Kody Steele found the on-off switch.
The undefeated Syndicate MMA prospect was one of XXXXXXX hopefuls to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took out Chasen Blair with punches in the second round of their lightweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Steele (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to a close 4:07 into Round 2.
Blair (6-3, 0-1 DWCS) went tit for tat with the Texan and held his own for a time. Steele applied merciless pressure, let fly with heavy punching bursts and put visible damage on his opponent across the first five minutes. Blair appeared to turn the tide in the first half of the second round, where he operated behind an effective counter game, basic one-twos and intermittent leg kicks. Steele was unimpressed and undeterred. He pressed forward with supreme confidence and connected with a sweeping left hook the liver that felled Blair at the base of the cage. Steele pounced on his turtled adversary and unleashed one final volley of punches that necessitated the stoppage.
Light heavyweight Artem Vakhitov, heavyweight Mario Pinto and welterweight Islam Dulatov are set to join Steele on the revamped UFC roster moving forward.
A former Glory kickboxing champion with a stellar track record, the stoic Vakhitov chopped down the previously undefeated Islem Masraf with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight attraction. Masraf (3-1, 0-1 DWCS) met his end 4:23 into Round 1.
Vakhitov (3-1, 1-0 DWCS) was forced to recalibrate after a tepid start. Masraf proved to be the aggressor initially, crowded the Kill Cliff Fight Club export in the clinch and made him defend takedowns. Vakhitov had all the answers. He eventually created some space, stunned Masraf with a right hook, drove him to his knees with a pair of uppercuts and continued to uncork punches until the job was done.
The 33-year-old Vakhitov holds a September 2021 kickboxing victory over current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who was seated cageside at the Russian’s request.
Meanwhile, Pinto kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in style, as the Levels Fight League champion wiped out Nova Uniao’s Lucas Triverio Camacho with punches in the first round of their heavyweight battle. Pinto (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 1:43 into Round 1.
Camacho (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) pawed with his jab and tested the water with a few leg kicks, only to leave his chin unprotected at a most inopportune time. A counter left hook from the 26-year-old Pinto dropped the Brazilian where he stood and rendered him defenseless against subsequent attacks. More punches fell next, prompting the stoppage.
It was the fifth first-round finish of Pinto’s career.
Further down the card, Dulatov put away Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Vanilton Antunes with a vicious standing elbow strike in the first round of their welterweight clash. Antunes (16-7, 0-1 DWCS) checked out 2:44 into Round 1, suffering his first setback in more than two years.
Dulatov (11-1, 1-0 DWCS) weaponized his aggression and overwhelmed the Brazilian from the outset. The UFD Gym standout had Antunes reeling inside the first 90 seconds with multi-punch volleys, mixed in knees when the mood arose and eventually dragged him to the canvas. Once they returned to an upright position, Dulatov made his move. He angled off the fence, stepped into range and drove his elbow into the side of Antunes’ head. Out went the lights.
The 26-year-old Dulatov now finds himself on an 11-fight winning streak.
Finally, two-division Hex Fight Series champion Sean Gauci called upon brutal body blows and timely takedowns ahead of a unanimous decision over Anthony Drilich in an all-Australian three-round flyweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Gauci (10-1, 1-0 DWCS).
Drilich (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) jumped out to a lead in the first round, where efficient high-volume punching, body kicks and an occasional elbow strike tipped his spear. Gauci upped his activity level in the middle stanza, started to target the midsection of the Scrappy MMA rep and completed two takedowns. He picked up where he left off in Round 3 and tied a bow on his performance by pairing a late takedown with some elbow-laced ground-and-pound.
Gauci, 28, has rattled off seven consecutive victories but failed to procure a UFC contract.
