UFC Vegas 115 Pre-Event Facts: Thrilling Brazilian Contender Logs Third Main Event

At the Meta Apex this weekend, two of the top lightweight fighters on the planet will come to blows, as Scottish prospect Chris Duncan attempts to soar into the rankings when he faces Brazilian fan-favorite Renato Moicano in the UFC Vegas 115 main event. Before the 155-lbers collide, however, women’s strawweight contenders Virna Jandiroba and Tabatha Ricci battle to announce themselves as possible next challengers for newly-minted champion Mackenzie Dern.

Check out below for some of the most interesting pre-event facts about the main card of UFC Vegas 115:

UFC Vegas 115: José Delano vs. Robert Ruchała

José Delano

Delano’s appearance at UFC Vegas 115 is his debut in the promotion after earning his contract on the Contender Series last August. He has fought for and won titles in several other larger companies such as Shooto Brasil, where he won their 145-lb gold, and the LFA.

In the latter, he contended for the featherweight strap twice, however, following two back-to-back weight misses, he was unable to gain the championships, despite winning both bouts. He has won nine fights by stoppage, including four by knockout and five by submission. 

Robert Ruchala

Ruchala is coming off a loss in his freshman Octagon outing this past September to William Gomis. He boasts a considerable run in the European organization KSW, where he built up a promotional record of 8-1.

In that time span, “Faker” had won the interim featherweight belt twice, defending it once.

UFC Vegas 115: Tommy McMillen vs. Manolo Zecchini

Tommy McMillen

McMillen is one four undefeated athletes competing on the entire UFC Vegas 115 card. He holds a nearly 100 percent finish rate, with his only bout to go the distance being his Contender Series match, which he won by majority decision.

Including his amateur career, he has won four contests by rear-naked choke, with three of those coming in the first round.  

Manolo Zecchini

Zecchini is coming off one of the longest layoffs of his combat sports tenure at 945 days; he has not fought since Sept. 2, 2023 after losing in his UFC debut to Morgan Charrière. Nine of his 11 professional victories have come via knockout 

UFC Vegas 115: Ethyn Ewing vs. Rafael Estevam 

Ethyn Ewing

Ewing is coming off a major upset triumph over Malcolm Wellmaker in his last cage appearance, handing “The Machine” his first setback of both his professional and UFC careers. He is a former Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat interim bantamweight champion  

Ewing has won three scraps by first round knockout, including one in just 15 seconds 

Rafael Estevam 

Estevam trains out the world-renowned Nova União in Brazil, which has shaped several champion-level competitors such as Renan Barão and José Aldo. He possesses a perfect professional record of 14-0, with three of those wins coming in the UFC.

Estevam has, however, missed weight in two of those bouts. He has won seven fights by decision. 

UFC Vegas 115: Abdul-Rahkman Yakhyaev vs. Brendson Ribeiro

Abdul-Rahkman Yakhyaev

All but one of Yakhyaev’s eight victories as a professional have ended inside the distance; this includes three wins by knockout and four by submission. He is a previous Ares FC Light Heavyweight Champion, which he defended once before fighting on the Contender Series last year

He is 1-0 in the UFC so far after dominating Raffael Cerqueira en route to a 33-second submission.  

Brendson Ribeiro

Ribeiro has been a part of the UFC roster since 2024. He once held the Shooto Brasil Light Heavyweight Championship.

His promotional record stands at 2-4, losing to notable contenders in Mingyang Zhang and Azamat Murzakanov.

UFC Vegas 115: Virna Jandiroba vs. Tabatha Ricci

Virna Jandiroba

Jandiroba is coming off a setback to Mackenzie Dern, dropping a unanimous decision to her for the vacant strawweight crown at UFC 321 last October. She is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

Jandiroba is tied for the most submission attempts in UFC strawweight division history with 16, sharing this accolade only with the aforementioned Dern.

Tabatha Ricci

Ricci holds a black belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. She has beaten top contenders in her weight class like Gillian Robertson, Angela Hill, and Amanda Ribas.

This is the first time she will be fighting in the United States since August of 2024.

UFC Vegas 115: Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan

Renato Moicano

Moicano has a black belt in Muay Thai. He is currently in the midst of a two-bout losing skid, falling to both Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush.

His appearance at UFC Vegas 115 serves as his third promotional main event showcasing. It is also his first non-numbered event since UFC on ESPN+ 101.

Chris Duncan

Duncan has won his last four contests in a row, ending three of them by submission. He has also achieved two post-fight awards, including one Fight of the Night and one Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC Vegas 115 will be his first headlining fight in the organization.