Keep your eyes on this Lightweight …
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to “Sin City” this weekend (Sat., May 17, 2025) for UFC Vegas 106. In the main event, former UFC Welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns tries to slow the oncoming young force, Michael Morales, in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Check out the entire UFC Vegas 106 card here.
There are several up-and-coming fighters featured throughout the card this weekend, but let’s give you one to really keep your eyes on.
Without further ado …
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Almost two years to the day, I kicked off MMAMania.com’s Prospect Watch, and the first regional stud I hyped was Brazil’s Matheus Camilo. Now, he’s stepping into the UFC Octagon for the first time this weekend.
Camilo (9-2) snagged a UFC contract late last year by smashing Tajikistan’s then-unbeaten Dorobshokh Nabotov. Nabotov tried stealing the show with a bold plea to UFC CEO Dana White at UFC 308’s presser, but Camilo’s win crushed that “feel-good story.”
He cut his teeth at Brazil’s legendary Nova Uniao under Andre Pederneiras, training beside former UFC Featherweight champ Jose Aldo—pretty solid company, and a legit comparison in some ways. Now, he’s set up shop in Vegas at Xtreme Couture.
At just 24 years old, Camilo is really good and talented everywhere. He has nasty power even as a relatively new Lightweight and has elite grappling. What makes him so fun to watch is that he is always looking to finish his fights but smart enough not to force it if it isn’t there—which again, at just 24, is good to see.
“Jaguar” has a tendency to ease into fights, but he cranks it up as things unfold, blasting opponents with nasty calf kicks that leave them limping before taking over.
Rocking a six-fight win streak with four finishes, Camilo has a ton of momentum. But the UFC matchmakers aren’t going easy, throwing him a real test to see what this kid’s got.
Camilo is up against Gabe Green, who’s been on the shelf since Bryan Battle smoked him in 14 seconds (watch highlights).
Green is returning to Lightweight, a weight he’s fought at pre-UFC. He’s 2-3 in the Octagon, but those losses were to studs like Battle, Ian Garry, and Daniel Rodriguez (on short notice).
He’s got wins over Phil Rowe and Yohan Lainesse, plus pre-UFC scraps with Chris Padilla, Jalin Turner, and Javier Garcia.
So, it is very safe to say Green is battle-tested.
While it may be too much, too soon for the 24-year-old Brazilian to get past Green this weekend, he has all of the skills to do it violently.