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Kevin Vallejos made short work of Josh Emmett. | Getty/UFC

Kevin Vallejos delivered on the biggest stage of his career to date.

The 24-year-old Argentina native earned a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round technical knockout victory over Josh Emmett in the UFC Vegas 114 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Vallejos dropped his opponent with a right hand early, then sealed his victory with a barrage of offense against the fence at the 3:33 mark of Round 1.

Newcomers Earn Extra Cash Meanwhile, Marwan Rahiki and Harry Hardwick secured “Fight of the Night” honors and $100,000 apiece for their wild featherweight battle on the main card. While both fighters had their moments during a series of furious exchanges, Rahiki did the most significant damage, forcing the bout to be halted after due rounds after it was suspected that Hardwick suffered a broken jaw.

Finally, Octagon newcomer Manoel Sousa received the evening’s ot…

Kevin Vallejos blew a well-respected longtime contender out of the water.

The fast-rising 24-year-old Argentinian fortified his place among the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight elite, as he annihilated Josh Emmett with punches, knees and elbows in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 269 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Vallejos (18-1, 4-0 UFC) slammed the door 3:33 into Round 1, logging his seventh straight victory.

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Emmett (19-7, 10-7 UFC) was a non-factor. Vallejos stalked him from the center of the cage and let his exquisite timing and reactions light his way. He lured Emmett into an exchange, floored him with a right hook and swamped him with punches and elbows. Vallejos allowed the Californian to stand, then pinned him to the fence and launched an all-out assault on his body and head with a hailstorm of strikes, prompting the stoppage.

Meanwhile, Gillian Robertson overcame in inauspicious start to impleme…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 114 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Vegas UFC Fight Night 269. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Rodriguez (-140); Hughes (+115)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Smith (-180); You (+150)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese …

Myktybek Orolbai looked like a dog playing with a chew toy.

The surging Kyrgyzstani welterweight took another step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s loaded 170-pound weight class with a three-round unanimous decision over Chris Curtis in their featured UFC Fight Night 269 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Orolbai (16-2-1, 5-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from the cageside judges.

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Curtis (32-13, 6-5 UFC) was a man with no answers. Orolbai closed the distance and completed one takedown after another, effectively smothering the former CES MMA champion across 15 non-competitive minutes. Every time Curtis managed to stand, his opponent was there to return him to the mat. Orolbai progressed to the back on multiple occasions and threatened the neck with rear-naked chokes but mostly chose to play it safe and dominate the battle with superior grappling.

Meanwhile, CM System mainstay Vitor Petrino called u…

Cory Sandhagen believes Merab Dvalishvili rushed into his rematch against Petr Yan.

Dvalishvili (21-5) defeated Yan (20-5) via a lopsided unanimous decision in their first matchup in 2023. While Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title soon after, Yan hasn’t lost a fight since. Yan earned a chance to avenge the loss in a rematch against Dvalishvili at UFC 323 this past December. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili looked to defend his bantamweight title for the fourth time in a year in his rematch against Yan. Dvalishvili made a two month turnaround from a successful title defense against Sandhagen in October. Yan put on a technical masterclass, outclassing Dvalishvili in every aspect to earn a huge upset win. 

Sandhagen admits he expected Dvalishvili to win the rematch against Yan. However, Sandhagen believes “The Machine” slightly underestimated Yan in making a quick turnaround for the rematch. Yan is currently recovering from a back surgery and is expected to face Dvalishvil…

Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think Khamzat Chimaev has any right to call a fight boring. 

Max Holloway put his BMF title on the line against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 earlier this month. Oliveira dominated Holloway on the ground to earn a unanimous decision win. Despite Oliveira’s dominant performance, some felt that the performance didn’t do justice to the BMF title. Chimaev also mocked the fight for lack of entertainment.

“This was crazy highlight fight,” Chimaev wrote.

This was crazy highlight fight 😂

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) March 8, 2026

Du Plessis slammed Chimaev for criticizing the fight. Du Plessis believes “Borz” doesn’t have the right to call out a fight for inactivity after their clash at UFC 319 last year. Du Plessis defended Oliveira’s performance, citing the Brazilian’s constant submission threats.

Pot, Meet Kettle “I saw Khamzat commenting and saying how boring that fight was,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast. …

Carlos Prates believes former foe Ian Garry has the best chance of dethroning Islam Makhachev. 

Prates believes Garry’s well-rounded skillset and elite movement can make for a competitive fight against Makhachev. While Garry has lost to an elite grappler in Shavkat Rakhmonov, Prates believes a potential matchup against Makhachev will be different. Competing with Garry for the next welterweight title shot is Michael Morales. However, Prates believes Makhachev will successfully defend his title against Morales.

