Last night (Sat., Oct. 11, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for UFC Rio. Though just about everyone was a little nervous about Charles Oliveira’s quick return to action after suffering that thudding Ilia Topuria knockout loss, it was still great fun to have “Do Bronx” — I’m sorry, “The Predator” — back in the cage against an excellent opponent like Mateusz Gamrot. Another former champion in the co-main event added to the intrigue, as did Joel Alvarez’s long overdue jump to the Welterweight division. All told, this was a better-than-usual “Fight Night” event loaded with Brazilian talent, making for a fun night of combat.
Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:
The New King of Rio
Charles Oliveira is a star.
The Brazilian may not be at his absolute peak anymore, but he’s still an absolute offensive force and one of the most beloved athletes in Brazil. Taking Gamrot on short-notice is no easy task for any Lightweight, yet Oliveira cut through him like a buzzsaw. It could not have been clearer that Oliveira did not respect the punches coming back his direction, because he walked “Gamer” down like a freaking terminator.
It appears that training with jiu-jitsu legend Demian Maia in preparation for this fight paid off in serious dividends. In round two, Oliveira was able to power his way into back mount off a clinch takedown, proving once again that his offensive wrestling prowess is no joke. Once in a dominant position, Oliveira reminded the world that he holds the most submission victories in UFC history for a reason, quickly locking up the rear naked choke over the chin to force another tapout.
Whatever his nickname may be nowadays, Oliveira is still a world-class Lightweight, and booking him next versus Max Holloway for BMF gold is the obvious path forward.
Out of Obligation
I don’t have a whole lot to say about neither Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson nor Vicente Luque vs. Joel Alvarez, but they’re two of the three fights that mattered in the big picture, so let’s keep this brief.
Figueiredo vs. Jackson was not a whole lot of fun, as neither man threw a ton of punches. Still, I was glad to see “Figgy” take the ho-hum decision, because the odds were really stacked against him. He outworked the much larger and younger man, and he did so after popping his knee just five months ago. I have no problem giving the former champion slack for a mediocre fight — he’s given us plenty of bangers over the years. As for Jackson, my empathy is more limited. He sure didn’t fight like a man eager to break into the Top 10, or even one particularly interested in imposing his massive height and reach advantages.
Comparatively, Alvarez vs. Luque was more fun but limited by the fact that Luque doesn’t like getting hit anymore after his brain bleed incident. He was never a great defensive fighter and now looks genuinely uncomfortable under fire. Worse still was that Luque clearly wanted out after the second round, but his corner opted to send him into the third round for further punishment anyway.
Alvarez looks like a quality addition to the Welterweight roster if not a title threat. Luque, on the other hand, likely should have retired four fights ago, and this performance did nothing to disprove that notion.
A New Heavyweight Prospect
Mario Pinto did great work making a dangerous kickboxer look helpless.
Jhonata Diniz has a lot more combat experience than Pinto, but that didn’t matter when he was taken down early in the first round. From top position, Pinto transitioned well and repeatedly advanced his way into dominant positions, turning over elbows and chipping away at his opponent all the while. He nearly finished a kimura in the first frame, and he didn’t have much difficulty finding another takedown in round two. Once again, he kept working his way into mount, where he eventually forced the referee to intervene and save Diniz.
Pinto is now 11-0 at just 27 years of age. He’s not a refined product by any means, but he’s reasonably well-rounded and demonstrated an ability to follow a game plan to great effect here. Better yet, he’s a full-sized Heavyweight who can push a solid pace. None of those compliments are superlative, but they all combine to add up to one of the better up-and-comers in this thin division.
A Featherweight Farce
Michael Aswell vs. Lucas Almeida was a bit of a joke.
Though a perfectly fine matchup originally, Almeida showed up Friday to weigh-ins with a visibly broken hand. Fans noticed, the odds went crazy, and everyone was surprised the fight still happened. What wasn’t surprising was Aswell walking straight to Almeida and blasting him with multiple right hands immediately. Almeida was hurt right away, and Aswell swarmed to pick up his first UFC victory … such as it is.
