Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 252 live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster grew by five on
Week 2 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as a record-tying number of
competitors—Dustin
Stoltzfus, Adrian
Yanez, Cory
McKenna, T.J. Laramie
and Impa
Kasanganay—were all awarded contracts by the promotion on
Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Stoltzfus dislocated former Ring of
Combat champion Joseph
Pyfer’s elbow with a slam in the first round of their
middleweight showcase. The injury resulted in an immediate stoppage
4:21 into Round 1, as Stoltzfus (13-1) extended his run of
consecutive victories to 10.
The two 185-pound hopefuls traded leg kicks before Pyfer (7-2)
secured a takedown and set up in top position. Stoltzfus answered
some mild ground-and-pound with an active bottom game and forced a
scramble. Pyfer positioned himself for a guillotine, only to be
hoisted skyward and dropped. He braced for impact with his right arm, leading to
a gruesome injury.
Yanez Vanquishes Huang in 39 Seconds
Metro Fight Club rep Adrian
Yanez needed less than a minute to put away Brady Huang
with punches in the first round of their bantamweight scrap. Huang
(11-2) succumbed to blows 39 seconds into Round 1, the victim of
the fifth-fastest finish in the history of Dana White’s Contender
Series.
Yanez (11-3) barely broke a sweat. The Bellator
MMA alum buckled Huang’s knees with a clean left hook, reset and then connected with a vicious multi-punch
combination that was punctuated with another left hook and a
chopping right hand. A dazed and confused Huang stumbled backward,
prompting referee Jason Herzog to intervene.
The 26-year-old Yanez has won four fights in a row, three of them
finishes.
McKenna Upends Legacy Fighting Alliance Queen Demopoulos
A stifling top game, effective ground-and-pound and airtight
submission defense carried
Team Alpha Male’s Cory
McKenna to a unanimous decision over reigning
Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Crystal
Vanessa Demopoulos in a three-round women’s strawweight
confrontation. McKenna (5-1) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28
and 29-28 marks from the judges.
Demopoulos (5-2) was far too willing to rely on her ground game.
McKenna swooped into top position in all three rounds, dodged
various submissions—most notably a triangle choke in the second
round and an armbar in the third—and cut loose with punches. They
battled to a relative stalemate on the feet, though McKenna
connected with the fight’s most memorable strike: a head kick in
the third round. She closed with a flourish, as she peppered
Demopoulos with punches during their exchange in the waning
seconds.
The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for Demopoulos.
Laramie Stops Experienced Swain
Former TKO
Major League MMA champion T.J. Laramie
forced a doctor stoppage against Daniel
Swain in between the first and second rounds of their
featherweight encounter. Swain (20-10-1) appeared to suffer a rib
injury in Round 1 and was deemed unfit to continue by the cageside
physician.
Laramie (12-3) struck for a takedown in the first round and freed
himself from multiple armbar and triangle choke attempts before
going to work with traumatizing ground-and-pound. Swain soon found
himself pinned hopelessly to the canvas. Laramie alternated between
half guard and full guard, uncorking elbows and hammerfists until
the first five minutes expired. The stoppage was called after Swain
underwent a brief examination.
The 22-year-old Laramie has rattled off four consecutive
victories.
Unbeaten Kasanganay Bests Adams
Gym-O representative Impa
Kasanganay kept his perfect professional record intact with a
unanimous decision over Anthony
Adams in a three-round middleweight pairing. All three cageside
judges scored it the same: 29-27 for Kasanganay (7-0).
Adams (8-2) held serve in the first round, where he utilized the
clinch, leg kicks and even a front kick to the face. Kasanganay
turned the tables in the middle stanza, as he pieced together
combinations, executed a takedown and moved toward the back with
ground-and-pound. He picked up where he left off in Round 3. There,
Kasanganay delivered another takedown, shifted to the back of the
kneeling Elevation Fight Team product and slammed a series of knees
into his ribs.
The 32-year-old Adams has fallen short in both of his DWCS
appearances.