Gadzhi Omargadzhiev among Five Contract Winners at DWCS Week 9

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Gadzhi Omargadzhiev was bent on netting a UFC contract, and woe betide any man — or any ligaments — that got in his way.

The 28-year-old Russian prospect finished Jansey Silva with an excruciating-looking kneebar in the first round of their middleweight feature at DWCS Week 9. Omargadzhiev struck for an early takedown and the fight never made it back to the feet, as he stayed busy with chipping ground-and-pound while relentlessly working towards dominant positions. With just over a minute left in the round, Omargadzhiev leaned back for a leg attack. The Brazilian elected to try and defend by punching, but to no avail, as Omargadzhiev isolated and hyperextended Silva’s knee. Silva tapped quickly, and referee Herb Dean jumped in for the stoppage at 4 minutes, 19 seconds. With the win, the first kneebar in Contender Series history, the UFC-bound Omargadzhiev moves to 13-0 as a professional; Silva falls to 7-2.

Quinonez Outlasts Xiao

Cristian Quinonez used footwork, rangy kickboxing and aggression to turn back Long Xiao in their bantamweight contest. The win was not without adversity, as Xiao stumbled Quinonez with with punches in the first as well as second rounds, and pursued him in desperation mode for the final five minutes. The biggest moment of offense in the fight, however came late in the second round, when Quinonez knocked Xiao’s mouthpiece out with a flush uppercut, dropped him with a follow-up punch and easily evaded a dazed takedown attempt. After three spirited rounds, the Entram Gym prospect won by unanimous 30-27 scores, moving him to 15-3 and sending him up to the UFC. Xiao drops to 16-6 in defeat.

Basharat Steamrolls Kahlon

In a matchup fraught with heightened tension thanks to a weight miss and hurled slur by Oron Kahlon, Javid Basharat did his talking in the cage, mauling Kahlon from pillar to post on his way to a third-round stoppage. The UK-based Afghan took Kahlon down early in the first frame and pounded him mercilessly for a likely 10-8 round, then repeated the feat in the second round, showing little regard for Kahlon’s judo credentials. In the third round, it was a kick that dropped Kahlon to the ground, and this time Basharat went in for the kill, dropping heavy strikes before locking up a mounted guillotine choke for the tap. The submission came at 4:12 of Round 3, sending Basharat to 11-0 and to the UFC; Kahlon, who weighed in at 139 for the scheduled bantamweight fight, falls to 12-1.

Silva Strangles Yan

Karine Silva weathered a storm of takedowns from Qihui Yan, then turned the tables expertly for a second-round submission and UFC contract in their flyweight contest. Silva (14-4) had her hands full from the outset as the stocky and aggressive Yan came forward like a cannonball, taking her down almost immediately. However, the action was extremely even as Silva kept Yan on the defensive for much of the round with submission attempts and strikes from her back. In the second round, Yan landed another takedown, this one an emphatic slam, but Silva calmly wrapped the shorter woman’s neck up in a guillotine choke, closed her guard and held on for the tap, which came at 1 minute, 44 seconds. With the loss, Yan’s labyrinthine record goes to 20-4.

Torres Overwhelms Englund

The first of two Entram Gym representatives to net UFC contracts on Tuesday, Manuel Roberto Torres used superior reach and power — and an eye poke that went unaddressed by the referee — to make short work of Kolton Englund. Torres got the better of the early exchanges on the feet, stinging Englund with low kicks, one-twos and his long jab. When Englund dropped for a takedown, a close-quarters exchange led to the eye poke that, while it appeared unintentional, clearly compromised the Texan. Englund went into full retreat and Torres pursued, dropping him with a pair of punches and finishing the job with a torrent of ground-and-pound. Referee Dean stopped the beating at 2:10 of the first round, sending Torres to 11-2, while Englund falls to 9-4.

Murad Squeaks by Bin

In the featherweight opener, Oliver Murad took a razor-thin split decision over Xie Bin. The first two rounds were characterized by Murad’s slight edge on the feet and Bin’s attempts to bring the fight to the ground, with neither man truly putting his stamp on the fight. By the final round, both men had slowed visibly, and it was Murad who elected to shoot for the takedown. After another round that could have gone to either fighter, Murad prevailed with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29. It was good enough to bring his record to 6-0, but apparently not quite good enough to stamp his passport to the UFC, as Murad was the only winning fighter not to receive a contract. Bin falls to 8-3 in defeat.