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Susurkaev, who is a training partner of Khamzat Chimaev, showed aggressive tendencies throughout the fight, as he attacked with kicks to the legs, body and head — as well as a flying knee. Ali did his best to neutralize the threat through wrestling, but Susurkaev punished his foe while defending takedown attempts against the fence. When the combatants moved back to space, Susurkaev landed the decisive blow, prompting Ali to scream in agony as he crumpled to his knees. No follow-up blows were necessary.
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Susurkaev was one of only two competitors — Ty Cole Miller was the other — who received a UFC contract for his efforts on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. You made my Tuesday,” White said when addressiing Susurkaev. “You are an absolute killer. I love everything about you. [Matchmaker] Mick [Maynard is] already gonna put you in the UFC like — soon. I haven’t been this excited about a guy in a very long time. Welcome to the UFC, and thank you for saving Episode 1 of the Contender Series.” Meanwhile, the length and striking volume of Miller were too much for Jimmy Drago to handle in their welterweight showdown. All three cageside judges saw it 30-27 for the FIT NHB representative, who improved to 4-0 in bouts that go the distance.
The 6-foot-2 Miller (6-0) controlled the range throughout against the former Ring of Combat champion, and he stunned Drago with both his straight right and jab at different points in the fight. Miller was also able to string combinations together on multiple occasions to keep Drago on the defensive. It wasn’t all one-way traffic, however, as Drago (7-3, 1 NC) continued to attack until the final horn, and he appeared to briefly stun his adversary with a spinning back elbow late in the fight. Still, Miller was able to maintain his composure to get the nod on the scorecards.
In the evening’s featured bout, Ilian Bouafia took an uneventful unanimous decision over Neemias Santana in a middleweight affair. All three cageside judges submitted scorecards in favor of the the 6-foot-5 Frenchman: 30-26, 29-27 and 29-27.
The most significant moment of the bout occurred in Round 1, when Santana had a point deducted for landing an accidental headbutt from top position. While Bouafia initially appeared to be badly hurt by the foul, he elected to continue fighting. He did his best work later in the frame, when he reversed a takedown attempt and landed punches and elbows from top position. Beyond that point, the final 10 minutes were a tossup, with neither fighter doing much to distinguish himself down the stretch.
Earlier, Radley Da Silva survived a late push from George Mangos to capture a unanimous decision in a grappling-heavy affair at featherweight. The Canada-based fighter received a trio of 29-28 tallies from the cageside judges to extend his professional winning streak to eight.
Da Silva (8-1) grounded Mangos (7-1) repeatedly over the first 10 minutes and held the advantage when it came to scrambles and positional control. Mangos put together a late surge in the second half of Round 3, as he transitioned to side control and eventually moved to Da Silva’s back. From there, the Aussie threatened with chokes while peppering his foe with grond-and-pound. Ultimately, it proved to be too little to overcome the lead Da Silva had already built on the scorecards.
Punching combinations, timely takedowns and positional control carried Yuri Panferov to a unanimous decision triumph over Christopher Ewert in the evening’s opening bout at middleweight. All three cageside judges submitted 30-27 tallies in favor of Panferov (9-1), who went the distance for the first time in his professional career.
The 28-year-old Russian did well pressuring Ewert (7-1) with combinations and enjoyed notable success with his right hand and body work. Ewert, who had his short-notice Octagon debut at UFC 317 nixed when he missed weight, occasionally put his opponent on the defensive with offense of his own, but Eferov would usually respond by grounding the Chilean fighter if the action wasn’t to his liking. Panferov landed takedowns in each frame and often achieved dominant positions. His ability to transition between striking and wrestling ultimately proved to be the difference.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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