A Blue Chip Bantamweight Debut
Bia Mesquita’s UFC debut could not have come at a better time.
The jiu-jitsu great extended her unbeaten run to 6-0 by smashing Irina Alekseeva, becoming the first person to finish “Russian Ronda.” Though still very new to fighting overall, Mesquita showed an understanding of where she wins fights and how to get there. She was unafraid to throw hands with Alekseeva and then used that aggression to gain the clinch, where she tied together multiple takedown finishes to ground her foe with authority.
Once on the canvas, Mesquita lived up to her background. Her control was ironclad, allowing her to pummel Alekseeva with hard shots until the submission opened up. It was patient and dominant work, the type of clinical professionalism that only comes with true mastery on the canvas.
At 34 years of age, Mesquita isn’t a young prospect, but she’s not going to need half-a-decade to rise through the barren women’s Bantamweight ranks. Based on this debut, she’ll be ready for ranked opposition sooner than later.
Additional Thoughts
- Kaan Olfi defeats Ricardo Ramos via first-round rear naked choke: Leg locks remain a double-edged sword. Ramos put Olfi in danger to start the fight with a leg entanglement following a caught kick, but when the submission failed, he wound up in a bad spot with Olfi on his back. With both men still reasonably dry and fresh, Olfi was able to fully commit to attacking the choke and found his way under the neck early. He picks up the first win of his UFC career as an underdog in enemy territory — good for “Genghis!”
- Jafel Filho defeats Clayton Carpenter via first-round kimura: Man, Filho is an excellent grappler! I really enjoyed watching the Brazilian grappler here as the underdog, and his success began with an inside trip along the fence. Once in top position, Filho advanced into back control instantly, locking in the body triangle and mugging Carpenter’s face in pursuit of the strangle. Carpenter spun into guard after a couple minutes, but Filho immediately responded with a half guard kimura attack. That’s a tricky and powerful submission, and Carpenter seemed hip to it initially. When he relaxed for a moment and allowed his elbow to bend — meaning Filho could connect his hands and complete the figure-four grip — Filho acted fast! He flipped Carpenter over and maintained the kimura, wrenching on his opponent’s shoulder to hand the blue chip prospect a second consecutive loss. Without a doubt, it’s the best win of Filho’s UFC career.
- Vitor Petrino defeats Thomas Peterson via third-round knockout (highlights): Petrino is starting to look like a pretty legitimate Heavyweight rather than blown up 205-pounder. His sophomore Heavyweight performance saw the Brazilian largely outwrestle the wrestler, as he was able to muscle Peterson around in the clinch on more than one occasion. At distance, Petrino’s punches definitely carried more power, and that proved to be true even late in the fight. Capitalizing on Peterson’s hunched posture and reach for the clinch, Petrino countered with a lovely uppercut-hook combination that sent Peterson collapsing to the floor face-first.
- Julia Polastri defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz via third-round knockout (highlights): This was a bit of a showcase fight. Kowalkiewicz may be a tougher gamer who once fought for the belt, but she’s also 39 years old and entered this match having lost two in a row. She’s clearly lost a step in recent years, whereas Polastri is a 27-year-old prospect on the come up. As expected, Polastri had a significant speed advantage, which allowed her to initiate combinations and pull away before the counter fire could land. Kowalkiewicz walked through a bunch of punches without issue, but a third-round high kick caught her off-guard and left her vulnerable to a follow-up barrage of punches.
- Luan Lacerda defeats Saimon Oliveira via second-round armbar (highlights): It’s always so great to see justice serviced. Oliveira missed the Bantamweight limit by nearly an entire weight class on Friday, but his size advantage did little to help him in the cage. For most of the fight, Lacerda was able to defend takedowns and win the striking battle. When Oliveira did get him down in the second, Lacerda quickly answered with a slick armbar from bottom position to force the tap. As for Oliveira, this will almost certainly be his final UFC appearance given the embarrassing weigh-in and current four-fight losing streak.
For complete UFC Rio results and play-by-play, click here.
