Andre Ewell made the most of the narrowest of openings.
The Apex MMA representative countered a takedown attempt with a tight brabo choke and submitted hometown favorite Dinis Paiva to capture the vacant CES MMA bantamweight championship in the third round of their CES 50 headliner on Friday at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Ewell (13-4, 1-0 CES MMA) brought it to a close 36 seconds into Round 3.
Paiva (11-7, 11-7 CES MMA) staggered the King of the Cage veteran with a left cross and kept him off-balance with repeated takedowns in the first round.