Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 8 | Week 5 Preview
Diving Into The Matchups Set To Hit The Cage Tuesday Night At The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
Business is starting to pick up on Dana White’s Contender Series.
After the first two weeks produced four contract winners apiece, the final four victorious fighters on Week 3 all heard the UFC CEO call their names, inviting them to join the UFC ranks and compete in the Octagon in the not-too-distant future.
Last week, for the first time all season, all five competitors that earned a victory were awarded contracts, let by Yuneisy Duben, who scored the biggest upset in DWCS history, unbeaten featherweight Austin Bashi, and Quillan Salkilld, the ex-Eternal MMA lightweight champ who joins fellow Perth natives Steve Erceg and Jack Della Maddalena on the biggest stage in the sport.
This week, another five sets of hopefuls will make the walk inside the UFC APEX, eager to garner a victory, impress the boss, and end the night speaking with Laura Sanko about what it means to be chosen to join the UFC roster.
Here’s a look at this week’s matchups.
Navajo Stirling vs Phil Latu
Week 5 wraps in the light heavyweight division, where Navajo Stirling and Phil Latu face off in hopes of joining Bruno Lopes as the latest addition to the UFC’s 205-pound ranks.
Unbeaten in four professional appearances, the 26-year-old Stirling is a member of the famed City Kickboxing team in Auckland, training alongside the likes of Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker. Tall for the division and sporting a long reach, Stirling has earned his last three wins inside the distance, beating a trio of experienced, but inconsistent, opponents.
The 33-year-old Latu arrives in Las Vegas with a 6-1 record overall, having earned four straight wins, all of them coming inside the distance. After beginning his career at heavyweight, the Denver-based hopeful dropped to light heavyweight late last year and built upon that victory with a second-round finish of DWCS alum Dylan Potter last time out.
Quemuel Ottoni vs Kody Steele
Action shifts to the lightweight division here as Brazilian Quemuel Ottoni faces off with unbeaten American Kody Steele.
Ottoni is a difficult fighter to dissect heading into this one as he’s competed just once over the last three years. A pro since 2014, he’s won five straight overall and has a solid 12-3 record, but last fought in the spring of 2022. He does have one notable win though: Ottoni was the first man to defeat Alex “Poatan” Pereira in MMA back in 2015.
An active figure in the grappling world, Steele has gone a perfect 6-0 to begin his mixed martial arts career, competing exclusively in his native Texas under the Fury FC banner. He’s earned three straight finishes and has faced experienced hands in each of his last two outings as he’s worked to test himself inside the cage as he continues forward on his MMA journey.
Taiga Iwasaki vs Yousri Belgaroui
Middleweights occupy the middle of the card as Japan’s Taiga Iwasaki takes on returning former kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui.
The 27-year-old Iwasaki touches down in Las Vegas with an impressive 9-1 record where his lone setback came against former Bellator middleweight champ and respected grappler Rafael Lovato Jr. at the end of 2022. But upon closer inspection, Iwasaki has earned the majority of his victories against inexperienced foes.
A rival of Alex Pereira’s during their Glory Kickboxing days, Belgaroui now trains with the light heavyweight champ in Danbury, Connecticut. The Dutch striker has earned consecutive victories since his decision loss to recent Season 8 grad Marco Tulio last season on the Contender Series and looks to join his teammate on the UFC roster with a victory this week in Las Vegas.
Josias Musasa vs Otari Tanzilovi
It’s a battle of unbeaten bantamweights as Josias Musasa and Otar Tanzilov share the cage in Week 5.
Representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the 25-year-old Musasa is 7-0 for his career, with all seven of his wins coming by way of stoppage. He’s only ventured beyond the opening round once and earned his first five victories over opponents with a combined record of 4-1, but has since bested a pair of more experienced adversaries, finishing each in devastating fashion before the midway point of the first round.
A former IMMAF competitor as an amateur, Tanzilovi has gone 9-0 to begin his professional career, earning the majority of his wins by stoppage. Like many ascending talents, finding experienced competition to face on the way up has been a challenge, but he’s beaten everyone that has been put in front of him to date, which is all you can ask of an up-and-coming hopeful.
Corinne Laframboise vs Nicole Caliari
Flyweights kick off the Week 5 festivities as Corinne Laframboise takes on Nicolle Caliari.
Canada’s Laframboise was scheduled to compete last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, but withdrew after discovering she was pregnant. Now the new mom and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt looks to build on her three-fight finishing streak, while also hoping to finally get Canada on the board, as fighters from the Great White North have gone 0-3 so far this season.
A training partner of strawweight standout Marina Rodriguez, Caliari holds a 7-2 record and, like Laframboise, has won three straight heading into Tuesday’s opener. Her two losses came early in her career against future UFC competitors Syuri Kondo and Kay Hansen, and after fighting just once between 2020 and 2022, the 27-year-old posted a pair of submission wins in 2023 to raise her stock and score this opportunity.
Week 5 Official Weigh-In Results
Light Heavyweight Featured Bout: Navajo Stirling (206) vs Phil Latu (206)
Lightweight Bout: Quemuel Ottoni (154) vs Kody Steele (155.5)
Middleweight Bout: Taiga Iwasaki (185) vs Yousri Belgaroui (186)
Bantamweight Bout: Josias Musasa (135.5) vs Otari Tanzilovi (134.5)
Women’s Flyweight Bout: Corinne LaFramboise (126) vs Nicole Caliari (124.5)
Contract winners:
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