Four new prospects entered the UFC roster on Tuesday following a finish-heavy start to the eighth season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Lone’er Kavanagh, Jose Delgado, Bruno Lopes, and Mansur Abdul-Malik all walked away with offers from the top MMA promotion following stoppage wins at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Abdul-Malik Stops Schultz With Vicious Ground And Pound
Mansur Abdul-Malik kept his undefeated record intact in the main event of the night, putting away Wes Schultz in the second frame with nasty ground and pound shots.
While the clash between middleweights was close at the start, Abdul-Malik started to take over late in the second round as cardio became an issue for Schultz. Abdul-Malik was able to take control on the ground and eventually move into full mount, allowing him to wail away with hard elbows and punches that put an end to the fight.
Tuesday was Abdul-Malik’s first time competing past the first round as a pro. All five of his prior victories emerged within the first round since his 2021 debut.
Schultz came into this week following a trio of first-round finishes, including two victories from earlier this year.
Lopes Captures Win In Return To ‘Contender Series’
LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Bruno Lopes scored a win in his second appearance on the show, putting away Mikheil Sazhiniani with a combination of shots.
A body shot hurt Sazhiniani late in the second round, allowing Lopes to charge forward with a flurry of follow-up shots. After Lopes landed a long series of strikes, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Lopes had to get past some adversity before finding the finish, notably getting seated by a right hook in the opening round. Sazhiniani threw large, wailing punches throughout the fight, allowing him to score with impactful shots at times but also causing him to come up empty with movement that greatly expended energy.
Lopes was returning to the “Contender Series” after suffering a first-round finish loss to Brendson Ribeiro on last year’s season of the show. He defended his 205-pound belt in LFA last year following the defeat, submitting Marcos Brigagao in the second round of a bout.
Sazhiniani was given the opportunity this week after success on the Georgian regional scene, capturing a title in regional promotion GFC.
Short-Notice Fighter Delgado Scores Knee Finish
Jose Delgado kept his streak of finish wins alive in his “Contender Series” performance, closing out his fast-paced outing against Ernie Juarez with a knee knockout.
An aggressive Delgado connected with a clean knee to the head as part of a combination of shots during the second round, causing Juarez to fall forward onto the mat. Delgado went on to land a few hammerfist punches on the ground before a referee intervened to stop the bout.
Delgado worked with a quick pace from the very beginning of the featherweight bout. He had a high output of strikes from the start and secured numerous takedowns in the opening frame. His volume was especially impressive when considering that he took the fight on less than two week’s notice, stepping in to replace Juarez’s original opponent.
“11 days notice. The first three days were plagued by fear, I’ll be honest. After, there was just a switch on my head that told me to embrace the process, embrace the moment, do the work,” said Delgado during his post-fight interview.
The 26-year-old talent has now won all eight of his pro wins via finish, including an 80-second victory from an LFA card just last month.
The featherweight fight this weekend brought an end to Juarez’s undefeated record as a prospect. He previously built up his record in Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat promotion, capturing a featherweight title along the way.
Undefeated Flyweight Kavanagh Scores Quick Knockout
Undefeated Cage Warriors stand-out Lone’er Kavanagh opened the season with a stunning knockout, catching An Tuan Ho in the first round with a short left hook. The knockout put an end to their flyweight fight in just two-and-a-half minutes, bringing a sudden end to a clash that was still in the feeling-out process.
Kavanagh prevailed in a clash between young undefeated prospects who have shown promise in the regionals. 25-year-old Kavanagh had an impressive run in Europe, finishing four of the six opponents he overcame since his 2019 debut. Ho, 23, attained six wins in notable U.S. promotion LFA, including a 14-second head kick victory.
Hamed Leaves Without Contract Following Decision Win
In the sole fight of the night which didn’t result in a contract being handed out, a counter-striking performance from Rami Hamed earned him a unanimous decision win over China’s Meng Ding.
Ding was incredibly aggressive throughout the fight, almost always being the advancing fighter on the feet. However, Hamed found success on his backfoot, often landing the better shots in response to what Ding threw.
Ding gained momentum in the second half of the bout, but had his comeback halted significantly by a point deduction in the final round due to an accidental low blow.
While the deduction set Ding back, it became clear after scorecards were read that Hamed would have walked away with the decision victory even without his opponent facing a penalty.
After an injury forced Hamed out of last year’s “Contender Series” season, he was finally able to appear on the show this week. The Lebanon-based fighter came into the bout on a four-fight winning streak, including rare back-to-back leg kick finishes.
Shaanxi, China’s Ding entered this weekend with more than 40 pro fights to his record, including a prior appearance in ONE Championship.
Quick Results
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 5: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wes Schultz via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:55)
Bout 4: Rami Hamed def. Meng Ding via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Bruno Lopes def. Mikheil Sazhiniani via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:14)
Bout 2: Jose Delgado def. Ernie Juarez via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:25)
Bout 1: Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:35)
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