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Mike Malott made Dana White’s decision easier.
A 29-year-old welterweight prospect who serves as the striking coach of the Alpha Male team, Malott (7-1-1) needed just 39 seconds to bulldozer Shimon Smotritsky (7-1) previously undefeated in Tuesday’s Contender main event. Series event and get a UFC contract.
With UFC Hall of Fame Urijah Faber cheering him on at the edge of the cage, and the same week his younger brother Jeff made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets, Malott ripped Smotritsky’s head off. when loading into the pocket and fell on his back to wrap a nasty guillotine choke. and the second fastest submission in Contender Series history.
“It’s a blessing to be able to do what you love in life,” said an emotional Malott after the fight, “and now I can make a living doing it.”
Malott’s performance highlighted a night of four UFC contracts for White.
In the main co-event, flyweights Carlos Hernandez (7-1) and Daniel Barez (12-5) went to war in one of the most comprehensive and high-level fights of this Contender Series season.
Every man has had his moments, with Barez nearly ensuring a choke at the back in the closing seconds of the first round and Hernandez returning the favor in the early stages of the second. Third frame was a back-and-forth affair, but in the end, Hernandez’s 80-45 advantage in punch volume took precedence over Barez’s 5-0 advantage in the eliminations. Two judges scored the contest 29-28 for Hernandez, while a dissident scored it 29-28 for Barez, giving Hernandez the split decision victory and his seventh consecutive victory overall.
With this victory, Hernandez landed a UFC contract.
Elsewhere, Fortis MMA product Fernie Garcia (10-1) only needed 2:10 in the first round to get through Josh Weems (8-2) and score a UFC contract despite Weems missing weight from three pounds.
Garcia landed a heavy right hook through the guard and behind the ear to drop Weems down the fence, then leaped up with a barrage of punches to cement the stop.
Subsequently, White called Garcia’s UFC “obvious.”
“Man, it’s so nice to finally join the party at Fortis,” Garcia said. “Everyone is at the UFC except me, so it’s really nice to finally join the party and have some colleagues there.”
The opening fight of the night saw lightweights Genaro Valdez (10-0) and Patrik White (9-2) set UFC Apex on fire with a heated back-and-forth brawl.
Despite entering Tuesday’s event as the 9-1 betting favorite – and this season’s biggest Contender Series betting favorite – Valdez has had anything but an easy night. White took the guns by storm and the two lightweight weights spent the entirety of the first round fighting with wild combinations inside the pocket, with White surprisingly gaining the upper hand in the majority of the rally. . But Valdez only needed 44 seconds after the second round to bring all of his momentum back on his side, dropping White with a flurry of looping hooks that forced referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.
A training partner of UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, Valdez won the fourth and final UFC contract of the night.
The only winner to return home without a UFC deal was middleweight Joseph Holmes (6-1), who subdued Shonte Barnes (6-2-1) with a bare back choke in the second round at 2:46 of the second round.
After a grinding opening frame, Holmes tripped his foe to the ground with a kick along the fence, then jumped onto his back and meandered into the end-of-fight choke with swiftness.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Holmes is said to have entered the UFC tied with champion Israel Adesanya as the tallest middleweight on the list. Instead, White revealed that Holmes had already agreed to fight again on November 14 at a Fury FC event that will be filmed for the UFC’s other prospect-hunting show, Dana White is looking for a fight.
Full DWCS Season 5, Week 6 results can be seen below.
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