A rematch six years in the making.
On October 12, 2019, Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas went to war and the Brazil native came out on top. Since then, Ribas' UFC career has been a mixed bag; though she’s gotten big wins over Paige VanZant, Luana Pinheiro, and Vivane Araújo, Ribas has fallen short to big names like Rose Namajunas.
Dern’s career is slightly better. She’s gone on to beat seven fighters since her loss to Amanda Ribas, but she’s also dropped four bouts since that time as well. Dern is coming in with some momentum as she beat Loopy Godinz on August 3, 2024. That broke a nasty two-fight skid that she was previously on.
Santiago Ponzinibbio is currently in the midst of the worst downturn of his UFC career. The welterweight has lost four out of his last five fights, with his last win coming over Alex Morono at UFC 282.
Carlston Harris is also in need of a win. Khaos Williams shattered his two-fight winning streak that moved him away from the title picture. Still, Harris has a good UFC record overall as he’s beaten four fighters since he joined the promotion in 2021.
Cesar Almeida is coming in fresh off a win over Ihor Potieria. The Contender Series alumni stumbled when he failed to beat Roman Kopylov at UFC 302, but that seemed to only make him a better and more well rounded fighter against Potieria.
Abdul Razak Alhassan has yet to regain his mojo following his crushing loss to Joe Pyfer. He did fight Cody Brundage the following year, but that bout ended in a no-contest due to illegal elbow strikes.
Below is the advertised line-up for UFC Vegas 101.
UFC Vegas 101 Main Event On ESPN+:
Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2
UFC Vegas 101 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris
Cesar Almeida vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
Christian Rodriguez vs. Austin Bashi
Punahele Soriano vs. Uros Medic
UFC Vegas 101 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes
Marco Tulio vs. Ihor Potieria
Thiago Moises vs. Trey Ogden
Preston Parsons vs. Jacobe Smith
Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes
Fatima Kline vs. Victoria Dudakova
Nurullo Aliev vs. Joe Solecki