Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Week 3: Odds and Predictions

In the first two weeks of Season 8 of the Dana White Contender Series, the UFC CEO awarded eight contracts to fighters. Week 1 saw Lone’er Kavanagh and Jose Delgado score spectacular knockout victories in the first two fights of the card. Week 2 followed the same pattern as Cody Haddon opened the show with a first-round submission win. Will Week 3 of the DWCS kick off with another impressive finish that earns a contract?

Since the DWCS began in 2017, White has awarded 253 contracts to participants. Sixteen fighters, including current UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley, received contracts in the first season. In 2023, that number increased to 46 fighters.

Season 8, Episode 3 of DWCS airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Below we look at the matchups, odds, tips and predictions for the August 27th DWCS fight card. The card features five strong matchups that should be of interest to combat sports fans.

Jack Duffy vs Nick Piccininni

A flyweight bout opens this week’s DWCS card. Nick Piccininni is a three-time NCAA Division I All-American and four-time Big 12 Conference champion from Oklahoma State University. The 27-year-old has a professional record of 6-0. His last three fights have been under the Fury FC banner. Jack Duffy is also a wrestler who has long practiced jiu-jitsu. The 28-year-old has fought on Urijah Faber A1 Combat cards for the past year and has a record of 7-0.

Piccininni is the -270 betting favorite over the +230 Duffy in this matchup. Piccininni is Duffy’s third opponent on this card, so this is a short-notice fight for both men.

Piccininni has good takedowns and a strong controlling top game. These qualities make him the absolute favorite in this contest. Expect a tough win on points.

Adam Bramhald vs Malcolm Wellmaker

The fight between Adam Bramhald and Malcolm Wellmaker will be contested in the bantamweight division. Bramhald is an English fighter with a 13-2 record. The 30-year-old brings a 13-2 record to the DWCS. He has spent most of his career, which began in 2015, under the Caged Steel banner. Wellmaker is also 30. The American fighter competes in Georgia. He has a perfect 7-0 record and has been a professional since 2022.

The odds for this fight favor Wellmaker, who is -205. Bramhald is listed at +175.

Bramhald’s Muay Thai fundamentals are his striking ability. He strikes quickly and is very good in the clinch. However, his defense leaves gaps and his endurance can become questionable as the fight progresses. Wellmaker is a good, powerful striker, but he is not very active. But he is also active when he gets to the mat and looks for submission opportunities.

The betting tip is for Wellmaker to win by late knockout, however there is a chance Bramhald will win by decision as he offers more volume.

Matthieu Duclos vs Marco Tulio

Marco Tulio is back and trying to secure a UFC contract for the second time through the DWCS. The 29-year-old Brazilian picked up a decision win last season but was denied a contract. Tulio has fought once since then, knocking out Cemey dos Santos under the LFA banner in a fight in which Tulio was more than 5-1 favorite.

Matthieu Duclos, also 29, hails from France and has a 4-0 record over the past two years with Hexagone MMA, winning each of those matches by stoppage. Before competing for the promotion, Duclos lost to Youcef Ouabbas in a Bellator tournament. Duclos has a career record of 6-2.

Tulio is the big favorite in this middleweight duel at -500. Duclos, on the other hand, is the underdog at +375.

Since Tulio didn’t get a contract last year, expect him to be more aggressive in this fight. The big middleweight will likely score a submission win over Duclos on Tuesday and force White to make a decision about his future with the promotion.

Michael Aswell vs Bogdan Grad

Michael Aswell has spent his entire professional career (9-1) with Fury FC. The 23-year-old turned pro in 2021 after a three-year amateur career. Aswell has five rounds of experience and in his last fight he won the Fury featherweight title with a first-round knockout over Nate Richardson. Tuesday’s fight will be his third fight in 2024.

Like Aswell, Bogdan Grad (13-2) had a long amateur career before turning pro in 2019. The 28-year-old lost to Tom Nolan by KO in the first round of their 2023 DWCS fight. Since then, Grad has gone 2-0 with one KO and one submission win. Most of his fights have taken place on the Cage Fight Series.

This fight is a pick ’em, with Aswell at -105 and Grad at -115.

Expect a thrilling slugfest between these two. Cardio could play a role in this contest and that favors Aswell, who starts fast and then finds a more consistent pace as the fight progresses. The betting tip is Grad because he has more power to win by knockout.

Andrey Pulyaev vs Liam Anderson

The headliner of the Dana White Contender Series on Tuesday is a middleweight duel between Andrey Pulyaev and Liam Anderson.

Pulyaev has a record of 8-2. The 26-year-old has been a professional since 2022. Before that, he was an amateur for five years. He has finished his last four fights, three of which ended in the first stanza.

Anderson (6-2) was also an amateur for five years before turning pro in 2018. The 29-year-old from New York competed under the Ring of Combat and Cage Fury banners before moving to the LFA in 2022. He also has a streak of four wins by stoppage. Like his opponent, three of those wins came in the first round.

The odds are good for Anderson at -180. Pulyaev is at +155.

This is a fight between a wrestler (Anderson) and a striker (Pulyaev). The tip is for the wrestler to win by submission as Pulyaev’s stamina may be questionable. However, a Pulyaev win by knockout in the first round is also a bet to consider.

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