Contender Series 9 results and video: Hardy gets UFC deal with big KO

Check out what happened at Dana White’s Contender Series 9, including former NFL player Greg Hardy winning his pro debut with a 57 second KO of Austen lane.

The 2018 season opener of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series just wrapped up, and former NFL player Greg Hardy won his professional debut with a speedy knockout of Austen Lane in just 57 seconds into the first round. Despite now being 1-0, Hardy won himself a UFC contract. Also getting it done early and earning a UFC contract, Alonzo Menifield dropped Dashawn Boatwright with a right hand, and then finished up with ground strikes to get the TKO victory in a swift eight seconds.

After a technical back and forth standup fight, Chris Curtis blasted off with some sweet chin music to TKO Sean Lally in the third round. Despite losing two points on three fouls, Montel Jackson pushed to get a TKO of Rico DiSciullo in the third round. Opening up the card, Kevin Holland overcame being dropped by a big hook to win a unanimous decision over Will Santiago.

Tune in next week as the 2018 season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series continues.

Greg Hardy def. Austen Lane by KO at :57 of round 1: Heavyweight

The big men went right after it, with Lane finishing a flurry with a cracking leg kick. The action was brought to a halt due to a Hardy eye poke, but the bout was quickly restarted. Lane landed a nice combo, but then boom went the dynamite. Hardy connected with a ginormous right hand that staggered Lane, and then put him down with the left hand to win his professional debut.

Watch Greg Hardy win his professional debut by knockout:

Check out Dana White’s reaction to Hardy’s knockout:

Alonzo Menifield def. Dashawn Boatwright by TKO at :08 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Boatwright opened up the bout with a head kick, but Menifield connected with a blazing right hand that dropped Boatwright. Menifield unloaded with some serious ground and pound, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight just eight seconds into the match. Well then.

Chris Curtis def. Sean Lally by TKO at 1:37 of round 3: Welterweight

Curtis took the center of the cage, as Lally darted in and out with strikes. The pressure of Curtis started to pick up as he would draw out the punches of Lally to land some counter punches of his own. Lally connected with a few strikes as Curtis continued to come forward, but definitely appeared to be wearing the round a lot worse than Curtis was.

A left cross landed for Curtis and a lead hook landed for lally to open the second round. The volume of Lilly was noticeably higher than the output of Curtis, but when Curtis did connect, his punches appeared to have more of an impact than the strikes of his opponent. The welterweights continued to exchange combos for the remainder of the round, with each man getting in their licks.

Lally blasted a head kick to start the final frame, causing Curtis to briefly backpedal. It wasn’t long before Curtis was the one pressing forward and Lally was the one with his back to the cage. Just when we thought this technical kickboxing bout was going to go the distance, Curtis cracked off with a lead hook kick, dropping Lally like a sack of potatoes. Curtis followed up with a few ground strikes before the referee stepped in to rescue Lally.

Montel Jackson def. Rico DiSciullo by TKO at 2:15 of round 3: Bantamweight

DiSciullo went right at Jackson with a variety of striking techniques. Jackson did well with defending what came his way, and started to pressure forward ever so slightly. All of the sudden, Jackson started to swarm, landing a big knee followed by a barrage of punches that dropped DiSciullo. Just when Jackson had his opponent on the ropes, he landed an illegal elbow to the back of the head, resulting in a break in the action as well as a point being deducted. Once the time was restarted, Jackson got right back to business, backing up his foe to the fence. In another brain fart, Jackson landed an accidental low blow that caused another break in the action. Not much of anything happened before the bell sounded once when the fight was restarted.

DiSciullo came out launching leg kicks to start the second stanza, but Jackson got on the inside and began to grind on DiSciullo. Jackson achieved multiple takedowns and started running away with the fight, not giving DiSciullo any space to do anything. DiSciullo Tried to get his striking going early in the third, landing several slick punches. Jackson fired back with classic 1-2’s, but then picked up his third foul of the fight when he poked DiSciullo in the eye. The doctor came in to check the condition of DiSciullo’s eye, and assessed that DiSciullo was fit to continue.

The referee deducted another point from Jackson, and the bout resumed. DiSciullo started to throw with urgency, but ducked right into a knee that set up the finishing sequence. Jackson swarmed, landing all sorts of punches, and although the referee gave DiSciullo every opportunity to recover, the onslaught of Jackson proved to be to much.

Kevin Holland def. Will Santiago by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Middleweight

Holland came out limber, looking to throw his kicks while Santiago skirted along the outside. Santiago landed a huge hook that got the attention of Holland, and the scramble ensued. The bout simmered back down, which allowed Holland to score a mean knee that seemed to build up his confidence. Holland began talking to his foe, and even answered his cornermen directly as he began to out-technique Santiago.

A couple of spinning attacks opened up the second frame for Holland, but nothing really landed cleanly. A bit of a brawl broke out, with each man landed some solid punches in the pocket. Santiago had a big moment when he unloaded his massive right hand, but Holland quickly recovered and taunted Santiago in response. A massive cross wobbled Santiago, and he began to bleed under his left eye. The remainder of the round was dictated by Holland, who was the fighter throwing more volume.

Santiago dropped his opponent with a huge left hook to start the final round, but Holland stood right back up and resumed his varied striking attack. The taunting continued for Holland, even deploying a Stockton slap on multiple occasions. The output of Santiago really dwindled down the stretch, but he did score a late takedown with about a minute left in the fight. Holland blasted back up to his feet just to perform a flying guard pull for some reason, just as the clock expired.

Santiago has power in both hands:

Santiago packs a serious wallop in his right hand: