A new group of UFC hopefuls entered Meta APEX in Las Vegas on September 15, delivering an action-packed night in front of UFC CEO Dana White. Four of Tuesday’s five winners punched their ticket to the UFC, while one earned a second chance opportunity later in the season. Catch up on all the action from Week 6 below.
In the featured bout of the evening, Ecuadorian welterweight Mayton Perea blasted his way to a first-round knockout of Zevan Hunt as he closed the show with a blistering performance.
Hunt came out looking to strike, and Perea happily obliged as he stung “Cheese” with some nasty straight shots that eventually dropped him to the canvas.
Hunt tried to wrestle his way out of danger, but while he was able to get back to his feet, it only put him in harm’s way, as “The Lion” unleashed more heavy strikes to send his man back to the mat once again. A heavy barrage of shots followed as Perea knocked out Hunt to claim a statement win in just 45 seconds.
Brazilian middleweight Igor “Jacare” Cavalcanti made his second Contender Series chance count as he finished gutsy Peruvian Oscar Ravello in the first round of their 185-pound matchup.
The action caught fire immediately as both men looked to land big shots, but it was a massive right hand from Cavalcanti that dropped Ravello to the mat. It seemed a finish was imminent, but Ravello covered up well and even fired back with big shots of his own as he bravely tried to stay in the fight.
But Cavalcanti would not be denied, and his relentless barrage of ground strikes on Ravello eventually forced referee Kevin McDonald to step in and wave off the contest after 98 seconds.
It gave Cavalcanti his 14th career victory, as he bounced back from Contender Series heartbreak two years ago with an emphatic, and emotional, win.
Whenever fighters step into the Octagon to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series, they hope to produce something spectacular, and undefeated lightweight Akbar Abdullaev needed just 19 seconds to produce one of the cleanest knockouts ever seen inside the Meta APEX, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Abdullaev lined up Ednilson Santos with a couple of range-finding jabs, then detonated a stunning overhand right that connected clean and instantly knocked Santos out cold.
It was an instant Knockout of the Year contender, and it gave us just a glimpse of how Abdullaev arrived in Las Vegas with a perfect 13-0 record, with 13 finishes, and 10 of them in the first round.
And to make it even more remarkable, he predicted his one-shot knockout before the fight. It took just 19 seconds for that prediction to become reality.
Dade County police officer by day, MMA fighter by night, Luis Hernandez produced a show-stealing performance as he submitted French hopeful Hugo Guillon in the second round of a middleweight barnburner.
The bout started at full throttle as Hernandez quickly punched his way into range and dragged Guillon to the mat. But the Frenchman smartly worked his way back to his feet before judo-throwing Hernandez to the mat. Hernandez instantly bounced back up and continued to work on Guillon up against the fence with some nasty elbows from close quarter, but Guillon eventually managed to work his way clear.
Hernandez scored with two thumping body kicks, then went upstairs with a succession of heavy punches as he worked over Guillon. Then a big left sent the Frenchman staggering back across the Octagon, but as Hernandez closed in, a big right hand from Guillon returned the favor.
With one minute left in the round, Hernandez started to look tired, and Guillon noticed. The Frenchman let his shots go and looked to be taking over. But, just as the momentum seemed to be swinging the Guillon’s way, Hernandez came storming back as the pair battled back and forth through a thrilling opening five minutes.
The wild action resumed at the start of Round 2, with Hernandez throwing and landing big shots. But his fast start was checked when he was dropped by a short left hand.
Hernandez bounced straight back up, but was hit with knees from Guillon, who took him down and tried to lock up an anaconda choke. It didn’t look good for Hernandez, but somehow he managed to work his way clear, before taking Guillon’s back and locking up a rear-naked choke to force the tap as the crowd inside the Meta APEX nearly took the roof off.
It was a superb win, as Hernandez’s perfect professional record improved to 8-0 with the fifth submission victory of his career.
In the opening bout of the night, Xtreme Couture-trained prospect Tyshawn Williams added another win to his perfect professional record as he defeated Contender Series sophomore Antonio Monteiro in their featherweight matchup.
Williams slammed a powerful low kick into Monteiro’s lead leg early, then drove in for the takedown. After an extended period with the pair stuck against the fence, Williams got his takedown, but the pair were soon back in the open again.
Once again, Williams used his power and wrestling advantage to bring the action to the mat once more, and he proceeded to hammer the Brazilian with nasty punches and elbows as he racked up the significant strikes throughout the final minute of the round.
Williams quickly returned to his wrestling at the start of Round 2 as he slammed Monteiro to the mat. But in the exchanges against the fence, a low blow forced the action to be paused. When the fight resumed, Williams’ immediate takedown was stuffed, with the American starting to look a little fatigued.
You could see Monteiro’s confidence start to rise, and he looked to punish another less explosive shot with a guillotine choke attempt, but he couldn’t quite lock it up. Williams then turned over his ankle against the cage fence and fell to the canvas again, as Monteiro looked for another choke attempt, but ran out of time.
It set up a pivotal final round and, spurred on by some excellent corner work by coach Eric Nicksick, Williams came out looking to box. After landing a couple of decent strikes, he switched gears and took Monteiro to the mat once again. Williams landed a few strikes, but the potential for fight-ending offense ebbed away as the pair grappled for position on the mat, with Monteiro doing enough to keep an aggressive but exhausted Williams at bay.
Monteiro briefly tried to snatch a late submission as he tried to lock up a heel hook, but it wasn’t to be as Williams escaped and time ran out on both men.
In the end, the judges scored the fight 29-28, 29-27, 29-27 to Williams, who improved his record to 9-0.
