You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!<\/p>\n
Two athletes made their UFC debuts last night (Sat., Nov. 1, 2025) at UFC Vegas 110<\/a> inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pair split results, going 1\u20131, with the lone winner scoring a slick submission over a UFC veteran.<\/p>\n Now that the dust has settled, let\u2019s grade their respective performances:<\/p>\n Fresh off a contract-winning performance on Contender Series<\/a> Season 9 \u2014 where he scored a brutal first-round knockout at Heavyweight \u2014 Donte Johnson made his official Octagon debut by dropping all the way down to Middleweight to take on Sedriques Dumas.<\/p>\n While the fight was one of the sloppiest in recent memory, Johnson ultimately came away with a second-round guillotine choke submission victory (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n Lockjaw\u201d came out ultra-aggressive, forcing Dumas to shoot for an early takedown. Johnson defended initially but was dragged to the mat, where Dumas attempted a guillotine of his own. After a brief scramble, Johnson broke free, reversed position, and unloaded hammerfists before landing a massive slam late in the round. Dumas tried to land three spinning elbows in a row in the last 30 seconds (none of them landed).<\/p>\n Johnson came out aggressive again in Round 2, with Dumas throwing several front kicks and flying knees. Johnson ultimately secured a key takedown. When Dumas tried to scramble, Johnson caught his neck in transition and locked up a tight guillotine choke, forcing an immediate tap.<\/p>\n He was our \u201cFighter To Watch<\/a>\u201d heading into the event, and while it wasn\u2019t a clean performance, Johnson flashed the raw athleticism and explosive power that make him such an intriguing prospect. Dumas was clearly wary of that strength throughout the bout.<\/p>\n The former Heavyweight has even hinted at a possible move down to Welterweight \u2014 which would be extreme \u2014 but if he can safely make that cut, he could be a serious threat.<\/p>\n For his sophomore outing, a matchup against the winner of Ismail Naurdiev vs. Ryan Loder makes sense.<\/p>\n Brazil\u2019s Kevin Christian was the final fighter signed from Contender Series Season 8, but after a 14-month layoff, his debut couldn\u2019t have gone much worse. The 6\u20197\u201d Light Heavyweight was stopped in the first round by Billy Elenkana, who choked him unconscious<\/a> after dropping him with a check right hook (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n Early on, Christian used his range effectively, landing a few solid leg and body kicks. But once Elenkana landed that short counter, Christian hit the canvas, and it was all downhill from there. Elenkana swarmed with heavy ground-and-pound before locking up a rear-naked choke that put Christian to sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was a rough showing across the board. Based on that performance, it\u2019s hard to see Christian sticking around the promotion for long. A fight against Diyar Nurgozhay next year might be his best chance to rebound.<\/p>\n