Carlos Prates has cracked open the door to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight elite.
The fast-rising Vale Top Team and Fighting Nerds stars competed in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Season 16 semifinals during the first round of the UFC Vegas 100 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He defeated advance winner Neil Magny. Magny (29-13 UFC, 22-12 UFC) fell victim to one of the fastest-growing 170-pound talents in the sport, checking out round one in 4 minutes, 50 seconds.
Prates (21-6 UFC, 4-0 UFC) remained patient against an experienced and volatile opponent. Magny passed with various takedowns, but none were successful. Even in the clinch, I found myself disabled. Late in the first round, Prates denied a takedown, chased the Elevation Fight Team mainstay across the Octagon, nailed him to the fence and slashed him with a left hand to the temple. Magny crashed face-first into the canvas. No follow-up shots were required.
Pratz, 31, has won 11 straight fights, 10 of which have been outright wins.
Meanwhile, former ONE Championship two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder finishes off Kill Cliff Fight Club stablemate Gerald Meerschaert with an arm triangle choke in the third round of the middleweight co-main event. , shined in their promotional debut. Meerschaert (37-18, 12-10 UFC) raised the white flag 1:44 into the third round, suffering his first submission loss in nearly six years.
De Ryder (18-2, 1-0 UFC) landed a left hook on the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion after a back-and-forth first round. Meerschaert responded in the middle, getting free from Nelson in the three quarters and throwing a flurry of punches before moving up to top position and incorporating ground and pound. However, fatigue remained in the third round as De Ridder scored a takedown, hit a guillotine choke, and scrambled to top position to full mount. From there, he nailed an arm triangle and let the bite do the rest.
De Ridder, 34, will take on his next assignment with the back-to-back wins as fuel.
Elsewhere, Combat Sports Academy graduate Gaston Bolanos bounced back from a technical knockout loss to Marcus McGee on Jan. 13 to defeat Cortavious Romias by unanimous decision in a disjointed three-round bantamweight bout. Bolanos (8-4, 2-1 UFC) dominated the scorecards with marks of 30-26, 30-27, 30-26 from the cageside referee.
Romias (9-3, 0-1 UFC) didn’t get off to a fast start. Bolanos changed the game midway through the middle, freeing himself from back control and hitting Dana White’s two-time Contender Series contestant with a vicious 12-6 elbow before running back to the standing position and closing out the fight. Added more punishment. -Knee and elbow range from clinch. Romias slipped during a body kick early in the third round and momentarily threatened with a calf slicer before allowing his opponent to get back to his feet. They then traded takedowns late in the fight, but Bolanos was able to deploy more effective ground and pound.
The setback ended Romias’ winning streak at two games.
Also on the main card, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 alum Gillian Robertson defeated Luana Pinheiro by unanimous decision in three rounds in the women’s strawweight division. All three cageside judges scored it 29-27, 29-28, 29-28 for the resurgent Robertson (15-8, 12-6 UFC).
Piñeiro (11-4, 3-3 UFC) called for an effective stand-up game, picking on the Canadian on the counter and closing the gap with stand-up exchanges, but ultimately his opponent’s persistence I couldn’t bear the pressure. Robertson did his best work in a dominant third round, getting takedowns and going to full mount multiple times, trapping the Brazilian in a topside crucifix, threatening him with a choke, and adding ground and pound. Ta. Although Pinheiro survived, he missed out on a chance to move up in the 115-pound rankings.
Robertson won his third straight match.
Finally, MMA Masters contender Mansour Abdul-Malik kept his perfect professional record intact in a stunning Octagon debut, defeating Dusko Todorovic with a knee and follow-up punches in the first round of the middleweight appetizer. Todorovic (12-5, 3-5 UFC) was defeated 2 minutes, 44 seconds into the first round, his third loss in four fights.
Abdul Malik (7-0, 1-0 UFC) was aggressive from the start. He drove Todorovic to the canvas in one of the first exchanges, exploded with a standing right, then unloaded with punches and hammerfists while defending a series of leglocks. Todorovic eventually made it to his feet, albeit with visible damage to his forehead. Abdul Malik kept up the pressure and took the former Serbian Battle Championship titleholder out of the clinch with a clean knee. More punches and hammerfists followed, resulting in a stoppage.
Undefeated Abdul Malik finished off all seven of his opponents, six of them finishing within one round.
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