Dana White’s Contender Series is back for its ninth season.
The show, which continues on its home on ESPN+, aims to give top prospects a chance to impress the UFC brass in an attempt to earn a contract with the company. The show’s fourth episode of the new season takes place on Sept. 2 and airs live on ESPN+ starting at 8 p.m. ET.
WW: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (8-2, California MMA, United States) vs. Jack Congdon (7-1, Lakeville MMA, United States)
MW: Cezary Oleksiejczuk (15-3, Ankos MMA, Poland) vs. Theo Haig (6-0, American Kickboxing Academy, United States)
LW: Mandel Nallo (13-3, Tristar Gym, Canada) vs. Samuel Silva (13-4-1, Brazilian TKO, Brazil)
FLY: Eduardo Henrique (14-2, Maquininha Futuro do MMA, Brazil) vs. An Tuan Ho (7-1, MMA Lab, Vietnam/United States)
FW: Tommy McMillen (8-0, MMA Lab, United States) vs. David Mgoyan (7-0, American Top Team, Russia/United States)
There are a few really good prospects on this episode, but the most highly touted is Tommy McMillen, and for good reason. The strong wrestler has round out his game working with main training partner Sean O’Malley. He has drawn a very tough opponent in David Mgoyan, so this will not be an easy night for him, but he looks to have the highest long-term upside.
You want to see some fireworks? Make sure not to miss the absolute scrap between Bellator vet Mandel Nallo and Cage Warriors Champion Samuel Silva. Both guys are scrappers that will not take a step back and will throw until one of them hits the mat. Both have shown capable of taking punishment while dishing it out at a high rate. This one is going to be fine.
Even though he has an extremely tough matchup in Cezary Oleksiejczuk, Theo Haig is the dark horse on this episode that is extremely underrated. He was a prospect that Bellator was building up slowly before they were bought out by PFL. He seemed to be lost in the shuffle after that, so he entered free agency and now gets a chance on the Contender Series. He has the skills to earn a contract and go from dark horse on the Contender Series to dark horse in the UFC.
This card is very heavy with talent, so it’s hard to call any of them a long shot. That said, as of now, I see Lebosoyani as the longest shot of the group. I have nothing against his skill set or anything, but based on resumes, he was knocked out by Spike Carlyle and TKO’d by Jacobi Jones. Carlyle was a lower mid-card guy for the UFC, while Jones lost on the Contender Series back in 2023.
| WW: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Jack Congdon | Lebosnoyani |
| MW: Cezary Oleksiejczuk vs. Theo Haig | Haig |
| LW: Mandel Nallo vs. Samuel Silva | Nallo |
| FLY: Eduardo Henrique vs. An Tuan Ho | Henrique |
| FW: Tommy McMillen vs. David Mgoyan | McMillen |