Danylo Voievodkin laughed in the face of the oddsmakers.
The 6-foot-3, 263-pound Ukrainian—a prohibitive 8-to-1 underdog on some books—was one of five hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he turned away the heavily favored Bailey Schoenfelder with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Schoenfelder (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) raised the white flag 73 seconds into Round 1.
Voievodkin walked the former University of Minnesota linebacker backward and leveled him with a sweeping left hook. A dazed-and-confused Schoenfelder was powerless to defend against the follow-up attack. Voievodkin (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) wheeled to the back, cinched the choke and elicited the tapout.
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Featherweight Kevin Vallejos, welterweight Daniel Frunza, light heavyweight Kevin Christian and women’s strawweight Alexia Thainara are set to join Voievodkin in the UFC rotation in the not-too-distant future.
A Samurai Fight House titleholder, Vallejos put away the previously unbeaten Cam Teague with punches in the first round of their featherweight attraction. The overmatched Teague (7-1, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 2:23 into Round 1.
It was a one-sided beatdown. Vallejos (14-1, 1-1 DWCS) ripped clean power punches to the head and body, as he methodically broke the Port City Combat Sports representative’s resolve. He eventually pinned Teague to the fence behind a left hook to the body and a right hook upstairs, then uncorked a series of 20 unanswered shots that forced his adversary into a defensive shell. One final left hook to the head from Vallejos brought it to an emphatic close.
The 22-year-old Vallejos has won three fights in a row.
Meanwhile, the resilient Frunza took out Academy MMA standout Vadim Kutsyi with punches in the second round of their welterweight feature. Kutsyi (16-2, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 3:30 into Round 2, suffering his first setback in more than eight years.
Frunza (9-2, 1-0 DWCS) weathered a harrowing first round in which both men were reeling at points. Kutsyi floored the Miami-based Romanian with a right hook and battered him with standing-to-ground punches, but all his work came at a cost. He emerged for the middle stanza with labored movements—a clear sign his gas tank had run dry. Frunza took advantage. He pressed forward with shots from both hands, drove Kutsyi to the canvas with a body kick and uncorked a sustained burst of unfettered punches to prompt the stoppage.
The 30-year-old Frunza has recorded five consecutive finishes since his September 2021 submission defeat to Gary Balletto Jr. under the CES MMA banner.
Elsewhere, Cosme Junior Team’s Christian disposed of Francesco Mazzeo with a triangle armbar in the second round of their light heavyweight confrontation. Christian (9-2, 1-0 DWCS) forced the surrender 4:17 into Round 2.
Mazzeo (4-1, 0-1 DWCS) executed a takedown in the first round, applied his ground-and-pound and shed an attempted armbar from the 6-foot-7 Brazilian. However, he retreated to his corner bleeding from an elbow-induced cut and visibly fatigued. Neither man did much in the middle stanza—up until the finish. Mazzeo secured another takedown but wandered into a triangle as exhaustion took hold. Christian bit down, isolated the Italian’s left arm and applied the necessary torque to produce the tapout.
Christian finds himself on a six-fight winning streak.
Finally, Ribas Family’s Thainara called upon multiple takedowns and stinging leg kicks, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Rose Conceicao in a three-round women’s strawweight tiff. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Thainara (11-1, 1-0 DWCS).
Conceicao (7-1, 0-1 DWCS) had issues with output throughout the 15-minute encounter. Thainara took bites out of her lower lead leg with kicks, caught her off-guard with takedowns and fought fire with fire whenever the two women exchanged punches. She kept her foot on the accelerator for the duration and never once looked like a fighter who was protecting a lead.
The 26-year-old Thainara has rattled off nine straight victories.
