UFC Vegas 122 Delivers Exciting Undercard to Apex Saturday

UFC Vegas 122 fight week is here. Saturday night, one week removed from UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, the UFC comes home for a weekend to Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV. After UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday, Dana White's promotion goes right back on the road for a Fight Night in Edmonton on Oct. 17.

Live coverage of UFC Vegas 122 begins with the prelims late Saturday afternoon at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT. Inside the United States of America, the entirety of this event can be seen on Paramount Plus.

If there are no adjustments needed ahead of this weekend's card, UFC Vegas 122 will feature a slate of 12 fights from the promotion.

UFC Vegas 122 Featured Prelim: Julius Walker vs. Gerald Meerschaert: Walker Looking to Stop Skid

Topping the prelims at UFC Vegas 122, the light heavyweights take to the Octagon for a battle between Julius Walker (7-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) and Gerald Meerschaert (37-22 MMA, 12-14 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Walker comes into UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday night having posted a record of 2-3 in his last five fights. He's gone down in defeat in each of his last two outings, however, and will be hoping for a much better performance than the one he turned in on June 27.

That summer Saturday night, Walker was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout from Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC,) with the latter needing only eight seconds to finish him. Yakhyaev is scheduled to return at UFC 333 in two weeks versus Nikita Krylov.

Walker has lost both fights on his current skid inside the opening round of action. Can he turn it around on Saturday?

Meerschaert Making 60th Professional Appearance in UFC Vegas 122

Across the way, Gerald Meerschaert enters the weekend with a mark of 0-5 in his last five fights. He's fallen on hard times of late, continuing with his May 2 defeat in UFC Perth to Jacob Malkoun (10-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC.)

Ahead of that fight, Meerschaert missed weight, coming in at 190 lbs. Losing streak aside, Meerschaert and his camp are on the prescipice of a rare milestone.

UFC Vegas 122 will serve as Gerald Meerschaert's 60th professional fight in MMA. While Meerschaert has made no indication that he intends to retire anytime soon, the fact that he's lost five contests in succession can't be ignored. 

Will he get back to victory lane? Tune in and find out on Saturday night.

UFC Vegas 122 Co-Featured Prelim: Francisco Prado vs. Ismael Bonfim: Prado in Need of Victory

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured undercard bout of UFC Vegas 122 sees action take place at 155 lbs for a contest versing Francisco Prado (12-5 MMA, 1-5 UFC) and Ismael Bonfim (20-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC.) The former will be making the walk on Saturday night with a 1-4 record in his last five trips to the Octagon. 

Most recently, he dropped a unanimous decision at the hands of Charles Radtke (12-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on April 11 during UFC 327 in Miami. This was his fourth setback in succession.

To find the last time that Prado had a sustained run of success, you'd need to travel back to before he joined the UFC's active roster in early 2023. Between his MMA debut in the summer of 2019 and December of 2022, he compiled a winning streak of 11 bouts.

If the version of Francisco Prado that shows up in Enterprise on Saturday is the same version that went 11-0 to begin his pro career, he'll be in good shape.

Ismael Bonfim Steps in for Artur Minev

Meanwhile, Ismael Bonfim is reeling ahead of UFC Vegas 122, as well. He's gone 1-4 himself over the past five outings and is on a three-fight skid.

On July 25, he was submitted (D'arce choke) by Axel Sola (13-1-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the first round of their fight. Bonfim wasn't supposed to make the walk against Prado on Saturday night.

Initially, Prado was due to fight Artur Minev in UFC Vegas 122, but he had to withdraw from the card due to sustaining a knee injury. Bonfim's had about four months between fights, so how will he do here?

UFC Vegas 122: Niko Price vs. Leon Shahbazyan: Price in Search of Victory in Final Fight

Also on the UFC Vegas 122 undercard, the welterweights go to the Octagon for a bout between Niko Price (16-11, 2 NC MMA, 8-11, 2 NC UFC) and Leon Shahbazyan (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC.) Win or lose, Niko Price will be retiring from MMA on Saturday.

Price has a 1-4 record in his past five contests and has lost four bouts in a row. On March 28, he trekked to Seattle for a bout against Michael Chiesa (20-7 MMA, 15-7 UFC,) losing by way of rear-naked choke.  

At the time, that fight was to have been the farewell appearance for both men, but Chiesa was the only fighter of the two to receive a farewell video montage. Price wasn't even allowed the chance to be interviewed by Daniel Cormier after the fight. 

Saturday's fight gives Price the opportunity to have something that he couldn't get this past spring: A goodbye of his own.

Leon Shahbazyan Looking for Better Outcome in Sophomore UFC Fight

In the other corner, Leon Shahbazyan enters his second appearance in the UFC on the strength of a 4-1 record in his last five contests. Back on June 20, he was on the losing end of a first-round knockout by Levan Chokheli (15-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in 23 seconds' time.

This was Chokeli's second straight win under MMA rules. Getting back to Shahbazyan and his camp, although he may have made a bad first impression under the UFC banner, can he get back on track the second time around? Only time will tell.

Rest of the Prelims

Four other bouts round out the UFC Vegas 122 prelims:

• A light heavyweight contest matching Felipe Franco (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with Brendson Ribeiro (17-11, 1 NC MMA, 2-6 UFC,)
• a heavyweight fight between Allen Frye Jr. (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and RJ Harris (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
• a women's bantamweight encounter pairing Alice Pereira (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) against No. 15 contender Darya Zheleznyakova (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC,)
• and a women's flyweight bout between Ernesta Kareckaite (6-2-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Melissa Gatto (9-3-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC.)