Las Vegas — Lightweight Samuel Sanches put away the returning Chasen Blair on this week’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, earning himself a UFC contract in the process.
A right hook sealed the deal; Sanches (11-1) knew his opponent was hurt and was ready to move in for the kill.
“I saw how it connected and how he was kind of like, swerving to the side. That he wasn’t feeling that good, and he didn’t like that one,” Sanches said after the bout, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. The victory was his eighth straight. “Then I was able to hit a cross, and kind of a hook in there, and I felt it and when I looked, I was like ‘oh, it’s on. It’s on.’ From now on, just connect everything.”
Sanches summed things up by adding “Damn, that hit him hard!”
After the fight, Sanches had a few words with UFC President and CEO Dana White, sharing the screen on his phone, with the exec seemingly saying they’d get something done. What was Sanches’ request? For a debut in one of two locations, it seems.
“I put it out there that I wanted to fight either in Doha or Abu Dhabi. I said listen, let’s see what happens. The guy kind of owns the place. So let’s see if he does it. He looks, and he says ‘we’ll make it happen,'” revealed Sanches. “I think it’s going to happen. The boss signed off on it.”
The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi in October. The promotion then makes its debut in Doha, Qatar in November. Either card is feasible, albeit a short turnaround.
Asked how far he feels he can go in the company, Samiel Sanches replied saying that “I still got a lot of fire to burn. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do. I can see I’ve got a lot of people to go through. And I have about 12 years to mess up the division.”
Watch the full DWCS 2025 Week 5 post-fight media appearance by Samuel Sanches above.
