Dana White’s Contender Series is back for its ninth season. Last Tuesday night night was the third episode of the season, so let’s look at each fight’s aftermath and make some observations from last night.
- Donte Johnson def. Darion Abbey: We all knew this wouldn’t leave the first round and it didn’t. What sucks is that this was a heavyweight fight, that the heavyweight division in the UFC needs talent and the winner, Donte Johnson, will not be fighting at heavyweight moving forward. Johnson is more than likely a middleweight, seeing as he weighed in at 209 pounds for this fight. He’s an interesting talent given his penchant for the first-round knockout and his obvious athleticism, but I just hope it’s not too soon for him to jump to the UFC, given that his pro debut came last year.
- Manoel Sousa def. Cristian Perez: What was wild to me in this fight was not the comeback win by Manoel Sousa; the man is always in the fight and has crazy power. To me it was the fact that Cristian Perez gassed out when he was the one in dominant positions on the ground for two rounds. You would have thought Sousa would have gassed out having his weight on top, but by the end of the second round, Perez, who was up two rounds to zero, was visibly exhausted. Being the veteran that he is, Sousa took advantage of that and absolutely laid it on in the third round, scoring a devastating finish. Sousa is a guy you can throw a top-25 fight right out of the gate. As for Perez, I would not be shocked to see him in the UFC within the next two years. This was truly a fight that could have taken place on a UFC show and the only non-lopsided matchup of the night.
- Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev def. Alik Lorenz: Coming into this season, Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev was considered one of the top prospects on this season’s Contender Series roster and he did not disappoint. Alik Lorenz is a bit of a marauder and tough to boot, but Yakhyaev didn’t respect that at all and just plowed through him. He’s definitely a guy I can see contending in the UFC light heavyweight division in the next couple years.
- Marcio Barbosa def. Damon Wilson: This fight basically went how we thought it would. Damon Wilson is notorious for being tough and showed off a tremendous chin until it could handle no more from one of the hardest hitters at 145 in Marcio Barbosa. Barbosa reminds me a lot of John Lineker with his heavy-handed approach. Is Barbosa going to be the most technical guy in the UFC? No, but he will always have to be considered in the fight given the fact he throws sledgehammers for hands.
- Ryan Gandra def. Trent Miller: I know it was a late notice opportunity, but Trent Miller didn’t look like he belonged anywhere near a UFC Octagon, no less a Contender Series Octagon. He threw punches like a T-Rex and just generally looked lost in there. Kudos to Gandra on his win and his power striking style is certain to peak the interest of fans, but he went from being an underdog against former opponent Vitor Costa to blasting through a regional talent.