Dana White's Contender Series Preview | Season 6, Week 6

For the first time this season, welterweights close out the show as Japanese prospect Yusaku Kinoshita squares off with Brazil’s Jose Henrique.

The 22-year-old Kinoshita enters with a 5-1 record, with each of his victories coming by way of first-round stoppage and his lone setback as a result of disqualification for grabbing the cage. He’s won by rear-naked choke and punches, a front choke, and knee strike, and a quick glance at his Instagram page will tell you the kind of personality that will be stepping into the cage on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

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Henrique is a six-foot-three Nova Uniao representative with a 5-0 record, coming off a split decision win over Pedro Oliveira at LFA 132 in May. The Brazilian youngster has fought limited competition and competed exclusively at middleweight thus far, but he’s consistently handled his business and could present some real problems for Kinoshita if he uses his size to his advantage in this one.

Each of these emerging welterweights present a bundle of upside, but they’re both so early in their careers that it’s difficult to project what they will become in the future. Tuesday’s meeting should bring some clarification and be an entertaining way to end the night and the August action at the UFC APEX.

Sedriques Dumas vs Matej Penaz

Sedriques Dumas and Matej Penaz square off in a clash of undefeated middleweights hoping to take the next step forward in their respective careers on Tuesday evening.

Fighting out of Pensacola, Florida, Dumas has amassed a 6-0 record to start his career, earning his last two victories under the iKON FC shingle. His first five fights ended inside the distance, but he logged 15 minutes last time out, and he’s spent part of his training camp for this fight getting in looks with DWCS grad Philip Rowe and the crew at Fusion X-cel in Orlando.

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A Muay Thai stylist fighting out of Brno, Czech Republic, Penaz is a former kickboxer who has also gone 6-0 to begin his mixed martial arts career. He debuted at the end of 2020 and rattled off five consecutive stoppages before going the distance with Gianni Melillo last time out at Oktagon 32 in early April.

Which of these young talents will remain undefeated and which will be forced to deal with the sting of defeat for the first time?

Rodrigo Lidio vs Mateusz Rebecki

Action shifts to the lightweight division in the middle of this week’s fight cad, as Rodrigo Lidio takes on Mateusz Rebecki.

Lidio is an experienced, 33-year-old Brazilian entering on a four-fight winning streak and brandishing a 12-2 record overall. He spent the early part of his career piling up wins against overmatched competition, but since his last setback in April 2019, he’s faced much better opposition and continued posting stoppage wins, making him an intriguing figure to watch heading into Tuesday fights.

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The long-time FEN lightweight champ, Rebecki arrives in Las Vegas with a 15-1 record, a 12-fight winning streak, and a resume filed with stoppage wins. He’s only been to the scorecards twice in his career, has never faced an opponent with a .500 record or worse, and has largely stopped opponents with far more wins than losses.

This feels a little like a “last chance to make the jump” moment for each of these men who have excelled in their respective regions, and that should, in theory, propel them to be at their very best when they step in across from one another this week.

Maria Silva vs Viktoriia Dudakova

Strawweights Maria Silva and Viktoriia Dudakova look to follow in the footsteps of Denise Gomes in punching their ticket to the UFC by earning a victory on Tuesday night.

Silva makes her second appearance at the UFC APEX after earning a unanimous decision win over Kathryn Paprocki, who went on to compete on Season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter, last season. She’s since added a third-round submission win over previously unbeaten Ewelina Wozniak under the Ares FC banner in Paris, pushing her record to 8-0 in the process.

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The 23-year-old Dudakova is a former IMMAF champion, having gone a perfect 6-0 as an amateur before turning pro and earning five straight victories heading into this week’s showdown with Silva. She’s yet to go the distance in her pro career and will have a moderate height and reach advantage on Silva when the two face off here.

Can Silva become another alum that simply needed a second opportunity to graduate to the UFC ranks or will Dudakova hand her a loss and claim the opportunity for herself?

Blake Bilder vs Alex Morgan

Veteran featherweights open the show as CFFC champ Blake Bilder squares off with Tristar Gym product Alex Morgan in the opener.

The 32-year-old Bilder is undefeated in seven fights as a pro, crafting a 6-0-1 record with his last two outings coming in championship fights in the CFFC cage. He went 7-0 as an amateur before that and looks to build off his mid-April stoppage win over Regivaldo Carvalho when he ventures to Las Vegas.

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The 31-year-old Morgan owns a pair of wins over DWCS grad TJ Laramie, and his only loss in his last five came opposite Charles Jourdain in a battle for the TKO featherweight title. He took nearly three years off following that setback but returned to action last July with a unanimous decision win, following it up by stopping Maged Hammo with a body shot in the fourth round of their clash at the first Samourai MMA event in November.

This is the opportunity each of these men have been working towards their entire careers, and that should mean that Tuesday’s opener is an entertaining, competitive affair between two veterans eager to show they are deserving of the chance to compete in the UFC cage.