That escalated quickly
Ihor Potieria poured it on for the finish on
#DWCS pic.twitter.com/VzR5jqgpiR— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
September 29, 2021
Ihor
Potieria proved he belongs with overwhelming force.
The Ukrainian was one of two hopefuls to nail down an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during
Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he dismissed the
previously unbeaten Lukasz
Sudolski with punches in the first round of their light
heavyweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Potieria (19-2) brought it to a close 3:41 into Round 1.
Sudolski (8-1) fired off a few thudding inside leg kicks but
struggled to manage distance. Potieria engaged him in the clinch
and worked punches, elbows and knees along the fence. The World Warriors Fighting Championship
titleholder exploded out of a break, smashed Sudolski with chopping
punches and floored him with a right hand. Potieria offered no
refuge, swamped the Berserkers Team rep with punches and sealed the
deal.
In addition to Potieria, UFC President Dana
White awarded a contract to unbeaten Romero Team prospect
Daniel
Zellhuber. He rode a stout jab and kicks to the body, legs and
head to a unanimous decision over Jungle
Fight champion Lucas
Almeida in a three-round lightweight attraction. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for the promising
22-year-old Zellhuber (12-0).
In his first outing since Nov. 30, 2019, Almeida (12-1) raced out
to a strong start but could not maintain the frenetic pace he
pushed. Zellhuber shifted momentum with a spectacular throw inside
the first minute of the second round, exploited a six-inch reach
advantage and picked apart the Brazilian from the outside. Almeida
spent much of the second half of the match swinging at air against
a younger, fitter opponent. Zellhuber continued to score with jabs
and front kicks to the body, all while mixing in knees from the
clinch and power punching combinations.
It marked just the third time in 12 pro assignments that Zellhuber
had to go the distance.
Meanwhile, jab-cross combinations, darting in-and-out movement and
multiple takedowns spurred Future Fighting Championships
titleholder Caio
Borralho to a unanimous decision over Aaron
Jeffery in a three-round middleweight showcase. Borralho (9-1)
swept the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks from the
cageside judges.
Jeffery (10-3) pressed the issue in the clinch but too often failed
to pair those efforts with meaningful offense or positional
control. Borralho was superior in open space, where he threatened
with jumping knees and fought well on the counter. Jeffery upped
the aggression in the third round, where he scored with punches,
knees and elbows at close range, albeit in a losing effort.
The 28-year-old Borralho has won six fights in a row.
Finally, Gorets Fight Team representative Rizvan
Kuniev put away Edivan
Santos with punches in the third round of their heavyweight
pairing. Santos (12-3) succumbed to blows 60 seconds into Round 3,
suffering his first setback in nearly four years.
Kuniev (10-2-1) wore down the Brazilian with a soul-stealing
clinch, multiple takedowns and suffocating top control. By the end
of Round 2, cracks had begun to form in the Santos foundation.
Kuniev executed a takedown inside the first 30
seconds of the third round, climbed to a dominant position and cut
loose with ground-and-pound, first with elbows and later with
punches. Santos turned away from contact, prompting the
stoppage.
The 29-year-old Kuniev has rattled off eight consecutive victories.