UFC Vegas 115’s Awesome Prelims Begin Packed Easter Weekend of Fights!

UFC Vegas 115 fight week is here. Although it’ll be Final Four Saturday in Indianapolis, not everybody’s eyes will be fixated on college basketball this holiday weekend. On the night before the Easter holiday, Dana White’s promotion returns home to Enterprise, NV to kick off the second quarter of the 2026 schedule.

Live coverage of this holiday weekend’s card from Meta Apex begins at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT with the prelims. Main card action from the facility caps the evening at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT.

Stateside, you can view UFC Vegas 115 gavel-to-gavel via Paramount Plus. Saturday’s show is only the start of a busy weekend at Meta Apex. On Easter Sunday itself, Zuffa Boxing holds its monthly Sunday night card, Zuffa Boxing 05, at the same venue.

If there aren’t any adjustments needed, the final version of UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night features a slate of 13 bouts.

UFC Vegas 115 Featured Prelim: Thomas Petersen vs. Guilherme Pat

At the top of the undercard this Saturday night, the heavyweights make the walk to the fabled Octagon when Thomas Petersen (10-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) squares off against Guilherme Pat (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Petersen enters the weekend having posted a record of 2-3 since joining the UFC’s active roster in February of 2024. Last time out, he was on the receiving end of a third-round knockout from Vitor Petrino (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in October.

This is Petersen’s sixth fight in the UFC, but the time for him to win is now. Another loss would make his record 2-4 in the promotion, but his opponent won’t make things any easier for him.

Speaking of his opponent, Guilherme Pat has yet to lose in his professional MMA career. Back in December, he made a successful UFC promotional debut on the last ESPN card, scoring a unanimous decision victory against Allen Frye Jr.

He’s a tough customer at the shop, so will Pat go 2-for-2 in the UFC? Tune in and find out.

UFC Vegas 115 Co-Featured Prelim: Alessandro Costa vs. Stewart Nicoll

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured prelim takes place at 125 lbs when Alessandro Costa (14-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) takes on Stewart Nicoll (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC.)  Costa will make the walk Saturday with a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights.

Last September during Noche UFC, he was knocked out inside the third round by Alden Coria (12-3, 1 NC MMA, 2-0 UFC.) He’s spent more time out of the Octagon than in it of late.

Prior to the contest at Noche UFC, he hadn’t fought in more than a year and had his original contest for Noche UFC vs. Edgar Chairez scrubbed due to the latter sustaining a leg injury.

How will he fare against Nicoll? Only time will tell.

Across the way, Stewart Nicoll has gone 3-2 in his own right over the course of the past five fights. He’s been a streaky fighter of late ahead of UFC Vegas 115, dropping two fights in a row after an 8-0 start to his pro career.

Back on Oct. 11, he dropped a unanimous decision at the hands of Lucas Rocha (18-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) after 15 minutes of action. If the version of Stewart Nicoll who won eight fights in succession is the one who shows up to UFC Vegas 115, he’ll walk away victorious, but if it’s the man who lost two in a row, Costa will have an easy day at the office.

UFC Vegas 115: Lando Vannata vs. Darrius Flowers

Also on UFC Vegas 115, you’ll be treated to a lightweight contest versing Lando Vannata (12-7-2 MMA, 4-7-2 UFC) with Darrius Flowers (12-8-1 MMA, 0-3 UFC.) Vannata comes into this week’s card making his first appearance in close to three years.

He’s posted a mark of 2-3 in his five most recent outings. On April 15, 2023, he lost (unanimous decision) to Daniel Zellhuber (15-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) after three rounds in UFC Kansas City.

Planned fights against Mike Breeden in August of 2023 and James Llontop in April of 2024 were scuttled due to Vannata withdrawing from the contests in question. He’s had a lengthy layoff, so how much ring rust does he have going into this bout?

In the other corner, Darrius Flowers has gone 2-3 over his past five contests, but he’s slumped out of the gates since joining the UFC, including a July 13, 2024 defeat to Evan Elders (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in Denver by way of rear-naked choke.

He, too, has had a long hiatus in-between appearances. Will Flowers’ return be a bed of roses?

Rest of the Prelims

The UFC Vegas 115 undercard is rounded out by these contests:

• A women’s bantamweight fight between Alice Pereira (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Hailey Cowan (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC,)
• a middleweight showdown versing Azamat Bekoev (20-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with Tresean Gore (5-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC,)
• a women’s flyweight contest pairing Dione Barboza (8-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) against Melissa Gatto (9-2-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC,)
• and a featherweight bout matching Kai Kamaka III (17-7-1 MMA, 1-2-1 UFC) with Dakota Hope (11-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.)

Which prelims are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.