Week two of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 arrived Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with some very competitive, promising match-ups in tow.
Returning to the show for the second time, former heavyweight Paulo Rentao Jr. was now giving the light heavyweight division a try. He was paired up with Ibo Aslan, a Turkish standout with an 11-1 record to start the night.
Cage Warriors lightweight champ George Hardwick had his first chance at making it to the big show, paired up with Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady. Along with brother Harry, Hardwick was one of the brightest prospects out of the United Kingdom at the moment.
Representing Cyprus, meanwhile, Charalampos “Pampos” Grigoriou, a CFFC alum, was looking to break into the UFC at the expense of Cameron Smotherman.
One fighter missed weight for Tuesday’s card – Emrah Sonmez, who came in one pound over the featherweight limit for a bout with Hyder Amil.
Full results from Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 2 can be found below. The episode gets underway at 7PM ET, and will be followed by the latest instalment of The Ultimate Fighter 31. The event airs on ESPN+ in the U.S., and UFC Fight Pass elsewhere.
“Pampos” Grigorious kicked off the DWCS Season 7 Week 2 card in a big way on Tuesday night, taking exactly 60 seconds to drop and overwhelm Cameron Smotherman with strikes. It will be hard to deny the bantamweight a contract after that performance.
An early takedown by strawweight Eduarda Moura in the second fight of the night had her in the driver’s seat, working ground n’ pound and keeping Janaina Silva away from the fence. When Moura moved to mount, the writing was on the wall. From there she took the back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and forced the tap!
After a three-round decision in a grappling, scramble-heavy fight between Hyder Amil and Emrah Sonmez (with Amil getting the win), it was Ibo Aslan securing another first round finish, overwhelming Paulo Renato Jr. and knocking him out in just under two and a half minutes.
The featured fight of the night, at lightweight, went the distance, and turned out to be a competitive but ultimately one-sided scrap. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady had the edge in strikes over George Hardwick, and mixed in a late takedown as well. There was little surprise when all three scorecards sided with Al-Selwady.
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 2 Results
Lightweight: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. George Hardwick by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan def. Paulo Renato Jr. by knockout, Round 1, 2:22
Featherweight: Hyder Amil def. Emrah Sonmez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight: Eduarda Moura def. Janaina Silva by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:00
Bantamweight: Charalampos Grigoriou def. Cameron Smotherman by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 1:00
Contract winners: Charalampos Grigoriou, Eduarda Moura, Hyder Amil, Ibo Aslan, Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
