Bo Nickal Rides 52-Second Triangle Choke Submission to UFC Contract on DWCS

Sometimes the substance exceeds the hype. Perhaps that will be the
case for Bo
Nickal.

The three-time NCAA wrestling champion punched his ticket to the

Ultimate Fighting Championship on
Week 10 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted Donovan
Beard with first-round triangle choke on Tuesday at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas. Beard (7-2, 0-1 DWCS)
bit the dust 52 seconds into Round 1.

Nickal (3-0, 2-0 DWCS) followed an overhand left into a takedown,
moved to mount and threatened with a guillotine choke before
catching the triangle on the transition. Beard briefly struggled,
but pride carried the Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder
only so far. He raised the white flag soon after.

Though Nickal was clearly the centerpiece of the DWCS season
finale, four other mixed martial artists were signed to UFC
contracts: Sam
Patterson, Jack
Jenkins, Rafael
Ramos Estevam and Mateus
Mendonca. Team Crossface’s Patterson disposed of Vinicius
Sacchelli Cenci with a rear-naked choke in the second round of
their lightweight scrap. Patterson (10-1-1, 1-0 DWCS)

drew the curtain 4:18 into Round 2, earning his sixth
straight win.

Cenci (7-2, 0-1 DWCS) gave the lanky 6-foot-3 Brit some trouble in
the first round with some knees to the body at close range and an
overhand left that sent him careening into the cage. Patterson
withstood the adversity and slowly but surely imposed his will. He
sprawled on an attempted takedown in Round 2, ran Cenci through a
series of chokes and eventually progressed to the back. From there,
Patterson snuck his arm underneath the Kings MMA product’s chin,
tightened his squeeze and elicited the tapout.

The loss was Cenci’s first since Dec. 18, 2016.

An Eternal MMA champion, Jenkins battered and bloodied Freddy
Emiliano Linares to a merciful stoppage in the third round of
their featherweight clash. Linares (8-2, 0-1 DWCS)
succumbed to an accumulation of punishment 4:30 into Round
3.

Jenkins (10-2, 1-0 DWCS) struck for takedowns in all three rounds,
applied asphyxiating control and threw his ground-and-pound into a
high gear. A short slashing elbow from the Aussie opened a cut
above Linares’ right eye in Round 2 and spilled the Ecuadorian’s
DNA all over the canvas. Jenkins took down the Bonebreakers Team
standout twice in the third round, climbed to full mount and forced
him to surrender his back before closing the deal with unanswered
punches.

The 28-year-old Jenkins has rattled off seven consecutive
victories.

Nova Uniao’s Estevam put away Brazilian Fighting Series titleholder
Joao
Elias with sustained ground-and-pound in the second round of
their flyweight clash. Elias (17-4-1, 0-1 DWCS)
checked out 2:25 into Round 2, suffering his first
setback in more than a year.

Estevam (11-0, 1-0 DWCS) dodged a number of bullets in the first
round, where his ambitious counterpart employed a hyperactive guard
and made passes at several submissions. None were successful, and
Elias’ efforts cost him valuable energy. Estevam struck for an
immediate takedown at the start of the middle stanza and cut loose
with elbows, hammerfists and short punches until referee Jason
Herzog had seen enough.

The 26-year-old Estevam has now finished seven of his 11
opponents.

Chute Boxe’s Mendonca kept his perfect professional record intact
and did so in spectacular fashion, as he punched out CES MMA
champion Ashiek Ajim
in the first round of their bantamweight pairing. Ajim (6-2, 0-1
DWCS) met his end 48 seconds into Round 1,
victim of the 10th-fastest knockout in DWCS
history.

Mendonca (10-0, 1-0 DWCS) tested the water with front kicks, then
tuned up his hands lightning-quick hands. A right cross clanged off
the side of Ajim’s head and sat him down in the center of the cage,
his outing having taken a turn for the worse. Mendonca caught him
with a left hook on the way back up to his feet, the impact
separating the Long Island MMA rep from his senses.

The defeat snapped Ajim’s three-fight winning streak.