Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was not in a charitable mood.
The CM System mainstay bounced back from his June 1 decision defeat to Randy Brown and swept aside Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Zach Scroggin with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Vegas 100 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A late-notice replacement for Nicolas Dalby, the previously unbeaten Scroggin (7-1, 0-1 UFC) required rescue 1:15 into Round 1.
Zaleski dos Santos (25-8-1, 11-4-1 UFC) backed up the Marathon MMA prospect with stinging low kicks and stepped into a right hand that had him ducking for cover. Scroggin—who missed weight by three pounds—retreated to the canvas under considerable fire but found no refuge there. Zaleski dos Santos turned up the heat with rapid-fire hammerfists and punches, necessitating the stoppage.
Meanwhile, Chicago Fight Team’s Charlie Radtke wiped out Matthew Semelsberger with punches in the first round of their welterweight scrap. Semelsberger (11-8, 5-6 UFC) met his end a mere 51 seconds into Round 1, losing for the fourth time in as many outings.
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Radtke (10-4, 3-1 UFC) staggered the Crazy 88 MMA export with a left hook, set him on skates with a ringing right hand that followed and drew the curtain with a quick volley of power punches from both hands, nailing down his first sub-minute finish as a professional.
The 31-year-old Semelsberger remains winless since December 2022.
Elsewhere, former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Da’Mon Blackshear rebounded from back-to-back losses to Mario Bautista and Montel Jackson, as he took out Cody Stamann with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their bantamweight tilt. Stamann (21-8-1, 7-7-1 UFC) bowed out 4:19 into Round 1.
Blackshear (15-7-1, 3-3-1 UFC) blasted the Xtreme Couture rep with a flying knee, pinned him to the fence and teed off with unabated punches. A badly dazed Stamann attempted a takedown out of pure desperation, his situation growing increasingly dire by the second. Blackshear scrambled into top position, bailed on a one-arm guillotine from full mount and progressed to the back. From there, he was met with little resistance and snaked his arms into position for the fight-ending choke.
Stamann, 35, has lost three fights in a row.
Further down the undercard, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 28 finalist Tresean Gore disposed of former Jungle Fight champion Antonio Trocoli with a standing guillotine choke in the first round of their middleweight confrontation. Trocoli (12-5, 0-2 UFC) conceded defeat 1:23 into Round 1.
In his first appearance since Oct. 29, 2022, Gore (5-2, 2-2 UFC) tagged the rangy Brazilian with a few powerful leg kicks, swooped in for a high-amplitude takedown and settled into a clinch along the fence. The 6-foot-6 Trocoli changed levels and made a pass at a takedown, only to leave his neck exposed. Gore clamped down on the guillotine, maximized his leverage while still upright and forced the tapout.
It was the first submission defeat of Trocoli’s career.
Finally, Team Renegade product Melissa Mullins put away promotional newcomer Klaudia Sygula with punches in the second round of their women’s bantamweight pairing. A short-notice substitution for Montserrat Rendon, the 25-year-old Sygula (6-2, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 80 seconds into Round 2.
Mullins (7-1, 2-1 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by one pound—executed a takedown, applied her ground-and-pound and moved to full mount late in the first round. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Mullins secured another takedown inside the first 15 seconds of the middle stanza, climbed to mount yet again, controlled a wrist, forced her opponent to go belly down and closed the deal with an unanswered burst of punches.
The loss was Sygula’s first in nearly four years and snapped her six-fight winning streak.
In other action, GAEA Project prospect Denise Gomes (10-3, 4-2 UFC) married volume punching with a grinding clinch game and posted a unanimous decision over former KSW champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz (16-9, 9-9 UFC) in a three-round women’s strawweight affair.
