dana white

DWCS Week 6: Who won UFC contracts last night?

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UFC, Dana White

Dana White’s Contender Series was back last night for the sixth week of this season’s run. The UFC entered last night having given out 19 contracts over the span of five weeks. There has been a lot of great talent added to the roster.

Last night was another incredible night for the Contender Series. The UFC awarded another four contracts after some incredible performances from the fighters last night. Let’s take a look at the newest additions to the roster.

UFC Newcomers

Before we dive into the four fighters who were welcomed into the UFC, there was one winner who was left out. Sherrard Blackledge (5-0) was the one fighter who didn’t get a UFC contract despite his victory last night over Cameron Church.

White said that he loved what he saw for the first two rounds of the fight, but the third round left much to be desired. White said that they do like Blackledge, and because they do, they are inviting him back for the next run of the Contender Series.

Aliaskhab Khizriev

The first UFC contract of the evening was handed out to Russian prospect Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-0). Khizriev entered with a good amount of hype as a guy that was 12-0 and many people thought he deserved to be in the UFC already.

Khizriev made very quick work of his opponent. He was able to get Henrique Shiguemoto down to the ground quickly and secured a rear-naked choke within the first minute. Dominant performance by the UFC newest welterweight.

Drako Rodriguez

The second UFC contract was handed out to 24 year old bantamweight Drako Rodriguez (7-1). White was a fan of Rodriguez’s story after Rodriguez said that he got into fighting after watching the free UFC fights on SpikeTV.

Rodriguez also secured a first round finish last night. When he was on the ground with Leomana Martinez, he showed how slick his ground skills were. He transitioned through multiple submissions before securing a triangle choke in the first round earning him a shot in the UFC.

Another thing that White loved was Rodriguez’s attitude after the fight. He was more upset that he couldn’t show his striking. White said that he would be able to show it off inside the UFC.

Phil Hawes

The third UFC contract was handed out to middleweight Phil Hawes (8-2). Hawes had fought on the Contender Series back in 2017. That night, Hawes looked to wrestle a lot, and he was caught with a head kick that knocked him out.

Last night, Hawes really showed the UFC how much better he’s become. Hawes stepped forward with a variety of strikes before landing a big shot that floored Khadzhimurat Bestaev. Hawes quickly followed up for the first round TKO earning him a shot in the UFC.

Tafon Nchukwi

The final UFC contract of the evening was handed out to Tafon Nchukwi (4-0). Nchukwi looked sensational last night with nasty striking that really impressed Dana White. Nchukwi finished Al Matavao with a savage head kick in the second round.

White said that normally they would put someone like Nchukwi in a developmental deal with that little of experience. However, because of the nature of his win, he’s going right into the UFC. Nchukwi also holds a knockout over Contender Series vet and UFC newcomer, William Knight.

UFC: Khamzat Chimaev to fight Gerald Meerschaert (Reports)

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Dana White said yesterday that the UFC was working on two fights for their budding star, Khamzat Chimaev (8-0). White said that Chimaev would fight in the US before fighting again on Fight Island.

White did say that the UFC was looking to book Chimaev and Demian Maia (28-10) for Fight Island. While he said they were working on a fight for him in the APEX, he didn’t say who he’d fight. Well per multiple reports, Chimaev will be taking on Gerald Meerschaert (31-13) at middleweight.

UFC loves Chimaev

After Chimaev dominated his two opponents on Fight Island, he said that he would take on anyone at middleweight and welterweight. He actually said he would smash both UFC champions in the same night.

While the UFC is working on his welterweight matchup for Fight Island, his tune up fight will come at middleweight against Meerschaert on September 19th. Meerschaert is a UFC vet who’s made the walk to the octagon 11 times.

The last time we saw Meerschaert was back in June when he fought Ian Heinisch. Unfortunately for Meerschaert, he was knocked out in the first round. This is a very tough draw for Meerschaert especially coming off of a loss.

It’s very clear that Dana White and the UFC love Khamzat Chimaev. He is on the fast track now, and he has all the makings of a guy who could be a serious problem in the UFC. Like Chimaev said, he could be a problem at welterweight and middleweight.

