Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 saw four more fighters join the UFC roster as a quartet of undefeated prospects earned UFC contracts from the UFC President and CEO at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. It was the first event in a big week of combat sports, with Noche UFC in Glendale, Arizona, leading straight into Garcia vs Benn in Las Vegas, so there was plenty to discuss when White visited with the media backstage for the Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 5 post-fight press conference.
When White saw that Quentin Pasley’s record was only 3-0, he questioned UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard about why they’d put him at the top of the fight card over a host of more experienced undefeated prospects. But by the night’s end, he had no issue with his team’s decision, as the UFC boss admitted he’s looking forward to seeing how the newly-signed light heavyweight will fare in the UFC’s 205-pound class moving forward.
"Well, we're going to find out," he said. "I went through the records on here – because I don't know anything until we come in here – and I said [to the matchmakers], 'Why do you guys have a 3-0 guy headlining? They said, 'You're going to see.' And you're right. I see that now, his [previous] opponents were 0-8… We have the best matchmaking f******* period, ever, in the history of matchmaking. It's just a fact."
There were two fights that went to the judges’ scorecards on the night, with one winner, Apollo Gomes, missing out on a UFC contract while the other decision victor, Isaac Moreno earned a UFC deal. White explained the difference between the two when it came to his decision-making.
"Yeah, I liked the [Gomes vs Kwon Won Il] fight. I thought it was a good fight, a fun fight to watch. But yeah, nothing about him said, 'I think this guy's got it.' Whereas I had the exact opposite feeling about Isaac Moreno. Both the matchmakers said, 'No. We're not interested.' I said, 'Yeah. I'm interested.'”
White elaborated on why he opted to give Moreno a deal, even though his matchmaking team were against the idea.
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"Here's what I liked: I liked that he fought a guy that was dangerous everywhere. He's basically got as many knockouts as he's got submissions out of nine finishes. So, this kid got out of some nasty places," he said. "I question his fight IQ a little bit – when he got up from the bottom and then went in and shot on him again. But then, even after he did that, if there was another 10 seconds, he did have that choke, so who knows how that would have played out in another 10 seconds… I'm interested in the kid. I like him. He's 28. He's undefeated. He did enough for me. I'm going to give him a shot."
The opening bout of the night saw Christian Natividad overcome height and reach disadvantages to stop Colton Loud with a nasty body shot to earn himself a UFC contract.
White admitted that, on first glance, he didn’t think the fight was going to go Natividad’s way. But when the action got underway, the UFC boss saw the quality that meant signing “The Hawaiian Punch” was an easy decision.
"This kid came in on short notice. He's undefeated, 10-0. He's 29 years old, and finishes a much bigger guy with a body shot," said White. "And I ain't gonna lie. When he first came out, I said, I think this kid's undefeated record's gonna end right now. And boy, did he f****** prove me wrong! I'm excited to see him fight again, too."
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White was asked for his impressions of UFC new man Salahdine Parnasse, who exploded into the lightweight division with a blistering first-round finish of Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC Paris, and his post-fight callout of former featherweight and BMF champion Max Holloway.
"Incredible, and he was like the third biggest debut on social media that we've ever had, right behind Paddy Pimblett and [Raul] Rojas Jr," said White. "The crowd was incredible. The fight was great, and calling out Max Holloway is pretty crazy ... The fact that that guy wants to fight Max Holloway right now is impressive. I like it."
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“Tom Aspinall is hurt until we hear differently, so the heavyweight division will just keep rolling.”
“I think it's been pretty clear that he wasn't being re-signed, and that he would be taken out of the rankings because he's no longer on the roster.”
