UFC Vegas 107 Prelims: Allan Nascimento Outflanks Jafel Filho in Triumphant Return

Allan Nascimento shook off the rust and walked out of the cage with his arm raised.

The Chute Boxe standout made his long-awaited return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division and took a unanimous decision from Jafel Filho in their featured UFC on ESPN 68 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the assigned judiciary turned in 29-28 scores for Nascimento (21-6, 3-1 UFC), who suited up for the first time since Jan. 14, 2023.

Filho (16-4, 2-2 UFC) was his own worst enemy. The former Shooto Brazil champion was dominant in the first round, where he climbed to full mount twice and nearly finished it with a guillotine choke. From there, Filho’s overzealousness played into his opponent’s hands. Nascimento sprang multiple reversals in the second and third rounds, climbed to advantageous positions and bled valuable time off the clock. He tripped Filho to the floor with roughly a minute to go in the match, progressed to the back and secured himself with a body triangle. With that, the deal was sealed.

Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA export Jordan Leavitt put “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 winner Kurt Holobaugh to sleep with an anaconda choke in the first round of their lightweight clash. Holobaugh (21-10, 2-7 UFC) lost consciousness 99 seconds into Round 1, suffering the second submission defeat of his 32-fight career.

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The 29-year-old Leavitt (12-3, 5-3 UFC) executed a belly-to-back suplex, set off a scramble and threatened with a guillotine before he transitioned to the anaconda choke. Holobaugh struggled briefly to free himself, though it soon became clear that the lights were on but nobody was home.

Leavitt has won four of his past six bouts.

Further down the undercard, Valon Team rep Bolaji Oki maximized his size and strength advantages, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Michael Aswell in their three-round lightweight scrap. Oki (10-2, 2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the judges.

A short-notice substitution for MarQuel Mederos, Aswell (10-3, 0-1 UFC) impressed in his organizational debut. The undersized Daniel Pineda protégé walked Oki into his punches and knocked him off-balance with a quick volley near the end of the first round. However, momentum proved elusive. Oki marched forward confidently across the final 10 minutes, snapped the ex-Fury Fighting Championship titleholder’s head sideways with left hooks on more than one occasion and bullied him backward. Aswell grew less and less effective as time wore on and continued to cede ground to his adversary when it mattered most.

Oki, 29, has rattled off 10 wins in 11 appearances.

Finally, Alice Ardelean rebounded from back-to-back losses to Shauna Bannon and Melissa Martinez with a unanimous decision over former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Rayanne dos Santos in their three-round women’s strawweight tilt. All three judges sided with Ardelean (10-7, 1-2 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Dos Santos (14-9, 0-3 UFC) was a step behind from the start. Ardelean called upon output and forward aggression, as she pieced together two-, three- and four-punch volleys, unleashed occasional leg kicks, leaned into her jab and fired right hands over the top. Dos Santos picked up her pace in the third round—she opened a small cut under the counterpart’s left eye—but could not nail down the finish she needed.

A natural atomweight, dos Santos has lost three fights in a row.