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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama
Diving Into The Matchups Set To Hit The Octagon On Saturday
By E. Spencer Kyte, On X: @SpencerKyte
The action returns to UFC APEX this Saturday for the first time since the end of August with a fight card filled with emerging names and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grads looking to head into the final two months of 2025 on a high. The night will be capped off by a compelling clash of ascending talents in the featherweight division.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
Featherweight Main Event: Steve Garcia vs David Onama
It’s been a slow burn for Steve Garcia and David Onama, but now both are stationed in the rankings and sharing the Octagon in this weekend’s intriguing featherweight main event.
Garcia is a testament to perseverance and finding where you fit, as he fought a tough slate on the regional circuit before opening his UFC run with a 1-2 mark as a lightweight. Since moving to the 145-pound ranks three years ago, the 33-year-old Albuquerque native has rattled off six straight wins, with five finishes preceding his decision win over Calvin Kattar in May.
Onama arrived in the UFC as a short-notice call-up, giving Mason Jones a tough fight at lightweight before returning to his natural featherweight surroundings. Onama has gone 6-1 since then and enters Saturday’s contest on a four-fight run of success, having most recently outworked Giga Chikadze in Kansas City towards the end of April.
Positioned next to each other in the featherweight rankings — Garcia is No. 12, Onama is No. 13 — these two aren’t just battling to see who carries which number forward, but also to potentially earn an opportunity to fight forward in the talent-rich division. There are a handful of veteran names sliding backward in the rankings at the moment, and a strong effort for either man could make them an obvious option for a matchup with a rankings fixture as they keep pushing forward early next year.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Ante Delija
Waldo Cortes Acosta and Ante Delija meet in a battle of Top 10 heavyweights looking to establish their footing in the division as winter draws nearer.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’22, Cortes Acosta carried a 7-1 record into his showdown with Sergei Pavlovich earlier this year in Shanghai, where he landed on the wrong side of the results for just the second time in his career. Now the 34-year-old Dominican will aim to steady himself and maintain his place in the hierarchy by making a quick return to the win column this weekend.
After several years as one of the top non-UFC heavyweights in the sport, Delija finally graced the Octagon for the first time in early September and made am immediate splash, knocking out Polish stalwart Marcin Tybura in the first round. The Croatian veteran is 26-6 overall, has quick hands and proven power, and is angling to make an expedient run into title contention with his second win in a matter of months.
Given how things played out over the weekend at UFC 321, there could be an opportunity for a Top 5 matchup for the winner of this one in the first half of 2026, especially if either man gets things done in impression fashion. At the very least, this will set a clear baseline for where each man stands in the division and provide a better understanding of how things may line up in the big boy ranks in the early part of next year.
Jeremiah Wells vs Themba Gorimbo
Welterweights aiming to get things moving in the right direction again face off here as Jeremiah Wells returns to take on Themba Gorimbo.
Fighting for the first time in 20 months (and just a couple days after our shared birthday), Wells hits the Octagon on a two-fight skid, having lost a split decision to Max Griffin the last time he graced the cage in February 2024. An explosive striker that earned finishes in each of his first three UFC appearances, the Marquez MMA man touches down in Las Vegas looking for his first win since the spring of 2023 against Matthew Semelsberger.
Gorimbo tethered together four consecutive wins in the midst of his personal story exploding on social media over the last couple years but landed in too deep last time out at UFC 310 against Vicente Luque. Now, the Florida-based fighter from Zimbabwe will look to get back to the form that produced victories over Ramiz Brahimaj and Niko Price in 2024.
Which of these two will get their hand raised in victory and who will be forced to once again reckon with another setback?
Isaac Dulgarian vs Yadier del Valle
Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle meet in this main card clash of promising featherweights looking to take another step forward in their UFC careers.
Dulgarian arrived in the UFC with an unbeaten record and never having ventured beyond the first round. He maintained that through his debut before suffering a split decision loss to Christian Rodriguez, then subsequently got back in the win column with a second-round submission win over Brendon Marotte, maintaining his 100-percent finishing rate.
A member of last year’s DWCS graduating class, del Valle similarly made his first foray into the Octagon with an unblemished record and kept it that way with a first-round stoppage win over Connor Matthews in May. The 29-year-old Cuban earned a decision win over Michael Aswell Jr. prior to arriving in the UFC and will look to push his perfect pro record into double digits with another victory here.
This feels like one of those “you’re not gonna wanna miss this” fights where it’s either ending early or turning into an all-out battle, both of which are tasty options. There is a classic clash of styles at play here, so it will be curious to see who can dictate the terms of engagement early and if that will hold throughout the contest.
