Artem Vakhitov, the last man to defeat Alex Pereira before the light heavyweight champion transitioned from kickboxing to MMA, is now on the UFC roster.
Vakhitov, along with Kody Steele, Mario Pinto, and Islam Dulatov were offered UFC contracts on Tuesday night following successful performances on “Dana White’s Contender Series” from the APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Former GLORY Kickboxing Champion Vakhitov earned a finish in what became his longest MMA fight thus far, putting away Islem Masraf late in the first round with strikes.
After working through some clinch positions and fighting numerous takedown attempts, Vakhitov was able to sting Masraf with a hard right hand. He quickly followed up against a wobbled Masraf, continuing to land shots on him until the fight was stopped.
Vakhitov now has three wins since turning pro in MMA late last year, with previous appearances lasting 22 seconds and 92 seconds respectively. He’ll now join UFC’s light heavyweight division, which is currently ruled by a rival from his past life in kickboxing.
France’s Masraf had a three-fight undefeated run brought to an end on Tuesday. He was coming off a 10-second win from a PFL Europe appearance in March.
Fury FC Vet Steele Ends Close Fight
Undefeated Kody Steele put an end to his fight against Chasen Blair in the second round with a clean body shot, closing out what was a back-and-forth bout prior to the finish.
Steele had a close contest against Blair before a left hook to the body earned him a sudden stoppage victory late in the second round. He was constantly the advancing fighter and was able to light Blair up with shots, but Blair frequently scored off his backfoot and actually out-landed Steele in the second round before the fight was stopped.
Steele was expected to appear on a September episode of the “Contender Series,” but had his fight pulled on short notice after his opponent withdrew. The grappling ace turned well-rounded MMA talent has now scored seven wins, previously competing in Texas regional Fury FC before appearing on Tuesday.
Blair, a fighter who has built up his record in Cage Warriors since 2022, had a trio of first-round finish wins heading into this week.
Portugal’s Pinto Stops Camacho Early
UFC’s roster gained a fourth fighter representing Portugal this week, as Mario Pinto secured a spot in the heavyweight division with a massive finish win over Lucas Camacho.
A left hook from Pinto rocked Camacho in the second minute of their fight, allowing the Portuguese fighter to put him away with hard ground and pound shots moments later. The fight was working at a slow, feeling-out process pace before the sudden end.
Pinto will soon join Manel Kape, Veronica Hardy and Jacqueline Cavalcanti as the only active UFC roster members representing Portugal. He got the major “Contender Series” opportunity this week after a title run in the Dutch promotion Levels Fight league, earning their heavyweight title in 2023 and defending it twice over the past year.
Camacho had his undefeated record stopped with his outing on Tuesday. He attained a strong record of six wins before, with a pair of appearances in notable promotion LFA.
Dulatov Scores Elbow Knockout Early Against Antunes
German welterweight Islam Dulatov picked up the first of three opening-round finishes on Tuesday night, scoring a brutal knockout against Vanilton Antunes.
Dulatov took Antunes out cold in the third minute of the fight, scoring with a clean blow to the head. The finish came after two minutes of aggressive striking flurries from Dulatov, dropping Antunes with an overhand right just 40 seconds in and remaining in the face of his opponent until the finishing sequence.
26-year-old Dulatov has gone undefeated after losing his pro debut in 2019, having pieced together 10 wins on the German regional scene before appearing on Tuesday.
Antunes was coming off a major title win from earlier this year, stopping Geraldo Neto in the first round to become the LFA Welterweight Champion in Brazil.
Gauci Leaves Without Contract Following Australian Flyweight Super-Fight
A streak this season of more than 10 consecutive fights resulting in signings was broken in the opening bout of the night, as Sean Gauci left Vegas without a UFC offer after beating Anthony Drilich on scorecards.
After he had a slow opening round, Gauci used his methodical and crisp striking to out-land Drilich and earn a decision win. An already strong third round was emphasized late by ground and pound by Gauci, taking Drilich down and scoring with shots from half guard before the fight clock ran out of time.
The gutsy performance wasn’t enough to impress Dana White and his team.
“You and your opponent have a future [in the sport], just not tonight brother,” said UFC CEO White to Gauci later in the night.
Gauci was given an opportunity on Tuesday’s show after scoring a title in regional Australian promotion HEX Fight Series. It was hyped in the fight’s build-up that he beat recent UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg back in 2017 when they both fought on the regional scene.
Drilich, a fighter who has held the Eternal MMA title since late 2023, had a six-fight winning streak stopped with his defeat on Tuesday.
Quick Results
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 5:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 5: Artem Vakhitov def. Islem Masraf via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:23)
Bout 4: Kody Steele def. Chasen Blair via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:07)
Bout 3: Mario Pinto def. Lucas Camacho via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:43)
Bout 2: Islam Dulatov def. Vanilto Antunes via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:44)
Bout 1: Sean Gauci def. Anthony Drilich via Decision, Unanimous
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