UFC Inks Bahraini Heavyweight Shamil Gaziev, Three Others on Week 7 of DWCS

Shamil Gaziev has some scary tools at his disposal.

The KHK MMA Team member was one of four hopefuls to punch a ticket to the Ultimate Fighting Championship during Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he disposed of Greg Velasco with a palm-to-palm rear-naked choke in the first round of their heavyweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Velasco (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) bowed out 2:38 into Round 1.

Gaziev (11-0, 1-0 UFC) decked the Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder with a concussive straight right hand inside the first 10 seconds, withstood a harrowing exchange on the ground and eventually powered into top position. He moved to half guard, climbed to full mount and forced Velasco to surrender his back. From there, Gaziev cinched the choke, adjusted to a palm-to-palm grip and prompted the tapout.

Lightweight Kaynan Kruschewsky, flyweight Igor da Silva and women’s strawweight Stephanie Luciano are set to join Gaziev on the UFC roster.

Revira Black Team’s Kruschewsky put former Ring of Combat champion Dylan Mantello to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their lightweight affair. Mantello (7-3, 0-1 DWCS) lost his grip on reality 2:52 into Round 1, his three-fight winning streak at an end.

The 32-year-old Kruschewsky (15-2, 1-0 DWCS) set the tone with violent punching combinations and a few heavy leg kicks. The Jungle Fight titleholder executed a takedown midway through the first round, shed an attempted guillotine choke from Mantello and scrambled to the back. Kruschewsky waited for a moment of weakness, snuck his arms into place and let his squeeze do the rest.

It was the sixth first-round finish of Kruschewsky’s career.

A Jungle Fight champion, da Silva kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in overwhelming fashion, as he put away Nova Uniao’s Jhonata Silva with punches in the second round of their flyweight tilt. Silva (8-2, 0-1 DWCS) succumbed to blows 2:37 into Round 2, suffering his first defeat since May 22, 2016.

After a competitive first round, da Silva (8-0, 1-0 DWCS) found another gear in the second. He floored Silva with a left hook inside the first 20 seconds and unleashed a torrent of standing-to-ground punches and hammerfists. Da Silva slowed his attack when the finish did not materialize and ultimately reset in a standing position. Soon after, he dropped Silva with another clean left hook and poured on the punishment until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough.

Da Silva, 20, has finished all eight of his opponents.

Gordin Fight Team’s Luciano settled for a unanimous draw with the undefeated Talita Alencar in a three-round women’s strawweight pairing. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 28-28.

Alencar (4-0-1, 0-0-1 DWCS) took charge with takedowns, suffocating top control and some mild ground-and-pound, putting her world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to use across the first 10 minutes. Those efforts came at a cost, as fatigue became more and more of a factor. Luciano (5-1-1, 0-0-1 DWCS) managed to stay upright in the third round, where she let the punches and kicks fly. Alencar chased one ill-conceived takedown attempt after another, only to be met by an effective sprawl. Luciano pursued the finish in the waning moments, as she pinned the MMA Masters rep to the fence and hammered away with knees, punches and occasional kicks.

Finally, the American Kickboxing Academy’s Daniel James Allen Allen rode a persistent jab and clean combination punching to a unanimous decision over Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Jacobi Jones in a three-round lightweight showcase. Allen (5-0, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the cageside judges.

Jones (6-2, 0-1 DWCS) stayed competitive with kicks to the body and lead leg but ultimately failed to close the distance against a much longer opponent. Allen tripped the Factory X standout to the canvas in the third round, applied his ground-and-pound and scored with a mat return before moving back to an upright position. He closed with a flourish, as he crowded Jones along the cage and let fly with punches and knees to punctuate his performance.

The setback snapped a three-fight winning streak for Jones.