Dana White gave out six UFC contracts on the latest episode of Contender Series, where there were 4 first-round finishes
Six more fighters are joining the UFC after the latest episode of Contender Series.
On Tuesday night, Week 7 of Contender Series took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, with six fighters earning UFC contract offers after a night of violent action. It’s the first time since 2023 that White has offered all five winners a contract and offered one to one of the losers, but on a night with four first-round finishes and one bloody war, it was probably warranted.
Mantas Kondratavicius vs. Djani Barbir
In the main event of the evening, Mantas Kondratavicius ended the night with a bang, stopping Djani Barbir in 67 seconds.
Kondratavicius came out like he was shot out of a cannon, immediately starting a brawl with Barbir before scoring an early takedown. Barbir hit a beautiful reversal, but once they were back on the feet, Kondratavicius clubbed him with a right hand over Barbir’s jab, dropping his opponent. Kondratavicius jumped on Barbir with a flurry of punches, causing the referee to intervene. Barbir immediately complained about an early stoppage, and while it may have been quick, the outcome was probably not in question.
Neither was Kondratavicius’s contract situation as a 67-second finish is always going to earn a UFC contract, and Dana White, of course, offered him one.
Murtazali Magomedov vs. Brahyam Zurcher
In the co-main event of the evening, Murtazali Magomedov kept his undefeated record intact, stopping Brahyam Zurcher in just over 90 seconds.
Entering Contender Series at 9-0 and as the Octagon featherweight champion, Magomedov has the hallmarks of a top-tier prospect, but so did Zurcher, who trains with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. But Magomedov proved to be the superior prospect, dropping Zurcher with a perfectly placed jab and then pouncing with strikes to get the stoppage. It’s no surprise Dana White offered Magomedov a UFC contract.
Jeisla Chaves vs. Sofia Montenegro
In the feature bout of the evening, Jeisla Chaves went to war with Sofia Montenegro, eking out a split decision.
Montenegro came out strong early, pressuring Chaves and landing clean punches down the middle. Chaves responded in kind, and soon, both women were bleeding profusely. As the first round went on, Chaves found her rhythm and started landing big shots to the head and body, and looked to have taken over. But things changed in the second when Montenegro dropped Chaves early, spending most of the round dominating from top position, but Chaves rebounded in the third, using his bigger diversity of strikes to edge out the final round and take the split decision.
Much like the previous women’s fight on Contender Series this season, Dana White was so impressed that he offered contracts to both women.
Javier Reyes vs. Justice Torres
In the second bout of the evening, Javier Reyes mowed down Justice Torres via a first-round stoppage.
Reyes had two opponents fall out before Torres stepped in on short notice, and Reyes perhaps took that aggression out on Torres, barnstorming him with offense early in the fight. Torres held tough, but a nasty body shot from Reyes took the wind out of Torres’s sails, and a barrage of knees and punches finished the fight.
Though Reyes is a little older at 31, Dana White did offer him a UFC contract.
Rafael Tobias vs. Jair De Oliveira
In the opening bout of the evening, Rafael Tobias made light work of Jair De Oliveira to earn his way to the UFC.
13-1 in his MMA career at just 22 years old, Tobias was the biggest betting favorite on the evening at -500 and looked every bit of it against de Oliveira. Tobias had a significant size advantage and used it to great effect, repeatedly dinging his opponent with counter shots. Tobias then showed his well-roundedness, taking de Oliveira down and locking on the rear-naked choke to get the first-round submission, and a contract offer from Dana White.
Check out the full Week 7 Contender Series results below.
Main Card
Mantas Kondratavicius def. Djani Barbir via TKO (punches) — 1:06, Round 1.
Murtazali Magomedov def. Brahyam Zurcher via TKO (punches) — 1:37, Round 1.
Jeisla Chaves def. Sofia Montenegro via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Javier Reyes def. Justice Torres via TKO (knees and punches) — 2:32, Round 1.
Rafael Tobias def. Jair De Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) — 3:46, Round 1.
Category: General Sports
