Kevin Vallejos makes statement with 1st-round TKO of Josh Emmett

Argentina's Kevin Vallejos officially established himself as a featherweight contender to watch, swarming Josh Emmett for a first-round TKO (strikes, 3:33) in the main event of UFC Vegas 114 from the Meta APEX Saturday night.

Vallejos (18-1 MMA) remained unbeaten in the UFC at 4-0, sending a message to his native fans of what's to come. The 24-year-old called his shot, persuading the UFC to return to Buenos Aires for an event soon.

"Argentina, keep dreaming," Vallejos said through an interpreter. "Because you're going to have a world champion."

Emmett (19-7 MMA), 41, has lost his last three fights and is now at 27 months since his last win in December of 2023.

The co-main event saw Canadian strawweight Gillian Robertson earn a unanimous decision against Amanda Lemos of Brazil to move one step closer to a title shot, taking all three judges' scorecards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Robertson (17-8 MMA) has won five fights in a row, sending Lemos (15-6-1 MMA) back to the drawing board as she's dropped three of her last four fights.

The card began to wind down with a precursor to the co-main and main event, as featherweights Andre Fili and Mexico's Jose Miguel Delgado left it all out in the Octagon during a way-too-early Fight of the Year candidate as Delgado earned a split decision, taking the scorecards 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Delgado (11-2 MMA) went for the finish on several occasions in Round 2, while also surviving a Fili (25-13 MMA) rally in the third round after a slow-paced opening frame.

At featherweight, Marwan Rahiki (8-0 MMA) of Morocco won his UFC debut against a former Cage Warriors champion in England's Harry Hardwick (13-5-1 MMA) after Hardwick's corner was forced to stop the fight at the start of Round 3, where it was discovered Hardwick had a broken jaw caused by a flurry of punches, highlighted by a massive left hook.

Rahiki was awarded the TKO win, leaving Hardwick winless in the promotion through two fights. The bout was called after Hardwick verbalized noticeable pain in his jaw before his corner and UFC medical staff knew the fight was over.

In the light heavyweight division, Moldova's Ion Cutelaba made short work of Frenchman Oumar Sy with a first-round mounted guillotine choke at 4:24. Cutelaba was able to stop a Sy takedown before securing the finish after reversing position. Cutelaba (20-11-1 MMA) has now won three of his last four fights, securing his second UFC submission win and fourth of his MMA career. Sy (12-2 MMA) had won three of his last four coming in to begin his UFC tenure.

Ranked flyweights Bruno Silva of Brazil and Charles Johnson began the six-fight main card in exciting fashion. Johnson edged Silva by split decision with crisp boxing and an overall balanced skillset, taking the cards 29-28, 28-29, 30-27.

Johnson (19-8 MMA) had lost two of his last three fights entering Saturday night's clash. Meanwhile, Silva (15-8-2 MMA) has lost three of his last four fights after stringing together a four-fight UFC winning streak from March 2021 through July 2024.

-Field Level Media