The next, already seventh, season of the Dana White’s Contender Series project has started. We sum up the main results of the first issue. Namely, we analyze and recall the fights that were shown by the contenders for contracts from the promotion.
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Tom Nolan did not disappoint
Undefeated Australian prospect Tom Nolan of Team Compton Training Center was one of five rookie prospects to win contracts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the first week of the Dana White’s Contender Series show. He knocked out Bogdan Grad with punches in the first round of their lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Grad (11-2, 0-1 DWCS) was unable to continue the fight after 1 minute and 23 seconds of the first round, suffering his first defeat since September 25, 2020.
Nolan (6-0, 1-0 DWCS) didn’t give the Ettl Brothers MMA fighter the slightest chance of action. The 6-foot 3-inch Aussie knocked Grad down with a surgically accurate straight left, took top position, got rid of an armbar attempt and applied a ground and pound before getting back on his feet. Nolan landed a flurry of punches again soon after and threw a stunning left hook to his opponent’s jaw. The hail collapsed to the mat in a shaken state and was hit by another left hit as referee Kerry Hatley arrived on the scene.
Almeida, Machado, Talbott and Borjas also showed their worth
Middleweight Cesar Almeida, heavyweight Cayo Machado, bantamweight Peyton Talbott and lightweight Kevin Borjas rounded out the latest wave of UFC signings.
Almeida scored a unanimous decision victory over Legacy Fighting Alliance title holder Lucas Fernando in their middleweight bout. The scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-27. Almeida (4-0, 1-0 DWCS), who endured some minor difficulties in the first and third rounds, showed a better performance in the second round. There, the Brazilian kickboxer took top position, elbowed into Fernando’s face, rose to full dominance, and appeared to be close to finishing the fight; at one point, Almeida even moved to a reverse triangle from top position. Fernando (9-2, 0-1 DWCS) didn’t fully recover, his streak of four straight wins ended.
Meanwhile, Machado took a unanimous decision over the inept and passive Kevin Szaflarski in a three-round heavyweight bout. All three judges awarded Machado (8-1-1, 1-0 DWCS) a 30-27 win. It was Machado’s seventh win in seven fights.
Szaflarski (11-2, 0-1 DWCS) barely showed up in terms of attacking work. Machado tied him with his elbows in and out of his front leg, throwing hooks and close-quarters knees. Perhaps most importantly, the Battlefield Fight League champion thwarted all of Szaflarski’s shot attempts. On the feet, the Akademia Sportow Walki Wilanow product looked uncomfortable and out of place. With almost no threat of return fire, Machado dominated the stance throughout the third round, sometimes adding a forward kick to the body.
The loss ended Szaflarski’s 11-match winning streak.
Further, clear combinations of punches and excellent stamina allowed Borjas to take a unanimous decision victory over American Top Team representative Victor Diaz in a three-round bout. All three touch judges also awarded the victory to Borjas (9-1, 1-0 DWCS) with a score of 29-28. Borjas, who scored 4 victories in a row, stood out brightly.
Borjas landed clean single punches – his work resulted in two nasty bruises, one on the Brazilian’s forehead and another under his left eye – and vicious left hooks to the body. Diaz was exhausted for most of the third round, where he was unable to keep the Peruvian, training at the Pitbull Martial Arts Center, on the ground, and his attacks were reduced to pointless punches, most of which ended up in the air.
The loss ended Diaz’s five-match winning streak.
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