Vitor
Petrino Salvo left nothing to chance.
The undefeated Brazilian was one of four fledgling mixed martial
artists to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract
during
Week 7 of
Dana White’s Contender Series, as he disposed of Rodolfo
Bellato with
punches in the second round of their light heavyweight
showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Salvo (7-0) tagged his countryman’s figurative toe 3:36 into Round
2.
Advertisement
Bellato (8-2) knocked down the CM System standout and climbed to
his back in the first round but failed to net the desired finish.
It did not turn out well for the Team Nogueira export. Salvo ducked
an ill-advised spinning backfist in the middle stanza and countered
with a left hook that sent “Trator” crashing to the canvas in a
supine position. A diving standing-to-ground right hand froze
Bellato in place before referee Mark Smith could arrive on the
scene.
In addition to Salvo, the UFC signed welterweight Gabriel
Souza de Bonfim, lightweight Ismael
Bonfim and heavyweight Karl
Williams. Gabriel de Souza “Marretinha” Bonfim put away Trey Waters
with
a shoulder choke in the first round of their welterweight
clash. Waters (6-1) checked out 4:13 into Round,
suffering his first defeat in seven professional appearances.
Bonfim (13-0) chipped away with an educated job and power punches
to the head and body, hunting for openings from the outside. The
towering 6-foot-5 Waters fired back, albeit with less-refined
technique. Bonfim eventually closed the distance for a takedown,
withstood an attempted guillotine choke and answered the maneuver
with the counter made famous by Jason Von
Flue. Unable to free himself, Waters had no choice but to
tap.
The 25-year-old Bonfim has finished all 13 of his opponents, six of
them inside one round.
Ismael “Marreta” Bonfim let his intentions be known with a
unanimous decision over reigning Fight Nights Global titleholder
Nariman
Abbasov in a three-round lightweight affair. Bonfim (18-3)
swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the
judiciary, putting his 12th consecutive victory in the books.
Abbasov (27-4) did what he could to shift the narrative but had no
real answers for the Brazilian’s clean standup, deft footwork and
sublime head movement. Punishing jabs and left hooks to the body
were Bonfim’s weapons of choice. The promising 26-year-old had
Abbasov on skates on multiple occasions in the first round, kept
him at bay with a piercing jab in the second and even managed to
mix in a belly-to-back suplex late in the third.
The setback was Abbasov’s first since Dec. 9, 2016 and snapped his
12-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, American Top Team’s Williams stepped in on short notice
and made the most of his opportunity, as he laid claim to a
unanimous decision over Jimmy
Lawson in a three-round heavyweight affair. All three cageside
judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Williams (7-1), who typically
completes at 205 pounds.
Lawson (4-2) never established a foothold. Williams took down the
former Penn State University wrestler in all three rounds,
transitioned from one dominant position to the next and drowned him
with ground-and-pound. Fatigue also became a factor for Lawson.
Williams kept his foot on the gas in the third round, where he
bullied his way to top position yet again and climbed to full mount
in the closing seconds.
Williams, 32, has won four fights in a row.
Finally, takedowns, ground-and-pound and suffocating top control
carried current Oktagon MMA champion Tereza
Bleda to a unanimous decision over
Nayara Arnault Maia Correia in a three-round women’s flyweight
pairing. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-26 for
Bleda (6-0).
Correia (7-1-1) was physically, athletically and technically
outmatched. Bleda, 20, powered the Nova Uniao representative to the
floor in all three rounds, stymied attempted reversals and shut
down the Brazilian’s increasingly desperate bids for leg locks. The
Czech powerhouse doubled over and dropped Correia with a knee to
the body in the third round, where she seemed to be closing in on a
potential finish before settling for a lopsided decision.