UFC Fight Night 135: Gaethje vs. Vick | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- May 20
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 135: Gaethje vs. Vick took place on Saturday, August 25, 2018 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 596,000 average viewers. The card drew 6,409 fans for a gate of $478,337. It was the first UFC event in Lincoln and the third UFC event in Nebraska overall, with the previous two held in Omaha. The main event was a lightweight bout between Justin Gaethje and James Vick.
Gaethje stopped Vick by KO at 1:27 of round one with a punch, earning Performance of the Night. Vick had entered on a five-fight win streak. Cory Sandhagen and Iuri Alcântara earned Fight of the Night in what was also Sandhagen’s UFC debut. Eryk Anders earned the other Performance of the Night with a third-round head kick KO of Tim Williams. Deiveson Figueiredo won a flyweight fight on the main card. Bryan Barberena TKO’d Jake Ellenberger in round one on the main card.
Third UFC in Nebraska — First in Lincoln
Lincoln is Nebraska’s capital and the state’s second-largest city. Pinnacle Bank Arena holds approximately 15,000 for basketball events and smaller capacities for MMA configurations. The 6,409 attendance was below the arena’s maximum but commercially adequate for a Fight Night event in a mid-size market. The UFC’s previous Nebraska events had been held in Omaha — at Quest Center in 2009 and Pinnacle Bank Arena’s equivalent in the 2010s.
Gaethje had originally been scheduled to face Al Iaquinta as the main event. Iaquinta withdrew; Vick was booked as the replacement. Gaethje’s UFC record entering Lincoln was three consecutive losses — to Michael Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Dustin Poirier — after going undefeated in WSOF. Despite the losses, Gaethje had earned Fight of the Night bonuses in all three UFC fights with his all-action brawling style. The Vick fight was framed as a must-win competitive moment.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018 (1st UFC in Lincoln, NE; 3rd UFC in Nebraska)
📍 Venue: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
👥 Attendance: 6,409
💰 Gate: $478,337
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 596,000 avg. viewers (FS2 prelims, UFC Fight Pass early prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick — LW (Gaethje on 3-fight UFC loss streak; Vick on 5-fight win streak; originally Gaethje vs. Iaquinta; Iaquinta withdrew)
✅ Result: Gaethje def. Vick via KO (punch) — R1, 1:27 (PoN $50k; 87 seconds; Gaethje’s statement comeback win; Vick’s 5-fight win streak ended)
Main Event: Gaethje’s R1 KO Silences Vick’s Win Streak
Vick was a 28-year-old Texan lightweight who had won five consecutive fights, including finishes of Abel Trujillo, Marc Diakiese, and Joe Lauzon. At 6 ft 3 in, he held a significant height and reach advantage over Gaethje. His game plan — utilising his reach and jab at distance to prevent Gaethje’s forward pressure — was a sound tactical approach against a brawler who absorbed punishment to land his own. The fight’s opening seconds played out with Vick maintaining range and Gaethje closing.
Gaethje landed a clean punch at 1:27 that dropped Vick and produced the stoppage. The 87-second finish snapped Vick’s win streak and re-established Gaethje as a legitimate UFC LW contender after three consecutive losses. Sherdog noted the win’s significance: at 2-3 in the UFC, Gaethje had finally validated the high-action style that had earned him three consecutive FotN bonuses in defeat. The KO quality — a clean individual punch finish in under 90 seconds — was the most commercially emphatic performance of his UFC career to that point.
Sandhagen’s FotN Debut, Anders’ Head Kick & The Card
Cory Sandhagen’s UFC debut against Iuri Alcântara was one of the 2018 schedule’s most commercially significant individual results for the BW division’s long-term narrative. Sandhagen — a 25-year-old Colorado Springs bantamweight who had gone 8-0 professionally — submitted Alcântara by TKO with punches at 1:01 of round two. Both fighters earned Fight of the Night. His debut finish demonstrated the striking and grappling chain quality that produced his subsequent top-three BW career.
Eryk Anders’ head kick KO of Tim Williams at 4:42 of round three earned Performance of the Night. Anders had lost to Lyoto Machida by TKO at UFC Fight Night 119 in October 2017 — his first career loss — and the Lincoln head kick KO of Williams was his first finish win after the Machida setback. Deiveson Figueiredo’s TKO of John Moraga at 3:08 of round two was the Lincoln card’s most significant individual result for the long-term flyweight narrative: a future FW champion recording his third UFC win.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Justin Gaethje def. James Vick — KO (punch) — R1, 1:27 — LW (PoN $50k; Gaethje on 3-UFC-loss streak; Vick’s 5-win streak snapped; 87-second statement finish)
Michael Johnson def. Andre Fili — Split Decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28) — FW
Cortney Casey def. Angela Hill — Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) — Women’s SBW
Bryan Barberena def. Jake Ellenberger — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:26 — WW (Ellenberger’s career declining)
Deiveson Figueiredo def. John Moraga — TKO (punches) — R2, 3:08 — FLW (Figueiredo’s 3rd UFC win; FUTURE UFC FLW CHAMPION at UFC 255 November 2020!)
