Austin Basi and his all-terrain talent did not disappoint.
The unbeaten Warrior Way Martial Arts prospect, one of five prospects to earn a UFC contract during Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, defeated Dorian Ramos via rear-naked choke in the second round of Tuesday’s welterweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Ramos (8-3, 0-1 DWCS) submitted 3 minutes, 15 seconds into the second round.
The 22-year-old Bassi (13-0, 1-0 DWCS) wore down the Apex MMA representative with his relentless pace and offensive power. He scored multiple takedowns and used steady ground-and-pound to keep Ramos breathing and on the defensive. Bassi repeatedly grounded Ramos in the second round, breaking his strong will and exploiting his moments of weakness. He worked his way to his back and applied a choke when Ramos made the foolish decision to stand up. Bassi tightened his grip, dragging him to the mat and forcing him to tap out.
Joining Basi on the UFC roster will be women’s flyweight competitor Eunecy Duben, lightweight competitor Kiran Salkild, middleweight competitor Jorden Ribeiro dos Santos and welterweight competitor Ko Seok-hyun.
The undefeated 300 Spartan titleholder Duben defeated overwhelming favorite Shannon Clark in the first round of their women’s flyweight bout with a highlight-film-worthy one-punch knockout. Clark (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) checked out at 1 minute, 13 seconds into the first round.
Duben (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) responded to fire with fire. Clark lunged behind the punches, disregarding his Venezuelan opponent’s skill and paying the price. Duben ducked a clubbed overhand right, switched off and took the Legacy Fighting Alliance champion down on the spot. Unconscious, Clark slumped backwards like a total, mindless victim, his head bouncing wildly off the canvas.
Duben, 28, has reached the first round three times in a row.
Meanwhile, Salkild used crisp punching combinations, kicks of all levels, tactical takedowns and a grappling advantage to secure a unanimous decision victory over Gage Young in a three-round lightweight bout as the reigning MMA champion. All three cageside judges scored the win 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Salkild (7-1, 0-1 DWCS).
Young (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) showed good balance in the loss, but Salkild used her five-inch reach advantage to her advantage and volleyed three, four, five times under intense pressure. In the third round, she overpowered Young with multiple takedowns at the most crucial times, working her way up to an arm-triangle choke in the final seconds. The finish didn’t come, but the message was sent.
Salkild has now won seven straight games.
Meanwhile, Cerrado MMA’s dos Santos used hard punches, strong clinching and great takedown defense to earn a unanimous decision victory over Will Curry in a three-round middleweight bout. Dos Santos (10-1, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with scores of 30-27 from all three cageside judges.
Opportunities were slim for Curry (12-4 MMA, 0-1 DWCS), who seemed to remain neutral for much of the bout. Dos Santos surrounded the Englishman along the fence, peppering him with punches and occasionally landing knees and elbows. The Thunder Fight champion stepped up his aggression as time went on, with his right uppercut proving to be a powerful weapon that constantly forced Curry back. The British top team representative got behind a kneeling dos Santos late in the third round and applied a loose armbar, but the Brazilian had no trouble escaping.
The 27-year-old dos Santos is on a four-fight winning streak.
In the end, Ko kept his cool under attack, landing effective combinations of body and head punches and sneaking in counterattacks when the opportunity arose to earn a unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Igor Cavalcanti in a three-round welterweight bout, with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 all in favor of Ko (11-2, 1-0 DWCS).
Cavalcanti (9-1 MMA, 0-1 DWCS), who had never made it past the first round before, came out with all his might but struggled to find a consistent means of attack. Co used deft footwork and head movement to get out of danger and rained punches on the Brazilian, slowly but surely draining his gas tank. The Angels Fighting Championship titleholder scored a takedown less than 30 seconds into the third round and then dominated Cavalcanti with top control and ground-and-pound for nearly four minutes. By the time they got to their feet, it was all over.
The 28-year-old is currently on a four-fight winning streak.
