Dave Simon, AJ D’Alesio, and Fred Garcia broke down this weekend’s UFC Vancouver Fight Night, but not before addressing some major MMA news from the past few weeks—including Alex Pereira’s stunning knockout of Magomed Ankalaev and the continued dominance of bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili.
The Ringside Report MMA trio delivered their predictions and betting picks for Saturday’s card at Rogers Arena, which features former ONE Championship double-champ Reinier de Ridder taking on Brendan Allen in a potential middleweight title eliminator. The episode also covered the stacked bantamweight division, heavyweight futures, and plenty of Canadian fighters looking to deliver on home soil.
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Pereira Dominates in Rematch, Sets Up Trilogy Questions
Before diving into Vancouver, Dave addressed the elephant in the room from a few weeks back.
Magomed Ankalaev and Pereira—Ankalaev lost to Alex Pereira. He got stomped out in the first round, got absolutely smoked a couple weeks ago, guys,” Dave noted. “I thought that the fight would be Magomed’s fight, and I definitely thought that if Pereira won, I didn’t see it going down like that because the first fight was so close. But Pereira said he was at 40 percent, and maybe he was the first time around.”
Fred Garcia jumped in with a critical perspective. “You know, like I mean, Pereira right now is saying he had a rib injury, so I don’t say I like if you show up, man, just live with the fact that you showed up, you know. So it’s one and one. Don’t be a trilogy. It’s going to be great.”
AJ had called it from the beginning. “I was going to say with Pereira, remember what I said when we were looking at that fight. I said there’s something wrong with Alex. He was so flat-footed. He wasn’t engaging. He wasn’t the same guy. There was something wrong with him. Right. That was pretty clear. Little man looked perfectly fine to me, but Alex came in at 100 percent, and man, he just destroyed him there.”
Who’s Next for Pereira?
Dave speculated on Pereira’s next opponent, dismissing the likelihood of the Jon Jones super-fight materializing anytime soon.
“I think they’re going to give Pereira Carlos Ulberg,” Dave predicted, despite acknowledging it as the least interesting option.
Fred pushed hard for the Ankalaev trilogy. “It’s one and one. Yeah, this last fight might have been a knockout, but the fight before that, Ankalaev won, and I don’t want to hear any stories about either guy’s injuries. You know, whether it was the first or second fight, you both showed up, so live with your decision, and let’s go for the trilogy. And I think that’s what the fans want.”
Dave expressed skepticism about the UFC’s willingness to book that rematch. “I just feel like the UFC wasn’t that interested in making the rematch from what Dana was saying, from what Pereira’s camp was saying, they were not interested in doing the third fight with Ankalaev.”
The conversation also touched on the possibility of Pereira moving up to heavyweight, with Fred making a compelling case. “I prefer the idea of Pereira moving up to heavyweight because next week is Cyril Gane and Aspinall. I’ll tell you what, man. Whoever wins that, after that, there’s not a lot of interesting matchups at heavyweight. So you tell me like it’s Aspinall against Pereira. I don’t hate that. Gane against Pereira. I don’t hate that either, man.”
Fred noted the division’s weakness. “Who’s there after Gane and Aspinall? It feels like the heavyweight division is pretty weak.”
Aspinall vs. Gane: Jon Jones’ Worst Nightmare?
The hosts discussed next weekend’s heavyweight interim title fight and the potential embarrassment for Jon Jones if Cyril Gane wins.
“Man, if Aspinall loses next weekend, it’s going to be so funny. Jon Jones will laugh forever. Everybody’s saying he’s ducking Aspinall. If Ciryl Gane, the man that Jon Jones stopped in what, like 90 seconds… If Gane turns around and beats Aspinall next weekend, oh my god, that’ll be funny,” Dave laughed. “I think it might happen, too.”
AJ defended his French fighter. “Look. Look. You know, I’m a big Ciryl fan.”
Dave agreed Gane had a real shot. “It’s hard not to pick Aspinall. He’s looking great. It’s hard not to take Aspinall. However, Ciryl is competent. He’s capable of winning the fight. You know what I mean? Aspinall is probably the favorite to win. Probably the safer pick. But Cyril could easily win that fight, especially at heavyweight.”
Fred brought up an important point about Gane’s recent performance. “What’s Ciryl’s last fight? It feels like it’s been a long time.” Dave noted it was a split decision over Alexander Volkov back in December 2024. Fred added, “I remember I think people, a lot of people had Volkov winning, even Dana White had Volkov winning, if I remember correctly, after the fight. So like I say, I think the heavyweight division might need some new blood, man.”
Merab Dvalishvili: Fighter of the Year?
The hosts agreed that bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is making a historic run in 2025.
“If Merab wins against Petr Yan in December to close out the year, I think most people in MMA, when we’re doing our year-end recaps, will say Merab Dvalishvili is the fighter of 2025,” Dave declared. “He defended against Umar in January, defended against O’Malley in June, defended against Sandhagen earlier this month here in October, and he’s set to defend for a fourth time against Petr Yan in December. That would be four title defenses in one calendar year.”
