The penultimate installment of Dana White’s Contender Series returned to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Five UFC contracts were awarded from the night’s four bouts. Read below for a recap of the event and to find out who was signed to Mixed Martial Art’s premier fighting league.
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Raimond Magomedaliev – Welterweight
Ruffy won his professional debut by knockout in just fifteen seconds. All of his eight victories have come by way of knockout. The 33-year-old Magomedaliev is six years his opponent’s senior. He has an impressive 10-1 MMA record with five knockouts and two submissions.
Round 1
Magomedaliev comes out with a high kick but misses; he begins to target the lower leg of Ruffy. The first half of the round is tit-for-tat, with both men just trading leg kicks, most of which either miss or get checked.
Ruffy lands a left-body kick and follows it up with a right hand, which narrowly misses. Magomedaliev lands a nice counter and then a body shot. Magomedaliev blitzes in with a three-punch combination, finishing it with an overhand right that connects nicely. They fight in the pocket briefly, Ruffy landing a right hand but eating a couple of knees to the abdomen for his efforts. The Dagestani is throwing more strikes, but most are out of range. Both men narrowly avoid big right hands, and the round is brought to a close – a close one.
Round 2
Ruffy goes straight for a calf kick, which lands and draws a reaction from his opponent. They circle for the next thirty seconds. Magomedaliev throws a combo, and it’s defended well; they clinch briefly before returning to the center of the octagon. Ruffy throws a spinning back that misses. Both men seem hesitant so far in this fight, although they are spending more time in each other’s range now. A couple of nice jabs by Magomedaliev. A nice one too from Ruffy. Magomedaliev sweeps the leg of Ruffy, but he returns to his feet almost immediately.
Ruffy with a nice body kick. Magomedaliev presses forward and unloads on Ruffy against the fence. He rides it out and they clinch against the fence. A right hand connects from Ruffy before a combo from Magomedaliev ends the round.
Round 3
Ruffy continues to have success with the calf kicks and the left leg of Magomedaliev looks compromised; he’s not putting much weight on it. Magomedaliev throws a combo with Ruffy against the fence. Ruffy lands two big left hands and is beginning to take over this fight. Huge, right from Ruffy!
Magomedaliev sticks his tongue out, unfazed. Big calf kick from Ruffy, but his opponent comes back with a right hand. They clinch before Ruffy throws a right hand and an uppercut, both of which land.
Spinning elbow from Ruffy. Sensing their fighter is in trouble, Magomedaliev’s corner tells him to go for the takedown. They clinch against the fence as Ruffy tries to stuff the takedown; he is successful. Another uppercut lands from Ruffy. Blood pours from Magomedaliev, apparently caused by an accidental clash of heads following Ruffy’s spinning elbow.
Magomedaliev goes for the takedown with a minute left but it’s a labored attempt and Ruffy ends up in the mount position. Magomedaliev ends up on his stomach and doesn’t defend the strikes from Ruffy adequately enough. The referee stops the fight with just seconds remaining.
Mauricio Ruffy wins via TKO in round three and wins a UFC contract.
Jose Medina vs. Magomed Gadzhiyasulov – Light Heavyweight
The Bolivian Medina is a veterinarian during the day and trains at night with the dream of being a full-time MMA fighter. He has an 11-2 record and is riding a six-fight win streak. Gadzhiyasulov prefers to keep the fight standing but is a well-versed wrestler. He trains out of Bahrain and goes into this fight as the biggest favorite on tonight’s card.
Round 1
Gadzhiyasulov’s speed is apparent immediately, and lands a couple of kicks. Medina seems game; he has come out at a fast pace, but the pair are still feeling each other out. Medina eats a couple of jabs and a huge body kick. He winces but gestures for Gadzhiyasulov to come forward. The difference in power is apparent: Gadzhiyasulov’s kicks carry a lot of weight, and Medina eats more than he should by standing within range.
A heavy calf kick from Gadzhiyasulov, and he initiates a clinch briefly before returning to the center. More kicks from Gadzhiyasulov; each one that lands has a large slapping sound that echoes throughout the APEX.
Medina is still pushing forward. Despite taking the most damage, he is still in the fight and lands on Gadzhiyasulov as he pushes him against the fence. A strong end to the round from Medina.
Round 2
Leg kicks continue from Gadzhiyasulov; they’re so fast. Medina continues to throw with his hands but eats a huge body kick. He retreats to the fence, and Gadzhiyasulov connects with a right hand, which makes Medina smile – he’s a dog.
