Danylo Voievodkin laughed in the face of the oddsmakers.
The 6-foot-3, 263-pound Ukrainian—a prohibitive 8-to-1 underdog on some books—was one of five hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he turned away the heavily favored Bailey Schoenfelder with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their heavyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Schoenfelder (5-1, 0-1 DWCS) raised the white flag 73 seconds into Round 1.
Voievodkin walked the former University of Minnesota linebacker backward and leveled him with a sweeping left hook.