Dana White's Contender Series
Week 1 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 10
Looking At The Lineup For Tuesday’s Season 10 Premiere At Meta APEX
A lot has changed since the launch of Dana White’s Contender Series in the summer of 2017, including the fact that it’s no longer a summer venture, but more of a late summer, early fall staple these days.
In addition to the start date getting pushed back a couple weeks and the episode count getting upped from eight in the first two seasons to 10 in every subsequent season, the annual series had also relocated to Meta APEX. The question of whether it’s a viable method of funneling talent into the UFC has also been answered emphatically in the affirmative.
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Regardless of whether you’re looking at the Meta Rankings or the Media Panel Rankings, there are more than 40 athletes ranked in each set who have graduated from the Contender Series, including light heavyweight champ Carlos Ulberg, former titleholders Jamahal Hill, Sean O’Malley and Jack Della Maddalena, and top contenders Natalia Silva, Carlos Prates, Michael Morales and Navajo Stirling.
100 Fighters, 10 Weeks, 1 Opportunity | Dana White's Contender Series
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100 Fighters, 10 Weeks, 1 Opportunity | Dana White's Contender Series
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What has stood out the most over the last two years is how quickly several of the graduates from the last two seasons have rocketed into contention, as fighters like Josh Hokit, Navajo Stirling and surging lightweight Quillan Salkilld have all parlayed activity and success into rising star status in only a year or two competing inside the Octagon.
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Now, as Season 10 gets underway, we’ll see if any of this year’s hopefuls show signs of being able to do the same.
Here’s a look at the matchups that make up Episode 1 on Tuesday.
Anthony Wint vs Matt Adams
Anthony Wint vs Matt Adams Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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Anthony Wint vs Matt Adams Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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There were just four heavyweight matchups all of last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, and now we’re opening with the big boys closing out the show as undefeated Anthony Wint takes on “Bad” Matt Adams.
A former linebacker with the New York Jets, Wint transitioned into MMA during the pandemic and has been an unstoppable wrecking machine on his way to his appearance in Las Vegas this week. Three straight stoppage wins as an amateur have been followed by finishes in five of six pro starts, with his last two wins coming in 31 and 37 seconds, respectively.
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Fighting out of New Lexington, Ohio, Adams has also earned finishes in five of his six pro wins, including a first-round stoppage win in March that helped punch his ticket to the Contender Series. Training alongside UFC heavyweight newcomer RJ Harris, Adams has won five of six since losing his debut in early 2023, with that loss coming against undefeated Nurmagomedov School product Arslan Bilalov in an LFA title fight in January.
All four of the victorious heavyweights from last season are currently on the roster, and three garnered contracts, so a statement effort from either man here is likely to result in them getting a chance to compete on the biggest stage in the sport. Wint has a ton of hype behind him, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the spotlight on Tuesday night and if Adams can pull off the upset.
Fabrizio Escarrega vs Abe Alsaghir
Fabrizio Escarrega vs Abe Alsaghir Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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Fabrizio Escarrega vs Abe Alsaghir Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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Fabrizio Escarrega and Abe Alsaghir meet in a lightweight matchup between prospects with a combined 17-1 record and 15 finishes.
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Escarrega opened his career as a welterweight but made the shift down a division last time out, registering a 44-second stoppage win to advance his record to 9-1 with eight finishes. His lone career setback came as a result of an arm injury in the summer of 2023, sending the Mexican standout into the Octagon on Tuesday riding a three-fight winning streak.
Unbeaten in eight pro bouts, Alsaghir trains at Porrada Training Center in Las Vegas under former UFC fighter Ronny Markes and has earned each of his last four wins by finish. Like many of the emerging names competing this week, it’s somewhat difficult to get a true read on where Alsaghir’s ceiling rests, as he has mauled seemingly overmatched competition on the regional circuit, with the youngest of his last three opponents being 39 years old and riding a lengthy losing streak.
With both men sporting high finishing rates and the edict on DWCS being to entertain, expect these two to come out swinging and only stop when one of them is left looking up at the lights.
Bilal Hasan vs Mridul Saikia
Mridul Saikia Pre-Fight Interview | Dana White's Contender Series, Season 10
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Mridul Saikia Pre-Fight Interview | Dana White's Contender Series, Season 10
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Bilal Hasan and Mridul Saikia arrive in Las Vegas hoping to land a place on the UFC roster after just one of last year’s three flyweight winners was awarded a contract.
The 25-year-old Hasan is unbeaten in eight starts and touches down for his Contender Series appearance after winning the CFFC flyweight title and successfully defending it three times. The first athlete representing Indonesia to compete on the DWCS stage, Hasan has only been to the scorecards once in his career, in his pro debut, and benefits from occasionally training alongside one of the best to ever do it in the UFC, recent Hall of Fame inductee and former flyweight ruler Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
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Saikia makes his second bid to garner a place on the UFC roster after taking part in the flyweight tournament in Season 4 of Road to UFC, losing to Agulali. The 9-1 Indian prospect rebounded with a 19-second knockout win earlier this year and has only ventured into the third round twice in 10 pro starts.
Can Hasan maintain his unbeaten record and become the second Indonesian fighter to land on the UFC roster, or will Saikia make the most of his second opportunity by bouncing Hasan from the ranks of the unbeaten and claiming a place in the flyweight ranks for himself?
Tom Pagliarulo vs Ananias Mulumba
Action shifts to the featherweight division here as promising American Tom Pagliarulo faces off with this year’s first returning hopeful, Ananias Mulumba.
Pagliarulo cut his teeth training with the New England Cartel before moving to Denver to train alongside Cory Sandhagen at his new gym, Tiger Beetle Martial Arts. The tall and rangy featherweight has earned four straight first-round stoppage wins since losing to DWCS alum Olivier Murad, including a sub-two-minute finish of UFC vet Don Shainis.
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The 27-year-old Mulumba got into an absolute firefight with streaking Australian Marwan Rahiki last season, ultimately ending up on the wrong side of the results in a back-and-forth brawl where both men caught and landed some hellacious shots. He’s rebounded with a first-round finish under the UAE Warriors banner and will look to undoubtedly lean on his experience in this setting on Tuesday night.
There is a massive size difference between these two, as Pagliarulo stands six feet even and Mulumba clocks in at just five-foot-five, though the reach difference isn’t as pronounced. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out, as the fighter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will likely need to get inside on his American counterpart in order to have any meaningful success.
Jon Kunneman vs Joseph Kropschot
Jon Kunneman vs Joseph Kropschot Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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Jon Kunneman vs Joseph Kropschot Preview | DWCS Season 10, Week 1
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Season 10 opens in the middleweight division as unbeaten Jon Kunneman faces off with fellow American Joseph Kropschot.
Another Denver-based talent competing on the opening week of the season, Kunneman has amassed a 10-0 record and a 100-percent finishing rate to begin his professional career, having most recently claimed gold under the APFC banner. He was penciled in to face Cam Rowston last season but was forced out with an injury and hasn’t fought since, which will be an interesting wrinkle to watch in this one.
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“The Land Animal” Kropschot lands in Las Vegas having won four straight, all by stoppage, including claiming the LFA middleweight title last time out. The 31-year-old is 7-3 overall, having suffered each of his losses consecutively, with the first two coming against UFC vets Orion Cosce and Cody Brundage.
Which middleweight will maintain their success, and which will be forced to head home dealing with the sting of defeat?