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It’s been an incredible start to the seventh season of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), with all but the welterweight division having already been represented on the men’s side of the roster, and women’s strawweight prospect Eduarda Moura delivering one of the best performances thus far in the lone female fight to date.
Not only have all 10 victorious fighters so far this season garnered contracts to compete in the UFC, but two of them already have a fight lined up.
Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 7 Week 3
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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
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Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 7 Week 3
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Flyweight Kevin Borjas — who won the opening bout of the season — is slated to take on the man he was initially supposed to meet in Week 1, Joshua Van, at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in November. Van was called up to face Zhalgas Zhumagulov earlier this summer, delivering an impressive debut victory, and now he and Borjas will share the Octagon together in NYC.
Tuesday, it was announced that fellow Week 1 winner Payton Talbott also has his debut booked, as the undefeated bantamweight will take on Nick Aguirre in November.
This week, we saw just four fights and only three athletes awarded contracts, as Luis Pajuelo, Oban Elliott, and Zachary Reese all punched their ticket to the UFC, while strawweight Josephine Knutsson won, but failed to impress UFC President Dana White.
Here’s a look at what transpired.
Dana White's Contender Series Season 7 Week 3 Results
- Luis Pajuelo defeats Robbie Ring by TKO (strikes) at 3:43 of Round 1
- Josefine Knutsson def. Isis Verbeek by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Oban Elliott (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) defeats Kaik Brito by Majority Decision
- Zachary Reese defeats Eli Aronov by Submission (armbar) at 1:14
Dana White's Contender Series Season 7 Week 3 Fight Card
Luis Pajuelo defeats Robbie Ring by TKO (strikes) at 3:43 of Round 1
Luis Pajuelo becomes the second Peruvian fighter to garner a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series this season, taking the fight to Robbie Ring and overwhelming the undefeated 23-year-old.
When they were in space and technical, Ring held his own, but once Pajuelo decided he wanted to turn this into a slobberknocker, the fight swung entirely in his favor. After hurting Ring and forcing the American to pull guard, the featherweight prospect unloaded on Ring, setting up the finish with a punishing knee to the midsection on the ground before hammering home a torrent of blows.
This was an absolutely punishing effort from “Corazon de Leon,” who pushes his winning streak to five and his record to 8-1 overall with the victory.
Josefine Knutsson defeats Isis Verbeek by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
After impressing on Road to UFC last season, but feeling underwhelmed with her efforts, Josephine Knutsson ventured to Vegas to make a good second impression on the UFC brass, accomplishing the feat with a unanimous decision win over Isis Verbeek on Tuesday night.
The AllStars Training Center representative blasted Verbeek with a no-tell lead high kick in the first that likely would have knocked out many other competitors. While Verbeek stayed upright, Knutsson remained in control for the majority of the fight, getting the better of things in space, in the clinch, and on the ground. She couldn’t find a finish, but this was one-way traffic and a highly technical performance from the Swedish strawweight.
All three judges saw the fight in Knutsson’s favor, with “Thunder” moving to 6-0 with the win while handing Verbeek the second loss of her MMA career.
Oban Elliott (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) defeats Kaik Brito by Majority Decision
Oban Elliott said he would leave in a box before losing on Dana White’s Contender Series, and while there was a time he looked to be getting measured for a casket, “The Welsh Gangster” rallied and out-worked Kaik Brito throughout the third to secure the come-from-behind victory.
The first was close, with Elliott landing a smattering of good shots while controlling the grappling exchanges, but Brito was all over him in the second. It genuinely seemed like Elliott was one shot away from being finished, only for the Cage Warriors veteran to come out as the fresher man in the third and take the fight to Brito.
Two of the three judges saw the fight 29-28 in favor of Elliott with the other official scoring the bout a draw, resulting in a majority decision victory for the hard-nosed Shore Mixed Martial Arts representative.
Zachary Reese defeats Eli Aronov by Submission (armbar) at 1:14
Zachary Reese doesn’t like spending a lot of time inside the cage, registering his sixth straight first-round stoppage win by tapping out Eli Aronov to close out Week 3.
Aronov was landing the more telling blows in the early exchanges and worked his way into top position after spilling Reese to the canvas. The Texan trapped the arm and extended, taking advantage of Aronov making a tactical mistake, drawing out the tap.
The 29-year-old is now 6-0 as a pro with six finish and on a nine-fight winning streak overall dating back to his amateur days. Reese trains with a handful of UFC competitors in Houston and could very well be joining them on the roster after this one.
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