Dana White’s Contender Series is back for its ninth season. Last Tuesday night was the fifth episode of the season, so let’s look at each fight’s aftermath and make some observations from last night.
- Carol Foro def. Shanelle Dyer: This fight was a UFC-level fight, as expected. That said, I hate when Dana White signs a fighter coming off a loss. Carol Foro absolutely earned her contract with that performance. I don’t think a fighter coming off a loss outside the UFC should get the invite to the UFC until they can get back into the win column. Shanelle Dyer is a top female flyweight prospect, but like others before her who lost and got the contract offer, she should have had to jump back into the win column before getting that shot, unless a short-notice opportunity presents itself.
- Samuel Sanches def. Chasen Blair: There have been some very questionable Contender Series re-invites the last couple of years and I thought the second booking of Chasen Blair to be among the most egregious. I get it, sometimes they bring a lamb to slaughter to test the ability of a fighter they are interested in, with Samuel Sanches being that guy in this instance. That’s likely what happened here. Sanches proved that despite being just 21 years old, he’s a guy that has UFC potential and a high ceiling. That knockout was beautiful from a technical and violence aspect. Good on Sanches, as he is now a very interesting UFC prospect to watch going forward.
- Freddy Vidal def. Felipe Franco: Neither of these guys were UFC level. Honestly, this episode had a lot of guys I didn’t see as UFC level and this just felt like a filler episode. These two guys really represented that. For Vidal, who won, he can’t help that, as he was a late notice fighter hired to fill a spot. He missed weight, which is a problem, but won regardless on less than two weeks’ notice. That’s an accomplishment. Per Dana White, he will get another shot on the last week of the Contender Series to earn that contract, so we will see what happens. As for Franco, he proved to be the can crusher we suspected him to be by having the record he does and losing to a 3-0 fighter on less than two weeks’ notice. Woof.
- Lerryan Douglas def. Cam Teague: Speaking of guys who were questionable re-invites to the Contender Series (I get it, he’s exciting), Cam Teague was a handful of the guys that got those re-invites that proved they should have been one-and-done. That knockout by Lerryan Douglas was nasty. It was everything I expected from him given his recent move to Cub Swanson’s camp and his recent fights, especially with LFA. I am very interested to see where Douglas goes from here. He’s either a dark horse to watch for or a bust once he gets to the UFC.
- Steven Asplund def. Anthony Guarascio: First off, I get on Laura Sanko as a post-fight interviewer for her terrible questions and bringing up the negatives of a fighter’s past life to get an “interesting” interview…and that continued here. She tried to turn a fighter’s former obesity into some potential emotional pawn to illicit interest in a fighter after he just mauled his opponent. I don’t get what people see in her as a broadcaster. THAT SAID, Asplund should have been smart money given his LFA history and the fact he had a better resume than Anthony Guarascio. I don’t know how successful he will be in the UFC, but the dude can talk and is humorous. Not only that, he’s a proven finisher. The heavyweight division needs something…ANYTHING…and maybe Asplund can provide something to that.