It was back to the UFC APEX on Saturday Night, as the UFC hosted another Fight Night card in its headquarter city of Las Vegas with UFC Vegas 106: Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales.
Even in a card with a small audience like the UFC APEX always provides, all of the fighters, from the prelims to the main event, look to show off and put on a spectacular performance that can be their next ticket to a bigger opportunity. The result this time around was an absolutely fun card that saw strong performances from youth to veterans alike.
The main event was an anticipated clash between a former welterweight title challenger in Burns and a rising welterweight star in Morales.
Burns was once that rising star in the welterweight scene, but things have not been the same for him since losing his welterweight title match against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258. He entered this bout on a three-fight losing streak, having lost to former champion Belal Muhammad, new champion Jack Della Maddalena and another rising contender in Sean Brady.
Morales, meanwhile, has been a name to watch out for since his arrival to the UFC from Dana White’s Contender Series a few years ago. Morales had won all five Octagon battles he had entering tonight. In 2022, Morales got off on the right foot with finishes of Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt, and he followed that up with decision wins over Max Griffin and Jake Matthews. Most recently, Morales had scored a first-round finish of Neil Magny.
The main card also featured a lightweight clash between Sodiq Yusuff and The Ultimate Fighter season 32 winner Mairon Santos, a middleweight battle between Dustin Stoltzfus and Nursulton Ruziboev, and a featherweight battle between Julian Erosa and Melquizael Costa.
Who shined? What was bad? Let’s find out together with the hits and misses of UFC Vegas 106!
Hit – Didn’t Watch The Prelims? Missed A Lot Of Exciting Finishes
I heard all the talk entering the card. “It’s the APEX.” “There is nothing special about these prelims.” “This is a skippable show.” Isn’t it funny how there have been plenty of times where those phrases have been uttered and yet the prelims prove to be exciting? Heck, I think the UFC Vegas 106 prelims were better than the main card!
Did the strawweight contender opener between Tecia Pennington and Luana Pinhiero not do you anything? Well then what could have done something is how all the other prelim bouts — six — each produced a solid finish. Hyun Sung Park scored a choke in his first fight in a year. Denise Gomes pulled off a brutal showing of violence. Luana Santos scored a finish in the closing seconds of round two. Yadier del Valle got a dominant finish in his Octagon debut. Jared Gordon with a blasting knockout. Finally, Gabriel Green went from being troubled to causing it with his second-round submission.
I would hope we have learned our lesson by now about not judging a book (for main card or prelims) by its cover. Yes, 2025 hasn’t been the greatest year of MMA, but we’ve seen plenty of fun from the prelims before. They’re always worth keeping an eye on for one reason or another, and tonight showed that.
Miss – It’s Still The Apex…
…This is the one thing I can’t defend.
I’m not going to spend too much time on this one because I know I’m preaching to the choir and the UFC isn’t going to listen. But, come on. We just had a solid streak of shows in Kansas City, Des Moines, and Montreal, showing just how important a live crowd is to these events. And now we find ourselves back in the low-audience UFC APEX, and we’ll be at the UFC APEX again for the UFC’s next card at the end of the month.
I understand they do it for the sake of saving money, but imagine what that finish-filled prelims would have been like in front of a major live audience. Imagine what Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales would have been like in front of a true, notable arena.
It’s never going to happen, but I really wish the UFC was on the road full time with these Fight Night events like the old days. The good news is after May, it looks like the next UFC APEX event (not counting The Ultimate Fighter shows) won’t be until August. Let’s appreciate what we get in the next two months then.
Hit – Denise Gomes’ Destruction
Denise Gomes may be a force to be reckoned with in the women’s strawweight division if she continues to perform the way that she did against Elise Reed.
It wasn’t a contest from the minute the fight started. An early rocking right hand, an elbow that did damage on Reed’s face, top pressure on the ground, attempting an arm-triangle before the end of the first. It looked like a black belt who has been training their craft for their years doing battle with an inexperienced, new white belt. Another strong shot early in the second round, followed by ground-and-pound, put things away for good.
Obviously there may be a little concern since Gomes started her Octagon run 2-2. But when you consider what she did against Yazmin Jauregui in one of those performances, combined with that she’s now won three straight and five of six (with her only loss in the span against Angela Hill), perhaps it’s time that Gomes’ next fight comes against someone in the top 15.
Hit – Yadier del Valle’s Debut
Yadier Del Valle’s nickname is “The Cuban Problem.” And if he performs in the UFC as well as he did in his Octagon debut at UFC Vegas 106, he may just become a problem for the featherweight division.
Up against Connor Matthews, Del Valle brought the pressure right away with both leg kicks and combinations. And once he caught a kick from Matthews, it was done from there. Del Valle dumped Matthews to the ground and swarmed him with pressure before grabbing a hold of his back and scoring the tapout with a choke.
Del Valle is 9-0 and had strong performances in promotions like Fury FC and Combate Global before his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. It will be interesting to see what the UFC throws at Del Valle next.
Hit – Jared Gordon Brings The Power
Here’s a feel-good showing. Veteran Jared Gordon has had his ups and downs the last few years in the Octagon. But going up against another veteran in Thiago Alves on this night, Gordon made the most of this opportunity by landing a devastating one-punch knockout.
Gordon was strong on the ground, but Moises wasn’t easy, landing an elbow from the bottom that busted Gordon open. Moises would scramble back to the feet and exchange with Gordon. But once Gordon perfectly timed a right hand that landed on the button, the fight was done.