The UFC has set their next run for Fight Island

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UFC, Dana White

The UFC‘s next run on Fight Island is officially set. The promotion hadn’t announced the location of several big fights coming up because things were not finalized. However, Brett Okamoto confirmed last night that the promotion will be returning to Fight Island on September 26th.

The promotion is going to be doing a five week run on Fight Island with the first fight being UFC 253. The promotion will conclude their run towards the end of October with UFC 254.

UFC cards on Fight Island

There are going to be some incredible fights that are coming to Abu Dhabi. Of course, the first card is headlined by what Dana White is dubbing the fight of the year already. UFC 253 is headlined by Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa for the middleweight title.

The co-main event of the evening is going to be crowning the first UFC light heavyweight champion not named Jon Jones or Daniel Cormier since 2011. Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will go to war to determine who will be the new king of 205.

So many great fights are sandwiched in between the the PPVs including Brian Ortega – Chan Sung Jung, Marlon Moraes – Cory Sandhagen, Thiago Santos – Glover Teixeira and many more.

This run on Fight Island will conclude with UFC 254 that is headlined by the undisputed lightweight title fight between UFC champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and interim champion, Justin Gaethje. The card isn’t finalized yet, but the rumor mill is saying the card will be unreal.

Robert Whittaker – Jared Cannonier will be on that card as well. A fight with Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier is expected to be the co-main event. The UFC has big things planned for this trip to Fight Island.

 

 

DWCS Week 5 Recap: Who walked away with UFC contracts last night?

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UFC, Dana White

Dana White’s Contender Series was back for the fifth week of 2020. The UFC has shelled out an astonishing 16 contracts through the first four weeks of the shows run this year. Dana White has been blown away by the prospective talent from this show.

The fights last night showed why the UFC uses the contender to sign new talent. The fights were very solid and you saw some real potential from guys last night. After the night was over, White and the UFC signed three new fighters to contracts.

UFC Newcomers

Before we dive into the new UFC fighters, there were two guys who won last night who didn’t get contracts. Melsik Baghdasaryan (5-1) and Tucker Lutz (10-1) both won decisions last night.

However, the UFC President was not ready to hand them contracts to get into the big show. Instead, he’s inviting them back for the Contender Series’ November run in a few months. If they win impressively there, he will sign them.

William Knight

The first UFC contract of the night was handed out to William Knight (8-1). Knight is a light heavyweight who stopped Cody Brundage in the first round. Knight survived some adversity early and finished the fight with some brutal elbows along the cage.

The UFC‘s light heavyweight division is the wild west right now with Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight. It will be interesting to see if the promotion continues to target light heavyweights. Knight is an exciting addition who’s finished all eight of his victories.

Ronnie Lawrence

The second contract the UFC handed out last night went to bantamweight Ronnie Lawrence (6-1). Lawrence put on a clinic last night from the opening bell to the end of the fight shutting out Jose Johnson over three rounds.

While White normally looks for guys who get finishes, he labeled Lawrence as, “Special.” Lawrence is going straight into one of the UFC‘s most stacked divisions. The bantamweight division is insanely deep and filled with killers, and they got another good one last night.

Jimmy Flick

One of the UFC‘s divisions that they are constantly looking to add to is men’s flyweight. The talent pool isn’t extremely deep, but they found themselves a new contender last night. Jimmy Flick (15-5) defeated Nate Smith by arm-triangle in the third round to earn himself a contract.

Not meaning to rhyme, but Flick is slick on the ground. The guy never stops looking for submissions and finishes. That is what really impressed Dana White last night. Given the lack of a deep talent pool, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Flick fighting a ranked contender sooner than later.

UFC: Stipe Miocic isn’t interested in a rematch with Francis Ngannou

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MMA, Stipe Miocic

Following UFC 252, it seemed like there was a pretty clear plan for the heavyweight division. Stipe Miocic (20-3) defeated Daniel Cormier to cement his legacy as the best heavyweight in UFC history.

After defeating DC for the second time, it seemed like there was a clear next challenger. Francis Ngannou (15-3) has knocked out four consecutive opponents in 2:42 total to earn a rematch with the champion, Miocic.

UFC President Dana White made it clear that Ngannou was next for Stipe. Many wondered if Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) would jump ahead of Francis with his move to heavyweight. White made it clear that Ngannou would be next. However, the champion doesn’t seem interested.

