Dana White's Contender Series
Week 10 Preview | Dana White's Contender Series, Season 9
What’s On Tap For The Final Week Of DWCS Season 9 This Tuesday At UFC APEX
Closing time, open all the doors and let you out into the world…
The final week of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9 is upon us, which means it’s just about time for the Class of ’25 to start making their way into the Octagon as they look to make their mark on the UFC roster.
While we’ve already had a couple graduates from this season (Baisangur Susurkaev, Cam Rowston) earn victories in their respective debuts, the bulk of this year’s graduating class has yet to matriculate to the biggest stage in the sport, and there are a dozen hopefuls set to try to join them this week as we wrap up another season of Dana White’s Contender Series.
WATCH: Adrian Luna Martinetti vs Mark Vologdin
Last week, six more contracts were handed out, along with a $25,000 bonus for both Adrian Luna Martinetti and Mark Vologdin, who beat the bejesus out of one another in arguably the most gnarly fight in DWCS history. We also had another fight end in 90 seconds or less, as Luke Fernandez extended the streak to seven consecutive weeks with such a result by stopping Rafael Pergentino in 15 seconds to open the show.
This week, we close things out with a six-fight card capped by returning competitor Freddy Vidal, who looks for his second win of the year after securing a last-second submission win in Week 5; he’s up against Brazilian Levi Rodrigues in the finale.
Here’s a look at all the matchups for the final week of Season 9.
Freddy Vidal vs Levi Rodrigues
Unbeaten light heavyweights close things out as Freddy Vidal makes his second appearance of the season in a clash with Levi Rodrigues.
Sporting a 4-0 record (0 Since Score), Vidal scored a short-notice submission win in Week 5 but missed weight ahead of his bout with Felipe Franco. UFC CEO Dana White opted to give the Ray Longo-trained PE teacher another opportunity, and now Vidal looks to make the most of it.
UFC RIO REWIND: Main Card Results | Prelim Results | Official Scorecards
Rodrigues touches down in Las Vegas with a 5-0 record (0 Since Score) and is giving up a little size to his American opponent. Between his amateur and pro careers, the 28-year-old has yet to taste defeat, and he’s yet to go the distance as well, venturing into the third round only once in MMA.
Kwon Won-Il vs Juan Diaz
Experienced bantamweights clash here as Won-Il Kwon and Juan Diaz share the Octagon on Tuesday evening.
The 30-year-old Kwon is a ONE Championship veteran with a 14-5 record (-9 Since Score), whose last two losses have come against the promotion’s current champ, Fabricio de Andrade. He’s only gone the distance twice in his career, earning 12 of his 14 career wins by stoppage due to strikes, so expect him to chase a highlight-reel finish in this one.
THE SCORECARD: The Biggest Winners From Saturday's Epic Night Of Action In Rio
Three years Kwon’s junior, Diaz also has 14 career wins against just one loss and one draw (+4.0 Since Score), and arrives at the UFC APEX on a seven-fight winning streak. Training out of the UFC PI in Mexico City, the 27-year-old has a win over former UFC competitor Carlos Huachin, and is the reigning Lux Fight League bantamweight titleholder, having successfully defended his title twice.
Marwan Rahiki vs Ananias Mulumba
International featherweights find themselves across from one another in Las Vegas as Australia’s Marwan Rahiki faces off with Ananias Mulumba from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Born in Morocco and fighting out of Lion’s Den Academy in Sydney, Rahiki carries an unblemished 6-0 record (-4 Since Score) into this one, having claimed both the HEX Fight Series and Beatdown Promotions titles in his last two outings. He’s yet to go to the scorecards but did venture into the championship rounds two fights back, ending things with a guillotine choke in the fourth round.
ICYMI: Everything You Missed On Last Week's Episode Of DWCS
Mulumba is the second Congolese fighter to compete this season, after teammate Eliezer Kubanza competed last week. The 27-year-old is 9-2 as a professional (0 Since Score), having won three straight and nine of his last 10 after dropping a decision in his professional debut.
Michael Oliveira vs Victor Valenzuela
Michael Oliveira and Victor Valenzuela square off in this intriguing clash of welterweight finishers.
Unbeaten in eight pro bouts, Oliveira earned his first seven wins by stoppage before going the distance in his most recent outings. The 27-year-old has logged his last six appearances under the LFA banner, registering four first-round finishes and amassing a -2.0 Since Score heading into Tuesday’s event at UFC APEX.
WATCH: UFC Unfiltered | Edmen Shahbazyan, Yousri Belgaroui, UFC 320 Takeaways
The 31-year-old Valenzuela makes his way to Las Vegas with a 12-3 record and a six-fight winning streak (-7.5 Since Score), having earned eight victories inside the distance. Training out of MMA Masters in South Florida, his nickname “Psicosis” comes from the handle he gave himself as a child when he used to paint and scratch in the street, and not the famed luchador of the same name.
Azamat Nuftillaev vs Jovan Leka
Azamat Nuftillaev and Jovan Leka face off in the fourth heavyweight tussle of the season, looking to follow the previous three victors to the UFC roster.
A native of Uzbekistan, Nuftillaev is a very difficult competitor to break down. At the surface, he’s 13-1-1 (-9.0 Since Score) as a professional, with his lone loss coming against Slim Trabelsi. He also sports a 100-percent finishing rate, so it will be interesting to see how he fares here.
UFC RIO POST-FIGHT INTERVIEWS: Charles Oliveira | Deiveson Figueiredo | Joel Alvarez
Just 23 years old, Leka has already logged a dozen appearances as a professional, sporting a 10-2 record (-3.0 Since Score) with three consecutive wins as he touches down in Las Vegas. He’s looking to become the third fighter from Serbia to catapult himself into the UFC via the Contender Series alongside Dusko Todorovic (Season 3) and Uros Medic (Season 4).
Mario Mingaj vs Wes Schultz
The final card of the season opens in the middleweight division as undefeated Italian Mario Mingaj takes on returning hopeful Wes Schultz.
The first Italian to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series, the 26-year-old Mingaj carries a 7-0 record (+4.0 Since Score) with six finishes heading into his first appearance outside of Europe. Set to turn 27 on October 28, Mingaj hits Las Vegas looking to earn himself a massive early birthday present in the form of a UFC contract here.
WATCH: Dana White | The 60 Minutes Interview
Schultz competed on the first week of Season 8, losing to rising middleweight star Mansur Abdul-Malik. He’s since earned a bounce-back victory to climb to 7-2 overall (-5.5 Since Score) and aims to join the long list of returning competitors that made good on their second opportunity to impress the UFC brass.