Danny Barlow Headlines Wave of Half a Dozen UFC Recruits on Week 8 of DWCS

Danny
Barlow shined bright in the spotlight.

The undefeated Law School MMA export was one of six hopefuls to
punch a ticket to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship on
Week 8 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took care of Raheam
Forest with punches in the first round of their welterweight
showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Forest (7-2, 0-1 DWCS) checked out 1:19 into Round
1.

Barlow set the former
Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder on rubbery legs
with a clubbing left hand and swarmed with punches and knees before
pinning his reeling opponent to the fence. More punches followed
before a final left hook to the body prompted referee Mark Smith to
call for the stoppage.

Featherweights Danny Silva
and Angel
Pacheco are set to join Barlow on the UFC roster, along with
bantamweight Vinicius
de Oliveira and women’s flyweights Ernesta
Kareckaite and Carli
Judice.

The once-beaten Silva rode savage punching combinations, concussive
standing elbows and an unshakable will to a unanimous decision over
Start BJJ’s Pacheco in a memorable three-round firefight at 145
pounds. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the
same: 30-27 for Silva (8-1, 1-0 DWCS).

Neither man gave ground without considerable resistance, as they
combined to land more than 400 significant strikes across 15
minutes. However, Silva connected with the more impactful blows. He
floored the Brock Larson
disciple with a stinging left hook in the first round, doubled him
over with a wicked left hook to the body in the second and refused
to take his foot off the gas. Pacheco returned fire in admirable
bursts but lacked the oomph necessary to give his relentless
counterpart true pause. Silva emptied his gas tank and tool box,
unleashing everything from spinning back elbows upstairs to
hammerfists to the thigh. By the time it was over, Pacheco’s left
ear appeared to be partially separated from his head and his face
bore multiple cuts and abrasions.

The loss closed the book on Pacheco’s three-fight winning
streak.

Meanwhile, Sombra Team’s de Oliveira punched out Budo Sento
Championship titleholder Victor
Madrigal in the first round of their bantamweight pairing.

Madrigal (15-5, 0-1 DWCS) melted 3:02 into Round 1,
his three-fight winning streak having run its course.

De Oliveira (19-3, 1-0 DWCS) carved up the Mad Dogs MMA rep with
brutal kicks to the lower leg, a variety of body kicks and clean
counters. Madrigal backed him to the fence, fired his hands and
paid the price for his lack of attention to defense. De Oliveira
connected with a savage left hook, sending his opponent crashing to
the canvas stiff and unconscious. No follow-up shots were
required

It was the 14th finish of de Oliveira’s career.

Finally, Kareckaite outstruck and outhustled the previously
unbeaten Judice to a split decision in a frenetic three-round
battle at 125 pounds. All three cageside judges submitted 29-28
scorecards, two of them for Lithuania’s Kareckaite (5-0-1, 1-0
DWCS).

Judice (3-1, 0-1 DWCS), a former college softball player, handled
herself well in all phases despite her lack of combat sports
experience. However, she could not match the former Hexagone MMA
champion’s non-stop output. Kareckaite unleashed three-, four- and
five-punch volleys, performed well in the clinch, countered
effectively and mixed in sneaky kicks to the head and body in a
non-stop 15-minute sprint.

Kareckaite, 25, has rattled off three straight victories.

In other action, Alexander
Soldatkin (14-4, 0-1 DWCS) was disqualified for an illegal knee
strike on a grounded Mario
Piazzon (8-0, 1-0 DWCS) just 20 seconds into the third round of
their heavyweight confrontation.