Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, Four Others Granted Entry to UFC on Week 2 of DWCS

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady was virtually flawless in terms of execution.

The Fortis MMA lightweight was one of five prospective competitors to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship Championship contract during Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over George Hardwick on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Al-Selwady (15-3, 1-0 DWCS) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from all three judges.

Hardwick (12-2, 0-1 DWCS) was never out of it but simply lacked enough of the necessary answers. Al-Selwady leaned on educated feints and stellar lateral movement, all while mixing in leg kicks and clean punching combinations. The former Fury Fighting Championship and Brave Combat Federation titleholder’s footwork kept him out of danger and allowed his hands and gas tank to work to maximum effect. When Hardwick landed, he was limited to single shots.

The 28-year-old Al-Selwady will carry a five-fight winning streak into the UFC, where bantamweight Charalampos Grigoriou, women’s strawweight Eduarda Moura, light heavyweight Ibo Aslan and featherweight Hyder Amil are slated to join him.

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Serra Longo Fight Team’s Grigoriou put away Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Cameron Smotherman with punches in the first round of their bantamweight pairing. Grigoriou (8-3, 1-0 DWCS) brought it to a close 60 seconds into Round 1.

Smotherman (8-4, 0-1 DWCS) operated behind his jab and a few multi-punch bursts but never had a true opportunity to get in gear. Grigoriou blasted the Metro Fight Club rep with a left hook and floored him with a right cross, then pounced with hammerfists and punches to prompt the stoppage.

Grigoriou, 31, has rattled off four straight victories.

Meanwhile, Moura kept her perfect professional record intact and did so with cold and efficient calculation, as the former Demo Fight champion dispatched Janaina Silva with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their women’s strawweight clash. Silva (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) conceded defeat 4:00 into Round 1.

Moura (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) completed a takedown inside the first 15 seconds and let her skills do the rest. She progressed from full guard to half guard to side control, all while feeding Silva an unhealthy dose of ground-and-pound. Moura then threatened to move to a topside crucifix, transitioned to full mount and quickly floated to the back. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place.

It was the seventh first-round finish of Moura’s career.

Elsewhere, Gym 23’s Aslan wiped out onetime Inside Fighters League champion Paulo Renato Jr. with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight confrontation. Renato Jr. (12-3, 0-2 DWCS) checked out 2:22 into Round 1, suffering his first stoppage loss in 15 professional appearances.

Neither man seemed willing to lead the dance initially. That changed in a hurry. Aslan (12-1, 1-0 DWCS) connected with a clubbing right hook at short range, backed the Brazilian toward the fence and flurried with punches. Renato Jr. collapsed under duress and offered no intelligent defense from a seated position at the base of the fence, leading referee Blake Grace to intervene on his behalf.

Finally, El Nino Training Center’s Amil worked through exhaustion to stay undefeated with a hard-fought, grimy unanimous decision over Emrah Sonmez in a three-round featherweight tilt. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Amil (8-0, 1-0 DWCS).

Sonmez (14-4, 0-1 DWCS), who missed weight for the match by one pound, certainly made him earn it. The two men were in non-stop motion during a 15-minute struggle marked by scrambles and position changes. Amil appeared to have a little more horsepower with which to work down the stretch. He freed himself from takedowns, made Sonmez pay with some ground-and-pound and even threatened the neck on occasion, doing just enough to sway the judiciary.

The setback snapped a three-fight winning streak for Sonmez.