Week 2 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 8
Setting The Table For Tuesday Night’s Action Inside The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X: @SpencerKyte
Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series kicked off with a bang last week, literally and figuratively.
In the opening bout of the season, flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh detonated a sharp left hook on the chin of An Tuan Ho midway through the opening round, ending their highly anticipated clash of unbeaten hopefuls in jaw-dropping fashion to start this year’s 10-week run.
Not to be outdone, Jose Delgado followed up by turning his short-notice opportunity against Ernie Juarez into a second-round stoppage win and a call to join the UFC roster, while returning Brazilian Bruno Lopes did the same in his bout with Mikheil Sazhiniani before Mansur Abdul-Malik became the fourth finisher and fourth contract winner of the night with a second-round finish of Wes Schultz to close out the night.
Now, another five sets of hopefuls ready to make the walk, eager to do their best to impress the UFC brass and add their names to the list of Season 8 graduates advancing on to chase their dreams inside the UFC Octagon.
Here’s a closer look at what’s on tap in Week 2.
Pat Pytlik vs Andreas Gustafsson
Welterweights close out the second week of action back at the APEX on Tuesday night as Canadian Pat Pytlik faces off with Sweden’s Andreas Gustafsson.
Pytlik turned in a second consecutive dominant performance at the best time possible back in January, running through Ryan Leininger with Dana White and the Lookin’ For A Fight crew in attendance at Unified MMA 55 in Toronto. The 35-year-old, whose lone loss came against UFC vet Jake Lindsey more than five years ago, hopes to replicate that effort and get another offer from the UFC CEO at the end of the evening.
Gustafsson also touches down in Las Vegas having earned consecutive stoppage victories, most recently needing just 10 seconds to dispatch Dominic Schober last November. “Bane” has fought some familiar names over the years, but traditionally has competed at middleweight, so it will be interesting to see how he looks on the scale on Monday ahead of this one.
Rizvan Kuniev vs Hugo Cunha
The first heavyweight fight of the season is a good one, as Rizvan Kuniev squares off with Hugo Cunha.
Kuniev enters on an 11-fight unbeaten streak, though his last result — originally a unanimous decision win over Renan Ferreira in April 2023 — was ruled a no contest after the Russian tested positive for various banned substances. He trounced UFC vet Anthony Hamilton prior to that and earned a third-round stoppage win over Edivan Santos in his first DWCS appearance in 2021, and is hoping that he, like Lopes last week, can make good on a second kick at the can.
Cunha claimed the LFA heavyweight title in his second appearance last year, submitting two-time DWCS hopeful Eduardo Neves in the second round. The 31-year-old is 8-1 overall with his only loss coming by split decision against Contender Series alum Dustin Joynson, which came a few months after he was forced to withdraw from his initial booking on the annual talent-search series in 2021.
Cortavious Romious vs Michael Imperato
Cortavious Romious is the second returning fighter of the week, as the lightweight returns to Las Vegas to take on Canadian veteran Michael Imperato.
Fighting out of Pura Vida BJJ/MMA in Milwaukee, Romious makes his second trip to the APEX looking to rebound after getting stopped in just 29 seconds last year in his Week 10 clash with Ramon Taveras. He collected a rapid submission win earlier this year to get things moving in the right direction and aims to continue that momentum on Tuesday night.
The 34-year-old Imperato scored a first-round submission win over Ricky Bandejas earlier in the night at Unified MMA 55 with Dana White in attendance, and used the opportunity to lobby for a second chance with the promotion. The Toronto-based fighter was briefly signed in 2014, but was released before he ever set foot in the Octagon, and has been battling for this chance ever since.
Torrez Finney vs Cameron Rowston
Tuesday’s clash between Torrez Finney and Cameron Rowston is a showdown between a returning competitor and one that was forced to withdraw last season.
The unbeaten Finney earned a second-round submission win over Yuri Panferov last October, but failed to come away with a contract, as White was convinced the undersized middleweight would be better served switching divisions. But the 25-year-old has remained at 185 pounds, picked up another stoppage win to move to 8-0 overall, and is back with designs on collecting the contract he didn’t leave with last time he was at the UFC APEX.
Rowston, who is six-inches taller than Finney, was slated to compete last season against Chad Hanekom, but was forced out for undisclosed reasons. Brandishing an 8-2 record with five straight victories, the 29-year-old hasn’t fought in nearly two years, but hopes to recapture the promise that put him on the brink of breaking onto the roster when he was first tapped to appear last year.
Billy Brand vs Cody Haddon
Week 2 kicks off in the bantamweight division with a clash between once-beaten fighters Billy Brand and Cody Haddon.
The 28-year-old Brand has earned four straight wins since running afoul of rising UFC star Payton Talbott on the regional circuit two-and-a-half years ago. He’s earned three straight wins under Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat banner and collected finishes in three of his last four victories.
Haddon too had the misfortune of crossing paths with someone talented early in his professional career, catching his first “L” in his third appearance opposite recent UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg. Since then, the 25-year-old has posted four straight wins, all by stoppage to earn the chance to potentially join “Astroboy” on the UFC roster.
Week 2 Official Weigh-In Results
Welterweight Featured Bout: Andreas Gustafsson (170.5) vs Pat Pytlik (169)
Heavyweight Bout: Rizvan Kuniev (263.5) vs Hugo Cunha (259.5)
Bantamweight Bout: Cortavious Romious (136) vs Michael Imperato (135)
Middleweight Bout: Cam Rowston (184.5) vs Torrez Finney (185.5)
Bantamweight Bout: Billy Brand (135.5) vs Cody Haddon (135)
Contract winners:
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