Jacobe Smith lived up to the blue-chip billing.
The undefeated Fortis MMA prospect was one of five hopefuls to ink an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he put away Christien Savoie with sustained ground-and-pound in the second round of their welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 2:55 into Round 2.
Savoie (10-2-1, 0-1 DWCS) was simply out of his depth. A onetime NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith executed multiple takedowns, battered his overmatched counterpart from various positions and hacked open multiple cuts, one of them across the bridge of his nose. He powered the Savoie to the canvas one final time early in the middle stanza, stayed busy and prompted the stoppage with a sustained burst of elbows.
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Light heavyweight Diyar Nurgozhay, featherweight Alberto Montes, middleweight Torrez Finney and bantamweight David Martinez are set to join Smith on the UFC roster in the days, weeks and months ahead. An Eagle Fighting Championship titleholder, Nurgozhay cut down Bartosz Szewczyk with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their light heavyweight attraction. Szewczyk (8-3-1, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 3:32 into Round 2.
Nurgozhay (10-0, 1-0 DWCS) plodded forward with kicks to the leg and body, occasional uppercuts and a steady diet of straight left hands. He increased the volume and intensity of his shots in the second round, let fly with body-head combinations and forced Szewczyk onto his back foot. The head kick caught the Pole by surprise and sent him crashing to the canvas, at which point Nurgozhay uncorked a quick volley of punches for the finish.
The 27-year-old Nurgozhay has stopped eight of his first 10 opponents as a pro.
Meanwhile, Goat Shed Academy’s Montes disposed of Carlos Calderon with an anaconda choke in the second round of their action-packed featherweight feature. Calderon (6-3, 0-1 DWCS) raised the white flag of surrender 2:38 into Round 2.
Montes (11-1, 1-0 DWCS) conceded multiple takedowns inside a frenetic first round in which both men had their moments in wild standup exchanges. The Venezuelan upped his activity in the middle stanza, where he blasted Calderon with counter right hands and methodically chipped away at his resolve. Montes sat back on a Peruvian necktie and then transitioned to the anaconda choke, tightening his squeeze until his Elevation Fight Team-trained opponent capitulated.
It was the sixth submission win of Montes’ career.
Further down the card, Agoge Combatives’ Finney kept his perfect professional record intact and took care of Abdelah Er-Ramy with punches in the first round of their middleweight encounter. Er-Ramy (7-2, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 4:10 into Round 1.
Finney (10-0, 3-0 DWCS) secured a takedown inside the first 15 seconds and got down to business. He floated from mount to the back, crowded the Moroccan-born Spaniard from top position, made a serious pass at an arm-triangle choke and unsheathed his ground-and-pound. Finney progressed to the back late in the first period, flattened out the Rebel Pride Gym export and cut loose with thudding punches until the job was done.
The setback was Er-Ramy’s first since 2019 and snapped his six-fight winning streak.
Finally, Martinez called upon repeated leg kicks, stout counterpunching and outstanding lateral movement in a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Xavier Franklin in their three-round bantamweight tilt. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Martinez (11-1, 1-0 DWCS).
Franklin (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) held his own in spurts—he staggered the Bonebreakers MMA product with a right hand in the second round and opened a small cut under his right eye with a sweeping left hook in the third—but lacked the weaponry he needed to give his opponent genuine pause. Martinez wrecked the Peak Fighting titleholder’s base and took the sting out of his standup with a constant stream of kicks to the lower leg. Franklin pressed forward as the bout progressed but could not make any real headway in a compromised state.
The 26-year-old Martinez has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
