Dana White's Contender Series
Dana White Contender Series Season 4 Recap
Get Ready For Season 5 Of DWCS By Looking Back At Everything That Happened In Season4.
The fourth season of Dana White’s Contender Series featured 10 more weeks of UFC hopefuls looking to impress UFC brass. A total of 37 fighters would accomplish that task and earn contracts to fight in the world-famous Octagon.
As we gear up for the fifth season of fighters vying for their shot at a UFC contract, let’s look back at the fourth season, where we heard some of the biggest up-and-coming names for the very first time.
*Asterisks denote athletes who were awarded UFC contracts following their performances.
Episode 1
Nearly 10 years after beginning his first stint in the UFC, kickboxing specialist Dustin Jacoby made good on his chance to get back into the promotion by defeating Ty Flores in the main event. Serbia’s Uros Medic and Jordan Leavitt also impressed with their first-round finishes.
*Dustin Jacoby defeated Ty Flores by Unanimous Decision (30-26,29-27, 29-27)
*Uros Medic defeated Mikey Gonzalez by TKO at 2:48 in round one
Jerome Rivera defeated Luis Rodriguez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
*Jordan Leavitt defeated Jose Flores by Submission due to an Arm-Triangle Choke at 4:15 in round one
Episode 2
Episode two was the only episode of season four to see all five winners receive a contract as Dustin Stoltzfus, Adrian Yanez, Cory McKenna, TJ Laramie and Impa Kasanganay all moved up to the big show following their wins.
One standout in particular from the episode was Yanez, whose 39-second TKO win was the sixth fastest KO in DWCS series history.
*Dustin Stoltzfus defeated Joe Pyfer by TKO (arm injury) at 4:21 in round one
*Adrian Yanez defeated Brady Huang by TKO at :39 in round one
*Cory McKenna defeated Vanessa Demopoulos by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*TJ Laramie defeated Daniel Swain by TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of round one
*Impa Kasanganay defeated Anthony Adams by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Episode 3
The big story of episode three was the Cosce brothers, as both finished their opponents and earned contracts. Cheyanne Buys was also signed after her dominant win over Hilarie Rose and DWCS season two’s Josh Parisian finally received his contract after finishing Chad Johnson with some vicious ground-and-pound.
*Louis Cosce defeated Victor Reyna by TKO at 1:12 in round one
*Cheyanne Buys defeated Hilarie Rose by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
*Orion Cosce defeated Matt Dixon by TKO at 4:42 in round three
*Josh Parisian defeated Chad Johnson by KO at 3:43 in round one
Kenny Cross defeated Kevin Syler by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Episode 4
The lucky number was four on episode four, as four more fighters picked up UFC contracts. Jamie Pickett, Rafael Alves, Jeff Molina and Collin Huckbody joined the UFC ranks with their performances inside the UFC APEX.
*Jamie Pickett defeated Jhonoven Pati by TKO at :33 in round two
*Rafael Alves defeated Alejandro Flores by Submission due to a Guillotine at 2:55 in round two
*Jeff Molina defeated Jacob Silva by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Anthony Romero defeated Mike Breeden by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
*Collin Huckbody defeated Kyron Bowen by Submission due to an Arm-Triangle at 1:28 in round one
Episode 5
Jimmy Flick, Ronnie Lawrence and William Knight all earned tickets to the UFC with impressive showings on episode 5. Flick and Knight didn’t let their fights make it the 15-minute distance, while Lawrence won all three rounds on every judge’s scorecard on his way to victory.
Melsik Baghdasaryan defeated Dennis Buzukja by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Jimmy Flick defeated Nate Smith by Submission due to an Arm-Triange at 3:15 in round three
*Ronnie Lawrence defeate Jose Johnson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
*William Knight defeated Cody Brundage by TKO at 2:23 in round one
Tucker Lutz defeated Chase Gibon by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Episode 6
It was a big night inside the UFC APEX. After making an appearance on the first season of DWCS, Phil Hawes returned with a vengeance. The Sanford MMA middleweight earned a contract with his 78-second KO of Khadzimurat Bestaev. Tafon Nchukwi’s devastating head kick KO secured his spot, while Drako Rodriguez and Aliaskhab Khizriev used their submission skills to get them a UFC deal.
*Phil Hawes defeated Khadzimurat Bestaev by TKO at 1:18 in round one
*Tafon Nchukwi defeated Al Matavao by KO at 2:01 in round two
*Drako Rodriguez defeated Mana Martinez by Submission due to a Triangle Choke at 2:22 in round one
*Aliaskhab Khizriev defeated Henrique Shiguemoto by Submission due to a Rear Naked Chok at :50 in round one
Episode 7
Jordan Williams showed up in a big way as he headlined DWCS season 4 episode 7. The talented middleweight knocked out highly touted Brazilian Jiu Jitsu player Gregory Rodriguez in the first round. Even though they didn’t secure a finish in their DWCS bout, Collin Anglin and women’s featherweight Danyelle Wolf received contracts with their victories.
*Jordan Williams defeated Gregory Rodriguez by TKO at 2:19 in round one
*Collin Anglin defeated Muhammadjon Naimov by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Michael Lombardo defeated Korey Kuppe by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
*Danyelle Wolf defeated Taneisha Tennant by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kyle Driscoll defeated Dinis Paiva by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Episode 8
It was a quick night at the office for Carlos Ulberg, Ignacio Bahamondes, Luis Saldana and Jared Vanderaa, as all four fights finished in under 11 minutes. Their exceptional knockouts all came with big praise from UFC President Dana White, who awarded the quartet contracts to the UFC.
*Carlos Ulberg defeated Bruno Oliveira by KO at 2:02 in round one
*Ignacio Bahamondes defeated Edson Gomez at 2:31 in round two
*Luis Saldana defeated Vince Murdock by TKO at :44 in round three
*Jared Vanderaa defeated Harry Hunsucker by TKO at 3:34 in round one
Episode 9
Natan Levy, Nikolas Motta and Luana Pinheiro showed they had what it takes to be successful in the Octagon with their performances on episode 9 of DWCS. Levy locked-up an arm-triangle choke, Motta was dominant for three rounds and Pinheiro proved she is someone to keep an eye on at strawweight.
Mario Sousa defeated Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Natan Levy defeated Shaheen Santana by Submission due to an Arm-Triangle at :55 in round three
*Nikolas Motta defeated Joseph Lowery by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
*Luana Pinheiro defeated Stephanie Frausto by TKO at 2:48 in round one
Danny Sabatello defeated Taylor Moore by Unanimous Decision (30-24, 30-25, 30-26)
Episode 10
Just like his wife was able to earlier in the season, JP Buys delivered under the UFC APEX lights when it mattered most. Buys secured a contract with his first-round guillotine submission of Jacob Silva. Gloria de Paula and Tucker Lutz’s dominant performances also earned them contracts. Victoria Leonardo’s night started with a second-round TKO of Chelsea Hackett and ended with a contract to be a UFC fighter.
Just the way you’d want to end a season.
*JP Buys defeated Jacob Silva by Submission due to a Guillotine at 4:54 in round one
Nick Maximov defeated Oscar Ivan Cota by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
*Gloria de Paula defeated Pauline Macias Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
*Tucker Lutz defeated Sherrard Blackledge (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
*Victoria Leonardo defeated Chelsea Hackett by TKO at 4:41 in round two