The Duelist” could very well exit the UFC if he suffers a third-straight loss after going 2-5 in the UFC thus far, but a matchup with a talented prospect is also a huge chance for Potieria to prove that he belongs in the promotion’s middleweight division.

UFC Fight Night Main Card

• Main Event: Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2

• Co-Main Event: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris

• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida

• Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov

• Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez

• Punahele Soriano vs. Uros Medic

UFC Fight Night Preliminary Card

• Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes

• Marco Tulio vs. Ihor Potieria

• Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden

• Preston Parsons vs. Jacobe Smith

• Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari

• Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes

• Fatima Kline vs. Viktoriia Dudakova

• Nurullo Aliev vs. Joe Solecki

More UFC & MMA News

• 'The One, The Only': Former Two-Division UFC Champion Conor McGregor Teases Comeback

• Ex-UFC Champ Claims to be ‘Biggest Fight’ for Michael Chandler after Conor McGregor

• Payton Talbott Says Top Contenders Rejected Him Ahead of UFC 311: ‘It’s Dangerous'

• BKFC Loses Crossover Fight: ‘Kimbo Slice Jr. Is Afraid of TikTok Dancing Bryce Hall'

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC, MMA, and Boxing.

Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.