Russian flyweight Rashid Vagabov opened the show with an impressive sweep of the scorecards against Charles Oliveira protégé Paulo Henrique, looking like someone that could easily slide into the 125-pound weight class straight away. Kurtis Campbell followed with an 80-second thumping of Demba Seck before Christopher Alvidrez picked up a stoppage win over Eliezer Kubanza late in the first, registering the one and only upset of the evening.
In the penultimate pairing, Montreal’s Louis Jourdain dominated and submitting Magno Dias to make his case for joining his brother Charles on the UFC roster. And in the main event, Damian Pinas closed things out by flooring Vitor Costa with thudding right hand.
It didn’t take Dana White long to make his decisions, with the UFC President inviting all four finishers — Campbell, Alvidrez, Jourdain, and Pinas — to compete in the UFC going forward. That’s now 35 contracts through eight weeks and another evening filled with entertaining performances and electric action inside the UFC APEX.
Check out how things played out and how this week’s graduate earned their way onto the UFC roster with our recaps below.
The favorite on the evening’s fight card, Rashid Vagabov cruised to victory over Paulo Henrique, dominating most of the way through en route to earning a clean sweep of the scorecards.
Kurtis Campbell rolled into the Octagon and made a statement on Tuesday, taking the fight to Demba Seck and dispatching his foe in punishing fashion.
The undefeated Scouser dominated from start to finish, opening with a head kick before getting to a waist lock and bodying Seck to the canvas. Folliwing a couple mat returns, Campbell blasted Seck with a knee to the head as he looked to stand along the fence, sending him back to the canvas, where he quickly chased down the finish.
This was the kind of effort that had UFC President Dana White pantomiming a contract signing to Campbell following the bout, as “The Pink Panther” advanced to 8-0 with a third straight stoppage win.
Christopher Alvidrez turned in an impressive performance midway through the Week 8 slate, registering a stoppage win over Eliezer Kubanza late in the first round.
From the outset, the Miami-based welterweight fought with confidence, looking to engage with the imposing “King Kong” while mixing up his attacks. Shortly after getting blasted with a nasty kick to the body, Alvidrez landed a right hand that took Kubanza off his feet, and from there, “The Newborn” did not let him off the hook, continuing to swarm and unload shots until the referee finally stepped in and halted the action.
That’s now six straight for the 28-year-old Goat Shed representative, who scored an impressive win over UFC veteran Takashi Sato last time out. After a pair of favorites cruised early, Alvidrez registered the first upset of the night, and looked strong doing it.
Louis Jourdain’s mission was to join his older brother Charles on the UFC roster, and he put forth the kind of performance that could make that happen, earning a third-round submission win over Fighting Nerds representative Magno Dias.
“The Mad Prince” flashed his slick and varied striking throughout, working behind a sharp jab and punishing low kicks throughout the first, dropping Dias with a beautiful intercepting elbow while also successfully clearly a dicey grappling situation as well. In the second, the low kicks took their toll, sitting Dias down, giving Jourdain the opportunity to land a clean flying knee as he continued to take the fight to the Brazil. Right out of the corner to start the third, Jourdain ramped up the aggression, landing in top position as Dias looked for a trip, where he unloaded with elbows before snatching up the neck without any hooks, drawing out the tap.
Jourdain has always been a highly regarded prospect, but a serious knee injury left him sidelined for nearly two years. He showed on Tuesday night that he’s fully healthy and back to being a fighter to watch in the bantamweight division.
