One of the most entertaining Contender Series nights we’ve seen at the UFC Apex saw five more fighters earn UFC contracts as each winner was handed a shot in the UFC after impressive wins in their Las Vegas showcase.
The featured bout of the night saw lightweight James Llontop dominate Malik Lewis over the full three-round duration to earn a shutout win on the scorecards, but his clean unanimous decision victory was just one of a host of eye-catching displays from a hungry group of hopefuls.
The co-featured bout saw Brazilian heavyweight Jhonata Diniz extend his perfect professional record to 6-0 with a first-round TKO of compatriot Eduardo Neves, while Steven Nguyen stopped AJ Cunningham in the second round of their featherweight matchup.
Brazilian strawweight Julia Polastri got the job done inside the distance with the only submission finish of the night as she defeated Patricia Alujas via second-round rear-naked choke, and the opening bout of the card saw an all-out war between Brazil’s Jean Matsumoto and American Kasey Tanner, with Matsumoto earning his shot in the UFC with a unanimous decision victory to extend his record to 14-0.
After an event that Dana White described as the “best night of the season,” the UFC CEO announced the contract winners, and also confirmed that he would pay win bonuses to two of the fighters that lost on the night, as Tanner and Cunningham received bumps to their respective pay packets for their performances.
Dana White’s Contender Series 62: Official results
- James Llontop def. Malik Lewis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Jhonata Diniz def. Eduardo Neves via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 3:15
- Steven Nguyen def. A.J. Cunningham via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:06
- Julia Polastri def. Patricia Alujas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:05
- Jean Matsumoto def. Kasey Tanner via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
