Joseph Benavidez made his UFC debut in Newark, collecting a unanimous decision win over Ian Loveland in a bantamweight preliminary card bout at UFC 128. Edson Barboza’s sophomore appearance inside the Octagon followed a few fights later.
Sara McMann punched her ticket to a title shot with a first-round submission win over Sheila Gaff at Prudential Center, while Neil Magny picked up the first of his record number of welterweight wins at “The Rock” in the opening bout of UFC 169. Max Holloway had his coming out party in Newark, and Ikram Aliskerov and Diego Lopes debuted on the same night at UFC 288 a couple years back.