Fred emphasized Merab’s dominance level. “He’s dominating them. Although he’s fighting, he dominated O’Malley. He dominated Nurmagomedov. He pretty much dominated Sandhagen.”
AJ pointed out the lack of damage Merab takes. “And the thing is, he comes out of those fights, and he’s hardly touched. Like, there’s never a scratch on him. He never looks like he’s been devastated. The guy looks like he just went in and just came out of the shower.”
Fred praised Merab’s personality. “He’s got a great personality, also. Like, how can you not love Merab? Man, Merab’s funny. He’s great. I saw the video of him stealing O’Malley’s jacket during the fight between Sterling and O’Malley. And I remember, I loved it back then. Merab was already like, ‘This guy has personality. This guy has talent. This guy, you should be a—The company should be behind him.'”
“I agree. I think Merab is one of the most dynamic characters in the UFC,” Dave concluded, noting Dana White’s recent admission that he’s “come around” on the Georgian champion.
Fred also noted the historic nature of Merab’s 2025 campaign. “Third title defense in 2025 from Merab that would be a record defending the title three times in a year.” (Dave later corrected that this would actually be his fourth defense of the year.)
De Ridder vs. Allen: Title Shot Implications
The main event discussion centered on whether the winner would earn a shot at newly-crowned middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
“I look at Imavov and I go, yeah, it might be tough, but it’s not super exciting. I’d like to see RDR or Brendan Allen come out of this weekend looking like the next middleweight title challenger,” Dave explained.
Fred provided context on the rankings challenge. “Brendan Allen’s ranked number nine, so he would have to be very impressive to jump over everybody, I think. RDR, I believe the UFC is probably waiting to see if RDR is impressive. Like if RDR has an impressive win, he’ll probably get it. If he wins and he’s not impressive, then it comes to the choice of Imavov or him.”
Fred made clear his priority. “And at that point, man, to me, I don’t really care, either one of them. I just want to see Chimaev being active. I believe Chimaev will be a huge favorite against either guy. And he’s going to win against either guy. But I want to see Chimaev being active. So whatever brings me Chimaev being active the quickest, that’s what I’m choosing.”
Dave raised an essential question about the original opponent change. “Does RDR even enter into the conversation with a win over Brendan Allen, considering he was supposed to be fighting Anthony Hernandez? Hernandez pulls out of this fight. Hernandez was really the top challenger.”
Fred countered with a crucial point. “Maybe, but RDR has a win over Whittaker. I think that’s a big card in his game to ask for that shot. So if he’s impressive this weekend, I’m going to favor RDR. But like I said, I just want to see Chimaev active.”
The conversation briefly touched on Sean Strickland as a dark horse contender, but Fred noted, “He’s suspended now for a while,” after his recent antics cornering a fighter. “He did Sean Strickland stuff,” Fred explained with a laugh.
Zahabi’s Big Moment Against Chito Vera
One of the most compelling storylines on the card is Montreal’s Aiman Zahabi getting a massive step up in competition against former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera.
“Aiman Zahabi out of Montreal, the TriStar Gym, of course, with his brother Firas. Aiman is coming off that unbelievable win over Jose Aldo in Toronto. Aiman has racked up a six-fight win streak now in the UFC,” Dave explained. “With a win here over the 32-year-old Marlon Vera, he would find himself in the top five. He would find himself with some huge fights on his plate.”
AJ recalled the incredible Aldo fight. “Well, that fight with Aldo was insane. I mean, if you remember that fight, it was nothing but back and forth. At one point, it looked like Zahabi was going down. And then Aldo survived. But Zahabi ended up getting that gas, that second gas. And man, he just laid it out. It was a crazy fight.”
Dave praised Zahabi’s career resurgence. “Aiman has always been just an excellent mixed martial artist. Like technically, he’s always been very, very good. He had one fight in the UFC that he won. And then he got knocked out with a vicious spinning elbow. Vicious. It was horrible. It was like one of the nastiest knockouts I’ve ever seen… the career resurgence for Aiman, the potential fulfilled for Aiman in his kind of mid to late 30s is really rare in MMA.”
Fred saw this as a golden opportunity. “Vera’s one in three, I think, in his last four. So this is a very winnable fight for Aiman. So yeah, opportunity knocks. You’ve got to take advantage of it. And hopefully he does. I’m going to pick Aiman in that one.”
Holland vs. Malott: Canadian Hope in the Co-Main
The co-main event features Canadian fan favorite Mike Malott taking on the veteran Kevin Holland in what could be a dangerous test.
“I like Mike Malott a lot. He’s a Canadian guy, 12, 2, and 1 as a professional. He’s 1, 2 in a row. Taking on the very tough, though, Kevin Holland in the co-main event,” Dave noted.
