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 seventh episode of the new season takes place on Sept. 23 and airs live on ESPN+ starting at 8 p.m. ET.
MW: Dani Barbir (7-0, American Top Team Zagreb, Croatia) vs. Mantas Kondratavicius (7-1, Fighter House, Lithuania)
FW: Murtazali Magomedov (9-0, KHK MMA, Kyrgyzstan) vs. Brahyan Zurcher (9-0, Cobrinha BJJ Academy, Mexico)
WFLY: Sofia Montenegro (6-1, Alfa Team, Argentina) vs. Jeisla Chaves (5-0, Gomes Fight Team, Brazil)
FW: Javier Reyes (21-5, Bareknuckle MMA, Colombia) vs. Justice Torres (12-3, 4oz Fight Club, United States)
LHW: Rafael Tobias (13-1, Chute Boxe, Brazil) vs. Jair de Oliveira (6-0, CT Lucas Cebola, Brazil)
For the second season in a row, I am disappointed that I had Icaro Brito as my best fighter on the episode, but unfortunately, he has been forced out of this shot again. Instead, Rafael Tobias seems to be the guy to watch for this episode. Tobias is a strong prospect who is a big light heavyweight with impressive power and aggression. Tobias is a tough matchup for many 205ers given his size, strength and skill, as the LFA vet has shown thus far. He has a fellow Brazilian prospect on deck now in Jair de Oliveira, which looks like a tailor-made matchup for Tobias, who could add depth to a light heavyweight division that definitely needs it.
If you are looking for an absolute banger between two major league-ready fighters, look no further than Murtazali Magomedov and Brahyan Zurcher. Zurcher is a PFL veteran that was highly impressive under their banner, as seen by his undefeated record. Magomedov is a typical Central Asian fighter with dangerous striking and high-paced wrestling. This should be a mixture of stylistic chess match and hectic brawl.
Central Asia has recently become a major hotbed of MMA talent, with places like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other countries providing some top-notch talent to major MMA organizations. That brings us to this episode’s dark horse Murtazali Magomedov, an undefeated Kyrgyzstani prospect that has dominated thus far in his career. As mentioned he has a tough opponent in Brahyan Zurcher which will be a dynamite fight, but Magomedov being one of the lesser known fighters on this episode with the talent he has makes him the true definition of a dark horse.
Jeisla Chaves was supposed to fight Mexican prospect Regina Tarin, but Tarin decided not to pursue this opportunity, thinking she should get a direct invite from the UFC. In her place comes Sofia Montenegro, who has fought most of her fights in Argentina against low-level opposition. There were a number of top female prospects that the matchmakers could have brought in against Chaves, but they chose Montenegro, who does not seem on the level. Maybe she’ll surprise us, but I don’t think she has a chance here.
| MW: Dani Barbir vs. Mantas Kondratavicius | Barbir |
| FW: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Brahyan Zurcher | Magomedov |
| WFLY: Sofia Montenegro vs. Jeisla Chaves | Chaves |
| FW: Javier Reyes vs. Justice Torres | Reyes |
| LHW: Rafael Tobias vs. Jair de Oliveira | Tobias |