An Intriguing Challenge “I think Ian Garry,” Prates told Red Corner MMA.”I think it’ll be little bit different [than the Shavkat fight]. Because Ian Garry knows how to move a lot, how to be really competitive in any place, on the ground or stand up. So I think that fight would be interesting.”

Makhachev dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to the welterweight title at UFC 322 last November. Prates also entered the welterweight title picture by knocking out Leon Edwa…

Colby Covington believes the UFC has become lackadaisical after the Paramount deal. 

The UFC is set to host a one-of-a-kind event on President Donald Trump’s birthday, June 14, at the White House lawn. The card, billed as Freedom 250, is a tribute to America’s 250th year of independence. An avid supporter of Trump, Covington had been rallying for a spot on the card ever since it was first mentioned last year. However, when the card was announced last weekend, Covington left out. 

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Covington can’t comprehend why he isn’t a part of the White House card. “Chaos” believes the UFC has disappointed its hardcore fanbase with the White House lineup. According to the former welterweight title challenger, the UFC has become indifferent since landing the $7.7 billion deal with Paramount. Covington even makes a lofty prediction that the RAF 7 wrestling event on March 28 will be bigger than the White House card.‘It’s Just Sad’ “It doesn’t make sense to …

Cory Sandhagen believes Sean O'Malley has the privilege of choosing his opponents. 

Sandhagen (18-6) has been calling out O’Malley (19-3) for a matchup, which would be a striking treat for fans. Instead, O’Malley is now booked to fight Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14. 

Sandhagen holds Sean O’Malley responsible for them not being booked against each other. O’Malley claims he was never offered Sandhagen for the White House. However, Sandhagen believes that’s not how it works for “Suga.” Sandhagen thinks O’Malley has the privilege of rejecting and picking fights of his choice. According to Sandhagen, not mentioning his name specifically was a clear duck from O’Malley. Sandhagen has now given up hope of the O’Malley matchup after multiple callouts. “The Sandman” also believes O’Malley will retire if he loses to Zahabi or even if he doesn’t see a certain route to a title run next.

‘A Cop-Out Punk Move’ “I don’t think the dude’s ever going to fight…

Belal Muhammad doesn’t think there will be any real MMA fans at the UFC White House card.

The UFC will host a one-of-a-kind event at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday, June 14, on the South Lawn of the White House. The card, billed as Freedom Fights 250, will be a celebration of America’s 250th year of independence. 

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Muhammad recently compared the event to “The Hunger Games,” the dystopian series of movies based on the books written by Suzanne Collins. The movies portray a survival competition where participants must fight to the death until the last man stands. Muhammad recalls a scene from the first movie where the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, goes for her tryouts, while uninterested rich patrons go on with their discussions. Muhammad believes the White House crowd will also not be paying much attention to the action inside the Octagon, barring the occasional highlight-reel knockout.No Real Fan…

Patricio Freire sees a major chink in his upcoming opponent’s armor. 

Freire (37-8) is scheduled to fight fellow Bellator MMA alum Aaron Pico in a featherweight matchup at UFC 327 on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. While Freire respects Pico’s overall skill set, he sees a major flaw in his chin. Freire will look to exploit Pico’s chin and end the fight with a single shot.

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“He has a lot of gifts as a fighter,” Freire told MMAjunkie.com. “But he has a fatal flaw, which is: Whenever he gets hit with a hard shot, he goes down. So that’s something that I’m hoping to exploit in our fight. But aside from that, he is a great fighter.”

Three of Pico’s (13-5) five career losses have come via knockout. The 29-year-old made his UFC debut as a highly touted training partner of Khamzat Chimaev last year. Pico faced Lerone Murphy in a potential featherweight title eliminator at UFC 319 in August. Murphy knocked out Pico with a highlight reel …

Arman Tsarukyan continues to stay active in grappling competitions.

Tsarukyan is reportedly set to face Dillon Danis in a grappling match at Hype FC on April 8 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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“Arman will be in São Paulo on April 8, and his opponent will be Dillon Danis,” Hype FC CEO Armand Martirosian told Red Corner MMA. “The odds of it happening are 99.9%.”Staying Busy Tsarukyan has become a mainstay of Hype FC cards, starting with his grappling match against Sharabutdin Magomedov in Armenia last year. Tsarukyan was originally scheduled to face Georgio Poullas in a grudge rematch at Hype FC in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, last weekend. However, Poullas pulled out and was replaced on short notice by Muhammad Mokaev, who suffered a submission loss against Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan will face Poullas in a rematch at RAF 7 on March 28, hardly over a week before his clash against Danis at Hype FC. 

Meanwhile, Danis has gained notoriety over the years for getting into …