Fred was skeptical about Malott’s chances. “I’m leaning towards Kevin Holland, because I feel Mike Malott is going up in competition. We always say Kevin Holland, he’s up and down. He loses a lot of big fights, but I think this is Mike Malott’s biggest challenger that he’s fought in the UFC.”
AJ saw a path to victory for the Canadian. “The difference with Malott is that he’s always out and he’s a grinder, man. He goes and fights. And the thing with Kevin Holland is, and you know, I love Kevin, but it depends on which Kevin’s coming into the octagon. So if he doesn’t stay as consistent in that fight and he hams around, Malott might take that win.”
Other Notable Canadians on the Card
Dave highlighted the Canadian presence throughout the card. “We’ve got a lot of big fights in Vancouver, a lot of Canadians in action. We got Jasmine Jasudavicius, taken on from France, Manon Fiorot. We’ve got Kyle Nelson, the Canadian, taking on Matt Frevola. We’ve got Charles Jourdain from Montreal, taking on Davey Grant on the prelims. Just loads of Canadians on this UFC Vancouver card out in the West Coast coming up on Saturday.”
Fred warned about the difficulty of these matchups. “Yeah, a lot of cool fights. Tough fights, I’ll say, because Davey Grant is not an easy fight for Jourdain.”
AJ was optimistic about Jourdain’s chances. “You’re looking at Charles Jourdain, going into this fight against Davey Grant, and you’re right, he’s one tough guy. But when you look at the age difference, Davey Grant is, I think, close to 40, and Charles is around 29. He did really well when he beat Victor Henry with that guillotine, which was beautiful, man.”
The Betting Picks: Three Different Approaches
Team Dave’s Conservative Parlay
Dave went with a straightforward three-fight parlay, avoiding betting on Canadians with his heart.
“I’m gonna stay away from Canada. I don’t wanna bet with my heart. I’m not trying to bet with my heart, AJ. I’m trying to bet with my brains. And I’m gonna go with RDR, minus 225, in the main event over Brendan Allen. I’m gonna go with Kevin Holland in the co-main over Mike Malott. And I’m gonna go with Azamat Bekoev early on in the night over Yousri Belgaroui. And that’ll be 20 to get you about 72.”
Team Fred’s Title Shot Focus
Fred kept it simple with two fighters he believes will earn title implications.
“I have one Canadian on my parlay. I got RDR and Aiman Zahabi. I think Aiman’s gonna beat Marlon Vera. He’s not on his best streak. He’s a fun fighter, but I think this is a winnable fight for Aiman. And Aiman always comes in prepared. I expect him to have a very good game plan.”
The Team Fred parlay: RDR and Zahabi pay $49.52 on a $20 bet.
Team AJ’s Canadian Explosion
AJ went all-in on the home country with an ambitious five-fight parlay.
“Man, I’m going long and hard, man. I’m back in a 40-long and hard… Almost every Canadian, man. And I’m gonna tell you why. Like I said, man, I really think that Charles Jourdain’s training camp was on fire. The guy looked solid. His brothers in the UFC. These are the Canadian, man, Diaz brothers, and they’re gonna make a statement.”
AJ’s full parlay includes:
- Charles Jourdain over Davey Grant
- Manon Fiorot over Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Aiman Zahabi over Marlon Vera
- Mike Malott over Kevin Holland
- Reinier de Ridder over Brendan Allen
“It’s a five-fight parlay… It’s a plus 931 parlay. 20, it gets you 612. That’s pretty good. That’s a lot of money,” Dave calculated for AJ’s bold picks.
AJ explained his Malott confidence. “I’ve always been impressed by Mike Malott. And fighting in his hometown, the guy always performs.”
Zhang Weili Moves Up, Vacates Strawweight Title
In a news item the hosts had missed, Dave discovered during the show that Zhang Weili had vacated the UFC strawweight championship.
“The UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship is vacant? I’m confused. Oh, Zhang Weili vacated the title? Why?” Dave discovered she had moved up to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko, with that title fight scheduled for UFC 322 in November.
This sets up Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba for the vacant title at UFC 321 next week in Abu Dhabi. “Agent Mackenzie Dern could become a champion in the UFC,” Dave noted with surprise. AJ responded, “Man, it could happen. Crazy. At least she’s still there, man. It’s incredible.”
Brazilian Legends: Oliveira and Aldo
Dave also briefly covered recent results from Brazil, including Charles Oliveira’s submission victory over Mateusz Gamrot. “Nice submission victory for Charles Oliveira in Brazil. Big win for him. That was nice. Chucky.”
On Jose Aldo’s official retirement at age 39, AJ reflected, “Sad. One of the greatest of all time.”
Dave put Aldo’s age in perspective. “When I’d say Yankees fans were harassing her. I mean, it’s funny because as a Yankees fan… well, for a fighter he is. For a human, he’s still relatively young.”
AJ agreed. “He’s still young, but a fighter at 39 in the wars that he’s fought. Yeah. That’s enough. He’s like 93. Turn it around.”
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