Gordon is now unbeaten in three of his last four, and it’ll be interesting to see if the UFC books him gatekeeper style against a lower-ranked lightweight contender or another lightweight name on the rise. Gordon was also scheduled to fight earlier this year against Kauê Fernandes before a visa issue saw him replaced by Mashrabjon Ruziboev (and then Ruziboev fell ill) — would the UFC be interested in trying to run one of these pairings back?
Hit – Melquizael Costa and Julian Erosa Produce A Banger
Melquizael Costa and Julian Erosa opened the main card and broke the streak of consecutive finishes. But the pair made up for it by putting on a memorable back-and-forth, strike-filled clash that could have some rumblings of one of the most entertaining fights of 2025.
Costa and Erosa had a war. The first round saw Costa showing off sharp strikes, while Erosa battled back with gritty clinch work and solid pressure. Costa rocked Erosa during the second round, but Erosa stayed in the fight and had some late flurries before the frame’s end. Both men cracked one another in the final round, with the two trading devastating shots, along with counters and takedowns, before Costa walked away with the 29-28 win on all three judges’ cards.
Only one man got his hand raised, but, as cliché as it is to say, no one lost in this fight. I hope both men are given another opportunity to entertain and deliver in a big way in their next-booked bouts.
Hit – Mairon Santos Continues To Look Better
Mairon Santos was taking on a notable name in Sodiq Yusuff in just his third UFC bout. But credit given where it’s due, Santos looked great, and the fight — which ended in a decision win for him — showed just how far he’s come in his MMA career.
Santos was able to mix hard shots with aggression and timing, taking control of the opening frame. Santos continued to find striking success over the next two rounds, clearly controlling the second round overall before a third round where he landed the more effective strikes again. Santos also nullified Yusuff’s grappling, stopping takedown attempts — and when Yusuff landed one with just over two minutes left in the fight, he managed to get up quickly.
A winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 32, Santos is now 3-0 in the UFC and continues to look good. It’ll be interesting to see what tougher competition he gets next. And if he wins his next fight, and looks good doing so, maybe it’ll then be time to see him against some ranked competition to see how he fares.
Miss – New Weight Class Does Nothing For Sodiq Yusuff
When you move to a new weight class, the hope is that you look good while doing so — win or loss. But not only did Yusuff lose this fight, it wasn’t his best work either. In fact, two judges and plenty of online pundits felt Yusuff didn’t win a single round against Santos.
This now marks three losses in a row for Yusuff. Granted, those other two losses were a comeback-losing performance against Edson Barboza that earned Fight of the Night honors and getting stopped by Diego Lopes, who recently challenged for the featherweight title. But ever since blowing that lead in the fight against Barboza, Yusuff just hasn’t looked the same.
It’s not the worst of skids, but with him about to turn 32 years old tomorrow, May 19, he needs to make something happen in his next fight. Otherwise, perhaps Yusuff’s days as someone to watch out for, a viable contender at 145 (or 155 for that matter) may be done.
Hit – Michael Morales May Be Next
There was one common thought among fight journalists and fight fans alike after UFC Vegas 106 — Michael Morales is just 25 years old. Let me say that again — he is 25 (TWENTY-FIVE) years old. And look what Morales did against Gilbert Burns.
After utilizing his footwork and jab during the opening round, Morales cracked Burns with an uppercut. Burns was able to get a takedown, but Morales stood right back, landed another crushing blow before another flurry that did Burns in.
To quote commentary after the fight, no one has done to Burns what Michael Morales did. He doesn’t turn 26 for another month, and he is about to crack the top 10 of the welterweight division. It may even be at Burns’ No. 8 spot entering this fight, considering not only did he beat Burns, but Morales is better than the guys sandwiched between them — Colby Covington, Geoff Neal and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Obviously there can be a little uncertainty right now with who is next. The division just had a shake-up with Jack Della Maddalena beating Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title, Islam Makhachev is about to jump up to 155 and challenge for that title and Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley still have to face off in the main event of UFC Atlanta in June. But regardless, it’s time to capitalize on Morales’ age and momentum and give him a top-five contender in the main event of a Fight Night or co-main event of a pay-per-view next (or a featured bout if that PPV has two title fights).
Miss – The End For Gilbert Burns?
For fans of Gilbert “Durinho” Burns like myself, this one is going to hurt.
Burns has been an entertaining and fan-favorite part of the welterweight division. There was once a time where people thought he was going to be the next UFC welterweight champion. In fact, when he challenged Kamaru Usman at UFC 258, he may have been just a few seconds away from doing so. But Usman survived and finished Burns — and since then, nothing has been the same.
Burns has now lost four straight. The loss to Usman has started a rough stretch where he’s now lost six of his last nine fights. Now it’s one thing to pick apart the losses — from the names that he’s faced (Usman, Khamzat Chimaev, Muhammad, JDM, etc.) to circumstances (taking the UFC 288 fight with Muhammad on really short notice). But fact is fact — he’s on a bad losing skid. And the negative momentum has only been compounded with a loss to this rising name in Morales.
It’s a worse streak than what Yusuff is on, and the worse part? Burns is about to turn 39 in July. You know what they say: Father Time is everyone’s worst enemy, especially for an athlete. This loss has solidified Burns as a gatekeeper at 170 — which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it also eliminates him from serious title contention. He may have had his one chance and blown it.
Burns has been helping other fighters in training camps. Burns has dabbled with podcasting. There’s a great life for him outside of actively fighting — and perhaps it’s time he considers the dreaded “r” word in this sport. It hurts to say as someone who loves watching Burns fight. But at this point, it might be what’s best.
If you want to make the defense of the skid as I stated before, fine. But if Burns has another fight and loses his fifth straight, what’ll be there to say then?
