Brendson Ribeiro needed a win badly, and he got one in 1:49. The Brazilian light heavyweight caught Felipe Franco in a guillotine on a takedown attempt, jumped guard and forced the tap in Round 1 on Saturday at UFC Vegas 122 (UFC Fight Night 290) at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
The finish snapped a four-fight losing streak. It also salvaged a fight week that went bad early, because Ribeiro missed weight Friday morning.
He owned that part in the cage. Speaking through an interpreter in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, Ribeiro thanked the UFC and apologized for missing weight. He pointed out that he took the fight on two weeks’ notice and said that made getting the win all the more important.
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Two weeks’ notice, four straight losses on the ledger, an opponent sitting at 11-3. Plenty of guys find a reason to pass on that phone call. Ribeiro said yes.
How it ended
Cageside Press described a patient opening, with both men feeling each other out. Franco tried to sneak in a check hook, missed, and ate a jab for it. Ribeiro chopped at the calf, then went back upstairs with the jab and dug to the body.
Franco apparently decided he’d seen enough of the striking and changed levels. Cageside called it a well-timed shot. The problem was where his head ended up. Ribeiro wrapped the neck right away, jumped guard to tighten the choke, and that was the night. The UFC’s Paramount+ account on X called it a jumping gilly, which is the correct technical term in every gym I’ve ever been in.
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MMA Junkie, via Yahoo Sports, framed the result as an upset.
The numbers
Ribeiro moves to 19-11 overall and 3-6 in the UFC. Franco drops to 11-3 overall and 1-2 inside the Octagon.
MMA Junkie reported that an emotional Ribeiro opened up after the fight about the losing skid and about hardships in his personal life over the past year, while still saying he was grateful for where he is. In a clip posted by the UFC News account on X, he put the win in bigger terms, calling it the work of 15 years coming together in one night.
The sources don’t point to a next opponent, so for now the win is the story.
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Elsewhere on the card, Allen Frye Jr. knocked out RJ Harris with punches at 2:59 of Round 1, Alice Pereira stopped Daria Zhelezniakova when she retired on the stool after Round 1, and Ernesta Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto fought to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28).
My take: the weight miss is a real mark, and Ribeiro didn’t dodge it, which I’ll always respect more than a vague Instagram story. A 3-6 UFC record doesn’t buy anybody a long leash. But a guy who takes a 205-pound fight on two weeks’ notice, apologizes on the mic, and finishes a takedown attempt with a guillotine in under two minutes has earned another phone call from the matchmakers. Ideally one that comes with a full camp.
