The first episode of Season 8 of the Dana White Contender Series was packed with finishes.
Dana White issued four contracts after five fights, including Mansur Abdul-Malik, who scored a second-round TKO victory over Wes Schultz in the main event.
Here is a look at the results and the highlights from the finishes.
- Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Wes Schultz by TKO (elbows) at 3:55 of Round 2
Abdul-Malik has made a name for himself as a savage when in top position. The finish that earned him a spot on DWCS came via ground and pound, so it’s no surprise to see Abdul-Malik win from the top.
Schultz performed strongly, but Abdul-Malik’s wrestling and overall athleticism proved too much. He earned the final contract of the night.
- Rami Hamed defeats Ding Meng by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Hamed won easily over Meng, the most experienced fighter on the card, but did not earn a contract.
- Bruno Lopes defeats Mikheil Sazhiniani by TKO (body shot) at 4:14 of Round 2
Lopes earned the contract, but the decision to offer him a deal was the toughest of the evening. Lopes’ win was the least impressive, as he and Sazhiniani were gassed. Lopes earned the win with a rather pedestrian body attack, and his opponent seemed to more or less give up.
White mentioned during the post-event presser that he liked Lopes’ story, which helped convince him to accept the contract.
Here is a look at the finish:
- Jose Delgado defeats Ernie Juarez by KO (knee and punches) at 1:25 of Round 2
This battle of fighters from the western region of the U.S. ended with a vicious finish. Arizona’s MMA Lab product Delgado destroyed Gracie Stockton’s Juarez with a high knee and punches.
The stoppage came about two punches too late as Juarez looked to be out from the knee.
- Lone’er Kavanagh defeats An Tuan Ho by KO (left hook) at 2:35 of Round 1
The nastiest knockout of the night came at the hands of Kavanagh and the expense of Ho. A left hook from hell planted Ho on the canvas, registering an instant KO and the automatic contract for Kavanagh.
Rarely do we see flyweights with this kind of power in their strikes. Kavanagh will be one to watch in the UFC.
Episode 2 of DWCS will air live on Aug. 20. Here is a look at the lineup of fights for UFC hopefuls.
- Bantamweight: Billy Brand vs Cody Haddon
- Middleweight: Cam Rowston vs Torrez Finney
- Bantamweight: Cortavious Romious vs Michael Imperato
- Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev vs Hugo Cunha
- Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson vs Pat Pytlik
