UFC Vegas 102 Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

TL;DR: UFC Vegas 102 takes place tonight (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025), starting with ‘Prelims’ at 4 p.m. ET and main card at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+; Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory ‘Robo Cop’ Rodrigues will headline the show, while Calvin Kattar faces Youssef Zalal in the co-main event; UFC Vegas 102 also includes several notable matchups with implications for the Middleweight and Featherweight rankings.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its newly-renovated home base — its private APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada — later TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) with UFC Vegas 102.

Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Middleweight showdown between Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues, while former 145-pound title hopeful, Calvin Kattar, looks to beat back red-hot (and much younger) contender, Youssef Zalal, in a fun Featherweight affair.

What’s Hot:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Dricus du Plessis just recently defended UFC’s Middleweight title, defeating former division champion, Sean Strickland, at UFC 312 (see it again here). Currently, Khamzat Chimaev is the favorite to land the next 185-pound title shot, with Nassourdine Imavov not too far behind. That said, there are several contenders who are eying their time in the spotlight.

Enter “Robo Cop.”

Indeed, Rodrigues — winner of five of his last six bouts, but is not yet ranked in UFC’s Top 15 — is now just one win away from stealing Cannonier’s No. 7 seed. Cannonier is a perennial contender with championship-caliber fight experience, coming up short against then-champion, Israel Adesanya, at UFC 276.

“Killa Gorilla” may or may not have entered “gatekeeper” status at this stage of his career, but either way, he is a super tough test.

What makes this matchup intriguing is the fact that both men love to stand and bang. And they have proof on their respective resumes to prove it. Indeed, they both boast 10 knockouts on their records and their heavy hands have the ability to turn out human lights.

Rodrigues does come into the fight with a lot of confidence thanks to his aforementioned win streak, while Cannonier has seen better days. Indeed, “Killa Gorilla” is currently riding a two-fight losing streak, dropping back-to-back tough fights to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. That means a win over Rodrigues will not only restore some confidence, but will allow him to remain in the Top 10. A loss, though, will almost certainly boot him out of that list and give it to Rodrigues.

Long story short: Both men have a lot to fight for here, so this one should be fun.

What’s Not:

Kicking off the action will be a women’s Bantamweight fight between Julia Avila and Jacqueline Cavalcanti. Avila hasn’t competed since Dec. 2023, losing to former division champion, Miesha Tate, via third round submission (see it again here), and is just 3-2 in five years with the promotion. As for Cavalcanti, she is 8-1 as a professional, riding a six-fight win streak and is perfect (3-0) inside the Octagon. I’d like to think the promotion could have found a more suitable foe for her offering more upside. Granted, Avila (No. 12) is ranked one spot ahead of Cavalcanti, but coming off a loss and being 1-2 in her last three doesn’t quite cut the cheese.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

Billy Goff and Nikolay Veretennikov were scheduled to face off in a Welterweight bout before Veretennikov withdrew for unknown reasons and Goff was booked to face Adam Fugitt one week later. Kaue Fernandes was in line to face Jared Gordon before he withdrew from the fight due to visa issues and was replaced by UFC rookie, Mashrabjon Ruziboev. Then, Ruziboev was forced out of the fight the day of weigh-ins after he fell ill, leaving Gordon without a dance partner.

Injuries:

Jacob Malkoun suffered an injury and was forced out of his fight against Rodolfo Vieira and was replaced by Andre Petroski, who is currently on a two-fight win streak after suffering back-to-back losses to Malkhoun and Michel Pereira. As for Vieira, he is also riding a two-fight win streak and was last seen securing a submission win over Armen Petrosyan one year ago. A women’s Flyweight bout between Juliana Miller vs. Carli Judice was scheduled for this event before Miller withdrew with an undisclosed injury, prompting the promotion to scrap the fight altogether.

Rinat Fakhretdinov was forced out of his fight against Gabriel Bonfim with an injury and replaced by Khaos Williams. Bonfim is 3-1 so far under UFC’s banner, with his lone loss coming against Nicolas Dalby. Overall, he is 16-1 as a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. As for Williams, he has won four of his last five fights and brings with him a two-fight win streak with his latest victory coming against Carlston Harris via first round knockout.

New Blood:

Contender Series standout, Elijah Smith, will make his official UFC debut when he goes up against Vince Morales. Smith has won five straight fights with three stoppages secured along the way. All told, he has five finishes in seven wins, so he isn’t too fond of leaving it in the hands of the judges. In his first fight back in UFC, Morales came up short against Taylor Lapilus. Prior to that, he had won five straight fights outside of UFC.

