Preston LaGrange Knocks Out Nell Ariano and Earns a UFC Contract
Preston LaGrange knocked out Nell Ariano in the first round of the light heavyweight main event on Dana White’s Contender Series 95. The stoppage came at 2:24 on Tuesday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and Dana White awarded LaGrange a UFC contract.
The official result was a KO/TKO by punches. LaGrange scored the only knockdown. He came in as a replacement, fighting up a weight class on two weeks’ notice, and he still finished the bout before the round reached the halfway mark.
Ariano had the early grappling. He got LaGrange down, held 1:17 of control time, and landed 1 of 3 takedowns while looking to advance. LaGrange scrambled up, and the fight turned into a stand-up exchange that Ariano did not win.
LaGrange connected on 14 of 21 total strikes and 12 of 19 significant strikes, 11 of them to the head. Ariano landed 8 of 13 total and 3 of 8 significant. Neither man attempted a submission. A right hook and the punches that followed put Ariano down at the fence, and the referee waved it off.
LaGrange moved to 7-1. Ariano fell to 6-1.
He weighed 199 pounds for a light heavyweight bout and said the UFC version of him belongs at middleweight. The contract was the line he had been chasing, not a move up in weight.
“I’ve been chasing that UFC contract since I started in MMA,” LaGrange told Laura Sanko. “I’m ready to do this.”
The card produced more than one new signing. Sal Everett, who works as Dana White’s runner, knocked out Ozzy Martin in the co-main and also got a deal. Roque Conceição submitted Alexander Chavez and was the third contract of the night.
Ariano is a French light heavyweight who planted his feet after the scramble and traded. That choice lasted until the counter. The control time did not matter once the hook landed.
No first UFC opponent was named after the hand was raised. LaGrange leaves Las Vegas with a contract, a first-round knockout on short notice, and a stated plan to fight at 185. The replacement booking is finished. The roster spot is not.
