“Dana White’s Contender Series” returns this week for Season 7. The show has been the path for many of the talented fighters on the UFC’s roster today, including former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill“Suga” Sean O’Malleywho will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the men’s bantamweight belt at UFC 292, and Alex Perez and Taila Santos who fought for titles in their respective divisions in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
Some of the top signees from Season 6 have already had success inside the Octagon. Joe Pyferwho famously was the only fighter to get signed during Week 1 last year, has scored first-round knockouts against each of his two opponents in the UFC. Cameron Saimanwho is undefeated, is 3-0 inside the Octagon. Gabriel Bonfim has notched back-to-back first-round submission wins. And the biggest star of the season, Bo Nickalwho is widely recognized as the top prospect in the sport, has finished his two UFC opponents in the first round. One of those wins came via submission and the other came via knockout.
Beyond last season and title fights, marquee names like Jailton Almeida, Jack Della Maddalena, Kevin Holland, Ryan Spann, Marina Rodriguez and Jalin Turner are also ranked and primed for bigger and better going forward. With the show’s history of finding the next generation of the UFC’s top talent, why would anyone think Season 7 would be any different?
Week 1 kicked off the season on Tuesday night, with each of the five winners earning a UFC contract. Similar to previous seasons, there will be nine more weekly fight cards at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, airing on Tuesday nights (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) and the final one taking place Oct. 10. Here’s a look at the results and the upcoming fights for this season of DWCS.
O’Malley? Nickal? Almeida? Which DWCS alum has the brightest future?
‘Dana White’s Contender Series’ Season 7 Matchups:
Week 1 results:
*Middleweight: Cesar Almeida def. Lucas Fernando by unanimous decision
*Lightweight: Tom Nolan def. Bogdan Grad by KO
*Heavyweight: Caio Machado def. Kevin Szaflarski by unanimous decision
*Bantamweight: Payton Talbott def. Reyes Cortez Jr. by unanimous decision
*Flyweight: Kevin Borjas def. Victor Dias unanimous decision
*Almeida, Nolan, Machado, Talbott, and Borjas were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 2 results:
*Lightweight: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. George Hardwick by unanimous decision
*Light heavyweight: Ibo Lion def. Paulo Renato Junior by KO
*Featherweight: Hyder Amil def. Emrah Sonmez by unanimous decision
*Women’s strawweight: Eduarda Moura def. Janaina Silva by submission
*Men’s bantamweight: Charalampos Grigoriou def. Cameron Smotherman by TKO
*Al-Selwady, Aslan, Amil, Moura and Grigoriou were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 3 results:
*Middleweight: Zach Reese def. Eli Aronov by submission
*Welterweight: Oban Elliott def. Kaik Brito by majority decision
Women’s strawweight: Josefine Knutsson def. Isis Verbeek by unanimous decision
*Featherweight: Luis Pajuelo def. Robbie Ring by TKO
*Reese, Elliott, and Pajuelo were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 4 results:
*Welterweight: Carlos Prates def. Mitch Ramirez by KO
Middleweight: Marco Tullius def. Yousri Belgaroui by unanimous decision
Men’s featherweight: Timothy Cuamba def. Mateo Vogel by unanimous decision
*Heavyweight: Thomas Petersen def. Chandler Cole by submission
*Lightweight: Bolaji Oki def. Dylan Salvador by TKO
*Prates, Peterson and Oki were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 5 Matchups, Sep. 5:
Light heavyweight: Bruno Lopes vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Men’s bantamweight: Ramon Taveras vs. Serhiy Sidey
Middleweight: Chad Hanekom vs. Cameron Rowston
Men’s featherweight: Jean Silva vs. Kevin Vallejos
Women’s flyweight: Raine Guerrero vs. Corinne Laframboise
Week 6 Matchups, Sep. 12:
Lightweight: James Llontop vs. Malik Lewis
Men’s featherweight: Steven Nguyen vs. AJ Cunningham
Men’s bantamweight: Jean Matsumoto vs. Kasey Tanner
Heavyweight: Jonathan Diniz vs. Eduardo Neves
Women’s strawweight: Julia Polastri vs. Patricia Alujas
Week 7 Matchups, Sep. 19:
Lightweight: Jacobi Jones vs. Dan Allen
Lightweight: Dylan Mantello vs. Boss Kruschewsky
Men’s flyweight: Igor da Silva vs. Jonathan Silva
Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev vs. Greg Velasco
Women’s strawweight: Stephanie Bruna vs. Talita Alencar
Week 8 Matchups, Sep. 26:
TBD
Week 9 Matchups, Oct. 3:
TBD
Week 10 Matchups, Oct. 10:
TBD
