UFC lightweight Jordan Leavitt wasted little time in his return from an 18-month layoff at UFC Vegas 107.
If Jordan Leavitt suffered from any pre-fight jitters coming off a long hiatus from competition, he needed little time to shake it off inside the Octagon at UFC Vegas 107.
Leavitt and Kurt Holobaugh helped kick things off on the UFC Vegas 107 prelims on Saturday at the Apex. It had been a long time coming for Leavitt; 18 months after his most-recent fight against Chase Hooper in Nov. 2023.
Leavitt faced a worthy challenge in Holobaugh, a former standout on The Ultimate Fighter and an equally decorated grappler. But when the cage doors closed, it was one-way traffic for Leavitt in his long-awaited comeback fight.
Jordan Leavitt puts Kurt Holobaugh to sleep with nasty first-round finish at UFC Vegas 107
Leavitt and Holobaugh wasted little time getting after it, as the two landed some heavy shots on the feet in the opening seconds of the first round. But Leavitt slammed Holobaugh to the canvas with a massive takedown early on, before quickly getting Holobaugh’s back and putting his rival in early trouble.
Once Leavitt got Holobaugh’s back, it was game over. Leavitt transitioned beautifully into an anaconda choke submission, and Holobaugh tapped as he went to sleep in Leavitt’s grasp.
Contrary to Leavitt’s earlier post-fight celebrations, the UFC lightweight star was relatively coy in his theatrics. Leavitt retired his signature ‘twerk’ celebration in the Octagon and proceeded to worm as Daniel Cormier put him on the spot in their interview.
It was Leavitt’s first submission win since choking out Matt Sayles with an inverted triangle in Dec. 2021. Now back in the win column, Leavitt moves one step closer to potentially challenging for a Top 15 spot in the lightweight division..
UFC Vegas 107 marches on despite a chaotic fight week
Leading up to Leavitt’s ferocious finish, UFC Vegas 107 featured a bizarre fight week. The card lost one fight in the hours before UFC Vegas 107, as a short-notice booking between Andreas Gustafsson and Trevin Giles was scratched after Giles suffered a head injury while cutting weight.
UFC Vegas 107 headliner Maycee Barber missed weight by 1.5 pounds on Friday, briefly putting her main event bout opposite Erin Blanchfield in question. But the flyweight headliner carried on and Barber forfeited a percentage of her purse.
A bantamweight bout between rising contenders Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson was moved to featherweight after Vieira struggled during the weight management process during fight week. Allan Nascimento missed weight on Friday ahead of his matchup with rising star Jafel Filho.