Talison Teixeira did his job and immediately piqued interest.
The Team Mineiro prospect, one of four prospects to sign an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, knocked out Arthur Lopez with punches in the first round of Tuesday’s heavyweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-7 monster Teixeira (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) slammed the door 1 minute, 57 seconds into the first round.
Lopez (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) closed the distance with hard hooks from both hands but couldn’t land them with full force. Teixeira kept his cool under pressure, dodging punches and landing precision strikes. He backed Lopez up with a knee and slammed him to the canvas with a laser-guided right cross. Teixeira followed with standing-to-the-ground hammerfists before referee Gary Copeland arrived on the scene.
The 24-year-old Teixeira has stopped all seven of his opponents in the first round.
Bantamweight Elijah Smith, middleweight Ateba Abega Gauthier and lightweight Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada are expected to join Teixeira on the UFC roster in the coming weeks and months.
Team Victory’s Smith overcame fatigue adversity to defeat Aaron Thau by unanimous decision in a three-round donnybrook at 135 pounds, proving he can weather the challenges that await him at the sport’s highest level. Smith (7-1, 1-0 DWCS) won a cageside decision by a 29-28 scorecard decision.
Tau (8-1, 0-1 DWCS) made Smith tough. Despite being picked apart for much of the second round, the City Kickboxing native pressed forward fearlessly. Tau racked up points with clean combinations, backed them up with takedowns and nearly finished the fight with an anaconda choke in the middle stanza. Tau stepped up another gear in the third round, putting the Colorado Springs native on his back foot and landing powerful punches with both hands. Smith returned fire as his gas tank allowed him to, and managed to stave off a late counterattack from the New Zealander.
Smith is just 22 years old and is on a five-fight winning streak.
Manchester Top Team’s Gautier knocked out Pancrase champion Yura Naito with punches in the second round of their middleweight bout. Gautier (6-1, 1-0 DWCS) ended the bout four minutes into the second round, extending his winning streak to five fights, all with finishes.
Naito (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) spent much of the first period in top position after getting a takedown, using ground-and-pound but failing to do any damage. Gautier stepped up his takedown defense in the middle rounds, got the Japanese wrestler on his feet and took him down with two brutal punches. As Naito’s left eye swelled shut, Gautier pounced with elbows, punches and hammerfists. Gautier eventually got into full guard and fought back with hammerfists and punches to stop the bout.
Team Alpha Male’s Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada put Dylan Mantero to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their lightweight bout. Mantero (8-4, 0-2 DWCS) was knocked unconscious 2 minutes, 41 seconds into the third round, suffering his second loss in three bouts.
Hassanzada (11-3, 1-1 DWCS) was taken down by a counter right hand by Mantero in the second round, but he survived the knockdown and eventually wore down the Serra Longo Fight Team representative with his speed and tenacity. He took Mantero down within the first 90 seconds of the third round, jumping to his back and securing a position in a body triangle. Light ground pound followed, with Hassanzada gently putting his arms in place, tightening the grip and waiting for his opponent to go limp.
The 27-year-old Hassanzada has now achieved three consecutive wins.
After multiple takedowns and significant time in control, Forge Fight Team’s Benjamin Bennett earned a controversial split decision victory over Joey Hart in a three-round welterweight bout. All three cageside judges scored the fight 29-28, with two of them favoring Bennett (7-1, 1-0 DWCS), who left the arena without a contract in hand.
Hart (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) deployed an effective stand-up game and did his part to prevent takedowns. In the stand-up, he made the most of his six-inch reach advantage with a strong jab, kicks to the underside of his lead leg and step knees. But it wasn’t enough. Bennett let his guard down in the third round and engaged the Start BJJ star in a stand-up battle, luring him forward and doubling down on his jab and left hook. His aggression and grappling effort earned him favorable marks on two of the three scorecards and sent him to the winner’s circle.
The setback ended Hart’s four-match winning streak.
