Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos was not in a charitable mood.
The CM System mainstay bounced back from his June 1 decision defeat
to Randy Brown
and swept aside
Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Zach
Scroggin with punches in the first round of their featured
UFC Vegas 100 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex
in Las Vegas. A late-notice replacement for Nicolas
Dalby, the previously unbeaten Scroggin (7-1, 0-1 UFC) required
rescue 1:15 into Round 1.
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Zaleski dos Santos (25-8-1, 11-4-1 UFC) backed up the Marathon MMA
prospect with stinging low kicks and stepped into a right hand that
had him ducking for cover. Scroggin—who missed weight by three
pounds—retreated to the canvas under considerable fire but found no
refuge there.
Zaleski dos Santos turned up the heat with rapid-fire hammerfists
and punches, necessitating the stoppage.
Meanwhile, Chicago Fight Team’s Charlie
Radtke wiped out Matthew
Semelsberger with punches in the first round of their
welterweight scrap.
Semelsberger (11-8, 5-6 UFC) met his end a mere 51 seconds into
Round 1, losing for the fourth time in as many
outings.
Radtke (10-4, 3-1 UFC) staggered the Crazy 88 MMA export with a
left hook, set him on skates with a ringing right hand that
followed and drew the curtain with a quick volley of power punches
from both hands, nailing down his first sub-minute finish as a
professional.
The 31-year-old Semelsberger remains winless since December
2022.
Elsewhere, former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder
Da’Mon
Blackshear rebounded from back-to-back losses to Mario
Bautista and Montel
Jackson, as he took out Cody
Stamann with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
bantamweight tilt.
Stamann (21-8-1, 7-7-1 UFC) bowed out 4:19 into Round
1.
Blackshear (15-7-1, 3-3-1 UFC) blasted the Xtreme Couture rep with
a flying knee, pinned him to the fence and teed off with unabated
punches. A badly dazed Stamann attempted a takedown out of pure
desperation, his situation growing increasingly dire by the second.
Blackshear scrambled into top position, bailed on a one-arm
guillotine from full mount and progressed to the back. From there,
he was met with little resistance and snaked his arms into position
for the fight-ending choke.
Stamann, 35, has lost three fights in a row.
Further down the undercard, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 28
finalist Tresean
Gore disposed of former Jungle Fight champion Antonio
Trocoli with a standing guillotine choke in the first round of
their middleweight confrontation.
Trocoli (12-5, 0-2 UFC) conceded defeat 1:23 into Round
1.
In his first appearance since Oct. 29, 2022, Gore (5-2, 2-2 UFC)
tagged the rangy Brazilian with a few powerful leg kicks, swooped
in for a high-amplitude takedown and settled into a clinch along
the fence. The 6-foot-6 Trocoli changed levels and made a pass at a
takedown, only to leave his neck exposed. Gore clamped down on the
guillotine, maximized his leverage while still upright and forced
the tapout.
It was the first submission defeat of Trocoli’s career.
Finally, Team Renegade product Melissa
Mullins put away promotional newcomer Klaudia
Sygula with punches in the second round of their women’s
bantamweight pairing. A short-notice substitution for Montserrat
Rendon, the 25-year-old Sygula (6-2, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to
blows 80 seconds into Round 2.
Mullins (7-1, 2-1 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by one
pound—executed a takedown, applied her ground-and-pound and moved
to full mount late in the first round. It was a foreshadowing of
what was to come.
Mullins secured another takedown inside the first 15 seconds of the
middle stanza, climbed to mount yet again, controlled a wrist,
forced her opponent to go belly down and closed the deal with an
unanswered burst of punches.
The loss was Sygula’s first in nearly four years and snapped her
six-fight winning streak.
In other action, GAEA Project prospect Denise
Gomes (10-3, 4-2 UFC) married volume punching with a grinding
clinch game and posted a unanimous decision over former KSW
champion Karolina
Kowalkiewicz (16-9, 9-9 UFC) in a three-round women’s
strawweight affair.