It was another exciting and entertaining night of action at the UFC APEX on Tuesday night for the fourth week of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9.
Featherweights Tommy McMillen and David Mgoyan opened the show with an absolutely slobberknocker, which McMillen won by majority decision before TUF alum Eduardo Chapolin swept the scorecards against returning hopeful An Tuan Ho. From there, it was a buffet of first-round finishes, as Mandel Nallo, Cezary Oleksiejczuk, and Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani all clocked impressive stoppages in the opening stanza, getting Dana White out of his seat and saying “WOW!” like it was a Post Malone song.
For the third consecutive week, the UFC President handed out a handful of contracts at the end of the evening, bringing four of the five victorious athletes into the fold. McMillen earned a contract while stationed in the hospital following his war with Mgoyan, while the first-round finishing trio of Nallo, Oleksiejczuk, and Lebosnoyani all got called to the Octagon as well.
That brings the total for Season 9 up to 16 new competitors added to the UFC through four weeks. Check out the recaps below to see how all of these athletes punched their tickets to the UFC.
Now that’s how you close out a night on Dana White’s Contender Series!
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani cracked Jack Congdon with a same-side head kick that made the New England native wobble in place, unconscious on his feet before a crushing right hand sent him crashing to the canvas. Just an absolutely outstanding knockout from the Brazilian jiu jitsu standout!
There was controversy in the middleweight clash between Cezary Oleksiejczuk and Theo Haig.
Oleksiejczuk’s striking was on point straight out of the gate, as he picked at Haig from range, showcasing the powerful left hand that seemingly runs in the family. When Haig shot in for a takedown, Oleksiejczuk sprawled and started hammering home clean shots to the side of the head, prompting referee Gary Copeland to pause the action and ask for a review of the blows. The replay official indicated the shows were legal and that Haig was out, resulting in the fight being halted and Oleksiejczuk claiming the victory.
Regardless of the controversy, this was a strong showing from the younger brother of UFC middleweight Michal Oleksiejczuk. He flashed his hands and did exactly what he needed to do in order to impress in the very brief amount of time he was inside the cage.
Mandell Nallo scored the first stoppage win of the evening, ending his lightweight clash with Cage Warriors champ Samuel Silva with a piston right hand and expeditious follow-up blows.
The Montreal-based veteran was sharp straight out of the gate, attacking with low kicks and front kicks up the middle that all found a home and started opening things up for Nallo. Just after the midway mark of the round, Nallo uncorked a right hand that twisted and folded Silva to the canvas, allowing the Tristar Gym standout to pound out the finish.
Nallo has now won five straight, all by first-round stoppage, showcasing the skills his teammates, training partners, and Canadian MMA observers have long believed made him one of the best in the country. This was an outstanding performance for the engaging and entertaining lightweight hopeful.
TUF 33 alum and LFA champ Eduardo Chapolin returned to the UFC APEX and registered a unanimous decision win over fellow flyweight prospect An Tuan Ho.
A clash of heads and blatant illegal knee cost Ho the opening stanza, as the moments came right after one another and stood out as the biggest moments of the frame. The second was wrestling heavy, with Chapolin showing the impact of his work with Daniel Cormier, doing well to ground Ho and look to do damage when he landed in quality positions before spending the majority of the third working from top position, grinding out the victory.
All three judges scored the fight for the Brazilian, who lost to eventual tournament winner Joseph Morales in a battle of first picks this previous season. The 29-year-old has now won five straight to advance to 15-2 and perhaps exorcise some demons from the last time he competed in Las Vegas.
Unbeaten featherweights Tommy McMillen and David Mgoyan kicked off Week 4 with a gruelling battle of attrition.
The 21-year-old Russian dominated the opening frame and appeared on the cusp of dispatching McMillen at various points, including cinching up a gnarly, twisting mounted guillotine choke. McMillen worked his way back into the fight in the second, controlling the grappling exchanges and doing well on the feet as Mgoyan slowed. In the third, both men left every last ounce of themselves in the cage, trading heavy blows that left each of them looking like they dove face-first into a strawberry rhubarb pie.
When the scorecards were collected and tallied, it was McMillen that came out ahead to remain unbeaten and extend his record to 9-0. One official scored the bout a draw, awarding Mgoyan a 10-8 round in the first, while the other two scored all three rounds 10-9.