Stipe wants something different

In a Q&A on Instagram, Miocic stated, “Francis isn’t exciting to me. Already put on a 25 minute clinic on how to beat him. Want a new challenge!” The UFC champion is clearly wanting something other than the Ngannou rematch right now.

Ngannou deserves a shot, but Miocic does have a point. Their first fight was not close. What does Miocic really have to gain from fighting Ngannou again? That fight is way more risk than reward for the champion.

The UFC could find themselves in a pickle over this situation. What do you do if the most decorated champion in heavyweight history turns down the number one contender? The answer is actually pretty simple.

Yes, White has emphatically stated multiple times that Jon Jones will not jump the line in front of Ngannou. White did say Jones would get an immediate title shot, but Ngannou would get his first. However, Miocic might be able to force the issue with his statements.

The UFC’s dilemma

The UFC is in a unique spot, but it’s not a spot they hadn’t been in before. When Khabib Nurmagomedov was clearly deserving of the lightweight title shot a few years back, the promotion gave the shot to then featherweight champion, Conor McGregor, who wanted to move up.

I could see a similar scenario playing out here with the UFC heavyweight title. While Ngannou should get the next shot, I could see the promotion shifting to the greatest of all time facing the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Making that fight would not be fair to Francis, but it would get Stipe excited, and the fight would be a huge legacy fight. Will be interesting to see what the UFC decides to do.

DWCS Week 4 Recap: Who won UFC contracts last night?

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UFC, Dana White

The UFC hosted their fourth week of the 2020 run of Dana White’s Contender Series. Up until now, White has been very generous giving out contracts through the first three weeks. Already, the promotion has welcomed 12 new fighters to the UFC.

Last night, there were some incredibly impressive performances. We saw finishes, and some solid action all around. With how impressive things were last night, the UFC shelled out four new contracts last night.

The UFC Welcomes Four New Fighters

White had nothing but glowing things to say about the winners of last night’s fights. Only one winner last night didn’t walk away with a contract and that was 23 year old Anthony Romero (8-0).

White said he wants Romero to continue to get better and gain more experience before jumping into the UFC. Now, let’s look at the four fighters who did get contracts.

Collin Huckbody

The first UFC contract of the evening was handed out to middleweight Collin Huckbody (8-2). Huckbody took on Kyron Bowen in the first fight of the night. Huckbody came into last night with five of his seven wins coming via submission.

When the fight started, Huckbody was able to get it to the ground pretty easily. He was able to work his way to mount and secured an arm-triangle for the first round submission. White was extremely impressed and gave the Minnesota based fighter a contract to jump into the UFC‘s middleweight division.

Jeff Molina

The second contact of the evening was handed out to flyweight Jeff Molina (8-2). Molina was in an incredible fight with Jacob Silva in the third fight of the evening. It was an entertaining flyweight scrap that left many saying that both guys deserved contracts.

White said how he loved the mentality that Molina fights with. He said he was perfect for the UFC and that’s what won Molina the contract. While Silva lost and didn’t get a contract, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the UFC sooner than later as well.

Rafael Alves

The third UFC contract was handed out to featherweight contender, Rafael Alves (19-9). Alves had a mishap entering the octagon when he did his signature backflip to entering the octagon. White mentioned in the post-fight press conference how he couldn’t stand that.

Despite that, Alves put on a very strong performance in his fight. He looked dynamic and explosive. He pulled off a slick guillotine in the second round to finish off Alejandro Flores. White called Alves a physical freak, and Alves was awarded a UFC contract.

Jamie Pickett

The final UFC contract of the evening was handed out to a guy who was making his third appearance on the Contender Series. Middleweight Jamie Pickett (11-4) had gone 0-2 in his first two attempt in trying to get into the UFC.

For Pickett, the third time was definitely the charm. Pickett looked fantastic last night and finished his opponent in the second round with an astonishing 22 punch combination. White loves fighters who go for the finish, and that finish was spectacular.

The UFC announces plans for their own hotel

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2020 has seen the world go through something many of us would have never thought would have been possible. A global pandemic shut the world down. Despite the obvious obstacles, the UFC has still had a fantastic year full of incredible fights.

UFC President Dana White would be the first to say that pulling off this year has not been easy. They had to secure Fight Island for international UFC Fights. They have also had to take over two small hotels next to their APEX to house fighters in Las Vegas.

