Outside Source
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani left no doubt about whether or not he belongs at the sport’s highest level.
The ex-Lights Out Xtreme Fighting titleholder was one of four hopefuls signed to an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he short-circuited Jack Congdon with a head kick and overhand right in the first round of their welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Congdon (7-2, 0-1 DWCS) met his end a mere 68 seconds into Round 1.
Lebosnoyani (9-2, 1-0 DWCS) bided his time and hid a perfectly timed head kick behind a jab. Congdon was out on his feet and frozen in time before his adversary connected with an overhand right that resulted in his nosedive to the canvas.
Lightweight Mandel Nallo, middleweight Cezary Oleksiejczuk and featherweight Tommy McMillen were chosen to join Lebosnoyani on the UFC roster in the days, weeks and months to come.
A longtime Tristar Gym mainstay, Nallo put away reigning Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Samuel Silva with punches in the first round of their lightweight clash. Silva (13-5-1, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 3:29 into Round 1, suffering his first setback in more than two years.
Nallo (14-3, 1-0 DWCS) weakened the Brazilian’s base with a series of vicious low kicks and kept him off-balance with front kicks up the middle. He eventually closed the distance behind a sharp jab, dropped Silva with a compact right hand, pounced with follow-up punches and kept throwing until the Brazilian TKO rep was no longer conscious.
The 36-year-old Nallo now finds himself on a five-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, Oleksiejczuk disposed of previously unbeaten American Kickboxing Academy prospect Theo Haig with punches in the first round of their middleweight encounter. Haig (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) checked out 36 seconds into Round 1.
Oleksiejczuk (16-3, 1-0 DWCS) sat down his counterpart with a clean one-two, allowed him to stand and sprawled on an ill-advised attempted takedown. The Fighting Nerds product then connected with repeated hammerfists to the side of the head until Haig went limp. Referee Gary Copeland paused the action, asked for replay to affirm the shots were legal and called for the stoppage.
The 25-year-old Oleksiejczuk has won four fights in a row, all of them finishes.
Further down the card, McMillen kept his perfect professional record intact by the narrowest of margins, as he took a majority decision from American Top Team’s David Mgoyan in their three-round featherweight battle. Scores were 28-28, 29-28 and 29-28, sending McMillen (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) to the winner’s circle.
Mgoyan (7-1, 0-1 DWCS) had the Red Hawk Academy standout reeling on multiple occasions in the first round, where he dropped him twice—once with a spinning back elbow—and threatened with a tight guillotine choke. McMillen survived, flexed his resolve and forced the Arman Tsarukyan stablemate to dig a little deeper. Fatigue had clearly taken hold of Mgoyan at the start of the middle stanza. McMillen pressed forward with front headlock knees and looping right hands, then turned up the heat further in Round 3. There, he battered an exhausted Mgoyan with chopping right hands over the top, one-one-twos and a potent jab, all while walking through the Russian’s return fire.
McMillen, 27, had finished his previous eight opponents inside one round.
Finally, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33 alum Eduardo Henrique outwrestled and outgrappled An Tuan Ho to a unanimous decision in their three-round flyweight tilt. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Henrique (15-2, 1-0 DWCS).
Ho (7-2, 0-2 DWCS) enjoyed some success with a few body kicks but too often found himself pinned underneath the Brazilian. Henrique executed takedowns in all three rounds and paired them with effective top control and intermittent ground-and-pound. He was also the aggressor on the feet, as he pressed forward, connected with leg kicks and leaned into punches to the body and head.
Henrique has rattled off five consecutive victories but nevertheless left without a UFC contract.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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