You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
Five rookies stepped into the Octagon yesterday (Sat., June 20, 2026) at UFC Vegas 119 inside the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Collectively, the newcomers went 3-2, with two highlight-reel finishes.
Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:
At long last, Season 9 Contender Series contract winner Murtazali Magomedov made his UFC debut against Melsik Baghdasaryan, and it was well worth the wait.
Magomedov had to deal with Baghdasaryan’s insane speed and power early, but once he got through the initial danger, he took Baghdasaryan down and immediately hopped on his back. As Baghdasaryan tried to turn into him, Magomedov locked up a Scottish Twister and forced the tap (watch highlights).
Magomedov (11-0) has never had amazing striking defense, and that was on display against Baghdasaryan, who was throwing absolute heat. Still, Magomedov won in under two minutes and reminded everyone why he was such an intriguing signing.
He is definitely a grappler first, but don’t get it twisted: he is also very fun to watch when he gets his hands and kicks going.
Hopefully, he returns soon and does not have another long layoff like he did before his UFC debut.
I would like to see him fight Yadier del Valle in his next outing.
Leon Shahbazyan & Levan Chokheli
After a run in Bellator, seven-fight Bellator veteran Levan Chokheli made his UFC debut against Leon Shahbazyan in a Welterweight bout, and it ended quickly.
Chokheli opened the fight with two filthy calf kicks that immediately staggered Shahbazyan. From there, Shahbazyan backed himself against the fence, and that was basically the beginning of the end.
Chokheli landed a clean combination and then crushed Shahbazyan with a brutal body shot that folded him for the finish (watch highlights).
Chokheli is a great signing for the promotion because he is high-level, exciting and has only lost to good fighters. At 29 years old, he is not even in his prime yet. Plus, he’s Georgian, and UFC clearly loves adding Georgian talent right now.
Expect Chokheli to be a mainstay in the Welterweight division for years to come.
I would like to see him fight Ramiz Brahimaj in his sophomore outing.
As for Shahbazyan, I have to be unbiased and honest because he is a buddy of mine.
To be truthful, I’m not sure he beats anyone currently on the roster. To put it in perspective, he was knocked out in the first round by Ryan Loder on the regional scene, and Loder is currently 0-2 inside UFC with two knockout losses since winning The Ultimate Fighter.
Shahbazyan is a gigantic Welterweight at 6-foot-4 and owns a 100 percent finish rate with 12 submissions, but he has no chin. And at this level, that is a massive problem.
He is going to get hurt if he keeps fighting UFC-caliber competition.
He can fight Mickey Gall, who is somehow still on the roster.
Shane Collins & Otari Tanzilovi
To kick off UFC Vegas 119, two Featherweight rookies collided as former A1 Combat champion Shane Collins took on former Contender Series loser Otari Tanzilovi.
And within the first few minutes, it was pretty clear Collins was the more dynamic fighter.
Collins showed crisp striking, nasty body shots and a willingness to make things violent everywhere. He did get taken down several times, but for the most part, he popped right back up. More importantly, whenever he was on the bottom, he stayed dangerous, throwing elbows and attacking submissions instead of just accepting position.
He attempted three submissions and kept making Tanzilovi work.
Ultimately, Collins won a unanimous decision, sweeping the scorecards 30-27 across the board.
Collins (8-0) was one of the better young prospects on the regional scene, so it was awesome to see UFC scoop him up instead of making him go through Contender Series. He is a fun, aggressive fighter who is a great addition to the Featherweight division and should put on super exciting fights.
They should book him against Fernando Padilla for Noche UFC in September.
I don’t really understand UFC signing Otari Tanzilovi, other than the promotion wanting more Georgians on the roster.
Tanzilovi did have some good takedowns, but he did absolutely nothing with them. He mostly tried to hold Collins down, and it did not work whatsoever. It was the definition of lay-and-pray until Collins eventually got back up.
His striking was fine — he had a decent one-two — but it was not very impactful. To his credit, every time Collins threw a naked leg kick, Tanzilovi did a good job clocking him with a counter punch.
Still, there just was not much there.
He is not fun to watch, he is not overly good at anything, and he only scored one decision win after his awful Contender Series fight. So, yeah, I’m stumped.
He should fight Robert Ruchala next.
For more UFC Vegas 119 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
