UFC Vegas 124 Newcomers Suffer Shutout Loss

Four fighters made their UFC debuts at Vegas 124 inside the Apex on November 7, and all four left with losses. Two suffered stoppages in a brutal night for the promotional newcomers, according to MMA Mania.

Marcos Degli, a teammate of interim welterweight title challenger Carlos Prates, saw his 13-fight winning streak end in a unanimous decision loss to Mitch Raposo. The Brazilian landed cleaner shots in the opening round, connecting with a check left hook and a step-in elbow, but Raposo seized control in the second by repeatedly finding his right hand over the top. After the fighters clashed heads early in the third, Raposo maintained pressure and stuffed a late takedown attempt to close out three 29-28 scorecards. Degli entered the promotion with significant hype after earning his contract on Season 10 of Contender Series, making the loss particularly deflating.

Road To UFC Winner Falls Short In Debut

Road to UFC Season 4 featherweight tournament winner Keiichiro Nakamura entered as a betting favorite against Ollie Schmid but absorbed his first professional defeat. Schmid won the first two rounds with sharper boxing upstairs, forcing Nakamura to hunt a finish in the third. The Japanese prospect dropped Schmid with a left hook and followed with ground strikes, but Schmid survived, returned to his feet, caught a kick and scored a late takedown to secure the decision.

Brazilian heavyweight Gabriel Lorenco nearly stopped Thomas Petersen in the first round with a barrage of knees, elbows and punches that dropped his opponent multiple times. But Lorenco emptied his gas tank chasing the finish, allowing Petersen to reverse the momentum in the second with a left hook and heavy ground-and-pound. Petersen controlled the exhausted Brazilian through most of the third before the referee waved off the fight with just 13 seconds remaining.

Carlos Calderon took his debut on four days' notice against Austin Bashi and lasted only 67 seconds. Bashi escaped an early guillotine attempt, moved to Calderon's back and locked in a rear-naked choke for the tap. The four debutants will look to rebound in their next Octagon appearances.

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Original reporting:

• mmamania.com — UFC Vegas 124 Rookie Report Card: Newcomers go 0-4 | MMA Mania