Dana White's Contender Series
Results
Week 2 Results + Scorecards | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8
Contract Winners, Scorecards, Recaps And More From The Newest Round Of UFC Hopefuls
Last week, Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series kicked off in exciting fashion with four competitors earning the opportunity to compete in the UFC.
Post-Fight Press Conference | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 2
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!
Post-Fight Press Conference | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 2
/
Tonight, another five pairs of hopefuls descended upon the UFC APEX with dreams of victory and a call to the Octagon dancing in their heads, knowing that an impressive Tuesday night effort could be the only thing standing between them and their goal of competing on the biggest stage in the sport.
When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, UFC CEO Dana White awarded four contracts for the second consecutive week.
Cody Haddon was added to the bantamweight ranks after his first-round submission win over Billy Brand, while returning hopefuls Cortavious Romious and Rizvan Kuniev did enough to get the opportunity to ply their trade at the highest level, with Swedish buzzsaw Andreas Gustafsson rounding out the group following his second-round finish of Pat Pytlik.
Here’s a look at how things played out in the cage to earn these four their chance to advance to the next level.
Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 2 Results
- Andreas Gustafsson defeats Pat Pytlik by TKO (strikes) at 3:20 of Round 2
- Rizvan Kuniev defeats Hugo Cunha by TKO (strikes) at 4:59 of Round 1
- Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Torrez Finney defeats Cam Rowston by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cody Haddon defeats Billy Brand by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:09 of Round 1
Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 2
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!
Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 2
/
Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 2 Fight Card
Cody Haddon defeats Billy Brand by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:09 of Round 1
For the second straight week, the opening bout of the night ended in the first round, as Cody Haddon clipped, swarmed, and choked out Billy Brand.
The streaking prospects were happy to trade hands in the early moments of the round, with Haddon showing a little more variation in his attacks, working the body and looking for takedowns intermittently. A swift left hand put Brand on the canvas, and after some ground-and-pound and repositioning, Haddon sunk in the choke and squeezed out the tap.
Just an outstanding showing from the Australian!
Torrez Finney defeats Cam Rowston by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Torrey Finney picked up his second DWCS win in as many years on Tuesday, registering a hard-fought unanimous decision win over City Kickboxing representative Cam Rowston.
The compact middleweight used his superior wrestling to ground the lanky New Zealander multiple times, slamming him with force several times, but struggling to do significant damage once they were there. He withstood some solid attacks from Rowston and defended well on the ground, fighting off fatigue to maintain his unbeaten record.
Last season, Finney submitted Yuri Panferov, but wasn’t awarded a contract, in part because he was deemed too raw, so it will be interesting to see what the the UFC brass think of this effort. Will Finney join Bruno Lopes as the second returning fighter to earn a contract in their second attempt to do so?
Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cortavious Romious returned to the UFC APEX on Tuesday night and delivered a strong effort against Michael Imperato, earning a unanimous decision victory.
It was a hard-fought battle from the outset, with Romious stinging Imperato with a kick to the liver in the first round before getting sat in a chair by the Canadian later in the frame. Despite moments where Imperato had success, Romious managed to dictate the terms of engagement for the majority of the fight, neutralizing the grappler’s attempts to sweep from bottom and threatening with submission attempts of his own at times.
After getting stopped by Ramon Taveras on the final week last season, this was a much more complete and impressive showing for the Pura Vida BJJ/MMA representative; a quality win over a dangerous veteran that should serve him well going forward no matter what happens at the end of the night.
Rizvan Kuniev defeats Hugo Cunha by TKO (strikes) at 4:59 of Round 1
Rizvan Kuniev pounded out a stoppage win just before the horn signalled the end of the first round in his heavyweight battle with Hugo Cunha.
The returning Russian hurt Cunha late in the frame with a knee to the body from a collar tie position, following it up with uppercuts that put the LFA champion on the deck. From there, the streaking big man swarmed and dropped heavy shots, prompting referee Blake Grice to step in and wave off the action just as the horn sounded.
The 31-year-old Kuniev earned a third-round finish over Edivan Santos back in 2021, but was not signed at the time. Unbeaten in his last dozen fights, it’ll be interesting to see if the surging heavyweight finisher will get the call to join the roster after an emphatic stoppage win here.
Andreas Gustafsson defeats Pat Pytlik by TKO (strikes) at 3:20 of Round 2
Andreas Gustafsson wrapped up the evening in punishing fashion, taking the fight to Pat Pytlik from the outset and leaving him a busted-up mess.
The Swedish welterweight closed the distance straight away and began wearing on Pytlik, working short attacks in close and taking the best the Canadian had to offer in the spare moments where they were in space. Just after the midway point of the second round, Gustafsson cracked home elbows in the clinch that started making Pytlik wilt, following it up with knees to the face that sent him crashing to the canvas in a bloody heap.
The 33-year-old was involved in one of the most memorable fights of the year on Fight Pass in 2023, and turned in another memorable effort here. With three straight victories and wins in five of his last six, “Bane” has certainly established himself as an all-action fighter to watch if he’s added to the UFC roster.
