Kody Steele
found the on-off switch.
The undefeated Syndicate MMA prospect was one of four hopefuls to
secure an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during
Week 9 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took out Chasen
Blair with punches in the second round of their lightweight
showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Steele (7-0, 1-0
DWCS) brought it to a close 4:07 into Round 2.
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Blair (6-3, 0-1 DWCS) went tit for tat with the Texan and held his
own for a time. Steele applied merciless pressure, let fly with
heavy punching bursts and put visible damage on his opponent across
the first five minutes. Blair appeared to turn the tide in the
first half of the second round, where he operated behind an
effective counter game, basic one-twos and intermittent leg kicks.
Steele was unimpressed and undeterred.
He pressed forward with supreme confidence and connected with a
sweeping left hook the liver that felled Blair at the base of the
cage. Steele pounced on his turtled adversary and unleashed one
final volley of punches that necessitated the
stoppage.
Light heavyweight Artem
Vakhitov, heavyweight Mario Pinto
and welterweight Islam
Dulatov are set to join Steele on the revamped UFC roster
moving forward.
A former Glory kickboxing champion with a stellar track record, the
stoic Vakhitov chopped down the previously undefeated Islem
Masraf with punches in the first round of their light
heavyweight attraction.
Masraf (3-1, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 4:23 into Round
1.
Vakhitov (3-1, 1-0 DWCS) was forced to recalibrate after a tepid
start. Masraf proved to be the aggressor initially, crowded the
Kill Cliff Fight Club export in the clinch and made him defend
takedowns. Vakhitov had all the answers. He eventually created some
space, stunned Masraf with a right hook, drove him to his knees
with a pair of uppercuts and continued to uncork punches until the
job was done.
The 33-year-old Vakhitov holds a September 2021 kickboxing victory
over current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex
Pereira, who was seated cageside at the Russian’s request.
Meanwhile, Pinto kept his perfect professional record intact and
did so in style, as the Levels Fight League champion wiped out Nova
Uniao’s Lucas
Triverio Camacho with punches in the first round of their
heavyweight battle.
Pinto (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 1:43 into Round
1.
Camacho (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) pawed with his jab and tested the water
with a few leg kicks, only to leave his chin unprotected at a most
inopportune time. A counter left hook from the 26-year-old Pinto
dropped the Brazilian where he stood and rendered him defenseless
against subsequent attacks. More punches fell next, prompting the
stoppage.
It was the fifth first-round finish of Pinto’s career.
Further down the card, Dulatov put away Legacy Fighting Alliance
champion Vanilton
Antunes with a vicious standing elbow strike in the first round
of their welterweight clash. Antunes (16-7, 0-1 DWCS) checked out
2:44 into Round 1, suffering his first setback in more than two
years.
Dulatov (11-1, 1-0 DWCS) weaponized his aggression and overwhelmed
the Brazilian from the outset. The UFD Gym standout had Antunes
reeling inside the first 90 seconds with multi-punch volleys, mixed
in knees when the mood arose and eventually dragged him to the
canvas.
Once they returned to an upright position, Dulatov made his move.
He angled off the fence, stepped into range and drove his elbow
into the side of Antunes’ head. Out went the
lights.
The 26-year-old Dulatov now finds himself on an 11-fight winning
streak.
Finally, two-division Hex Fight Series champion Sean Gauci
called upon brutal body blows and timely takedowns ahead of a
unanimous decision over Anthony
Drilich in an all-Australian three-round flyweight encounter.
All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Gauci
(10-1, 1-0 DWCS).
Drilich (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) jumped out to a lead in the first round,
where efficient high-volume punching, body kicks and an occasional
elbow strike tipped his spear. Gauci upped his activity level in
the middle stanza, started to target the midsection of the Scrappy
MMA rep and completed two takedowns. He picked up where he left off
in Round 3 and tied a bow on his performance by pairing a late
takedown with some elbow-laced ground-and-pound.
Gauci, 28, has rattled off seven consecutive victories but failed
to procure a UFC contract.