UFC Vegas 121 Begins Fall Slate with Exciting Undercard!

UFC Vegas 121 fight week is here. With the fall season beginning this week, just because the summer schedule of events is over, by no means is the action inside the fabled UFC Octagon cooling off. This Saturday night, the promotion sets up shop in its Enterprise, NV homebase at Meta Apex.

Live coverage of UFC Vegas 121 begins Saturday afternoon at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT on Paramount Plus inside the United States with the prelims. Main card action, including this year's live finale of The Ultimate Fighter television series, caps the evening at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT.

If there are no adjustments needed to be made to the bout order between now and this weekend, the final version of UFC Vegas 121 will feature a slate of 12 fights from the promotion.

UFC Vegas 121 Featured Prelim: Rodolfo Bellato vs. Christian Edwards: Bellato Looks for Second Straight Win

At the top of the undercard, the light heavyweights take to the Octagon for a fight matching Rodolfo Bellato (13-3-1, 1 NC MMA, 2-1-1, 1 NC UFC) with Christian Edwards (8-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Bellato enters UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday night with a 2-1-1 record with one no-contest in his last five outings. Last time out, he scored a first-round knockout victory over Luke Fernandez (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) during UFC 326 in Enterprise, NV. 

In so doing, Bellato secured the Performance of the Night Bonus following the event. He was to have fought Modestas Bukauskas (21-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in May, but the fight was canceled due to his withdrawal from the card. Bukauskas then was rebooked to fight Christian Edwards for the May 16 show. It's been seven months between fights, so how will he fare?

Christian Edwards Eager to Break Through in Second UFC Appearance

Across the way, Christian Edwards comes into this weekend's fight on the strength of a 3-2 record in his last five fights. Edwards, a veteran of CFFC and Shamrock FC, made his UFC debut in May versus the aforementioned Modestas Bukauskas.

That night, the latter came away victorious by way of split decision after 15 minutes of action inside the Apex. He's still searching for his first win under the UFC promotional banner. 

Does he get his hand raised in victory? Tune in and find out.

UFC Vegas 121 Co-Featured Prelim: Elves Brener vs. Josiah Harrell: Brener Looks to Return to Victory Lane

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured undercard bout of UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday night sees action take place in the lightweight division. Elves Brener (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) meets Josiah Harrell (11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC.) Brenner makes the walk Saturday evening with a 2-3 record in his last five MMA contests.

At the moment, he's lost three bouts in a row, including a unanimous decision for Esteban Ribovics (16-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in August of last year at the Apex.  He hasn't competed under MMA rules in close to 14 months, but in the interim, he's kept himself busy, fighting Zubaira Tukhugov in a grappling match and taking the win by decision.

Can his luck in the grappling match in July carry over to an MMA fight in late September? Only time will tell.

Ohio Combat League Alum Seeks to Impress in Sophomore Bout

Meanwhile, Josiah Harrell enters this weekend sporting a 4-1 record in his last five fights dating back to March of 2025. On Feb. 21, he touched down in Houston and fought Jacobe Smith (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC,) losing his UFC promotional debut by way of first-round knockout.

When a fighter is on a hot streak, as Josiah Harrell had been ahead of UFC Houston this past winter, he can be dangerous. This is also often the case when a fighter is on the rebound from a loss after a hot streak.

If the version of Josiah Harrell that shows up in Las Vegas is the same one who won 11 fights in a row to begin his pro career, he'll be in good shape. Get your popcorn ready.

UFC Vegas 121: Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simon: Jackson Eager to Stop Skid

Also on the UFC Vegas 121 undercard, the bantamweights go to battle for a bout matching Montel Jackson (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) against Ricky Simon (22-7-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC.) Jackson has posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights.

He's lost two bouts in a row, including a split decision in April against Raoni Barcelos (22-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) at the Apex facility. This is his 20th professional bout in MMA.

A win here would move his winning percentage to .800. Will Jackson celebrate this career milestone with another victory?

Ricky Simon Looking for Definitive Result at UFC Vegas 121

In the other corner, Ricky Simon enters UFC Vegas 121 with a 2-2-1 record in his last five fights. On March 28 in Seattle, he fought to a majority draw against Adrian Yanez (18-6-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) after 15 minutes of action from Climate Pledge Arena. 

While Yanez got a win in his following fight versus Cody Garbrandt by way of first-round knockout, Simon is hungry for a similar outcome against Montel Jackson. Given that Jackson has dropped his last two bouts, could Ricky Simon find a weakness that leads him back to victory lane?

Rest of the Prelims

UFC Vegas 121's prelims are rounded out by these fights:

• A women's bantamweight contest between No. 4 contender Norma Dumont (13-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and No. 5 contender Allin Perez (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC,)
• a bantamweight fixture pairing John Castaneda (21-8-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) with Alatengheli (17-10-2 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC,)
• a middleweight fight matching Mickey Gall (7-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) against Sedriques Dumas (10-5, 1 NC MMA, 3-5, 1 NC UFC,)
• and a strawweight affair versing Vanessa Demopolous (11-8 MMA, 5-5 UFC) and Yazmin Jauregui (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC.)