After scoring a dazzling first-round knockout win over Ernie Juarez on Contender Series — his fifth straight win — Jose Delgado earned himself a shot in the big leagues. He is 8-1 overall as a professional with four knockouts and four submissions, so to say he is well-rounded would be an understatement. He will do battle against Connor Matthews, another Contender Series alum who came up short in his own Octagon debut against Dennis Buzukja.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

We’ve already discussed several “Prelims” fights in our previous section, so let’s dive in on the remaining bouts, including a women’s Strawweight fight between Angela Hill vs. Ketlen Souza. Hill is coming off a tough loss to Tabatha Ricci, bringing her to an even 2-2 in her last four fights. As for Souza, she stumbled out of the gates by losing her UFC debut against Karine Silva, but she has turned it around by winning two straight.

In a men’s Flyweight action, Rafael Estevam will take on Jesus Aguilar. Estevam is undefeated (12-0), which includes a successful UFC debut against Charles Johnson. With four knockouts, three submissions and five wins via decision, he has proven to have a well-rounded arsenal to get the job done in every way imaginable. He will put his undefeated record on the line against Aguilar, who is riding high with three straight wins after losing his UFC debut against Tatsuro Taira.

In a Heavyweight bout, Valter Walker will attempt to win his second straight fight inside the Octagon when he battles Don’Tale Mayes. Walker — brother of Johnny Walker — lost his UFC debut against Lukasz Brzeski, but returned to secure a first round submission win over Junior Tafa. As for Mayes, he needs a win pretty badly here because he simply can’t get consistent with the victories, going 2-3-1 since 2022. In fact, his last back-to-back win streak came in 2020-2021. That said, he needs a win because another defeat could force UFC officials to send him packing.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

In the co-main event, Kattar will battle Zalal in what is a must-win fight for “The Boston Finisher.” That’s because Kattar is currently on a horrid three-fight losing streak and has lost four of his last five fights. Granted, they were tough matchups against Max Holloway, Aljamain Sterling, Josh Emmett and Arnold Allen. Still, a win is needed her for Kattar, who could very well be on the chopping block with a fourth straight defeat. And Zalal will not make it easy for him because he is on a six-fight win streak. Like Kattar, there was a time when Zalal was down bad, having lost three fights under UFC’s banner before winning six of his last seven bouts.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

In further action, Edmen Shahbazyan and Dylan Budka collide in Middleweight action. Dubbed “The Golden Child,” Shahbazyan never quite lived up to expectations many had of him inside the Octagon. While he did start off his UFC career with four straight wins, he has not been very impressive in the last five years, losing five of seven. His most recent defeat came against Gerald Meerschaert via arm-triangle choke six months ago (watch highlights). He will attempt to get back in the win column when he takes on Budka, who is winless (0-2) inside the Octagon after earning his way in via Contender Series. Frankly, I don’t know how this fight is a main card attraction.

In Lightweight action, Ismael Bonfim will face off against Nazim Sadykhov. Bonfim was last seen defeating Vinc Pichel at UFC 301, getting him back on track after losing to Benoit Saint Denis, which snapped his 13-fight win streak. Bonfim has proven to have the talent to make some noise, he just needs to rack up some impressive wins in consecutive fashion to make his case for a ranking spot. As for Sadykhov, after losing his professional MMA debut in 2018, he went on to win nine straight. His lone blemish since that run was in his last outing against Viacheslav Borshchev, which was ruled a majority draw way back in Nov. 2023. He will look to get a win and shake off the rust given his long layoff.

It’s not the most stacked card, but the year is still very young so let’s hope this doesn’t continue to be the norm moving forward.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 102 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 102 Main Event On ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues

UFC Vegas 102 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal
185 lbs.: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka
155 lbs.: Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
185 lbs.: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Andre Petroski

UFC Vegas 102 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Connor Matthews vs. Jose Delgado
115 lbs.: Angela Hill vs. Ketlen Souza
155 lbs.: Jared Gordon vs. Mashrabjon Ruziboev — CANCELED (details here)
125 lbs.: Rafael Estevam vs. Jesus Aguilar
170 lbs.: Gabriel Bonfim vs. Khaos Williams
135 lbs.: Vince Morales vs. Elijah Smith
265 lbs.: Valter Walker vs. Don’Tale Mayes
135 lbs.: Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that 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+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 102: “Cannonier vs. Robo Cop” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.