After last night’s Contender Series, White said that the UFC has something big in the works that would make the promotion completely self-sufficient moving forward.

A UFC Fighter Hotel

White announced last night that the UFC has secured an additional 10 acres of land that is by their APEX facility. The plan is to build a new hotel that will specifically meet the needs of the promotion. The new hotel is being built with a fighter first mentality much like the APEX was built.

“It will be more designed for fighters,” White said. “Just like the Apex was designed for fighting and putting on special events, this place would be designed exactly for what our needs are in a hotel.”

White said that the UFC‘s plan is to have the hotel completed sometime next year. While it was specifically asked, this is a move that goes beyond the pandemic. Even if the world returns to normal, this hotel is expected to be huge for fighters.

The UFC now will have it’s own place that fighters can come and stay. The UFC PI was designed so fighters could come train, rehabilitate, and get nutritional assistance. However, it was likely on the fighters to figure out arrangements when it came to staying somewhere.

Now, the UFC will not have to book up hotels in Vegas for their fighters. This will save them a lot of money down the road, and White said he expects the hotel to pay for itself very quickly. The UFC‘s Vegas home will now have just about anything a fighter would need.

After UFC Vegas 7, what’s next for Frankie Edgar?

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Frankie Edgar

Last Saturday night at UFC Vegas 7, former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar (24-8-1), made a successful bantamweight debut. Edgar edged out the fifth ranked bantamweight in the UFC, Pedro Munhoz (18-5, 1 NC).

This was the third weight class that Edgar has competed in during his hall of fame career. Given Edgar’s size, he looked like he was finally in his natural weight class after always being the smallest guy at lightweight and featherweight.

Edgar is expected to debut this week in the top five of the bantamweight rankings after his victory over Munhoz. With Aljamain Sterling getting the next shot at the champion Petr Yan, what should the UFC do with Edgar’s next fight?

UFC and Edgar’s next steps

Dana White said in the post-fight press conference that Edgar needed to win one or two more times before he could get a shot at the UFC bantamweight title. Realistically, I would say he just needs one more win to earn that shot.

The UFC loves Edgar, and if he comes out and looks impressive in another win, I could see them giving him a title shot. However, booking Edgar against another contender might not be easy.

If you examine the rankings, all of the guys who will be in front of Edgar are already booked. The UFC champ, Yan, is likely fighting Sterling. Marlon Moraes is booked to fight Corey Sandhagen in October. Cody Garbrandt is moving down to flyweight so he’s not in the picture.

That leaves Edgar with no one in front of him in the rankings at the moment. He just defeated Munhoz, and I can’t see the UFC booking him against Jose Aldo, who is ranked sixth, for the third time. So who should he fight?

Two Options

To me, there are two options that the UFC could go with right now. If the promotion wants to give him someone that makes sense with rankings, I’d go with Jimmie Rivera (23-4). Rivera is ranked seventh and is coming off of a win against Cody Stamann at UFC Fight Island 1.

Rivera tried to step in to fight Edgar on short notice after Munhoz originally tested positive for COVID-19, but Edgar decided to wait on Munhoz. El Terror felt that Edgar was dodging the fight. A matchup between the two could bring a little heat.

The other option would be the biggest one the UFC could make on name recognition. How about a fight with former bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz (22-3)? Cruz is coming off of a title fight loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 249.

The two men are legends of the sport, and it would make for an extremely interesting matchup. The winner could likely jump right back to a UFC title shot. If I’m Dana White, I would start with this one, but if I’m a fight fan, I’d be happy to see Edgar fight either one of Rivera or Cruz next.

Does Bellator have a better light heavyweight division than the UFC?

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UFC, Dana White

Last week, Bellator President Scott Coker made some pretty bold statements about his promotion’s light heavyweight division. He said that they had the best light heavyweight division in the world after Jon Jones vacated his UFC light heavyweight title to move to heavyweight.

After Vadim Nemkov knocked out Ryan Bader at Bellator 244, Coker doubled down on his claim that they were better than the UFC. “When Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight, clearly we have the best division.”

Bellator’s claim

The UFC also had an event this weekend. After the event, the media asked UFC President Dana White about Coker’s claims that Bellator had the better light heavyweight division. With a big smile, White replied to the media, “Isn’t he cute?”

