UFC President Dana White offered two contracts at the end of this week’s episode of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Prospects Daniel Zellhuber and Igor Poterya were handed UFC contracts following their wins at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The distribution of contracts was a significant drop off from prior weeks on this season, where as many as most or all winners on cards were offered UFC contracts.
Poterya Scores Quickest Win of the Card
Poterya continued his extensive win streak in the main event, scoring a first-round stoppage victory over then-undefeated Lukasz Sudolski.
Poterya first stunned late in the first round Sudolski with a two-punch combination. He then dropped him with a right hook, and was able to land some follow-up shots on the ground before the fight was stopped.
The fight was in the clinch position in the minutes before the stoppage.
Poterya currently boasts a large 22-fight pro record that only has two losses.
Sudolski entered Tuesday’s main event with an undefeated eight-fight record.
Borralho Defeats CFFC Champ Jeffery
Caio Borralho swept scorecards against CFFC Middleweight Champion Aaron Jeffery, defeating him via unanimous decision in the co-main event. Despite getting the win on scorecards, he was denied a shot at the UFC for now.
Barralho had a well-rounded performance, using grappling and clinch positions while mixing in dominant striking against Jeffery.
Jeffery was coming off a championship win that he had over “Contender Series” alum Collin Huckbody at CFFC 93 in September.
Dorralho got the UFC call after winning three bouts in rising Brazilian MMA promotion Future FC.
Zellhuber Continues Flawless Run, Ends Almeida’s
Zellhuber ended the 12-fight undefeated record of Lucas Almeida in the second bout of the card, defeating him via unanimous decision after a three-round striking battle.
It looked like Almeida’s fight in the early minutes, as he unloaded with a fast pace of punches that kept Zellhuber backing up. The fight clearly became more comfortable for Zellhuber later on, as he was able to land the better shots in the second and third rounds.
Zellhuber now has an undefeated record of 12 wins. The record includes recent appearances in Combate Global and LUX Fight League.
Kuniev Uses Ground And Pound In Heavyweight Battle
Rizvan Kuniev started the evening with a dominant win at heavyweight, defeating Edivan Santos in the third round with ground and pound. The victory did not hand him a UFC contract.
Kuniev utilized his wrestling skills throughout the fight, keeping Santos on his back for a large portion of the fight.
Kuniev put an end to the ground early in the third round, unloading with quick hammerfist punches that Santos was not able to respond to or avoid.
The win extended Kuniev’s win streak, which has been going since 2017.
Santos was entering the bout following a strong run of wins on the Brazilian regional scene.
Quick Results:
While most “Contender Series” episodes include five fights, Tuesday’s show only had four due to a last-minute change. It was learned the afternoon of the show that Manuel Gaxgja had to pull out from his fight against Chris Duncan, citing illness.
Gaxhja had significantly missed weight for his fight the day before, coming in four-and-a-half pounds over the non-championship limit.
Bout 4: Igor Poterya def. Lukasz Sudolski via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:41)
Bout 3: Caio Borralho def. Aaron Jeffery via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Daniel Zellhuber def. Lucas Almeida via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Rizvan Kuniev def. Edivan Santos via TKO, Strikes (RD 3,
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