Week 1 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 9

A general view of the Octagon prior to during Dana White's Contender Series season seven, week six at UFC APEX on September 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Setting The Table For The Opening Week Of The Season

By E. Spencer Kyte • Aug. 12, 2025

It’s that time of year again…

Dana White’s Contender Series kicks off its ninth year on Tuesday evening at the UFC APEX, as the first five pairs of athletes make the walk to the Octagon in hopes of impressing the UFC CEO and earning the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.

Every year, the incoming class of hopefuls have a lot to live up to, but the Season 9 contestants truly have a high bar to clear to measure up to last year’s graduating class, as several members of the Class of ’24 have already started making serious noise in their respective divisions during their first year on the roster. But you could have said the same for that group, who followed the Season 6 crew that featured the Fighting Nerds trio of Carlos Prates, Jean Silva, and Mauricio Ruffy (amongst many others) and they managed to do it, so here’s to this year’s crop raising the bar again.

How To Watch Dana White's Contender Series, Season 9

One thing I’m going to do throughout this season, because I think it’s an interesting way to look at these largely younger, inexperienced athletes is introduce what I call a “Since Score” for each fighter. You basically compile the records over everyone an athlete has faced, subtract the losses from the wins (draws are +0.5, no contests are -0.5) and that gives you the number. The higher the number, the better, in theory, the level of competition that individual has faced.

Make sense? Cool, now let’s dive into the matchups that make up the first week of Season 9.

Ilian Bouafia vs. Neemias Santana

Ilian Bouafia vs Neemias Santana Preview | DWCS Season 9, Week 1

The final bout of this week’s slate takes place in the middleweight division, as France’s Ilian Bouafia faces off with Brazilian Neemias Santana.

A teammate and training partner of UFC standout Nassourdine Imavov, the 28-year-old Bouafia arrives in Las Vegas with a perfect 6-0 mark as a professional, with the first five of those victories coming inside the distance. Bouafia’s opponents to date have a 5-11 record with one no contest (-6.5 Since Score) since they shared the cage with the ascending prospect, who made his last two appearances at light heavyweight.

Official Weigh-In Results: Dana White's Contender Series, Season 9

12*10

The 27-year-old Santana, who has been preparing alongside Tallison Teixeira and Kevin Vallejos with Team Lucas Minheiro, comes in with a 7-2-1 record, a three-fight winning streak, and a +2 Since Score, even with two of his early opponents never fighting again. He’s been to the scorecards a couple times and is likely to lean on his greater experience and seemingly tougher strength of schedule to carry him through this one and into the UFC alongside Teixeira and Vallejos.

Ty Miller vs. Jimmy Drago

Ty Miller vs Jimmy Drago Preview | DWCS Season 9, Week 1

It’s an all-American battle at welterweight here as Ty Miller takes on Jimmy Drago.

Fighting out of FitNHB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Miller is unbeaten in five pro starts with a +9 Since Score, which includes having fought and beaten current CFFC welterweight champ Eric Nolan in what was each of their second appearances. He has excellent size and length for the division at six-foot-two and long arms, and you don’t come through FitNHB without some serious sandpaper and heart, so it’ll be exciting to see how he performs on Tuesday night.

Order UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev

A product of the rugged tri-state regional circuit that includes Ring of Combat and CFFC, the 30-year-old Drago arrives opposite Miller having dealt with a no contest in his last outing following an accidental clash of heads. He’d won three straight before that to advance to 7-2, and carries a -1 Since Score owing largely to his debut setback six-plus years ago.

Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Murtaza Talha

Murtaza Talha of Russia prepares to face Rodolfo Bellato of Brazil in a light heavyweight fight during Dana White's Contender Series season seven, week nine at UFC APEX on October 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Unbeaten Russian Baisangur Susurkaev takes on Murtaza Talha, who represents the Kingdom of Bahrain, in this competitive middleweight pairing.

Susurkaev has been a wrecking machine to date, garnering eight straight wins and seven finishes, six of them in the first round, five of them in under 90 seconds, since making his pro debut at the end of 2019. It’s worth noting, however, that he has a -6 Since Score, with four of his opponents either having yet to have fought again or simply never doing so following their encounter. You can only beat the guy in front of you, but these things are always interesting to me and something I will track all season.

GET YOUR TICKETS: UFC 319 | UFC Shanghai | UFC Paris

Talha makes his return to the UFC APEX after competing on Season 7, where he lost to Rodolfo Bellato. He bounced back with a win that has been flagged by Tapology, advancing to 7-1 as a professional, and has a +1 Since Score, which inches into the positive thanks to a submission win over DWCS alum Mikheil Sazhiniani and Bellato being unbeaten through his first three UFC starts.

Radley Da Silva vs. George Mangos

George Mangos vs Radley Da Silva Preview | DWCS Season 9, Week 1

Radley Da Silva and George Mangos clash in this meeting of champions from their respective promotions that promotes to be exciting.

The 30-year-old Da Silva is 7-1 as a professional (-1 Since Score) and riding a seven-fight winning streak, having successfully defended the BFL featherweight strap in each of his last three outings. The Vancouver-area capoeira stylist has a penchant for delivering highlight reel finishes, and will look to become the first Canadian talent to get a win on the Contender Series since fellow BFL champs Caio Machado and Serhiy Sidey accomplished the feat in Season 7.

BREAKING: Paramount and TKO Announce Historic UFC Media Rights Agreement

Mangos is the reigning HEX Fight Series titleholder, having posted four consecutive title fight victories to elevate his record to 7-0 overall (-0.5 Since Score) with all seven coming inside the distance. What makes the Australian such an intriguing prospect is that he’s done all of this while still being just 21 years old — he turns 22 next Tuesday — and having been a pro for two years and five months; he also went 6-0 as an amateur with six finishes, as well.

Chris Ewert vs. Yuri Panferov

Christopher Ewert vs Yuri Panferov Preview | DWCS Season 9, Week 1

Season 9 kicks off with a fascinating pairing between Chris Ewert and returning hopeful Yuri Panferov.

Ewert was tabbed as a short-notice replacement earlier this year in the UFC, but weight cut issues forced him out of the contest and back into this pairing with Panferov. “El Tanke” is 31 years old and 7-0 as a pro (-1 Since Score), having earned five of his seven wins by first-round stoppage, with the other two doing the distance.

Panferov was the first of three men to face off with and fall to Torrez Finney on Dana White’s Contender Series, having been tapped by the current UFC middleweight midway through their Season 7 meeting. He’s earned two wins since that first appearance at the UFC APEX to advance to 8-1 in his career (+1 Since Score), including registering a third-round stoppage win over fellow DWCS alum Khadzimurat Bestaev last time out.