UFC Vegas 117 Delivers Amazing Prelims Saturday!

UFC Vegas 117 fight week is here. Saturday night, the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world returns to its Nevada homebase for one last event before going on hiatus for the Memorial Day holiday next weekend. Live coverage of the event begins Saturday afternoon at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT with the prelims.

Inside the United States of America, the entirety of UFC Vegas 117 can be seen via Paramount Plus.  The main card follows at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT  All told, barring any adjustments made to the schedule of events, the final version of UFC Vegas 117 features a slate of 13 bouts inside the Octagon.

As is customary with UFC Vegas cards, this show will originate from the Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV. Following next week's open date, the promotion returns to live action May 30 in Macau, China.

UFC Vegas 117 Featured Prelim: Tuco Tokkos vs. Ivan Erslan: Sizing Up Tuco Tokkos

At the top of the undercard on Saturday night, the light heavyweights do battle inside the fabled Octagon when Tuco Tokkos (11-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) meets Ivan Erslan (14-6, 1 NC MMA, 0-3 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Tokkos enters this weekend's featured prelim having posted a record of 3-2 over the course of his last five trips to the cage. Last July, he finished Junior Tafa (7-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC) inside the second round with an arm-triangle choke.

He's had more than 10 months away. Thus, the question of ring rust is asked again heading into UFC Vegas 117 over the weekend: How much does he have? More importantly, can he shake it off?

Ivan Erslan Still in Search of First Promotional Win in UFC Vegas 117 Featured Prelim

Tokkos' opponent for Saturday night's featured undercard bout, Ivan Erslan, has a 1-4 mark in his past five outings, but he hasn't gotten his hand raised in victory since joining the UFC's active roster in the fall of 2024. 

Back on Sept. 27, 2025, he was on the receiving end of a first-round submission due to a rear-naked choke from Jimmy Crute (14-4-2 MMA, 6-4-2 UFC.) Erslan's room for error has just about run out going into UFC Vegas 117.

He's arrived at must-win territory for this fight. If Ivan Erslan doesn't emerge victorious here, he may find himself out of a roster spot by the time the new work week begins on Monday morning.

UFC Vegas 117 Co-Featured Prelim: Tommy Gantt vs. Artur Minev: Examining Tommy Gantt

Immediately prior to the featured prelim, the co-featured undercard bout happens in the lightweight division. Tommy Gantt (11-0, 1 NC MMA, UFC promotional debut) makes his first walk to the Octagon when he battles Artur Minev (7-0 MMA, UFC promotional debut,) who will be fighting for the first time in his UFC tenure, as well.

Neither fighter has tasted defeat up to the UFC Vegas 117 co-featured prelim. Tommy Gantt returns to the Meta Apex on Saturday night after having secured his UFC contract by way of Contender Series late last summer.

During the Sept. 16 broadcast of the show, he submitted Adam Livingston (6-1 MMA) with a guillotine choke inside the opening round. By the end of the evening, his spot on the UFC's active roster was locked in. Minev was not Gantt's original opponent for this weekend, however.

Initially, Trey Ogden was booked to face Gantt on Saturday night before he withdrew on Monday amid an injury. How does the late change in opponent affect the debuting Gantt's plan of attack?

Artur Minev Steps into Fight Tommy Gantt on Short Notice in UFC Vegas 117

Across the way, Artur Minev's last fight resulted in a first-round knockout due to punches over Derek Campos (20-15 MMA) during FURY FC 113 back in January of this year. A word of advice: Minev's alias, "The Headhunter," is more than only a nickname. 

Statistically speaking, he's won four of his seven professional fights by way of knockout. More impressively, all four of those knockout wins have been recorded inside the opening period of the contest.

A week ago at this time, Minev's plans for May 16 didn't include a trip to Nevada for UFC Vegas 117, so how will he fare coming into a fight with a few days of lead time? Tune in and find out.

UFC Vegas 117: No. 5 Contender Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 11 Contender Jaqueline Cavalcanti: Zeroing in on Fifth-Ranked Vieira

Also on the UFC Vegas 117 undercard is one of only two all-ranked contests for the entire show. It'll be a women's bantamweight contest pairing No. 5 contender Ketlen Vieira (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) against No. 11 contender Jaqueline Cavalcanti (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC.)

Vieira will be making the walk on Saturday having posted a mark of 2-3 in her last five fights. Back on Nov. 1, she dropped a split decision at the hands of Norma Dumont (13-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) at the selfsame Meta Apex where UFC Vegas 117 is being held this weekend.

Vieira is right on the doorstep of the title picture at 135, but her opponent has been on a hot streak. Can Vieira take an important step in her trek toward the championship?

Jaqueline Cavalcanti Seeking Resume-Building Win in UFC Vegas 117

In the other corner, Jaqueline Cavalcanti is sporting a 5-0 reord over her past five contests. She enters UFC Vegas 117 on an eight-fight winning streak. 

Most recently, she bested Mayra Bueno Silva (10-7-1, 1 NC MMA, 5-7-1, 1 NC UFC) by unanimous decision after three rounds on Nov. 8. This was Bueno Silva's fifth consecutive loss.

Should Cavalcanti win for the ninth time in succession, she could end up with a spot inside the top 10 by this time a week from now.

Rest of the Prelims

UFC Vegas 117's undercard is rounded out by these contests:

• a middleweight fight between Cody Brundage (11-9-1, 1 NC MMA, 5-8-1, 1 NC UFC) and Andre Petroski (13-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC,) 
• a strawweight bout matching Alice Ardelean (11-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with Polyana Viana (13-8 MMA, 4-7 UFC,)
• a flyweight contest pitting Daniel Barez (17-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) against Luis Gurule (10-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC,)
• and a strawweight affair versing Shauna Bannon (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Nicolle Caliari (8-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC.)