The upcoming sixth season of Dana White’s Contender Series is set to kick off in July.
The Nevada Athletic Commission approved 10 events for the series on Tuesday, starting with July 26, 2022 at the UFC Apex. The show will run through September 27.
News of the season six dates was first reported by MMA Junkie.
While early seasons of the show featured just eight events per year, the past several seasons have expanded to 10 shows. That appears to be the case once again in 2022.
To date, the July 26 season opener of Dana White’s Contender Series has four fights set. That includes a flyweight showdown between Clayton Carpenter (5-0) and Stephen Erceg (8-1), a fight first reported right here on Cageside Press.
In addition to Carpenter vs. Erceg, three other fights have been reported for the event: bare-knuckle star Ozzy Diaz (7-1) will meet Joe Pyfer (8-2), per My MMA News, Alessandro Costa (10-2) will face Andres Luna Martinetti (12-0), a fight first reported by El Universo, and finally, Farid Basharat (8-0) meets Willian Souza (11-1) (per Combate).
At least one more bout is expected for the July 26 season opener of DWCS.
Since its debut in 2017, the Contender Series has become the premiere farm system for fighters to make their way to the UFC, usurping The Ultimate Fighter. Season 5, which ran in the fall of 2021, saw a record 39 UFC contracts handed out.
