UFC Vegas 102, Rookie Report

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

UFC is headed back to their UFC Apex facility this weekend (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) for UFC Vegas 102. In the main event, former Middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier tries to hold off a surging Gregory Rodrigues (check out the entire card here).

Three fighters are making their UFC debuts – let’s meet them.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Jose Delgado

Weight Class: Featherweight

Age: 26

Record: 8-1

Jose Delgado received his UFC contract on season eight of Contender Series after starching Ernie Juarez in the second round with a perfectly placed knee to the head.

Delgado was a memorable athlete from Contender Series for his aggressive, technical style. He comes from The MMA Lab in Arizona, which has provided fighters like Sean O’Malley, Jared Cannonier, and Benson Henderson, among several others.

There is no doubt that Delgado will be a fan-favorite fighter because he does nothing but hunt for finishes when he fights. He has a 100% finish rate with five knockouts and five submission wins. However, because of his aggressive nature, he will get hit and probably hit a lot.

That isn’t going to happen on Saturday, though. He faces Conor Matthews, who has been everything but impressive thus far in his career.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Elijah Smith

Weight Class: Bantamweight

Age: 22

Record: 7-1

Boy, oh boy, are we getting old?

Elijah Smith, son of former UFC fighter and two-time Ultimate Fighter alumni Gilbert Smith, makes his debut this weekend. He will be the second, second-generation fighter to compete inside the Octagon (Ryan Couture was the first).

Smith secured his contract by defeating Dan Hooker’s protege Aaron Tau via unanimous decision on season eight of the Contender Series.

There is no doubt that Smith’s future will be bright, but I do think he was brought into the promotion too soon. This will be evident on Saturday when he takes on 9-fight UFC veteran Vince Morales, who is a huge step up in competition from what he was fighting on the regional scene.

I’m not saying Morales is elite, but he’s fought Song Yadong, Chris Guiterrez, Jonathan Martinez, Aiemann Zahabi, and Taylor Lapilus. In contrast, Smith’s competition isn’t even in the same stratosphere.

Smith does have things to like about his game, though. He has explosive power in his hands, he is technical, and his grappling is good. Oh, and he’s very young—just 22 years old—and is only getting better.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Mashrabjon Ruziboev

Weight Class: Lightweight

Age: 28

Record: 20-4-1

I am not going to lie; this signing came out so far out of left field that I had to triple-check that it was real because there are so many other Lightweights out there who should get the UFC call.

Mashrabjon Ruziboev, the younger brother of UFC Welterweight Nursulton Ruziboev, received the call from the matchmakers on Monday that he will fight Jared Gordon, replacing Kaue Fernandes.

On paper, there is a lot to like about Ruziboev, mainly because he is a straight-up knockout artist. He has 12 knockouts, eight of them in the first round, and four of those have come in under 40 seconds. He also has five submission wins.

However, when you look closer at Ruziboev’s fights, you see they were against lousy competition. He has okay wrestling if he can’t knock his opponent out, but he has a very questionable gas tank.

His frantic fight style, in which he comes out guns blazing and swings for fences, will definitely lead to some highlight knockouts.

Will that happen against “Flash” Gordon? There are only two more days until we find out.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 102 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 102 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Cannonier vs. Rodrigues” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.