Dana White (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Dana White Contender Series returns on Tuesday, August 13, with five fights scheduled and full-time contracts for the fighters who impress.
The series is entering its eighth season with ten episodes. The pairings for the first five episodes have been decided.
Here’s how you can watch:
- Date: August 13
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Stream: ESPN+
The DWCS episodes will continue until October 15th.
The DWCS has become one of the premier platforms for fighters looking to break into the UFC and has been the launching pad for the careers of current and former champions such as Sean O’Malley and Jamahal Hill, as well as challengers such as Caio Borralho, Geoff Neal, Jailton Almeida, Jack Della Maddalena and Kevin Holland.
Here’s a look at the fights scheduled for Tuesday night.
- Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Wes Schultz – Middleweight
- Ding Meng vs. Rami Hamed – Welterweight
- Mikhail Sazhiniani vs. Bruno Lopes – Light Heavyweight
- Jose Delgado vs Ernie Juarez – Featherweight
- Lone’er Kavanagh vs. An Tuan Ho – Flyweight
Abdul-Malik is the fighter who generated the most buzz before the episode. The 26-year-old from Maryland, who wrestled at the University of Maryland, went viral in February when he scored this wild knockout win over Allan St-Gelais.
Abdul-Malik comes into his fight with another American, Wes Schultz, undefeated, having finished all five of his fights. Something about Abdul-Malik’s movement style and athleticism reminds me of a more aggressive version of Kamaru Usman.
It’s still very early in his career to compare Abdul-Malik to arguably the greatest welterweight champion of all time, but his size relative to weight class and wrestling striking style share some similarities to Usman.
Schultz is 6’1″ as a professional and has a hardcore wrestling background, but he has also shown that he can achieve the best results as an active wrestler. The main event between Schultz and Abdul-Malik could be unforgettable. The most experienced fighter on the card is China’s Meng Ding.
At 28 years old, he has already fought 42 professional MMA fights and compiled a record of 34-8. He won two fights in a row before his DWCS matchup with Rami Hamed.
An interesting point on Ding’s resume is his 2-3 record against Kuerbanjiang Tuluosibake. It’s rare for two fighters to meet five times in their careers, and what’s even more interesting is that Tuluosibake still comes out on top in this rivalry. Another of the early fights features an all-American matchup.
Undefeated Ernie Juarez takes on Jose Miguel Delgado in a featherweight bout featuring men from two of the most respected fight camps in the West. Juarez fights out of Stockton, California at Gracie Fighter Stockton, while Delgado hails from the MMA Lab in Arizona.
It should be an exciting fight between two hungry fighters vying for a contract in the UFC.
