Dana White's Contender Series
Week 5 Preview | Dana White's Contender Series Season 7
Take A Closer Look At The Latest Batch Of UFC Hopefuls.
By E. Spencer Kyte, on Twitter @spencerkyte
After starting the season handing out 10 contracts to 10 winners, Dana White has presented six contracts over the last two weeks.
While one of those victors that left without a deal, Josefine Knutsson, has since been signed to compete as a short-notice replacement later this month, the message being sent is loud and clear: if you want a spot on the UFC roster, you’ve got to give the UFC President a reason to believe that he can’t leave the APEX without awarding you a contract.
The fifth week of the season has historically produced some of the best talents to graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series, including the first title challenger, Alex Perez, the first champion, Jamahal Hill, current ascending flyweight Maycee Barber, and prospects Cameron Saaiman and Denise Gomes last year.
Can this week’s cast of hopefuls deliver the kind of efforts that impress? Will any of them follow in the footsteps of Week 5 winners before them?
We’ll find out on Tuesday.
For now, here’s a look at the matchups set to take place this week at the UFC APEX.
Bruno Lopes vs Brendson Ribeiro
Brazilians Bruno Lopes and Brendson Ribeiro face off in the second light heavyweight matchup of the year to close out this week’s show.
Unbeaten in 11 professional bouts, the 30-year-old Lopes arrives in Las Vegas off a second-round stoppage win last September that earned him the vacant LFA light heavyweight title. He beat Gregory Rodrigues way back in the day and has earned all but one of his wins inside the distance, so it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the cage on Tuesday.
Representing Evolução Thai MMA, the 27-year-old Ribeiro has earned consecutive first-round stoppage victories and wins in five of his last seven. He’s a “kill or be killed” fighter, with only one of his 19 career appearances going the distance, which means we should get an action-packed affair to wrap things up this week.
Light heavyweight is one of those divisions that is always in need of fresh talent. Ibo Aslan delivered an impressive performance to garner a contract on Week 2, and now we’ll see if either Lopes or Ribeiro can follow suit.
Jean Silva vs Kevin Vallejos
Featherweights meet in the penultimate fight of the evening as Brazil’s Jean Silva squares off with Argentina’s Kevin Vallejos.
A member of the Fighting Nerds team that includes Season 5 grad Caio Borralho and last week’s breakout performer Carlos Prates, the 26-year-old Silva carries a 10-2 record and seven-fight winning streak into competition this week. All of his victories have come inside the distance, though he’s primarily been fighting on smaller Brazilian shows, so it remains to be seen how that will translate on Tuesday night.
Just 21 years old, Vallejos is already 11-0 as a professional and coming off a second-round stoppage win over UFC vet Eduardo Garagorri. He’s been tearing it up under the Samurai Fight House banner as of late, claiming the featherweight title in December and the lightweight title in March before successfully defending the featherweight strap against Garagorri in May.
Can Silva become the latest Fighting Nerds representative to use the Contender Series as a catapult to the UFC roster or will Vallejos become the next young Argentinian to find his way into the Octagon?
Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Tavares
Once-beaten bantamweights meet in the middle of this week’s show as Serhiy Sidey shares the cage with Ramon Tavares.
The third Battlefield Fight League champion to compete on Contender Series this season, Sidey enters on a five-fight winning streak since suffering his one and only loss to Mateo Vogel, who turned in a solid performance in defeat last week at the APEX. A slick boxer who loves to work the body, Sidey trains with a great crew in the Burlington, Ontario area, and still shows room to grow as he continues to garner more high-end experience.
Fighting out of Florida, the 8-1 Tavares boasts wins over a couple familiar names in Charles Bennett and Martin Day, and carries a four-fight winning streak into his meeting with Sidey on Tuesday. He’s earned finishes in seven of his eight victories and is 14-2 overall, combining his amateur and professional experience, but Day is one of only two opponents he’s faced with a winning record.
This profiles as a fight that should play out on the feet and will likely come down to who is able to implement their game plan best.
Chad Hanekom vs Dylan Budka
Chad Hanekom and Dylan Budka face off in the fourth middleweight pairing in five weeks at the UFC APEX.
The South African Hanekom trains with the Fight Fit Militia team that has previously shepherded Garreth McLellan and Don Madge into the Octagon. Sporting a 9-2 record overall, “Superman” has won three straight, but hasn’t competed since collecting a first-round stoppage win at Brave CF 66 last November.
Budka steps in for Cam Rowston, the City Kickboxing team representative who was a late scratch. The 23-year-old wrestler is 6-2 overall.
Late switches can often be challenging, but expect both men to be fully prepared to handle their business when the cage door closes on Tuesday.
Rainn Guerrero vs Dione Barbosa
The first women’s flyweight bout of the season opens Week 5 as Rain Guerrero faces off with Dione Barbosa.
The 31-year-old Guerrero will look to draw motivation and inspiration from her teammate Zachary Reese, who closed out Week 3 with a first-round submission win that earned him a contract. Currently 5-1 as a pro and riding a four-fight winning streak, this week’s clash with Barbosa should go a long way to illuminating what kind of future Guerrero has inside the cage
Tagging in for Corinne Laframboise, Barbosa brings a 5-2 record that includes a win over surging UFC flyweight Karine Silva, and bouts with UFC bantamweight Josiane Nunes and jiu jitsu ace turned MMA prospect Jena Bishop. Training out of Kings MMA, you can be sure the 31-year-old Brazilian will be dialed in when the referee says “Fight!”
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Contender Series 2023 - Week 4 - Ramirez vs. Prates --- Contender Series 2023 - Week 6 - Llontop vs. Lewis
