Tonight’s event marks the halfway point of season 10 of this year’s contender series. With 20 contracts already being awarded within 4 weeks, this season is on track to break the record for most contracts offered in a single season.
The UFC revealed at tonight’s event that the viewership ratings are up, and that this season has had the biggest distribution ever broadcast. It is not just the number of contracts that are bringing in more viewers, though, with chaotic finishes and huge upsets (Such as Alex Apodaca’s win over Bella Mir on night 3), more and more people are tuning in to witness the next batch of UFC prospects.
Fight 1: Colton Loud vs Christian Natividad
Kicking off night 5 of the contender series was an exciting all-American matchup in the flyweight division between Colton Loud and Christian Natividad. Natividad was looking to follow in his brother’s (Kevin Natividad) footsteps by becoming a UFC fighter. Loud was hoping to upset the party and keep his 100% finish rate inside the octagon. Colton Loud started the fight as the aggressor, quickly landing a big right hand followed by a close-range elbow. Then just over 1 minute in, both fighters landed heavy body shots. Loud’s body kick echoed around the arena, clearly affecting Natividad, who in turn threw a body shot of his own, landing a huge liver shot, dropping Loud to the floor and finishing the fight. Christian Natividad wins via TKO 70 seconds into round 1.
Fight 2: Kwon Wonil vs Apollo Gomes
After a rapid round 1 finish in the first fight of the night. It was the turn of bantamweight Kwon Wonil of South Korea. The Brazilian Apollo Gomes kept the high pace of the night going. From the start of round 1. It was clear that Gomes’ gameplay was to get Wonil to the ground where he could dominate. Wonil had other plans those surprising his opponent with impressive takedown defence to keep the fight on the feet. Towards the end of round 1, Kwon threw a big left hand to Gomes’ body, dropping the Brazilian to the floor. Kwon immediately followed, trying to finish the fight, but the buzzer sounded to mark the end of round 1.
After damaging Gomes’ liver in round 1, Kwon was targeting it again in round 2 to keep up the pressure. In return, Gomes started investing in more and more inside leg kicks, affecting Kwon’s stance and speed. Round 2 is then momentarily stopped twice in quick succession due to 2 low blows (1 from each opponent). Gomes eventually got the takedown he was searching for but did not have enough time to do anything with it, and that’s where round 2 ended.
In round 3, both fighters knew their chances of getting a contract was depleting if the fight didn’t end in a finish. Gomes looked the better at the start of the final round, landing the better strikes while engaging and moving forward towards his opponent. Kwon did not throw much back, and appeared to just be trying to make it to the judges’ scorecards. In the last 20 seconds, both fighters dropped all defence just trying to get the finish, but it never came, lasting the whole 15 minutes. All 3 judges scored the contest 29-28, with Apollo Gomes coming out on top.
Fight 3: Martin Kozák vs Christian Echols
The next fight of the night was between Martin Kozák and Christian Echols, 2 middleweights desperate to impress Dana White and get that all-important UFC contract. Due to his huge height difference, Kozák had the plan to keep his distance and use his 7 inch reach advantage to strike Echols from further away. Echols came in with the plan to use his explosive power to get inside and land a flurry of punches, which he succeeded in doing multiple times in the fight. As Echols was moving away after one of his flurries, Kozák landed a huge head kick, dropping Echols to the floor. Somehow Echols was able to recover, getting the Slovakian against the fence where he could have time to regroup. At the end of the round, Echols is seemingly dropped again by a body shot. Everyone in the arena thinks the fight is done, but referee Mike Beltran actually called a time-out, as what looked like a body shot was actually a low blow. After a few minutes, the fight is back on and round 1 ends. In round 2, Kozák began delivering more and more punishment to his opponent’s body, but again Echols refused to lose the fight that easily. The American started holding his body due to the pain. That’s when Kozák landed a left uppercut followed by a right hook to finally put Echols out of the fight. Martin Kozák wins by TKO.
Fight 4: Isaac Moreno vs Reginaldo Junior
Although taking this fight on short notice, Isaac Moreno was still confident he could keep his perfect record and get signed to the UFC with an impressive performance tonight. His opponent, Reginaldo Junior, fights out of the Fighting Nerds camp, with teammates such as Jean Silva and Carlos Prates, who themselves are already making waves within the UFC. In an already stacked division, these 2 welterweights want to add their names to the list of up-and-coming prospects in the division. Junior started the fight better, landing a big takedown and then connecting with a huge right hand to drop Moreno to the floor. Similar to the second fight of the night, round 1 started off slow, but ended with fireworks.
Moreno recovered quickly in between rounds and came out from the stool on the front foot, throwing and landing some excellent quick combos to startle his opponent. After growing into the fight in round 2, Moreno’s momentum was quickly lost when Junior landed another big takedown, giving himself some time to catch his breath and focus. Round 2 ends similar to round 1, with both fighters trying to finish the fight as soon as possible. Moreno started round 3 just like round 2, finding success with his swift punching combos, causing more and more damage to Junior. Near the end of the fight, Junior found another big takedown and was looking for the submission, but it never came. The fight goes to the judges’ scorecards, where Isaac Moreno gets the unanimous victory. (29-28).
Fight 5: Arlind Berisha vs Quentin Pasley
The featured fight of tonight’s event was certain to be highly entertaining, as both light heavyweights Arlind Berisha from Albania and Quentin Pasley from America have 100% finish rates in their professional careers. Starting the fight, both fighters kept their distance, trying to figure each other out by throwing long kicks. The fight is temporarily stopped after Pasley connects with a low blow. Near the end of the 1st round, Pasley lands a big takedown and starts to chase the D’Arce choke. After he realised he couldn’t get it, he landed 3 big elbows, which knocked out Berisha. The replay showed that the Albanian was knocked out after the first elbow, but the referee couldn’t stop the fight quickly enough and 2 more were landed. Quentin Pasley wins by TKO.
Who gets a contract?
As always, UFC boss Dana White comes out with the microphone to announce which fighters have earned a contract with the UFC.
Firstly, Colton Loud vs Christian Natividad. “Christian, you came in with a week’s notice and landed an incredible body shot. Welcome to the UFC”.
Secondly, Kwon Wonil vs Apollo Gomes. “I liked this fight”, said White. “You both look great, but I didn’t see anything making me want this guy. Sorry, tonight’s not your night,” he went on to explain to Gomes.
Next up was Martin Kozák vs Christian Echols. “24 years old, 7-0, 100% finish rate. I think you have a very bright future in the UFC, my friend. Get over here”.
Then it was Isaac Moreno vs Reginaldo Junior. “I like how I got to see a lot of you tonight, Isaac. You’re 28 and 9-0. I’m going to be honest, the matchmakers are not believers; I had to fight with them because I’m a believer you’re in!”
Lastly. It was the main event: Arlind Berisha vs Quentin Pasley. “Quentin, I said to the boys, why is a 3-0 guy a headliner tonight? They looked at me and said, ‘ You are gonna find out. Holy Sh*t. You reminded a lot of people of Jon Jones tonight. Get over here, kid”.
Discussion about this post