Dana White's Contender Series
Week 7 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 8
Setting The Table For Tuesday’s Action At The UFC APEX
Last week, four more fighters were called to the UFC roster following strong efforts inside the cage at the UFC APEX, as Elijah Smith, Talisson Teixeira, Ateba Gautier, and Ahmad Hassanzada all earned wins and contracts.
That brought the total number of contracts handed out this season up to 24 through six weeks, which is still slightly off the pace of the last two seasons, but good for an average of four athletes graduating to the next level per week. There has only been one week this season where all five victorious fighters have been called over to speak with Laura Sanko for a second time on Tuesday night, but this week’s collection of hopefuls wants nothing more than to become the second week to send five fighters through to the UFC roster.
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Featuring fights at both ends of the weight spectrum and three others in between, the Week 7 slate is an interesting mix of aspiring talents that should produce quality action on Tuesday evening in Las Vegas.
Here’s a look at the matchups on tap this week.
Bailey Schoenfelder vs Danylo Voievodkin
It’s a battle of unbeaten heavyweights to close out the week as Bailey Schoenfelder takes on Danylo Voievodkin in a bout where someone’s “0” has got to go.
Schoenfelder has collected stoppages in all five of his professional outings to date, most recently claiming the CFFC heavyweight strap with a second-round TKO victory over DWCS alum Greg Velasco. A hand-to-hand combat champion in his native Ukraine, Voievodkin is 6-0 as a mixed martial artist, with all of his victories coming inside the opening stanza.
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Neither man has faced much in the way of meaningful competition, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out when these two undefeated heavyweight hopefuls step into the cage and get after it on Tuesday evening.
Daniel Frunza vs Vadym Kutsyi
Daniel Frunza and Vadym Kutsyi square off in a clash of international welterweights with strong records looking to take the next step forward in their careers.
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Born in Romania and fighting out of Italy, the 30-year-old Frunza is 8-2 overall and enters on a four-fight wining streak, with each of those victories coming inside the distance. Kutsyi is a 33-year-old from Belarus who touches down at the UFC APEX with a 17-1 mark and riding a 10-fight winning streak, though he hasn’t competed since stopping UFC alum Ismail Naurdiev in the first round of their December 2022 clash under the Brave CF banner.
Kevin Christian vs Francesco Mazzeo
Light heavyweights occupy the middle position on Tuesday’s five-fight slate, as Francesco Mazzeo takes on Kevin Christian.
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Unbeaten in four career starts, Mazzeo has yet to see the scorecards in his professional career, though one of his victories came by way of an arm injury, while another was a DQ victory after being kneed while grounded, so it’s difficult to know what to expect from the Italian here. Christian enters on a five-fight winning streak, having ended a four-plus-year hiatus with a second-round stoppage win at LFA 175 in January to move to 8-2 overall.
Kevin Vallejos vs Cam Teague
Returning featherweight Kevin Vallejos looks to make good on his second appearance in Las Vegas, while unbeaten American Cam Teague aims to hand him a second DWCS defeat.
Vallejos is 13-1 as a professional, with his only loss coming last season when he went the distance against rising star Jean Silva, who has gone 3-0 with three finishes to begin his UFC career. The Argentine has added two more successful defenses of his Samurai Fight House title since he lost to the Fighting Nerds representative.
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The 26-year-old Teague moved to 7-0 as a pro at the start of August wth a second-round stoppage win over UFC veteran Austin Lino. It was the first real step up in competition for the Port City Combat Sports representative, and he passed it impressively, racking up his sixth straight finish.
Rose Conceicao vs Alexia Thainara
Brazilian strawweights begin the action on Week 7 as Rose Conceicao and Alexia Thainara meet in a battle of intriguing prospects in the 115-pound weight class.
Perfect through her first seven pro fights, the 27-year-old Conceicao trains with the Pitbull Brothers and claimed the interim LFA strawweight title with a unanimous decision win over Elaine Lopes in her last appearance last summer. A training partner of UFC standout Amanda Ribas, Thainara enters on an eight-fight winning streak that includes a victory over current UFC fighter Rayanne Dos Santos, and her only loss coming five years ago against another current member of the UFC roster, Bruna Brasil.
