Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series arrived on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex, and one bantamweight fight was certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Former UAE Warriors champion Vinicius de Oliveira was in action Tuesday, taking on a Combate Global veteran in Victor Madrigal. Oliveira has been one to watch for a while now, beating some solid competition in the likes of Sylvester Chipfumbu, Caionã Batista, and Sultan Zholdoshbek uulu, among others.
Heavyweights were once again in action on Tuesday, as this time around, noted heavyweight prospect Alexander Soldatkin looked to win his way into the UFC against Mario Piazzon.
Featherweight Angel Pacheco, meanwhile, was set to return from injury on the show. Having worked with the likes of the New England Cartel alongside current UFC star Rob Font, Pacheco was paired up with Danny Silva.
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 8 takes place Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at the UFC Apex, streaming live on ESPN+ in the U.S. and UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results from the event can be found below.
Vinicius de Oliveira kicked off DWCS 2023 Week 8 by showing exactly why he was one to keep an eye on. At the end of a combination about three minutes into the opening round, Oliveira landed a left hand that turned out the lights on Victor Madrigal, sending him sailing to the mat.
One fight later, Ernesta Kareckaite took Carli Judice the distance in a competitive scrap that Judice stepped into on short notice. Kareckaite took the split decision on the scorecards, but both ladies had their moments.
The third fight of the evening might have been the best of season seven to date. Danny Silva and Angel Pacheco went to war, with Silva ripping the body and getting the better of many exchanges, even landing a nasty spinning back elbow at one point. But Pacheco’s chin was sheer granite, and he even managed to battle back, delivering his own body shots, mixing in some uppercuts, and forcing Silva to go the distance. Silva would take the win, but both fighters made an impression in a fight that easily could have been Fight of the Night on any number of UFC cards.
Tuesday’s heavyweight bout fizzled in the third round when Alexander Soldatkin landed an illegal knee on Mario Piazzon. There was questions as to whether Piazzon’s hand was “weight bearing” the the commission rule that it was, resulting in a DQ win for Piazzon, whose blurred vision meant he could not continue.
Danny Barlow capped off the night in a big way, with a quick, violent TKO finish of pal Raheam Forest.
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 8 Results
Welterweight: Danny Barlow def. Raheam Forest by TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:19
Heavyweight: Mario Piazzon def. Alexander Soldatkin by DQ (illegal knee), Round 3, 0:20
Featherweight: Danny Silva def. Angel Pacheco by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Women’s Flyweight: Ernesta Kareckaite def. Carli Judice by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira def. Victor Madrigal by knockout (left hand), Round 1, 3:02
Contract winners: Vinicius de Oliveira, Ernesta Kareckaite, Carli Judice, Danny Silva, Angel Pacheco, Danny Barlow
