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ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship once again bolstered its ranks
through
Dana White’s Contender Series. Middleweights Jamie
Pickett and Collin
Huckbody, flyweight Jeff Molina
and featherweight Rafael
Alves were all signed by the promotion after they emerged
victorious on
Week 4 of DWCS on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sixteen
fighters have been granted entry to the UFC since the season
started less than a month ago.
In his third appearance on the Contender Series, Pickett cut down
Ring of Combat champion Jhonoven
Pati with punches in the second round of their middleweight
confrontation. Pati (6-4) succumbed to blows 33 seconds into Round
2, buried by an avalanche of rights and lefts.
Pickett (11-4) controlled much of the first round with a punishing
jab, a well-timed takedown and a tight guillotine choke that put
him on the brink of a finish. Pati freed himself, returned to his
feet and closed the period with a burst of power punches. Pickett
threw caution to the wind at the start of Round 2, let his hands
fly and overwhelmed “The Samoan Savage” with power shots from both
hands.
Alves Guillotine Taps Flores
An
MMA Masters product, Alves dispatched Alejandro
Flores with a guillotine choke in the second round of their
featherweight encounter. Flores (16-3) raised the white flag 2:55
into Round 2, as he was submitted for just the second time in his
19-fight career.
Alves (19-9) spent five-plus minutes stalking his prey. Flores did
an admirable job of steering clear of danger, his Brazilian
adversary firing away with fast-twitch combinations at various
points. However, he ducked a left hook in the second round, moved
in for a takedown and found himself hopelessly entangled in the
guillotine. After a brief struggle, Alves’ squeeze proved too much for him to
bear.
The 29-year-old Alves has posted five straight wins, three of them
finishes.
Surging Molina Outduels Silva
Heavy leg kicks, a persistent jab and clean counters spurred Molina
to a unanimous decision over Jacob Silva
in an entertaining three-round flyweight clash. Molina (8-2), a
Glory MMA standout, swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and
29-28 marks from the judges, as he extended his winning streak to
seven fights.
Silva (6-3) ate three concussive blows—a right hook in the first
round, a head kick in the second and a sneaky knee strike in the
third—that might have folded lesser men. The
Fury Fighting Championship titleholder continued to move
forward and flurried with blinding combinations in repeated bids to
turn the tide. Molina stayed composed under fire, trapped his
counterpart in frustrating clinches and cut loose with two- and
three-punch volleys of his own.
The defeat was Silva’s first in more than five years.
Polished Romero Hobbles Breeden
Well-rounded weaponry carried the undefeated Anthony
Romero to a unanimous decision over Glory MMA export Mike
Breeden in a three-round lightweight scrap. All three cageside
judges scored it for the promising 23-year-old Romero (8-0): 30-26,
30-27 and 29-28.
Breeden (8-3) impressed in defeat but ran into an opponent who was
superior in all phases. Romero wrecked the James
Krause disciple’s lower legs with repeated kicks that had him
hobbling around the cage at fight’s end. Breeden stunned the
Canadian with a jumping knee and left hook in the second round but
saw his momentum stall when Romero refocused his efforts on the
lower extremities. His base gave out midway through Round 3,
forcing him to abandon his pursuit of victory in favor of
survival.
The setback halted Breeden’s run of consecutive wins at three.
Huckbody Choke Submits Bowen
A Brock
Larson protégé, Huckbody submitted Kyron Bowen
with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their middleweight
pairing. Bowen (9-5) bowed out 1:28 into Round 1, his seven-fight
winning streak having run its course.
Huckbody (8-2) executed a takedown inside the first 30 seconds,
scrambled into mount, retained his dominant position and framed the
arm-triangle. Bowen offered virtually no resistance once the choke
was in place. Operating out of
Jackson-Wink MMA, Huckbody capitalized on the moment of
weakness, tightened his squeeze and forced the
tapout.
The 25-year-old Huckbody has secured six of his eight career
victories by submission, five via arm-triangle choke. 
