The impressive main event performances in this season's Dana White's Contender Series events continued on Tuesday with Adam Darby's third-round stoppage of Patrick Rivera at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Darby, the current Cage Warriors welterweight champion, used his long 6-foot-3 frame to keep the shorter Rivera at bay from the opening bell. With the distance established, Darby worked behind long straight punches and kicks as Rivera struggled to build any momentum.
Darby showed a patient, professional approach, never pressing his advantage too hard and simply picking away at Rivera.
By the end of the second round, Rivera's face was bloodied and it seemed his best chance at a victory was the moral kind of simply reaching the final bell.
Darby wasn't content to sit back on a comfortable lead and continued to slam home shots as Rivera's face became more and more of a mess. After the referee stepped in to allow the doctor to check Rivera, the fight was waived off and Darby improved to 8-1 as a professional. The fight was the first on American soil for the Irishman, who will likely fight in America more often as a member of the UFC welterweight roster.
Kerry Hatley calls this one off in R3 💪Adam Darby walks away with the TKO![ #DWCS | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/iZ9vnw0q4X
In the night's co-main event, Modestino Rodrigues came out of the gate like a house on fire, charging forward with a constant barrage of punches. It took less than 15 seconds for one of those Rodrigues shots, a right hand, to catch Brandon Holmes on the chin and drop him for the stoppage. With the win, Rodrigues improved to 8-1 in his professional MMA career, with all nine of his fights ending by knockout. After the fight, UFC CEO Dana White called the stoppage one of the worst he'd ever seen, but said it was not Rodrigues' fault before awarding him a UFC contract.
In a fun and bloody lightweight scrap, Silvestre Sanchez took Liam McCraken's best shots but never stopped coming forward. With steady pressure in both the grappling and striking game, Sanchez eventually broke down McCraken before a left hook put McCraken down for the finish in Round 3.
Despite entering Tuesday as a +185 underdog, Gabriel Lorenco impressed with a stoppage of Charlie Cleveland in their heavyweight clash. Lorenco dropped Cleveland with a wide punch and continued to pour on the damage until the referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:02 mark of Round 1.
Fighters receiving UFC contracts indicated by *
