Luana Pinheiro 's first-round pummeling of herContender Series opponent Stephanie Frausto impressed Dana White he gave her aUFC contract.- The 26-year-old was one of three fighters to win UFC deals on the ninth week of the fourth season of the Contender Series, a separate entity to the UFC designed to funnel talent into the world's leading mixed martial arts firm.
- Natan Levy was one of the other two athletes to win contracts, and the featherweight fighter reportedly comes highly-rated from the UFC's lawyers and its Hollywood connections, MMA Fighting says.
- Levy slept Shaheen Santana with a third-round arm-triangle choke at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
- Watch both finishes below.
A 26-year-old fighter earned an instant UFC contract after putting her opponent down and out with impressive, rapid-fire fists.
Brazil's Luana Pinheiro earned her contract during the ninth week of the fourth season of Contender Series, a separate entity to the UFC, designed to funnel talent into the world's leading mixed martial arts firm.
The premise of each show is simple: Fight well enough to impress Dana White and earn a contract to compete in the UFC.
On Tuesday night in Las Vegas, strawweight Pinheiro did just that, earning a first-round finish after pummeling Stephanie Frausto with rapid-fire fists.
A seemingly unrelenting combination during a stand-up exchange put Frausto on her back and, sensing the finish, Pinheiro pounced on her floored opponent. Referee Jason Herzog was forced to call the bout off after Pinheiro's unanswered ground-and-pound.
It was a statement-making performance from Pinheiro, who adds her name to an exciting 115-pound weight class in the UFC.
Watch the knockout here:
—UFC (@ufc) November 11, 2020
With victory, Pinheiro advanced her pro MMA record to eight wins (two knockouts, five submissions, and one decision) against one loss.
Elsewhere on the card, Nikolas Motta and Natan Levy also earned UFC deals with White saying the latter was being highly commended by people in prominent places.
As MMA Fighting reported: "Levy had drawn the praise of the promotion's lawyers and Hollywood connections as a dominant fighter from Israel."
Levy had dominated Shaheen Santana with his superior grappling skills in a featherweight match, before sending his opponent to sleep with an arm-triangle choke in the third round.
Watch Levy sleep Santana here:
—UFC (@ufc) November 11, 2020
The victory advanced Levy's pro MMA unbeaten record to six wins (three submissions and three decisions).
It is, as of yet, unclear when Pinheiro, Levy, or Motta will make their UFC debuts, but it will likely be in the coming months.
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