The night kicked off with a blistering 64-second TKO finish from undefeated Donte Johnson, who had competed in his previous two outings at light heavyweight, but moved up to heavyweight for his short-notice Contender Series chance.
That proved to be a smart move, as he used an irresistible combination of speed and aggression to finish Darion Abbey in the first round and earn an approving nod from UFC boss White at Octagonside.
Johnson’s victory set the tone for the rest of the evening, with Brazilian lightweight Manoel Sousa producing a thrilling come-from-behind performance to stop Cristian Perez in the final round.
That was followed by a 30-second demolition job, as hard-hitting Turkish prospect and Ares FC light heavyweight champion Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev punched his ticket to the big stage with a quickfire finish of LFA vet Alik Lorenz.
LFA featherweight contender Marcio Barbosa earned his UFC spot with a first-round TKO finish of San Diego’s Cage Warriors vet Damon Wilson, to claim his 16th first-round finish in his 17-2 career.
In the featured bout of the evening, Brazilian middleweight prospect Ryan Gandra showed why he’s known as “Problema” as he stopped Xtreme Couture product Trent Miller in two minutes, 51 seconds to complete a full house of finishes.
After a night packed with high-octane action, UFC boss White was left impressed with all of the victors as he awarded contracts to each of the night’s winning athletes.
Dana White’s Contender Series: Official results
- Ryan Gandra def. Trent Miller via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:51
- Marcio Barbosa def. Damon Wilson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:14
- Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Alik Lorenz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:30
- Manoel Sousa def. Cristian Perez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:00
- Donte Johnson def. Darion Abbey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:04
