Talisson Teixeira handled his business and inspired immediate intrigue.
The Team Mineiro prospect was one of four hopefuls to sign an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he cut down Arthur Lopes with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The monstrous 6-foot-7 Teixeira (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) slammed the door 1:57 into Round 1.
Lopes (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) closed the distance behind wild hooks from both hands but failed to connect with anything at full force. Teixeira stayed composed under duress, rolled with punches and set up a surgical strike. He backed up Lopes with a knee, then sent him crashing to the canvas with a laser-guided right cross. Teixeira followed with a standing-to-ground hammerfist before referee Gary Copeland could arrive on the scene.
The 24-year-old Teixeira has finished all seven of his opponents inside one round.
Bantamweight Elijah Smith, middleweight Ateba Abega Gautier and lightweight Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada are set to join Teixeira on the UFC roster in the weeks and months ahead.
Team Victory’s Smith battled through fatigue-induced adversity and proved he could walk through the fires that await him at the sport’s highest level, as he took a unanimous decision from Aaron Tau in a three-round donnybrook at 135 pounds. Smith (7-1, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the cageside judiciary.
Tau (8-1, 0-1 DWCS) made it difficult for him. The City Kickboxing product moved forward fearlessly despite getting picked apart for the better part of two rounds. Tau piled up points with clean combinations, backed them up with takedowns and nearly finished it with an anaconda choke in the middle stanza. Tau found another gear in Round 3, forced the Colorado Springs native onto his back foot and let fly with power punches from both hands. Smith returned fire whenever his gas tank allowed and managed to hold off a late rally from the Kiwi.
Just 22 years of age, Smith finds himself on a five-fight winning streak.
Manchester Top Team’s Gautier disposed of Pancrase champion Yura Naito with punches in the second round of their middleweight feature. Gautier (6-1, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 4:00 into Round 2 and extended his winning streak to five fights, all of them finishes.
Naito (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) spent a significant chunk of the first period in top position after securing a takedown. He applied his ground-and-pound but failed to exact much damage. Gautier shored up his takedown defense in the middle stanza, trapped the Japanese wrestler on the feet and dropped him with a brutal two-punch combination. He pounced with elbows, punches and hammerfists, all while Naito’s left eye swelled shut. Gautier eventually postured in full guard and cut loose with unanswered hammerfists and punches to prompt the stoppage.
Team Alpha Male’s Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada put Dylan Mantello to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their lightweight attraction. Mantello (8-4, 0-2 DWCS) lost consciousness 2:41 into Round 3, suffering his second defeat in three outings.
Hassanzada (11-3, 1-1 DWCS) withstood a knockdown—Mantello floored him with a counter right hand—in the second round and ultimately wore down the Serra-Longo Fight Team representative with pace and persistence. He took down Mantello inside the first 90 seconds of the third round, jumped to the back and secured his position with a body triangle. Mild ground-and-pound followed before Hassanzada snuck his arms into place, tightened his squeeze and waited for his opponent to go limp.
The 27-year-old Hassanzada has rattled off three straight victories.
Forge Fight Team’s Benjamin Bennett rode repeated takedowns and considerable control time to a contentious split decision over Joey Hart in a three-round welterweight encounter. All three cageside scored it 29-28, two of them siding with Bennett (7-1, 1-0 DWCS), who left the venue without a contract in hand.
Hart (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) employed an effective get-up game, doing his part to counteract being taken down. On the feet, he maximized his six-inch reach advantage with a punishing jab, kicks to the lower lead leg and stepping knees. It was not enough. Bennett threw caution to the wind in the third round, where he engaged the Start BJJ standout in standup exchanges, beckoned him forward and doubled up on his jab and left hooks. His aggression and efforts in the grappling department curried favor on two of the three scorecards and sent him to the winner’s circle.
The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Hart.
