UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal results — how the Las Vegas card played out

The verdict at the APEX

Saturday night in Las Vegas closed with a decision at the top. In the strawweight main event, Talita Alencar (8-1-1) outlasted Julia Polastri (14-6-0) across three rounds, taking the nod on the scorecards after the full 5:00 of the final frame. No stoppage, no drama at the buzzer — just three rounds banked and the headline win in hand. If you picked Alencar to control the pace and get her arm raised, the main event rewarded you.

Below her, the card mixed chalk with a few results that will have made prediction slips look very different from one player to the next.

The results, top to bottom

• Welterweight: Victor Valenzuela (14-4-0) handed Max Griffin (20-13-0) a decision loss, sweeping the judges over three rounds. The younger, unbeaten-at-welterweight profile of Valenzuela carried the day against a well-traveled veteran.
• Lightweight: Francis Marshall (10-3-0) got past Lucas Brennan (11-3-0) by decision — a matchup of prospects that went the distance and fell Marshall’s way.
• Bantamweight: Cody Durden (18-10-1) took a decision over Jafel Filho (17-5-0), another full-length fight decided on the cards.
• Women’s Bantamweight: Michelle Montague kept her record spotless, moving to 8-0 with a decision over the vastly more experienced Mayra Bueno Silva (10-7-1). Handing a fighter of Bueno Silva’s pedigree a decision loss is the kind of result that quietly reshapes a division.

The finishes

Two fights refused to reach the judges, and both delivered the night’s cleanest results.

• Middleweight: Jackson McVey (7-2-0) needed only 2:14 of the first round to submit Sedriques Dumas (10-5-0). A first-round finish — the fastest ending on the card and the easiest call for anyone who trusted McVey to get it to the mat.
• Middleweight: Eric McConico (11-4-1) got the better of grappling ace Rodolfo Vieira (11-5-0) over three rounds, a result that will sting for anyone who assumed Vieira’s credentials would settle it.
• Heavyweight: Ryan Spann (24-11-0) closed the show against Marcus Buchecha (5-3-1) with a KO/TKO at 2:10 of round two. Spann’s experience edge showed, and the finish put an emphatic full stop on the evening’s action.

Where the upsets hit

The surprises weren’t at the very top — they were scattered through the middle of the card. Montague outpointing Bueno Silva is the standout: an undefeated fighter taking a decision from a name with far more Octagon mileage. McConico neutralizing Vieira, one of the most decorated grapplers in the room, is the other result that will have busted a lot of brackets. Toss in Valenzuela turning back a durable veteran in Griffin, and this was a night where the form book got roughed up.

What changes

Alencar’s main-event decision is a résumé builder at strawweight, and Montague at 8-0 becomes a name to track after beating experience rather than a fellow prospect. Spann’s second-round finish keeps him relevant in a heavyweight picture that always rewards a knockout. For the grapplers — Vieira and Dumas both — these are results that reset expectations more than confirm them.

Your turn next time

If your picks caught the Montague upset and the McVey first-round finish, this was a strong night. If the veterans let you down, you’re in good company. Either way, the next card is already worth studying — open The Pounds, lock in your predictions, and see how your read stacks up against your friends before the cage door closes.