Navajo Starling lived up to considerable expectations with a memorable performance.
City Kickboxing prospect Sterling was one of three prospects to earn a UFC contract during Week Five of Dana White’s Contender Series, scoring a sensational one-punch knockout of Philippe Latu in the second round of Tuesday’s light heavyweight showcase at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sterling (5-0, 1-0 DWCS) sealed the deal 2 minutes, 21 seconds into the second round.
Latu (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) struggled to manage distance against the 6’4″ New Zealander but managed to land some powerful punches, especially a counter right uppercut. Sterling fought back with a variety of weapons, including low kicks, front kicks to the body, jabs, lead left hooks and arm strikes at close range. Midway through the middle rounds, both fighters traded left hooks. Sterling’s hook landed first, sending the Forge Fight Club representative to the canvas in a disoriented state. No follow-up punches were needed.
Women’s flyweight Nicole Cagliari and bantamweight Josias Moussa are expected to join Sterling on the UFC roster in the coming weeks and months. The Thai-Brazilian Cagliari defeated UAE Warriors champion Corinne Laframboise by armbar in the first round of their women’s flyweight bout. Cagliari (8-2, 1-0 DWCS) ended the bout 4:45 into the first round to record her fourth straight win.
Laframboise (8-5, 0-1 DWCS) landed a takedown late in the period and combined it with ground-and-pound, but the BTT Canadian paid the price when he let the Brazilian’s guard down too much, exposing his limbs and leaving Cagliari prone with an armbar that adjusted his grip, prompting a verbal tap-out.
The setback was Laframboise’s first in more than four years.
Meanwhile, Elite Training Center’s Moussa maintained his perfect professional record with a split decision win over Otari Tanjirov in a three-round bantamweight bout. The three cageside judges, Michael Bell and Junichiro Kamijo for the unbeaten Moussa and Tony Weeks for Tanjiro, scored the decision 29-28.
Moussa (8-0, 1-0 DWCS) came forward with punches, choked the Syndicate MMA-trained Georgian in the clinch and deployed an effective get-up game throughout the 15-minute fight. Tanzilov (9-1, 0-1 DWCS) stayed aggressive with kicks, landed knee strikes at close range and earned multiple takedowns, but his inability to contain Moussa on the canvas hurt him in practice and likely affected the scorecards.
Meanwhile, Teixeira MMA’s Yousri Bergarouy held on despite multiple point deductions for being poked in the eye to knock out Taiga Iwasaki with punches in the third round of their middleweight co-fight. Bergarouy (8-3, 1-1 DWCS), the Rebels Fight League champion, ended the bout 2 minutes, 34 seconds into the third round.
Iwasaki (9-2, 0-1 DWCS) repeatedly charged headfirst into the clinch, disrupting the flow of the fight and landing several close-range strikes. Bergarui kept his cool, landing hard jabs at his opponent followed by clean right hands. Iwasaki finally hit the wall in the third round. Bergarui forced Iwasaki to back off with a hard knee to the body, locked him in on top with a jumping switch knee and followed up with punches. Iwasaki backed off and fought back for a while before taking repeated blows to the head and collapsing against the fence.
The 32-year-old Vergarui was on a three-fight winning streak, but a foul-marred campaign wasn’t enough to earn him a UFC contract.
Finally, unbeaten Cody Steele’s lightweight bout was canceled after his opponent, Kemuel Ottoni, withdrew at the last minute. Steele is scheduled to return later in the season.
