Aleksa Camur (5-0) kept his professional record unblemished, taking home a stoppage win over Fabio Cherant (4-1) just seconds after nearly being finished, himself.

The light heavyweight bout served as the featured contest of Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 22 event, which streamed live on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Known for boxing, opened the contest with a pair of kicks, establishing the center and looking to attack. Cherant eventually answered with a big high kick of his own, but it was Camur who set the pace to start. Cherant was generally on the back foot, but he showed power when he did throw, and Camur generally followed him around the cage rather than cutting it off.

Both men threw heavy with their strikes, but neither could really land clean before the bell.

Cherant came out swinging in the second, and he caused some early damage with a big left hand. However, a scrambling Camur delivered a flying knee that sent his opponent staggering to the canvas. Cherant did his best to recover, but Camur scrambled his way to a dominant position and then started swinging away. Cherant couldn’t get free, and Camur didn’t stop punching until the fight was waved off at the 48-second mark, earning him a UFC deal.

In a featherweight contest, Aalon Cruz (8-2) finished his fight with Steven Nguyen (6-1) in such spectacular fashion that UFC president Dana White promised him a UFC deal before he even left the cage.

Nguyen came out throwing bombs to start the contest, but Cruz was ready to reply, landing an early front kick to the face. Still, Nguyen remained composed, moving forward and looking to land his powerful punches. Controlling the center, Nguyen was meticulous in his attack. Cruz seemed to slow a bit was the round wore on, but his quick, flashy kicks did prove a constant danger.

Both men had moments of success, and Nguyen’s face was the one that showed the greater wear, even though it seemed he controlled more of the frame.

Nguyen again moved forward in the second, appearing composed as he took the center and looked to attack while avoiding Cruz’s dangerous kicks. Nguyen was content to box, and it brought him some success, but Cruz knew what was coming and was able to plan his counters accordingly. A Cruz leaping knee appeared to land flush, but Nguyen walked right through it.

Cruz teased a few takedown attempts, but Nguyen pushed them side with relative ease, and the two continued to trade until the bell.

Nguyen again established the center in the third, though he did unleash a few more kicks to start. Both seemed fresh enough, and it was Nguyen who continued to be the aggressor, though Cruz was clearly dangerous in reply. Cruz was very busy late, though Nguyen seemed to block most of them. However, in the final minute, Cruz unleashed a flying knee that landed clean, sending Nguyen crashing to the floor and ending the fight in highlight-reel fashion, with UFC boss White openly expressing his amazement at the finish, which came at the 4:36 mark of the final frame, and earning the featherweight an invitation to the UFC.

In women’s flyweight action, Tracy Cortez (6-1) earned her sixth consecutive win, outpointing a previously unbeaten Mariya Agapova (6-1).

The action started quickly, with both women looking for an aggressive open. The taller Agapova looked to work from range and fire long left hands, while Cortez did her best to push forward and brawl in tight. As Agapova started to gain steam with her strikes, Cortez moved to the clinch, using a trip to take the action to the floor and then taking the back as her opponent tried to turn and stand.

With one hook in and her opponent kneeling, Cortez was able to get the second hook in place and flatter things out on the floor. Agapova defended well though, and she was able to hold off the choke and then escape back to her feet. Still, Cortez kept the action tight and then scored another takedown late in frame, finishing the round on her opponent’s back.

Cortez wasted little time driving forward to start the second, taking the fight quickly to the canvas. Agapova wisely tried to scramble up, but Cortez controlled the neck brought her opponent back to the floor, first moving to the back and then mount. After absorbing a few elbows, Agapova turned and exposed her back, and Cortez wrapped the right arm around the neck and looked to squeeze.

Agapova again showed capable defense, fending off the choke, but Cortez had a body triangle in place and proved nearly impossible to peel off the back.

Agapova still looked dangerous on the feet to start the third, but Cortez’s grappling proved superior, taking the fight to the floor relatively early. Agapova tries to offer up a submission attempt from her back, but Cortez turned it aside and transitioned to the back once again.

Agapova was forced to defend the choke for several minutes, but she did so successfully, escaping back to her feet with a little more than a minute remaining. Agapova tried to make something happen in the standup game in the closing seconds, and the pair brought the crowd to life with an entertaining brawl to close, but Cortez walked away with the clear decision win, 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27 – not to mention a UFC deal.

In a welterweight contest, Daniel Rodriguez (9-1) was able to outwork a taller Rico Farrington (7-3), using powerful strikes and a few well-timed takedowns to take home a decision win.

Both men were looking to strike in the early going, with the taller Farrington trying to keep his range, but Rodriguez walking forward and throwing big punches. Farrington eventually began to lace out his lengthy punches, though it was clear Rodriguez was packing more power in his strikes. The dueling southpaws kept it on the feet until the final few seconds, when Rodriguez was able to score a quick takedown and land a handful of punches just before the bell.

Rodriguez continued to pressure in the second, chopping the legs and looking to land with punches up top. Farrington through big shots when he did pull the trigger, but Rodriguez was the busier fighter and the one setting the tone. Farrington landed a few big shots to the body along the way, and he finally seemed to let his hands go at the very end of the round, but Rodriguez again closed with a takedown in the final seconds.

Both men had plenty of energy to start the final round. Rodriguez still seemed to have the power edge, but Rodriguez’s strikes certainly had some steam behind them, as well. Farrington seemed to gain confidence as the round wore on, and he became the aggressor. Just as he started gaining steam, though, Rodriguez drove forward and took the fight to the floor. It took Farrington about a minute to return to the feet, and he looked to tee off for the final 90 seconds.

Rodriguez scored another takedown in the closing seconds, moving quickly to mount and punching away, hoping for the finish. Farrington was able to last until the bell, but Rodriguez walked away with the decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

In the night’s first fight, heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento (7-0) returned from nearly two years on the sidelines to score a first-round submission win over a previously unbeaten Michal Martinek (7-1).

Martinek opened the contest looking to chop at the legs, but Nascimento was able to send a knee up the middle and force him to reconsider the choice to strike. Martinek chose to close the distance, but it would wind up being his undoing.

In the clinch, Nascimento was able to wrap the body score a tripping takedown, settling into top position and looking to strike. Martinek showed little ability to escape, and Nascimento patiently worked himself into position for an arm-triangle choke, scoring the submission at the 3:16 mark of the opening round, taking home a UFC deal in the process.

Dana White’s Contender Series 22 results include:

• Aleksa Camur def. Fabio Cherant via TKO (flying knee, punches) – Round 2, 0:48
• Aalon Cruz def. Steven Nguyen via knockout (flying knee) – Round 3, 4:36
• Tracy Cortez def. Mariya Agapova via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
• Daniel Rodriguez def. Rico Farrington via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Rodrigo Nascimento def. Michal Martinek via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:16