Medina tries to wrestle, and the fighters end up on the cage fence. They break before Gadzhiyasulov misses a spinning elbow shortly after. Another brief clinch before another elbow from Gadzhiyasulov landed this time, splitting open the nose of Medina. Gadzhiyasulov secures a takedown and passes half-guard. The next minute is uneventful, and the the referee, Jason Herzog, is about to let Medina return to his feet, but Gadzhiyasulov starts throwing – another dominant round from Gadzhiyasulov.
Round 3
Clinch to begin the round, and as they break, Gadzhiyasulov throws another spinning elbow. Medina then lands a couple of shots but is then taken down. Despite all the damage taken, Medina has a smile on this face; he loves this. Both men look tired as Gadzhiyasulov surprisingly finds success with his labored takedown attempt. That’s 5 out of 5 with his takedown attempts so far.
Medina goes for the arm triangle off his back, but Gadzhiyasulov escapes. They get back to their feet and clinch. The pace has halted now; both men are exhausted. A sixth takedown from Gadzhiyasulov succeeds and the buzzer sounds to end the fight.
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov wins via unanimous decision, 30-27 x 3.
Dana White later revealed that both fighters are awarded a UFC contract. Impressed with Medina’s resilience and personality, the UFC president decides to give him a shot. White indicates that he feels Medina is fighting possibly two weight classes above where he should so expect him to fight at middleweight or even welterweight.
Victor Hugo vs. Eduardo Torres Caut – Bantamweight
It took just 23 seconds for Hugo to win his last fight, resulting in his opponent leaving on a stretcher. Oozing with confidence, he thinks he won’t have much issue with dispatching Torres Caut.
The 22-year-old Chilean has an impressive record of 16-1, his only defeat coming against a UFC veteran, a fight which Laura Sanko says on commentary that she thought Torres Caut won.
Round 1
Torres Caut goes for the takedown early but struggles to get Hugo down from back control against the fence. Hugo tries to turn around to face his opponent and eventually manages to; he then lands a takedown of his own.
Hugo has side control, and with nine submission wins, it’s not where Torres Caut wants to be. Despite that, he attempts an unsuccessful arm triangle from his back. Hugo attempts a heel hook and ends up securing a calf slicer; Torres Caut does well to escape. Hugo stands up and throws kicks at his grounded opponent. Torres Caut gets back to his feet with 45 seconds left of round one. They exchange kicks but are out of each other’s range.
Round 2
The round begins much like the end of the previous one, with both men throwing from outside range. Hugo attempts a takedown, and Torres Caut has his back on the fence as he manages to stop it. A period of grappling results with both men on the canvas and Hugo goes for a knee bar. It’s really deep! Torres Caut taps.
Victor Hugo wins via submission in round 2. Hugo is awarded a UFC contract.
Murtaza Talha vs. Rodolfo Bellato – Light Heavyweight
Undefeated and with a 6-0 record, the well-rounded Talha goes into this one as the -250v favorite. Bellato is back for his second crack at a UFC contract and has notched up a couple of wins in the LFA since his last appearance on DWCS.
Round 1
Bellato targets the leg of Talha, who had ACL surgery just seven months ago. It will be interesting to see if the leg causes Talha issues.
Talha presses forward and lands a couple of right hands before securing a brief takedown. Bellato continues to target the left leg of Talha, who has visible bruising already, although he’s now doing a better job at checking them.
Thai clinch with Talha against the cage. Bellato lands a couple of knees to the face. They remain in some form of clinch for the next couple of minutes. Talha lands both a huge uppercut and right hand; Bellato is cut open. They break before clinching and trading uppercuts until the end of the round.
Round 2
A big right hand from Bellato follows a calf kick. He fights off a takedown attempt by Talha, showing great hip strength.
Both men throw hay-makers before they clinch once more. Bellato is the busier here; he breaks and throws a combo that causes damage to the right eye of Talha, but he fights back.
Knee to the head by Bellato, followed by a combo. Talha throws back; what a chin! Blood pours from the right cheek Talha as he eats more elbows to the face. Bellato secures an anaconda but lets it go.
This fight is a slugfest; both men land from the clinch. Multiple punches land from Bellato, which Talha doesn’t defend well. He then decides that attack is the best form of defense and throws strikes back. So far in round two, Bellato has landed five times the significant strikes. Talha drops to the ground and eats blow after blow. Jason Herzog calls the fight off.
Rodolfo Bellato won via TKO in round 2 and is awarded a UFC contract.
Discussion about this post