The third week of Dana White’s Contender Series 2020 is once again very much about redemption. Each and every week so far has seen at least one returning fighter, and week three is no exception.
Victor Reyna returns in the featured fight, after to losing to Miguel Baeza on the show last year. He’s had one fight in between, and is already one step ahead of last year’s performance. That’s after making weight successfully Monday. In 2019, he missed the welterweight mark by a rather wide margin.
Heavyweight Josh Parisian is back as well. He appeared on the show in 2018, and while he didn’t get a contract, he did win — which earned him a spot on The Ultimate Fighter. Eliminated in his first fight, he returned to the regional scene and has run up five straight wins, all by TKO, ahead of his return to DWCS.
In an interesting booking, brothers Louis and Orion Cosce both grace the card, with Louis fighting Victor Reyna in the featured fight, and Orion facing a solid prospect in Matt Dixon.
A couple of promising strawweight prospects also face off when Cheyanne Buys meets Hilarie Rose. And Kenny Cross finally gets to fight, after his week one bout fell through.
Tune in come fight time (8PM ET) for full results from tonight’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.
The card opener on Tuesday between lightweights Kenny Cross and Kevin Syler went the distance. Cross came on strong early, having a clear edge on the feet. He’d finish the round with some heavy ground n’ pound. In round two, Cross had his opponent on the mat and seemed to be seconds from a finish. But Syler was able to reverse, and hunted for a heel hook. In the third, Cross appeared to be tiring, and Syler went after a kimura. He got a late takedown, but there was no question it was Cross earning the win on the scorecards. You’ll never see a more dejected winner, however, as Cross was not happy going to the judges.
In the night’s heavyweight bout, Chad Johnson opened with a leg kick, and was clearly the smaller, quicker fighter. Josh Parisian, however, proved nimble for a man his size with a high kick. While Johnson would go on the offensive and get some good strikes in, Parisian fired back. He caught Johnson with a knee in the clinch, knocked him down with a punch, briefly looked for a submission, then transitioned to mount and finished with ground n’ pound. Great heavyweight fight, and the sixth straight TKO for Josh Parisian.
Orion Cosce’s match-up with Matt Dixon saw the latter winning the grappling battle early for a big takedown. It was the first of tree takesdowns for Dixon in the round. But while he won that battle, he didn’t win the war. Heading into the third, each fighter had likely won a round. With the fight up in the air after two, it was Orion Cosce going out and giving it his all in the final frame. He managed to get Dixon in a crucifix late, and earned the TKO win with less than twenty seconds left in the round.
Cheyanne Buys had a solid first round to open the only women’s fight on this week’s Contender Series card — but Hilarie Rose finished with an arm-bar attempt, only to be slammed down. The second started hot as well, with both fighters attacking. Rose would end up cut open off a short elbow, while Buys appeared to have the strength advantage, winning the clinch battles. The third was another hotly contested round with Buys coming on strong and hurting Rose late. Buys opted to go to the ground and look for a submission, however, allowing Rose to recover, not that it would matter in the long run. A solid unanimous decision for Buys.
Louis Cosce wasted no time in getting an emphatic win in the featured fight of the Contender Series this week. He scored a knockdown with a left and unloaded with ground n’ pound. That was all she wrote.
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 3 Results
Louis Cosce def. Victor Reyna by TKO, 1:12
Cheyanne Buys def. Hilarie Rose by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Orion Cosce def. Matt Dixon by TKO, Round 3, 4:42
Josh Parisian def. Chad Johnson by TKO, Round 1, 3:43
Kenny Cross def. Kevin Syler by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Contracts: Josh Parisian, Orion Cosce, Cheyanne Buys, Louis Cosce
