Karl Roberson, Geoff Neal Land UFC Contracts on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series

Karl Roberson did optimal damage in a minimal amount of time.

The Cage Fury Fighting Championships veteran wrecked Ryan Spann with first-round elbows in the light heavyweight main event of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series: Week 3 at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas. Roberson (5-0) drew the curtain just 15 seconds into Round 1.

Spann (10-5) saw his initial takedown attempt denied. Roberson braced himself against the cage, created space with an underhook and blasted away with short elbows until his counterpart was no longer standing. Spann collapsed, as referee Jason Herzog moved in to rescue him from further punishment.

Afterward, UFC President Dana White awarded the undefeated Roberson an contract.

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DWTNCS: Week 3 Round-by-Round Scoring
Meanwhile, Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran Geoff Neal cut down Chase Waldon with punches in the first round of their middleweight clash. Waldon (11-3) bowed out 1:56 into Round 1.

A short-notice fill-in for Gabriel Checco, Neal (8-2) yielded a takedown but escaped to his feet and separated. The Dallas-based 26-year-old backed Waldon to the fence and sent him crashing to the canvas with an overhand left. Neal then let go with ground-and-pound on his turtled counterpart, prompting the stoppage.

Neal has won six of his past seven bouts. He, too, landed a deal with the UFC.

Elsewhere, Arizona Combat Sports rep Kyle Stewart kept his perfect professional record intact but did so in anticlimactic fashion, as an ankle injury suffered by Jason Jackson brought their welterweight tilt to a disappointing conclusion. Jackson (7-3) met his end 21 seconds into Round 2.

Stewart (7-0) overcame a slow start against the onetime Titan Fighting Championship titleholder. Jackson executed a takedown, applied his ground-and-pound and twice advanced to the back in the first round. However, Stewart dropped him with an overhand right late in the frame, his left ankle folding beneath him. Jackson attempted to forge ahead in the middle stanza, but his foot buckled under his weight and sealed his fate.

The loss snapped Jackson’s four-fight winning streak.

In other action, Bellator MMA alum Alonzo Menifield (4-0) was awarded a technical knockout between the first and second rounds, as an apparent eye injury left Daniel Jolly (5-3) unable to continue in their light heavyweight pairing; and Xtreme Couture’s Dan Ige (8-1) submitted Luis Gomez (4-1) with a rear-naked choke 3:23 into the third round of their featherweight encounter.