The third week of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series was a bizarre night of fights, with two of five bouts ending by injury TKO/a doctor’s stoppage. In the main event of the evening at The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas, Karl Roberson knocked Ryan Spann out in 15 seconds. In the co-feature, Titan FC welterweight champ Jason Jackson fell to underdog Kyle Stewart after injuring his lower leg or ankle early in the second round.
White, the UFC president, handed out two contracts to his organization on Tuesday; they went to the main event winner, Roberson, as well as Geoff Neal, who won by TKO in the first round.
Karl Roberson def. Ryan Spann via knockout (strikes) at :15 of round 1
The light-heavyweight headliners got going quickly in the first round. Spann closed the distance in a matter of moments, but while on defense, Roberson landed three devastating elbows in the clinch that knocked Spann out.
Kyle Stewart def. Jason Jackson via TKO (leg injury) at :21 of round 2
Jason Jackson started out well against Kyle Stewart, clinching early in the first round and landing a pair of takedowns. Jackson was unsuccessful in his bid for full mount, and Stewart got back to his feet. Jackson landed a knee while separating from Stewart. Jackson, who started to tire mid way through the first five minutes, returned to the clinch position, where he landed a few solid shots. Stewart scored his biggest moment in the fight when he dropped Jackson; he started to look for a submission, but got reversed and ended the round with Jackson on his back looking for a rear-naked choke.
Early in the first round, Jackson’s ankle bent multiple times, he fell backwards, and was clearly in pain. The referee stepped in and called the fight off.
Geoff Neal def. Chase Waldon via knockout (punches) at 1:56 of round 1
After a few shots on the feet from both fighters, Waldon clinched, but Neal did more damage with knees on defense. Waldon looked for a single-leg takedown, then secured a double-leg takedown. Neal showed off solid defense and got back up pretty quickly. He landed a powerful left hook that dropped Waldon and followed up with heavy ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to step in.
Alonzo Menifield def. Daniel Jolly via TKO (doctor’s stoppage – eye injury) at 5:00 of round 1
Daniel Jolly pushed him up against cage to open up the round, but Menifield reversed, and shortly thereafter they separate. Menifield closed the distance, where Jolly landed an illegal knee down low. The fight was briefly paused. After the bout restarts, Jolly, who seemed to have the advantage on the mat, scored a takedown, and tried to work from full guard. After the referee stands the fighters up due to inactivity, Jolly lands a solid punch, and Menifield looks to clinch himself. The rather lackluster round comes to an end, and between the first and second round, Jolly tells his corner he can’t see out of his eye. The doctor overhears and calls the bout off.
Dan Ige def. Luis Gomez via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:23 of round 3
After an exchange on the feet to kick things off, Ige scored a takedown. After getting back up, Gomez landed a few shots on the feet, but was briefly knocked down by Ige, who also scored a takedown. Ige got his hooks in and and started to hunt for an early submission. Gomez got back to his feet, but was visibly still wobbly. Ige started to be the aggressor in the bout, and landed a big punch that hurt his opponent. Gomez landed his first takedown of the fight, and Ige hunted from a submission from the bottom to not very much success. Ige separated and got back to his feet and Gomez started to look to take the back. Ige ended the round landing a crisp combination.
In round two, Ige, again, landed some good shots. Gomez was certainly able to show off his chin in this fight. Gomez scored another takedown around the halfway mark of the second round, but the referee stood the fighters up. Ige, who clearly had an advantage on the feet, lands more volume on the feet, and appeared to be the fresher fighter. Gomez closed the round with a takedown in hopes to steal the round in the judges’ eyes.
Ige pressured his opponent early in the final round, but Gomez got him down and comes close to sinking in a choke. Ige managed to get back to his feet, but Gomez looked for a couple more takedowns after that. Ige, after getting takedown, reversed the position and briefly looked for a kimura. He took the back of Gomez, and eventually flattened Gomez out. He had to fight for it, but he sunk in a rear-naked choke and Gomez tapped out.