Bellator has some very solid guys in their light heavyweight division. Nemkov, Phil Davis, Corey Anderson, Lyoto Machida, and others. You can throw Bader in too although I’m sure he’s going to be sticking to heavyweight after that fight.

Those are all very solid fighters, but the UFC president made a point that rings very true about their light heavyweight division. He stated, “Everyone they have in their light heavyweight division, we let go of. That’s like the dumbest f–king thing I’ve ever heard.”

Anderson, Machida, Bader, and Davis were all former members of the UFC that the promotion let walk. I understand what Scott Coker is trying to do with making his statement. However, I’m not sure the statement holds a lot of weight.

The UFC is better at the top

The UFC doesn’t have the same stacked light heavyweight division they once had, but it’s still the best game in town. Corey Anderson was ranked fourth in the UFC prior to him being signed by Bellator, but he was just starched earlier this year by Jan Blachowicz.

I believe that Dominick Reyes is better than anyone in Bellator. I also believe that the best version of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is better than anyone inside of Bellator’s light heavyweight division.

If the four best UFC light heavyweights (Reyes, Blachowicz, Johnson, Thiago Santos) fought the four best Bellator light heavyweights (Nemkov, Anderson, Davis, Bader), would you favor any of the Bellator guys?

The answer to that question is probably no. Bellator has a good light heavyweight division, but it is not better than the UFC‘s. This round goes to Dana White and the guys in the UFC.

Who earned UFC contracts last night on the Contender Series?

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UFC, Dana White

Last night, the UFC hosted it’s third week of Dana White’s Contender Series. There were five action packed fights, and there were several newcomers added to the roster.

Last week, White was feeling very generous as he handed out five contracts to every single one of the winners. Last night he wasn’t quite that generous, but four of the five winners on the cards last night earned their way into the UFC.

12 UFC Contracts

It’s been incredible, but three weeks into this season of the Contender Series, and we’ve seen 12 UFC contracts handed out. The fights have been pretty good this year, and a lot of dynamic prospects have been added. Let’s take a look at the winners from last night.

Josh Parisian

The first UFC contract last night was handed out to heavyweight Josh Parisian (13-3). Parisian knocked out Chad Johnson in the first round of their fight. This was Parisian’s second fight on the Contender Series. Both ending in first round knockouts.

White said that he would love to get Parisian inside the UFC‘s PI to fine tune his skills. One thing is for sure and that is that Parisian has huge power at heavyweight. In 13 career wins, 10 have come by knockout with eight of those coming in the first round.

Orion Cosce

The second UFC contract of the night was handed out to welterweight Orion Cosce (7-0). Cosce was the biggest underdog on the card coming in against previously unbeaten Matt Dixon. Dixon was one of the highlights of the lineup on the card last night prior to the fights.

After losing the first round, Cosce showed his toughness and determination. Came back with a solid second round, and a dominant third. In the third, Cosce secured a crucifix and got the finish.

The only criticism White had was that at the end of the second round, Cosce stopped fighting with seconds left and touched gloves with Dixon. Despite that frustrating the UFC President, Cosce walked out with a contract last night due to his finish of Dixon.

Cheyanne Buys

The third UFC contract handed out last night went to strawweight Cheyanne Buys (5-1). Buys has a lot of fire about her which makes her very appealing to the promotion. She’s got very good overall skills and very crisp hands. Even talks a little trash in the cage.

White said that he’s expecting big things from Buys after her victory over Hilarie Rose. Buys will enter the UFC after winning four straight fights. A lot of potential in Cheyanne Buys.

Louis Cosce

The final UFC contract of the evening was handed out to the fighter that impressed me the most. That would be Louis Cosce (7-0) who knocked out Victor Reyna in the first round of their fight.

Reyna had never been knocked out before and he has been in there with guys like Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland. Yet, Cosce went in and made it look easy. There is just a very easy power about Cosce.

His performance blew Dana White away. All seven of his wins have come via first round stoppage. The kid has never seen a second round, but as White pointed out, that’s a good problem to have.

Cosce is the brother of Orion Cosce who won the second contract of the evening. Both brothers fought at welterweight last night, but Louis said he will likely drop down to lightweight and fight there.