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It was one of those transcendent battles that forever changes the two participants. Entram Gym’s Juan Adrian Luna Martinetti on Tuesday outlasted Allstars Training Center rep Mark Vologdin to a three-round unanimous decision in an unforgettable bantamweight barnburner during Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Marinetti (17-1, 1-0 DWCS). Afterward, UFC CEO Dana White awarded Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts to both men, along with $25,000 bonuses.
Neither Martinetti nor Vologdin man gave much ground in a 15-minute war of attrition that saw them combine to land more than 400 strikes against each other. Martinetti fired off kicks to all levels and leaned into his well-rounded skills, as he excelled in the clinch, mixed in a few late takedowns and opened a horrendous gash above the Russian’s left eye with a close-range elbow strike. They fought tooth and nail for all three rounds. Vologdin (12-4-1, 0-1 DWCS) answered with powerful hooks from both hands and blew back the Ecuadorian’s hair with countless probing jabs. Martinetti seemed to have more fuel in the tank down the stretch—an advantage he exploited to put his adversary on his back and keep him there in the waning moments.
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Martinetti, 30, has rattled off 15 consecutive victories.
Lightweight Magomed Zaynukov, light heavyweight Luke Fernandez, flyweight Imanol Rodriguez and middleweight Luis Felipe Dias are set to join Martinetti and Vologdin on the UFC roster in the days, months and weeks to come.
A protégé of the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Zaynukov (8-0, 1-0 DWCS) rode surreal output to a one-sided unanimous decision over Lucas Caldas in their three-round lightweight attraction. Zaynukov swept the scorecards with matching 30-26 marks from the cageside judiciary.
Zaynukov called upon every weapon in his arsenal and did so while pushing a ruthless pace. Caldas (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) refused to wilt in the face of overwhelming volume—he sat down the Russian with a right hand in the first round and rattled him with another late in the third—but fell further and further behind as time went on. He was also docked a point for repeated eye pokes in Round 3. Magomedov chewed up his lower extremities with kicks, battered his breadbasket with stabbing teeps, ripped hooks from both hands, incorporated a few stepping elbows and even worked in a foot-sweep takedown.
The 30-year-old Zaynukov connected with more than 200 significant strikes.
Meanwhile, Fernandez kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in overwhelming fashion, as the Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder put away Rafael Pergentino with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight encounter. Pergentino (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows just 15 seconds into Round 1.
The walkouts lasted longer than the fight itself. Fernandez stepped forward behind a sharp jab and followed with a thudding overhand right. Pergentino hit the deck in a dazed state and in no condition to defend himself. Fernandez offered the Brazilian no refuge, as he pounced with a quick burst of punches to procure the stoppage.
Fernandez, 30, has finished five of his first six opponents.
Further down the card, Rodriguez dismissed Ragnarok MMA champion Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior with punches in the first round of their flyweight confrontation. A semifinalist on Season 33 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Rodriguez (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to a close 2:12 into Round 1.
Moreira (10-3, 0-1 DWCS) set his sights on the Daniel Cormier protégé’s midsection and lead leg with kicks but failed to keep him at bay for long. Rodriguez, 25, caught a body kick and countered it with a right cross that sent his opponent to the canvas and into a downward spiral from which he could not recover. He swarmed with punches, allowed Moreira to stand, flurried again and floored the Brazilian with a right uppercut. With that, referee Jason Herzog decided he had seen enough and stepped in to prevent further damage.
It was Rodriguez’s third straight first-round finish.
Finally, Dias disposed of Fusion X-Cel prospect Donavon Hedrick with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their middleweight affair. Dias (17-5, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 4:37 into Round 2, as the former Shooto Brazil champion extended his current winning streak to three fights.
Hedrick (6-1, 0-0 DWCS) performed well in spurts, peppering the Brazilian with stiff jabs and damaging low kicks. However, his inability to manage distance led to his downfall. Dias closed in, jumped to the back and powered into top position in the second round. From there, he alternated between punches and elbows, all while keeping an eye on Hedrick’s exposed neck. Dias eventually snaked his arms in place, bit down on the choke and produced the tap.
The 30-year-old Dias has nailed down 16 of his 17 victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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