Mike
Malott needed less than a minute to handle his business.
The
Team Alpha Male rep was one of four competitors to earn an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on
Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the
previously unbeaten Shimon
Smotritsky with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
welterweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Malott (7-1-1) sealed the deal 39 seconds into Round 1.
Smotritsky (7-1) took the bait, moved in for a potential takedown
and immediately found himself entangled in the guillotine. His situation went from bad to worse to downright
dire as Malott improved his positioning and tightened his squeeze
on the choke. Smotritsky waved the white flag soon after.
In addition to Malott, UFC President Dana
White awarded contracts former Hoosier Fight Club champion
Carlos
Hernandez, Fortis MMA standout Fernando
Garcia and undefeated Entram Gym prospect Genaro
Valdez.
Hernandez outstruck and outpaced Daniel
Barez to a split decision in a competitive three-round
flyweight attraction. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28:
Sal D’Amato for Barez, Michael Bell and Tony Weeks for
Hernandez.
Barez (12-5) delivered multiple takedowns and managed to hold his
own in the standup exchanges for much of the match. Hernandez (7-1)
shifted the momentum in the middle stanza, where he shoved the
Spaniard to the canvas, settled in side control and eventually
transitioned to the back. From there, he flattened out Barez, piled
up points with ground-and-pound and fished for a rear-naked choke.
While the finish failed to materialize, the message was sent.
Hernandez answered takedowns from the Combate Global veteran with
body-head combinations in the third round. The VFS Academy export
pieced together a volley of punches and kicks against the fatigued
Barez in the waning seconds, leaving the judges something by which
to remember him.
Hernandez, 27, has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Meanwhile, Garcia took care of Joshua
Weems with punches in the first round of their bantamweight
showcase. Weems (9-2) succumbed to blows 2:10 into Round 1, his
eight-fight winning streak having run its course.
Garcia (10-1) weathered an early one-two, a few stinging leg kicks
and some close-range knee strikes from his aggressive counterpart.
He decked Weems behind the ear with an overhand
right, trailed him to the canvas and drowned him with unanswered
follow-up punches.
The 29-year-old Garcia has won five fights in a row.
Elsewhere, Valdez put away Patrik
White with punches in the second round of their lightweight
pairing. The last man standing in an epic firefight, Valdez (10-0)
brought it to a close 44 seconds into Round 2.
White (9-2) swung for the fences and almost made it pay off. The
Avalanche Wrestling rep surrendered multiple takedowns, ate punches
that sent his mouthpiece flying and withstood an attempted
rear-naked choke in a breakneck first round. By the end of it,
White appeared to turn the tide in his favor with sweeping bursts
of power punches to the head. Bleeding from a cut on his forehead
and exhausted by wild standup exchanges, Valdez looked like a spent
force at the start of Round 2. He nevertheless stormed out of his corner, floored
White with a left hook-right cross-left hook combination and
pounced with follow-up punches to prompt the stoppage.
Valdez, 29, has finished all 10 of his opponents.
Finally, Glory MMA rep Joseph
Holmes submitted Shonte
Barnes with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
middleweight battle. Holmes (6-1) drew the curtain 2:46 into Round
2, as the James
Krause protege extended his winning streak to six bouts. The
UFC plans to chart his progress at a Fury Fighting Championship
event in November.
Operating out of an American Top Team affiliate in Asheville, North
Carolina, Barnes (6-2-1) never managed to establish himself as more
than a one-punch or one-kick threat. Holmes struck for a takedown early in the second
round, secured his position with hooks and cinched the choke.
After a brief struggle, Barnes capitulated.
The loss was Barnes’ first since March 18, 2017.