Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6 features CFFC featherweight champ Blake Bilder taking on TriStar’s Alex Morgan, while Japan’s Yusaku Kinoshita welcomes Jose Henrique Souza to the welterweight division. But there’s a lot more to this DWCS installment.
For RIZIN fans, Kinoshita is best known for being disqualified while delivering head stomps at RIZIN Trigger 1st. Not because of the stomps, but because he held the cage while delivering them. Souza was making the drop from middleweight, and would have a considerable advantage in length.
That’s just the tip of the ice berg. Blake Bilder fights TriStar’s Alex Morgan. A top Polish prospect appears. A promising women’s strawweight fight is also anticipated. Week 6 of DWCS Season 6 could very well be the strongest episode, talent-wise, of the Contender Series to date. Not just this season, but in the show’s history.
How will things play out in the cage? Our breakdown and predictions are set for the latest DWCS episode — read on!
Middleweight: Yusaku Kinoshita Vs. Jose Henrique
Tale of the tape
21-years-old
6’0″
Osaka, Japan
P’s LAB Osaka x Pancrase Inagakigumi
5-1
3 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions
Combined opponent’s record: 66-57
19-years-old
6’5″
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nova Uniao
5-0
4 KO/TKOs
Combined opponent’s record: 9-3-1
Pros and Cons
Yusaku Kinoshita
Pros
- Good ground and pound
- Submission threat
- Good shot placement
- Dangerous counter striker
- Heavy hands
- Good use of feints
- Explosive
- Good kicks
Cons
- Questionable TDD
- Gives up his back
Jose Henrique
Pros
- Good knees
- Tough
- Good elbows
- Good teep kick
- Good straight right
Cons
- Plodding footwork
- No head movement
Prediction: I wasn’t aware of Kinoshita prior to this fight but it’s hard not to be impressed.
Henrique is interesting considering he’s a six-foot-five middleweight. For someone his size, it is disappointing to see him be more of a clinch fighter. He does have decent distance management but not like he should.
Henrique was in a lot of danger in his last fight getting socked around in round two. He showed incredible toughness but he’s not going to take those shots against Kinoshita and survive.
Outside of the length, Kinoshita is much better on the mat. Henrique is the march larger guy but Kinoshita is the type to walk him down and land power shots. I’m not impressed with Henrique and I believe Kinoshita has this covered everywhere and walks through Henrique.
