Dana White’s Contender Series returned for its 10th season, as the latest crop of emerging prospects converged at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, looking to impress the UFC President and the UFC matchmakers in a bid to earn a spot on the UFC roster.
Week 1 produced an action-packed card of fights, as a quartet of fighters earned UFC contracts with strong performances, including a couple of sub-60-second finishes that leapt off the screen, and had the fans on their feet.
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After the action at Meta APEX had concluded, White headed backstage to visit with Laura Sanko, and welcomed Anthony Wint, Bilal Hasan, Thomas Pagliarulo, and Joe Kropschot to the UFC roster, with their performances each earning the seal of approval from the UFC boss.
Raw power was the order of the day In the night’s featured bout, as heavyweight prospect and former New York Jets linebacker Anthony Wint demolished Matt Adams in just 34 seconds.
Wint opened up with three big leg kicks, then a big overhand right, to ensure the former collegiate wrestler had no chance to set himself, and the one-way traffic didn’t stop until the fight was over.
Adams tried to set up a takedown, but Wint simply walked him up against the fence. And when Adams tried an outside trip, Wint overpowered him and forced him to the canvas, before bludgeoning him with strikes to force the finish after just 34 seconds.
It was an impressive display of strength and power as Wint immediately shut down his opponent, put him in a disadvantageous position, then finished him with ruthless efficiency.
Wint’s victory took him to 7-0, with the fifth knockout finish of his career.
Lebanon’s Abe Alsaghir’s relentless pressure paid dividends as he earned a split-decision victory over Fabrizio Escarrega on the judges’ scorecards after three hard-fought rounds of lightweight action.
Over the course of the matchup, Alsaghir continually pressed forward, looking to take the fight to the canvas. But, despite Alsaghir’s repeated attempts, Escarrega’s solid takedown defense held up well as he kept the fight on the feet.
That pattern repeated itself throughout the contest until the final round, when the action did eventually hit the canvas, but initially it was Escarrega who was on top, looking to work a D’Arce choke. Alsaghir managed to stay out of trouble, and when the action slowed, and Escarrega started looking at referee Mike Beltran, seemingly hoping for a stand-up, Alsaghir turned the tables and went on the attack.
First, he took Escarrega’s back, then he attacked the Mexican’s left arm as he looked to find a path to a submission victory. After Escarrega looked to land some ground strikes from top position, Alsaghir attempted a heel hook, but couldn’t work the position to set it up.
Eventually, the pair returned to their feet and slugged it out for the final few seconds as the bout went the distance. And when the judges’ scorecards were tallied, they returned a split-decision verdict.
Judge Sal D’Amato scored all three rounds to Escarrega, but he was overruled by judges Mike Bell and Chris Leben, who both gave Alsaghir Rounds 2 and 3 to award him the overall victory, and take “The Killer’s” perfect record to 9-0 with only the second decision win of his career.
The biggest favorite in Contender Series history delivered the goods as former CFFC flyweight champion Bilal Hasan scored a blistering quickfire TKO finish of India’s Mridul Saikia in their 125-pound matchup.
Hasan calmly stalked Saikia around the Octagon, then half-caught a naked leg kick from Saikia, before connecting with a huge overhand right that dropped his man to the canvas.
Hasan saw his moment, then closed in and landed a rapid-fire salvo of ground strikes, all of which found their mark, as referee Herb Dean eventually stepped in to wave off the contest after just 45 seconds.
It was as impressive as it was fast, as “The Indoninja” delivered on the significant pre-fight hype that accompanied him to Las Vegas after making a name for himself as one of the hottest prospects on the regional scene.
That reputation will only grow as a result of his Contender Series appearance, with Hasan’s first-minute TKO finish extending his professional record to 9-0 (1 no contest), with eight of those wins coming inside the distance.
Thomas Pagliarulo mixed up his martial arts to good effect as he finished Contender Series sophomore Ananias Mulumba over three rounds in their featherweight bout.
A teammate of bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen, Pagliarulo was competitive on the feet, then mixed in his wrestling and ground game to put the seal on an impressive all-round display and claim a third-round TKO finish.
The fight started with Mulumba throwing bombs as he connected with a big shot early that appeared to put Pagliarulo in trouble. But the Tiger Beetle MMA man was able to scramble out of danger and recompose himself before eventually charging his way into a double-leg takedown that sent Mulumba to the canvas.
The action quickly returned to the feet, with Mulumba throwing heat with hands and feet in a bid to score a first-round finish. It drew another takedown attempt, which Mulumba reversed well, before they returned to the stand-up realm again.
Pagliarulo looked to work his takedowns into his work early in Round 2, but Mulumba saw them coming and sprawled well to stay out of danger. But mixing up striking and wrestling started to open up more opportunities for Pagliarulo’s punches, and the American started to find his range with sharp, straight shots as he started to make Mulumba bite on his feints, then punished him with punches and kicks up the middle.
Pagliarulo’s confidence was visibly growing, and he started to mix in more weapons, with step-in elbows and a well-timed knee catching the eye as he enjoyed a much more productive round in the second.
With the fight hanging in the balance, and the scores potentially standing at one round apiece, both men turned up the aggression as the final round got underway. And Pagliarulo used his smarts to turn Mulumba’s aggression against him as he executed a perfectly-timed takedown to put the Congolese prospect on his back.
Working from side control, Pagliarulo looked to work over his opponent, and an elbow opened up Mulumba, who struggled to find a way out from underneath the American. And with Mulumba trapped, with no way out, Pagliarulo loaded up with elbows and punches to force the finish, with referee Mike Beltran stepping in to wave off the action with just 36 seconds left in the fight.
The victory put Pagliarulo on a five-fight win streak as he delivered a well-rounded display of his skills on his UFC audition to score his 11th career victory, and his ninth KO/TKO finish.
LFA middleweight champion Joe Kropschot got the night underway with a hard-earned decision victory after battling all the way to the scorecards – and very nearly finishing – gritty Jon Kunneman in their 185-pound matchup.
Kropschot showed smart control of range as he continually worked Kunneman from range, using his huge reach to land repeated jabs and straight shots to the body, while also utilizing a plethora of teeps to keep his opponent on the outside.
It meant that Kunneman had to blitz in, throwing heavy shots as he looked to land a home-run punch, and his winging hooks left Kropschot’s forehead marked up. But Kropschot’s consistent, continual offense ensured that he was on top heading into the final stages. But there was still drama to come before the bout came to a close.
Kunneman desperately shot for a takedown, but once the fight hit the mat, Kropschot turned the tables and came very close to scoring a submission victory. He initially went hunting for a Kimura, but then switched techniques and locked up a nasty armbar that appeared to completely hyperextend, then dislocate, Kunneman’s arm. Despite the gnarly visual that had the fans inside Meta APEX gasping in amazement, Kunneman stubbornly refused to tap, as the fight went the distance.
The scorecards gave Kropschot a clear unanimous decision win, as “The Land Animal” extended his active win streak to five.
