Bo Nickal lived up to the hype and then some, but it was not enough to gain entry to the Ultimate Fighting Championship—at least not yet.
The three-time NCAA wrestling champion submitted Zachary Borrego with a first-round rear-naked choke to highlight Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nickal executed an immediate takedown, threatened with a standing guillotine, transitioned seamlessly to the back and bit down on the fight-ending choke. It took all of 62 seconds. Borrego (4-1) never stood a chance. Even so, UFC President Dana White stopped short of welcoming Nickal to the UFC and instead offered him the opportunity to return later in Season 6, where the American Top Team-trained blue-chip prospect could punch his ticket to the promotion with a second win.
Though they were largely overshadowed by Nickal, three other hopefuls did earn contracts to the UFC: Erik Silva, Clayton Carpenter and Jamal Pogues.
A Costa Rica-based Brazilian wielding savage ground-and-pound, Silva dispatched Legacy Fighting Alliance alum Anvar Boynazarov with elbows and punches in the first round of their featherweight affair. The unwitting victim of an all-out rout, Boynazarov (3-1) checked out 1:32 into Round 1.
Silva (9-1) swooped in for a takedown inside the first 15 seconds, pinned the muay Thai stylist to the canvas and hit the accelerator. He dropped multiple elbows, forced Boynazarov to turtle to avoid further punishment and cut loose with punches until referee Mike Beltran had seen enough.
The 35-year-old Silva has won eight fights in a row, the last six via first-round finish.
Meanwhile, MMA Lab’s Carpenter kept his perfect professional record intact with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Edgar Chairez in a competitive three-round flyweight tilt. The undefeated Carpenter (6-0) swept the scorecards with 29-28 marks across the board.
Chairez (7-4) moved out to a quick start, rattled his counterpart on multiple occasions with jarring left hands and did substantial damage upstairs. Carpenter emerged for the second round with a serious hematoma underneath his right eye but managed to wade through the adversity. The John Crouch protégé switched gears, as he turned to takedowns and ground-and-pound in the second and third rounds. Carpenter climbed to full mount late in Round 2 and carried his momentum for the remainder of the match. He struck for multiple takedowns in the final period, worked from half guard and slashed away with elbows, opening a small cut near Chairez’s right eye.
The setback snapped a two-fight winning streak for Chairez.
Elsewhere, Syndicate MMA’s Pogues leaned on a potent jab and occasional punching bursts in capturing a unanimous decision over Paulo Renato Jr. in a three-round heavyweight scrap. All three judges sided with Pogues (9-3): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Renato Jr. (10-2) hammered the inside and outside of the Californian’s lead leg with punishing kicks but did little else of consequence. Pogues tested the waters with a few early head kicks but turned more and more to his lightning-quick jab. He staggered Renato Jr. twice in the third round, first with an overhand right and later with a left hook, but never sniffed a stoppage and settled for the decision.
The loss was the first for Renato Jr. since Dec. 13, 2014.
Finally, former Extreme Fighting Championship titleholder Karolina Wojcik cruised to a unanimous decision over Sandra Lavado in a three-round women’s strawweight pairing. All three cageside judges scored it for Wojcik (10-2): 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27.
Lavado (10-3) was a non-factor. Wojcik successfully navigated the significant height and reach disadvantages with which she was presented, crashed into clinch range and piled up points and control time. She struck for multiple takedowns across the final 10 minutes, passed guard and chipped away with ground-and-pound. Wojcik threatened with a rear-naked choke in the third round, and though the finish failed to materialize, her case had been made.
The 27-year-old Wojcik has rattled off four consecutive victories.
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