Dana White’s Contender Series began back in 2017. Since then, the Contender Series has produced some big-name upcoming stars like Dan Ige, Sean O’Malley, Geoff Neal, Maycee Barber, and Edmen Shahbazyan. In short, it has been a huge success for finding talent.
A Contender Series fight is one that has stakes like none other, where fighters must showcase their skills to impress the UFC president enough for a contract with the promotional giant. Holding the Contender Series with a smaller cage inside the UFC Apex venue makes for a tense atmosphere, and with only close friends and family of the competing fighters in attendance as spectators. Emotions always run high, as a limited number of contracts can be given out on any given night, and many fighters can potentially have their dreams snubbed out solely because of bad luck.
In rare cases, however, a fighter gets a second look. This series will examine those.
Cam Teague (9-1 MMA)
Age: 27 years old
Height: 5’10″ / Reach: 69″
Weight Class: Featherweight(145lbs.)
First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2024 (Week 1)
Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Kevin Vallejos (16-1 MMA)
Second DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 5)
New Opponent: Lerryan Douglas (12-5 MMA)
First Contender Series Fight
Cam Teague made his pro debut in March of 2023. Teague first fought on the Contender Series in September of 2024. At 7-0 when he first appeared on DWCS, Teague had a lightning ascent to his first Contender Series appearance. In Cam’s first six fights he didn’t face an opponent with a winning record. But Teague made quick work of most of his opponents during the stretch, stopping four of the six in the first round. And three inside of 60 seconds.
Teague’s late second-round finish over a then 9-3, Austin Lingo, in August of 2024 is what produced his Contender Series appearance. Lingo had just been bounced from the roster of the UFC after going 2-3 and losing two straight (to Nate Landwehr and then Melquizael Costa).
First Contender Series Opponent
Teague’s first opponent, Kevin Vallejos, out-boxed the Mobile, Alabama native on the way to melting him against the cage with well-placed shots.
Vallejos, who was 13-1 when he entered the cage against Teague has been unblemished in the UFC so far. Vallejos is also a redemption fighter himself, suffering his only loss and one of just three decisions on his record (win or lose) in his first 2023 Contender Series fight. The opponent in Kevin’s first Contender Series appearance? Jean Silva. Who is currently a top ten ranked featherweight in the UFC, at the writing of this article.
The 23-year-old made his promotional debut back in March dropping and finishing Seung Woo Choi in the first round.
Kevin’s most recent fight, just a month ago, was real test against a 10-1, Danny Silva. Well, Kevin passed that exam too, earning a unanimous decision victory.
This loss has aged exceptionally for Teague. And combined with the fact that Cam has been putting in work on the regional scene, that is why he’s getting a second shot on the Contender Series.
The Road Back
In the less than a year since his first DWCS appearance, Cam has fought three times. Twice in pro MMA and one time in boxing.
In December 2024, Cam returned to Empire FC and defeated a 9-8, Sky Moiseichik, in the second round to win the featherweight EFC championship.
Then, in March, Cam fought a 5-4, David Zelner, to the final horn, earning a unanimous decision win.
Most recently, Cam fought in a pro boxing fight against a boxer making his pro debut. Teague ended the fight in the second round. While it’s nothing that would particularly turn the heads of UFC brass, it does demonstrate that Cam is willing to scrap and wants to stay active.
Gameplan/New Opponent
For Teague’s chance at redemption, he will be taking on a 12-5, Lerryan Douglas. Lerryan is a 30-year-old that cut his teeth on the Brazilian regional scene before he was picked up by Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) in mid 2023. In the two years since, Douglas has gone 4-1 with the promotion and even became the LFA Interim Featherweight Champion in 2024 before unifying the belt back in January. Douglas is currently riding a four-fight win streak where he has finished all his opponents.
Lerryan faced Chepe Mariscal in just his 8th pro fight and was submitted in the first round. This was back in late 2018. Of course, Mariscal would go on to get signed by the UFC in 2023 and has gone 5-0 with the promotion. That being said, looking thru Lerryan’s past opponents and he’s faced some real dangerous and experienced guys. Douglas will be bringing a lot of experience to this fight, and this will be a tall task for Cam.