Eryk Anders def. Tim Williams — KO (head kick) — R3, 4:42 — MW (PoN $50k; bounce-back from Machida TKO loss; clean head kick finish)
Preliminary Card (FS2 / UFC Fight Pass)
Cory Sandhagen def. Iuri Alcântara — TKO (punches) — R2, 1:01 — BW (FotN $50k each; SANDHAGEN’S UFC DEBUT! Future top-3 BW contender!)
James Krause def. Warlley Alves — TKO (flying knee) — R2, 2:28 — WW
Andrew Sanchez def. Markus Perez — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — MW
Mickey Gall def. George Sullivan — Submission (RNC) — R1, 1:09 — WW
Joanne Calderwood def. Kalindra Faria — Women’s FLW
Rani Yahya def. Luke Sanders — Submission (heel hook) — R1 — BW (Yahya called out TJ Dillashaw post-fight!)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Cory Sandhagen + Iuri Alcântara — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Justin Gaethje + Eryk Anders — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Cory Sandhagen’s UFC debut FotN — the beginning of a BW career that reached #1 contender by 2021.
• Deiveson Figueiredo’s 3rd consecutive UFC win — building the FW career that produced the championship at UFC 255 in November 2020.
• Gaethje’s first UFC KO win — ending a 3-fight loss run while maintaining his PoN bonus earning standard.
Legacy & Impact
Gaethje’s Lincoln KO of Vick launched the LW career phase that produced wins over James Vick, Edson Barboza, Donald Cerrone, and Tony Ferguson (at UFC 249 in May 2020, earning a UFC LW Interim Championship). His subsequent UFC LW title fight at UFC 254 in October 2020 against Khabib Nurmagomedov produced a round-two neck crank submission loss — but the Lincoln win was the inflection point of his UFC career from 0-3 struggling contender to LW title challenger.
Cory Sandhagen’s Lincoln debut FotN launched a BW career that reached #1 contender by 2021, producing wins over Marlon Moraes, Frankie Edgar, and Aljamain Sterling (via head kick KO at UFC 259) before losses to TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan in title fights. Figueiredo’s Lincoln TKO of Moraga was step three of the FW career that produced the championship at UFC 255 in November 2020 and the Moreno-Figueiredo rivalry that defined the FW division from 2020 to 2023.
FAQ
What was Gaethje’s UFC record before Lincoln?
Gaethje had gone 0-3 in the UFC after an undefeated WSOF career, losing to Michael Johnson (TUF 25 Finale), Eddie Alvarez (UFC 218), and Dustin Poirier (UFC on Fox 29). Despite the losses, he had earned Fight of the Night bonuses in all three fights — a unique distinction of losing three consecutive fights while earning three consecutive FotN bonuses. His WSOF record of 17-0 had established him as one of combat sports’ most dangerous LW competitors before the UFC transition.
Who was James Vick before Lincoln?
Vick was a 28-year-old Tyler, Texas lightweight who had built a 12-1 professional record with a five-fight UFC win streak that included finishes of Marc Diakiese, Abel Trujillo, and Joe Lauzon. His 6 ft 3 in frame and 76.5 in reach gave him one of the LW division’s most significant physical advantages. His game plan against Gaethje’s forward-pressure brawling style was to use that reach and maintain distance — a tactic that Gaethje negated with his own aggressive approach.
Who was Cory Sandhagen before his Lincoln debut?
Sandhagen was a 25-year-old Colorado Springs bantamweight who had gone 8-0 professionally before his UFC debut. His training base at Factory X Muay Thai produced a striking and grappling-chain BW style. His debut FotN against Alcântara — a Brazilian BW veteran with 35 professional wins — demonstrated his finishing quality against experienced opposition. His subsequent UFC BW career produced wins over Marlon Moraes, Frankie Edgar, and Aljamain Sterling.
What was Deiveson Figueiredo’s position after Lincoln?
Figueiredo was a 30-year-old Brazilain flyweight from Soure, Pará who had gone 14-1 professionally before Lincoln and was 3-0 in the UFC. His TKO of John Moraga — a former UFC FW title challenger who had gone 7-3 in his last 10 fights — was a significant quality win that positioned him in the FW top-ten. His subsequent UFC FW career produced a win over Jussier Formiga before the championship fight against Joseph Benavidez at UFC 255 in November 2020.
What was the Sandhagen vs. Alcântara FotN fight?
Alcântara was a 34-year-old Brazilian BW and FW with 35 professional wins. His experience and submission quality made him a technically demanding debut opponent. Sandhagen’s TKO at 1:01 of round two with punches reflected his aggressive pace: after establishing grappling control and ground-and-pound position, he finished with the volume of punches that produced the stoppage. Both fighters’ Fight of the Night designation recognised the competitive quality of the brief but action-packed exchange.
What was Eryk Anders’ significance at Lincoln?
Anders was a 28-year-old Alabama middleweight and former University of Alabama football player. His UFC career had produced three KO/TKO wins before his Machida loss — the first of his career — at UFC Fight Night 119 in October 2017. His Lincoln head kick KO of Tim Williams was his competitive return to form after the Machida setback. Williams was a 30-year-old Maryland middleweight; Anders’ clean R3 head kick finish demonstrated the striking quality that had built his 7-0 pre-Machida record.
References
Comments