Outside Source
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev could not have conducted business any more efficiently.
The 24-year-old Turk was one of five competitors signed to Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he dismissed Alik Lorenz with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lorenz (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) bowed out 30 seconds into Round 1.
Yakhyaev (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) broke the ice with a few kicks, then sent his adversary into a tailspin with a right hand over the top. He backed up Lorenz with a knee to the body, let fly with punches, drove the MMA Lab rep to all fours and mopped up what was left with a burst of unanswered blows to the side of the head.
It was the second sub-minute finish of Yakhyaev’s career.
Lightweight Manoel Sousa, featherweight Marcio Barbosa, heavyweight Donte Johnson and middleweight Ryan Gandra were selected to join Yakhyaev on the UFC roster in the days ahead.
An Academia Octagano standout, Sousa dug himself out of a two-rounds-to-none hole and disposed of Cristian Perez with punches in the third round of their lightweight encounter. Sousa (13-1, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 3:00 into Round 3.
Perez (13-2, 0-1 DWCS) controlled the first two rounds with takedowns, suffocating top control, positional advances, ground-and-pound and the occasional submission attempt. However, those efforts bled his gas tank dry. Sousa was the fresher of the two combatants in Round 3, where he connected with heavy punches to the head and body almost at will. He eventually turned away a takedown from the exhausted Perez and blasted him with standing-to-ground punches to prompt the stoppage.
Sousa, 28, has posted back-to-back victories since his decision defeat to Archie Colgan under the Bellator MMA banner in September.
Meanwhile, Giants Team’s Barbosa dispatched Alliance MMA product Damon Wilson with punches in the first round of their featherweight affair. Barbosa (17-2, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to an emphatic close 4:14 into Round 1.
Wilson (9-3, 0-1 DWCS) tried and ultimately failed to keep the Brazilian at bay with kicks to the lead leg and body. Barbosa plowed forward, decked him with a clubbing right hand behind the ear, reset when his opponent rose to his feet and resumed his attack. He sent Wilson crashing to the canvas with another overhand right later in the round, then ended it with brutal follow-up punches.
Barbosa, 27, has rattled off four straight wins, all by first-round knockout.
Further down the card, Johnson kept his perfect professional record intact, as he put away Darion Abbey with punches in the first round of their heavyweight tilt. Abbey (9-5, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows just 64 seconds into Round 1.
Johnson (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) tested the waters with leg kicks, then lured the Kill Cliff Fight Club export into a firefight. He staggered Abbey with a left hook, pursued with punches, pinned him on the fence in a seated position and cut loose with follow-up shots until the job was done.
The 26-year-old Johnson has stopped all six of his opponents inside one round, four of them in less than 90 seconds.
Finally, Flavio Baiano Team’s Gandra punched out Trent Miller in the first round of their woefully one-sided middleweight pairing. Stopped with strikes for the first time in 11 professional appearances, Miller (8-3, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 2:51 into Round 1.
Gandra (8-1, 1-0 DWCS) marched forward behind explosive one-twos and showed no regard for the return fire. He dazed Miller with a counter right hook, swarmed for a potential finish, backed off and went back to work. Gandra had the American teetering on the brink more than once—a thudding left sent Miller careening into the cage—but eventually closed it out with another clubbing right.
The 30-year-old Gandra now finds himself on a seven-fight winning streak.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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