Austin
Bashi and his all-terrain brilliance did not disappoint.
The undefeated Warrior Way Martial Arts prospect was one of five
hopefuls to land an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contact during
Week 4 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took out Dorian
Ramos with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Ramos (8-3, 0-1 DWCS) capitulated 3:15 into Round
2.
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The 22-year-old Bashi (13-0, 1-0 DWCS) wore down the Apex MMA rep
with merciless pace and output. He secured multiple takedowns,
paired them with steady ground-and-pound, denied Ramos room to
breathe and forced him into a defensive state. Bashi grounded him
repeatedly in the second round, broke his considerable resolve and
waited for a moment of weakness. He advanced to the back and
slipped in the choke when Ramos made the unwise decision to try to
stand. Bashi tightened his squeeze, dragged him to the mat and
prompted the tapout.
Women’s flyweight Yuneisy
Duben, lightweight Quillan
Salkilld, middleweight Djorden
Ribeiro dos Santos and welterweight Seok Hyun
Ko are set to join Bashi on the UFC roster.
A 300 Sparta titleholder, the undefeated Duben disposed of the
heavily favored Shannon
Clark with a highlight-reel one-punch knockout in the first
round of their women’s flyweight encounter.
Clark (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) checked out 1:13 into Round
1.
Duben (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) fought fire with fire. Clark rushed forward
behind punches, showed no regard for her Venezuelan counterpart’s
skills and paid the price. Duben ducked into a clubbing overhand
right, found the off switch and floored the Legacy Fighting
Alliance champion where she stood. An unconscious Clark collapsed
backward as a most unwitting victim, her head bouncing violently
off the canvas.
The 28-year-old Duben has authored three straight first-round
finishes.
Meanwhile, Salkilld called upon crisp combination punching, kicks
to all levels, tactical takedowns and superiority in the grappling
exchanges, as the Eternal MMA champion laid claim to a unanimous
decision over Gauge Young
in a three-round lightweight pairing. All three cageside judges
scored it for Salkilld (7-1, 0-1 DWCS): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Young (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) flashed well-rounded skills in defeat.
However, Salkilld leaned on his five-inch reach advantage, stayed
busy in the face of heavy pressure and pieced together three-,
four- and five-strike volleys. He executed multiple takedowns when
it mattered most in the third round, where he flattened out Young
and flirted with an arm-triangle choke in the closing seconds.
While the finish failed the materialize, the message was sent.
Salkilld has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Elsewhere, Cerrado MMA’s dos Santos rode high-volume punching, a
punishing clinch and superb takedown defense to a unanimous
decision over Will Currie
in a three-round middleweight tilt. Dos Santos (10-1, 1-0 DWCS)
swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks from all three members of the
cageside judiciary.
Moments were few and far between for Currie (12-4, 0-1 DWCS), who
seemed to be stuck in neutral for much of the match. Dos Santos
crowded the Englishman along the fence and cut loose with punches,
all while incorporating occasional knee and elbow strikes. The
Thunder Fight champion stepped up his attack as time went on—his
right uppercut proved to be a potent weapon—and had Currie in a
constant state of retreat. The Great Britain Top Team rep managed
to wheel behind a kneeling dos Santos late in third round and made
a pass at a loose armbar, only to see the Brazilian free himself
without issue.
Dos Santos, 27, has won four fights in a row.
Finally, Ko kept cool under fire, unleashed efficient punching
body-head combinations and snuck in counters when opportunities
presented themselves ahead of a unanimous decision over the
previously unbeaten Igor
Cavalcanti in a three-round welterweight battle. Scores were
30-27, 29-28 and 29-28—all for Ko (11-2, 1-0 DWCS).
Cavalcanti (9-1, 0-1 DWCS), who had never before fought past the
first round, swung for the fences but struggled to find a
consistent avenue for his offense. Ko used deft footwork and head
movement to steer clear of danger, peppered the Brazilian with
punches and slowly but surely bled his gas tank dry. The Angel’s
Fighting Championship titleholder completed a takedown less than 30
seconds into Round 3 and proceeded to smother Cavalcanti with top
control and ground-and-pound while chewing almost four minutes off
the clock. By the time they returned to an upright position, the
writing had long been on the wall.
Ko, 28, now finds himself on a four-fight winning streak.