Carlos Prates, Two Others Land UFC Deals on Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series

Carlos Prates could not have envisioned a cleaner performance.

The Phuket Top Team product was one of three hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he punched out Mitch Ramirez in the second round of their welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Prates (17-6, 1-0 DWCS) slammed the door 74 seconds into Round 2.

Ramirez (7-1, 0-1 DWCS) was simply out of his depth and enjoyed little success outside of a first-round takedown. Prates picked apart the Syndicate MMA export with surgical combinations, utilizing everything from leg kicks and body kicks to close-range knees and devastating straight-line punches. He continued to wear out Ramirez in the middle stanza and eventually stepped into a searing left hand that sat him down and led referee Jason Herzog to call for the stoppage.

Lightweight Bolaji Oki and heavyweight Thomas Petersen joined Prates to complete the latest group of UFC signees, bringing the season total to 16.

Oki buried French kickboxing and muay thai stylist Dylan Salvador with a wicked left hook to the body in the first round of their lightweight pairing. Oki (8-1, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to a close 2:46 into Round 1, extending his winning streak to eight fights.

Salvador (5-2, 0-1 DWCS) tested the waters with a few counters and heavy leg kicks but struggled to answer the heat being hurled his way. Oki backed up the Frenchman with a pair of right hands to the head and a left hook to the body. Salvador retreated to the cage and did all he could to shield himself, to no avail. Oki cut loose with punches and dropped him to his knees with a left hook to the liver, prompting referee Gary Copeland to intervene.

The 30-year-old Salvador had never before been finished.

Meanwhile, Petersen put away “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 alum Chandler Cole with a keylock in the second round of their heavyweight tilt. A former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, Petersen (8-1, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 68 seconds into Round 2.

Cole (10-4, 0-1 DWCS) fired kicks at the body and legs but could not stay upright. Petersen executed two takedowns in the first round and fed his counterpart punches and elbows, foreshadowing what was ahead. Cole could not adjust quickly enough. Petersen followed a right uppercut into the clinch at the start of the middle stanza, then secured another single-leg takedown before shedding an attempted guillotine and moving to side control. From there, he advanced to a mounted crucifix, isolated the left arm and bit down on the keylock to force the tapout.

All eight of Petersen’s wins have come via knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Elsewhere, Xtreme Couture’s Timothy Cuamba rode lightning-quick combinations and sublime lateral movement to a unanimous decision over Battlefield Fight League champion Mateo Alejandro Vogel in their three-round featherweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for the Las Vegas native.

Cuamba (7-1, 1-0 DWCS) called upon multi-punch volleys, sneaky counterstrikes and airtight takedown defense across the first two rounds. Vogel (8-3, 0-1 DWCS) had issues with the speed discrepancy between the two men but invested in heavy leg kicks and eventually managed to close the distance. He delivered a takedown midway through Round 3, advanced to the back and secured his position with a body triangle. Cuamba successfully defended his neck and cut off the Canadian’s path to a submission as time ran out.

The 24-year-old Cuamba has won four fights in a row.

Finally, Marcio Tulio Silva Costa waded through early adversity to claim a unanimous decision over Teixeira MMA rep Yousri Belgaroui in a three-round middleweight battle. Operating out of the Chute Boxe affiliate fronted by Diego Lima, the Brazilian swept the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the cageside judiciary.

Belgaroui (5-3, 0-1 DWCS) kept his opponent on the end of his punches for much of the first round and made the most of his five-inch height and 4.5-inch reach advantages. However, he slowly but surely relinquished momentum. Costa upped his aggression in Round 2, where he attacked the body, legs and head with kicks, forcing the Dutchman onto his back foot. The third round was a runaway. Costa drove the Glover Teixeira protégé to the fence with punches, secured a takedown and went to work. Elbows and punches flowed as he moved from half guard to side control before briefly shifting to a mounted crucifix. The finish Costa pursued never materialized, but he nevertheless got his arm raised in decisive fashion.

Costa, 28, has rattled off six straight victories.