Outside Source
It was if Damian Pinas had dynamite in his hands.
The Nova Uniao prospect on Tuesday was one of four hopefuls to sign an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he waylaid Vitor Costa with punches in the first round of their middleweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Pinas (8-1, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to an emphatic close 1:46 into Round 1.
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Costa (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) tried and failed to keep his counterpart at bay with erratic hand movements. Pina clipped him with a jab and followed it with a devastating overhand right. Costa tumbled to the canvas, where it soon became clear the end was near. Pina pondered a walk-off finish, then decided to drive home a standing-to-ground left to make sure the job was done.
Featherweight Kurtis Campbell, bantamweight Louis Jourdain and welterweight Christopher Alvidrez are set to join Pina on the UFC roster in the days, weeks and months ahead.
A Full Contact Contender champion, Campbell kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in spectacular fashion, as he put away Demba Seck with elbows and punches in the first round of their featherweight tilt. Seck (10-3, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 1:20 into Round 1.
Campbell (8-0, 1-0 DWCS) closed the distance behind his kicks, clinched the Senegalese prospect along the fence and followed a brutal knee strike to the head with a takedown. He followed up with a quick burst of elbows and punches from half guard, prompting the stoppage.
It was the fourth first-round finish of Campbell’s career.
Meanwhile, Jourdain systematically dismantled Magno Dias, then dispatched the Fighting Nerds rep with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their bantamweight feature. Dias (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) raised the white flag of surrender 39 seconds into Round 3
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Jourdain (9-3, 1-0 DWCS) broke down the Brazilian’s base with repeated kicks to the lead leg. He floored Dias with a counter elbow in the first round, cracked him with stabbing jabs and continued to batter his lower extremities with kicks, all while incorporating clean combinations when opportunities presented themselves. Jourdain grew more ambitious once he rendered his opponent stationary and landed a picture-perfect flying knee in the middle stanza. Dias had little left to offer in the third and elected to pull guard, perhaps to avoid further damage to his legs. Jourdain unleashed his ground-and-pound, delivered a series of knees to the body and wheeled to the back. Soon after, the no-hooks choke was in place, eliciting the tapout from Dias.
The 28-year-old Jourdain now finds himself on a four-fight winning streak.
Further down the card, The Goat Shed Academy’s Alvidrez disposed of the previously unbeaten Eliezer Kubanza with punches in the first round of their welterweight confrontation. Alvidrez (7-1, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 4:44 into Round 1.
Kubanza (7-1, 0-1 DWCS) connected with several punishing kicks to the body and lead leg, but his defensive skills left something to be desired. Alvidrez floored him with an overhand right, followed with elbows and then dropped him again. He powered into half guard, moved briefly to a mounted crucifix and peppered the dazed-and-confused Kubanza with elbows and hammerfists. Alvidrez delivered a knee to the body, allowed his opponent to stand and decked him a third time, forcing referee Herb Dean to wave it off.
Alvidrez, 28, has won six fights in a row, five of them via stoppage inside one round.
Finally, Rashid Vagabov outstruck and outgrappled Corumba Fight Combat titleholder Paulo da Silva to a unanimous decision but failed to earn a UFC contract in their three-round flyweight affair. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Vagabov (14-2, 1-0 DWCS), who has rattled off six consecutive victories.
Da Silva (12-2, 0-1 DWCS) spun his wheels. Vagabov backed up jabs with overhand rights, fired punishing kicks to the legs and mixed in a few exotic techniques, including a wheel kick that narrowly missed the mark. The Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov protégé executed takedowns in all three rounds, nullifying da Silva’s six-inch reach advantage. Vagabov spent much of the third round glued to the Brazilian’s back, standing and on the ground. He secured his position with an airtight body triangle, chipped away with punches and made multiple passes at neck cranks.
The loss snapped an 11-fight winning streak for da Silva.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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