Mayton Perea Earns UFC Contract With 45-Second Knockout of Zevan Hunt
Mayton Perea closed Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series in 45 seconds, knocking out previously unbeaten Zevan Hunt in the welterweight main event. The Ecuadorian improved to 9-3 and left the Meta APEX in Las Vegas with a UFC contract from Dana White.
Officials recorded a knockout by punches at 0:45 of round one. Hunt suffered the first loss of his career and fell to 7-1.
UFC on Paramount+ posted the finish while the building was still up. “Only needed 45 seconds,” the account wrote. “Mayton Perea gets the knockout to close out Week 6!”
Season 10, Week 6 streamed live on Paramount+. White later signed four fighters from the card: Perea, Igor Cavalcanti, Akbar Abdullaev, and Luis Hernandez.
That brought the season total to 28 contracts. Tyshawn Williams won the opener by decision and was told he would get another Contender Series date instead of a roster spot.
Perea, nicknamed “The Lion,” is a 26-year-old orthodox welterweight from Ecuador who trains with DC Team Machala. He entered on a three-fight finishing streak and had never needed judges in any of his professional wins.
Six of those nine victories are now knockouts or TKOs, with three submissions. His most recent stoppages came at Inka FC and Extreme MMA before this first trip to the Apex.
Hunt, billed as “Cheese,” came in 7-0 out of Edmond, Oklahoma. The 27-year-old is listed at 6-foot-0 with a 73.5-inch reach and had not been stopped as a professional.
The main event did not wait on a feeling-out minute. Hunt tried to strike first and even found a brief mount in the opening collision, then the fight turned as soon as Perea stood.
Perea landed a heavy punch that put Hunt down. Hunt scrambled for a leg, ate elbows, and got dropped again under a burst of punches before referee Jason Herzog waved it off.
The official sheet credited Perea with two knockdowns. He landed 24 of 38 total strikes and 23 of 37 significant strikes, including 21 of 34 to the head.
Hunt finished 4 of 11 in both total and significant strikes. He went 3 of 10 to the head, completed his only takedown attempt, and held one second of control time.
Perea never shot a takedown and needed no submission attempt. Eight seconds of control was enough because the damage was already done on the feet.
UFC described Hunt rising only to walk back into more straight shots. MMA Fighting counted multiple knockdowns and a final burst of hammerfists that left Herzog no choice.
Either reading ends in the same place. A 7-0 prospect lasted less than a minute against a finisher who treats the first exchange like the last one.
White has spent this season buying that kind of start. Abdullaev needed 19 seconds earlier on the same card, Cavalcanti finished in 1:38, and Hernandez tapped Hugo Guillon in round two.
Perea is now Ecuador’s newest UFC welterweight. Primicias reported the signing as a national first for the country on this cycle of Contender Series.
Hunt’s unbeaten mark is gone after one night against a taller pressure fighter who kept throwing once the first punch landed. A completed takedown did not buy him the reset he needed.
Week 7 returns to the same venue on Sept. 22. Perea’s next welterweight will come from the UFC roster rather than another Tuesday tryout.