Dana White’s Contender Series returns on Tuesday night to kick off its seventh and latest season. The fighting show featuring prospects looking to break into the UFC has become a proven producer of future stars for the promotion, including upcoming title challenger Sean O’Malley, and former light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill.
Will 2023’s crop of rookies produce similar contenders? We’ll know soon enough! In the meantime, we’re back with our breakdown and predictions for episode one, which gets underway at an early start time, 7PM ET.
Flyweight: Kevin Borjas vs. Victor Dias
Tale of the Tape
25-years-old
Lima, Peru
Pitbull Martial Arts Center
8-1
8 KO/TKO’s
Combined opponent’s record: 25-22
Victor Dias
32-years-old
5’6″
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tata Fight Team
11-2
1 KO/TKO, 6 Submissions
Combined opponent’s record: 67-39-1
Pros and Cons
Kevin Borjas
Pros
- Explosive
- Hits hard
- Good knees
Cons
- Zero head movement
- Flat-footed
- Loads up too much
- Questionable grappling defense
Victor Dias
Pros
- Aggressive
- Excellent jiu-jitsu
- Scrambles really well
- Heavy leg kicks
- Good use of feints
- Big submission threat
- Excellent back take
- Physically strong
- Smooth transitions
- Hits sweeps often
- Chain wrestles well
- Solid positional grappling
Cons
- Throws wild
- Struggles on the outside
Prediction: This was supposed to be Rickson Zenidim fighting Borjas but now we get Victor Dias. Dias is an excellent replacement and could be someone that could’ve gone straight to the UFC. He’s a winner of his last five and is the reigning Titan FC flyweight champion.
I don’t see this as a competitive fight at all. I had Zenidim beating Borjas so I think Dias runs through Borjas. I expect an early takedown and a rear-naked choke finish.
