Week 5 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 10

Undefeated light heavyweights Quentin Pasley and Arlind Berisha meet in the final bout of Week 5, each hoping to join Week 2 winner Alik Lorenz in punching their ticket to the UFC roster.

Training under former DWCS competitor Nick Newell, the 24-year-old Pasley has a trio of first-round finishes to begin his professional career after an amateur career which included seven finishes in as many appearances. Pasley has been competing in MMA for less than four years and has also competed in grappling events and made his boxing debut last month.

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Berisha is the first athlete representing Albania to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series and arrives in Las Vegas with a 5-0 professional record consisting exclusively of first-round finishes. He needed more than 90 seconds only once, and at 6-foot-6, Berisha presents a formidable physical presence each time he steps into the cage.

Isaac Moreno vs Reginaldo Junior

Isaac Moreno and Reginaldo Junior are set to battle it out this week, looking to add to the collection of welterweights that have already joined this year’s graduating class.

Moreno is another undefeated fighter competing on the night, having followed up his 5-0 run as an amateur with eight consecutive victories to begin his professional career. Last October, the 28-year-old Texan scored a first-round stoppage win over UFC veteran Darian Weeks, giving him finishes in each of his last three wins.

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The Fighting Nerds have been one of the most successful teams to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series over the years, and now Reginaldo Junior looks to join the likes of Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, and Carlos Prates in using the show as a launch pad to UFC success. “The Beast” is rolling into the Meta APEX on a five-fight winning streak that includes three first-round finishes.

It will be interesting to see how each man navigates this experience and carries themselves throughout, as Moreno has the confidence of a competitor that has yet to deal with a loss while Junior is surrounded by an experienced team that knows exactly what it needed to turn an autumn trip to Las Vegas into a UFC contract.

Martin Kozak vs Christian Echols

A middleweight has earned a contract each week so far this season, and Martin Kozak and Christian Echols share the cage in hopes of keeping that trend going for a fifth consecutive week.

Fighting out of Presov, Slovakia, the 24-year-old Kozak looks to become the fifth athlete from Slovakia to garner a UFC contract, joining Ludovit Klein, Martin Buday, recent debutant Vlasto Cepo, and unbeaten flyweight prospect Lucia Szabova. Another Week 5 competitor who has been perfect as a pro, Kozak has earned finishes in each of his first six pro fights.

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Echols gets the call this week after Kozak’s original opponent was scratched due to visa issues and steps up looking to make the absolute most of this short-notice. He thrived in a similar position earlier in his career, waltzing in and knocking out highly regarded wrestler Pat Downey under the Bellator banner. With first-round finishes in each of his eight career wins, a similar outcome is definitely not out of the question here.

Kwon Won Il vs Apollo Gomes

Kwon WonIl serves as this week’s returning hopeful as he makes the walk for the second consecutive season in a clash with promising Brazilian Apollo Gomes.

South Korea’s Kwon engaged in an absolute barnburner with Mexican prospect Juan Diaz in the penultimate bout of last season, eating a spinning back elbow late in the second round. Now he returns, hoping to build on the positives from that first appearance as he faces off with Gomes on Tuesday night.

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A member of the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team, Gomes looks to honor his late teammate Allan Nascimento by claiming a place on the UFC roster. The 26-year-old holds a 12-2 record with one no contest with nine of his wins coming inside the distance. 

This one stands out as the most intriguing bout on the card as Kwon has a wealth of experience, and Gomes works with an elite team that knows a thing or two about succeeding at the highest level. Plus, it’s the first bantamweight matchup of the season, and it’ll be interesting to see if the winner can put the 135-pound ranks on the board with its first graduate of Season 10.

Colton Loud vs Christian Natividad

The second flyweight bout of the season kicks things off this week as Colton Loud meets Christian Natividad.

A tall and rangy competitor reppin’ Fort Worth, Texas, Loud carries a 7-1 record and 100-percent finishing rate into Tuesday’s opener, most recently collecting a 22-second D’arce choke back in March. 

A fixture under the LFA banner, Natividad rolls into the Meta APEX sporting a 9-0 record overall with three finishes. The younger brother of former UFC competitor Kevin Natividad, “The Hawaiian Punch” is another member of the “Never Lost Club” competing this week, having gone 5-0 as an amateur prior to his unbeaten run as a pro thus far.

Can Loud continue his quick finishing ways, or will Natividad take advantage of this short-notice call-up and claim a win and a spot on the UFC roster for himself?