All signs indicated Cameron
Saaiman could have quite a future ahead of him.
The undefeated Team CIT representative was one of five hopefuls to
net Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts during
Week 5 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he punched out Josh Wang
Kim in the third round of their bantamweight showcase on
Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The 21-year-old Saaiman (6-0)
brought it to an emphatic close 2:52 into Round 3, scoring his
fifth stoppage in six professional appearances.
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Kim (5-2) zipped out to a strong start with darting movements,
punishing body kicks and effective counters. However, the Alliance
MMA rep emerged for the middle stanza a step slower, his output
taking a noticeable dip after he executed an early takedown and
failed to maintain top control. Saaiman crowded him with pressure,
popped him with clean one-twos and threw in a late takedown of his
own. The South African prospect rode that momentum into the third
round, where he cut off the cage, forced Kim to retreat backward
and
leveled him with an exquisite left hook. No follow-up
shots were necessary.
In addition to Saaiman, four other mixed martial artists—flyweight
Jesus
Santos Aguilar, heavyweight Michael
Parkin, welterweight Darrius
Flowers and women’s strawweight Denise
Gomes—were welcomed to the UFC roster.
Entram Gym’s Aguilar submitted Erisson
Ferreira da Silva with a guillotine choke in the third round of
their frenetic clash at 125 pounds. The surging Aguilar (8-1) drew
the curtain 1:56 into Round 3, where he extended winning streak to
eight bouts.
Ferreira da Silva (11-2) failed to make the most of a productive
first round in which he powered into top position on multiple
occasions, achieved full mount at one point and eventually attached
himself to the Combate Global veteran’s back. Aguilar turned the
tide in the second period, strained the Brazilian’s gas tank beyond
its bounds and set the stage for what was to come. He unleashed
wild power punches at the start of Round 3, executed a takedown and
caught the guillotine on a scramble, prompting the tapout from an
exhausted Ferreira da Silva soon after.
Aguilar has stopped four of his past five opponents with guillotine
chokes.
Meanwhile, Team Fish Tank’s Parkin submitted Eduardo
Jose Neves with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
scrap at 265 pounds. The undefeated Parkin (6-0) closed the door
1:57 into Round 1 with the first submission win of his career.
Neves (5-1) fired off a few leg kicks and appeared to stun the
Englishman with a clubbing right hand before powering into top
position. However, his inability to stay composed and corral Parkin
on the canvas proved costly. The 26-year-old returned to an upright
position, took down Neves twice, advanced to the back while the two
men were kneeling at the base of the cage and
cinched the choke without much resistance.
Parkin has finished all six of his opponents inside two rounds.
Elsewhere, Chicago Fight Team’s Flowers slammed Amiran
Gogoladze into submission in the first round of their brief but
eventful battle at 170 pounds. Gogoladze (12-3) raised the white
flag of surrender after suffering an apparent shoulder injury upon
impact.
Flowers (12-5-1) withstood the initial assault, jockeyed for
position in the clinch and denied an attempted takedown. Gogoladze
wound up in bottom position and threatened with an inverted
triangle choke. However, the maneuver left him exposed and
vulnerable.
Flowers hoisted him off the mat and dropped the favored Georgian on
his back, resulting in the stoppage moments later.
The 27-year-old Flowers has won four fights in a row, three of them
finishes.
Finally, an unwavering commitment to low kicks, power punching
combinations and intermittent spinning attacks carried Parana Vale
Tudo’s Gomes to a unanimous decision over Rayanne
dos Santos in a three-round pairing at 115 pounds. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Gomes (6-1).
Horsepower was the difference. Dos Santos (11-6) had her moments
but lacked the thump necessary to give her counterpart pause, and
the inability to initiate grappling exchanges sealed her fate.
Gomes unleashed power punching combinations and did some excellent
work in close quarters, all while staying focused on assaulting the
lead leg. She appeared to pull away across the final 10 minutes, as
she broke down dos Santos with merciless pressure and the
accompanying punishment.
Gomes, 22, has rattled off six consecutive victories.