Jamahal
Hill may not have aced his latest exam in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, but
he passed it with room to spare.

The 2019 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate disposed of
American Top Team’s Thiago
Santos with punches and elbows in the fourth round of their

UFC on ESPN 40 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Hill (11-1, 5-1 UFC) closed it out 2:31 into Round 4, as he
extended his winning streak to three fights and made his push for
more attention at 205 pounds.

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Santos (22-11, 14-10 UFC) employed a takedown- and clinch-centric
attack that paid some dividends but proved to be a drain on his gas
tank. By the time they reached the fourth round, he was running on
fumes. Hill touched off a wild exchange with a stinging left hand,
gave chase and ultimately tracked down the Brazilian in the center
of the cage. Santos collapsed, likely from a combination of
exhaustion and damage, and found himself at the Chicago native’s
mercy.
Hill maintained top position and hammered away with punches and
elbows until referee Herb Dean had
seen enough.

The 38-year-old Santos has now lost five times in six
appearances.


Resurgent Neal Blitzes Luque

Fortis MMA standout Geoff Neal
brought down “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 21 semifinalist Vicente
Luque with punches in the third round of their welterweight
co-main event. Luque (21-9-1, 14-5 UFC), who had never before been
knocked out, succumbed to blows 2:01 into Round 3.

Neal (15-4, 7-2 UFC) stormed out of the gate in the first round,
where he dazed the Henri Hooft protégé with searing left hands on
more than one occasion and largely dominated the action. Luque
rebounded in the second, as he upped his output and called upon
kicks to the body and legs. It was not enough to keep Neal at bay.
The 31-year-old Austin, Texas, native went to work with renewed
vigor behind clean one-twos in Round 3, buckled Luque with another
left and bottled him up along the fence.
Neal then let go with a savage volley of uppercuts before another
straight left sent his opponent crashing to the canvas in a
fight-ending nosedive.

Luque will enter his next assignment on the heels of back-to-back
losses.


Usman KOs Pauga in ‘TUF’ Heavyweight Final

Mohammed
Usman—the younger brother of current UFC welterweight champion
Kamaru
Usman—plowed through Elevation Fight Team’s Zac Pauga
with punches in the second round of “The Ultimate Fighter 30”
heavyweight final. Usman (8-2, 1-0) finished it 36 seconds into
Round 2 to earn his spot on the UFC roster.

The previously unbeaten Pauga (5-1, 0-1 UFC) punched well in
combination and mixed in a few kicks while controlling much of an
uneventful first round. Less than a minute into the middle stanza,

Usman leveled the onetime NFL hopeful with a counter left hook,
followed him to the canvas and separated him from consciousness
with a pair of brutal hammerfists.

Miller Wrecks Walker in ‘TUF’ Women’s Flyweight Final

Juliana
Miller put away fellow Invicta Fighting Championships veteran
Brogan
Walker with punches and elbows from full mount in the third
round of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 women’s flyweight final.
Miller (3-1, 1-0 UFC) slammed the door 3:57 into Round 3, nailing
down a UFC contract in the process.

Walker (7-3, 0-1 UFC) was woefully ineffective despite a
considerable edge in experience. Miller broke down the Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt in the clinch, struck for repeated takedowns
and piled up points with suffocating control and ground-and-pound.
Walker found herself pinned to the canvas yet again in the third
round.
Miller climbed to full mount, maintained heavy hips and fired away
with punches, elbows and hammerfists until the job was
done.


Spivak Stifles Reeling Sakai

Former World Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Sergey
Spivak took care of Dana White’s Contender Series graduate
Augusto
Sakai with punches in the second round of their heavyweight
showcase. Sakai (15-5-1, 4-4 UFC) wilted 3:42 into Round 2, as he
lost his fourth fight in a row.

Spivak (15-3, 6-3 UFC) delivered repeated takedowns and assaulted
the Brazilian with steady ground-and-pound. Eventually, those
efforts took a toll. Spivak consolidated his final takedown with
additional aggression, moving to a crouched position on his
opponent’s back. Sakai failed to heed referee Mark Smith’s warnings
to protect himself and
instead absorbed a burst of unanswered punches, necessitating the
stoppage.

The 27-year-old Spivak has won five of his past six bouts.

McKinney Rebounds, Throttles Gonzalez

Warrior Camp standout Terrance
McKinney bounced back from his March 12 loss to Drew Dober,
as he submitted Erick
Gonzalez with a standing rear-naked choke in the first round of
their lightweight feature. Gonzalez (14-7, 0-2 UFC) raised the
white flag 2:17 into Round 1.

McKinney (13-4, 3-1 UFC) overwhelmed his counterpart with speed,
power, athleticism and technique. Gonzalez managed to sting him
with a counter left but conceded a takedown soon after. His
situation from bad to worse to downright dire.
McKinney climbed on his back as he worked back to his feet, set his
hooks and cinched the choke, his crushing squeeze tying a bow on
another first-round finish.

Gonzalez has suffered consecutive defeats for the first time as a
professional.

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