Charles Radtke vs Daniel Frunza
Welterweight hitters Charles Radtke and Daniel Frunza stand opposite one another on Saturday in what looks on paper to be a highly combustible pairing.
“Chuck Buffalo” returns to action for the first time since getting knocked out on Canadian soil in May by Mike Malott, which dropped his record to 3-2 inside the Octagon. The 35-year-old Chicagoan likes to chirp his opponents and throw hands, and chances are high that we see some of both on Saturday.
Frunza claimed a spot on the roster with a second-round stoppage win on Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series but was on the other side of the stoppage in his debut. That matchup with Rhys McKee was halted after the first round as his right eye was swollen shut. The 31-year-old Romanian, who fights out of Capri, Italy, has earned finishes in eight of his nine pro wins and will surely be looking for one here.
Nobody likes to lose and consecutive losses sting even more, so you can be certain that these two are going to come out swinging hammers looking to ensure that it’s their adversary that leaves Las Vegas pondering how to get things moving in the right direction next time out.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Billy Elekana vs Kevin Christian
The prelims wrap in the light heavyweight division as Billy Elekana welcomes Kevin Christian to the Octagon for the first time.
After landing on the wrong side of the results in his short notice debut at UFC 311, Elekana collected a unanimous decision win over Ibo Aslan last time out to move to 8-2 for his career. A member of last year’s DWCS graduating class, Christian carries a six-fight winning streak and 100-percent finishing rate into his overdue promotional debut.
Timmy Cuamba vs ChangHo Lee
Las Vegas’ own Timmy Cuamba welcomes Road to UFC winner ChangHo Lee to his hometown for this potentially explosive bantamweight pairing.
Cuamba picked up his first victory inside the Octagon last time out, stopping Roberto Romero in the second round, and now drops to the 135-pound ranks for the first time, joining a relatively small list of athletes to compete in three different weight divisions. Lee landed on the happy side of a split decision verdict in his Road to UFC finale clash with Xiao Long in the summer of ’22 and then looked sharp in dispatching Cortavious Romious in April, picking up a Performance Bonus for his efforts.
Donte Johnson vs Sedriques Dumas
Donte Johnson and Sedriques Dumas face off here in a middleweight battle of Dana White’s Contender Series alums.
The unbeaten Johnson claimed his place on the roster with a win at heavyweight earlier this year in Season 9 but now drops two divisions to make his debut in the 185-pound ranks. Dumas, who stepped in here for Nick Klein, looks to get back in the win column after losing to Michal Oleksiejczuk in April and his fight with Zach Reese in September ending prematurely due to an accidental low blow.
Ketlen Vieira vs Norma Dumont
Ketlen Vieira and Norma Dumont share the Octagon in this meeting of Top 5 bantamweights looking to cement their position in the title chase.
After pushing current champ Kayla Harrison last year at UFC 307, Vieira got back into the win column with a victory over Macy Chiasson at the end of May, though the fight did need to be shifted up a division due to weight management issues on Vieira’s part. Dumont checks in for this one on a five-fight winning streak, competing for the first time since her mauling of Irene Aldana last year inside Sphere at Noche UFC.
Alice Ardelean vs Montserrat Conejo Ruiz
Alice Ardelean and Montserrat Conejo Ruiz meet in this preliminary card clash of styles in the strawweight division.
Ardelean picked up her first UFC victory in three tries last time out, getting the better of Rayanne dos Santos on the scorecards after landing on the opposite side of the results against Shauna Bannon and Melissa Martinez in her first two appearances. Conejo Ruiz dominated and frustrated Cheyanne Vlismas in her promotional debut more than four years ago but has gone without a win in three starts since, and fights for the first time in two years this weekend.
Phil Rowe vs Seokhyeon Ko
Welterweights coming off quality victories clash early in the night as Phil Rowe takes on fellow DWCS grad Seokhyeon Ko.
“The Fresh Prince” snapped a two-fight slide with a win over Ange Loosa back in June, rallying to get the third-round finish after dropping the first two rounds. Ko collected a unanimous decision win in his post-DWCS debut in June, dominating Oban Elliott in Baku, Azerbaijan to advance to 12-2 for his career.
Talita Alencar vs Ariane Carnelossi
It’s an all-Brazilian battle in the strawweight division as Talita Alencar take on the returning Ariane Carnelossi.
Alencar has gone 2-1 through her first three UFC appearances, alternating wins and losses while carrying a 6-1-1 record into Saturday’s contest. Carnelossi competes for the first time since last May, when she earned a win over Piera Rodriguez after “La Fiera” was disqualified for delivering intentional headbutts.
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UFC 321 - Aspinall vs. Gane
