In fact, depth-wise, it may have been the deepest DWCS show ever. CFFC featherweight champ Blake Bilder faced TriStar Gym standout Alex Morgan, while Polish lightweight prospect Mateusz Rebecki was up against Brazil’s Rodrigo Lidio. Matej Penaz, meanwhile, took on SD Dumas, and Japan’s Yusaku Kinoshita, a former RIZIN Fighting Federation athlete, was up against Jose Henrique Souza.

On the ladies’ side, a very evenly matched women’s strawweight fight found Viktoriya Dudakova up against Maria Silva.

Any or all of the winners had the potential to make an impact in the UFC, some quicker than others. But after another five UFC contracts had been dished out last week, expectations were certainly high for week six.

Dana White’s Contender Series 52 goes down Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Full results from the event, which airs on UFC Fight Pass, can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 6 Results

Welterweight: Yusaku Kinoshita def. José Souza via R3 :43 TKO
Middleweight: Sedriques Dumas def. Matěj Peňáz via R1 :47 Submission (Guillotine)
Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki def. Rodrigo Lídio via R1 3:05 Submission (RNC)
Women’s Strawweight: Viktoriya Dudakova def. Maria Silva via Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)
Featherweight: Blake Bilder def. Alexander Morgan via R1 3:15 Submission (RNC)

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 6 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cage Fury FC featherweight champion Blake Bilder kicks off the card, looking to make the jump to the UFC against Canada’s Alex Morgan. Fighting out of TriStar in Montreal, Morgan has two wins over UFC alum T.J. Laramie, and one of his losses came against current featherweight star Charles Jourdain.

Mateusz Rebecki, who holds the FEN lightweight championship and is ranked the #1 lightweight out of Poland according to Tapology, also features on the card. And in the featured fight of the evening, Japanese welterweight Yusaku Kinoshita takes on Jose Souza, a former middleweight making the drop to 170 for his DWCS opportunity.

Souza enters the night as an undefeated fighter; Kinoshita’s lone loss came via DQ, after holding the cage while delivering head stomps at RIZIN Trigger 1st. Head stomps are legal under the RIZIN rule set, holding the cage to do so, however, is not.

Weigh-ins for Dana White’s Contender Series 52 take place Monday in Las Vegas. Full results can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 6 Weigh-In Results

Welterweight: Yusaku Kinoshita (171) vs. José Henrique Souza (171)
Middleweight: Matěj Peňáz (185) vs. Sedriques Dumas (184.5)
Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki (155.5) vs. Rodrigo Lídio (155)
Women’s Strawweight: Viktoriya Dudakova (116) vs. Maria Silva (115)
Featherweight: Alex Morgan (144.5) vs. Blake Bilder (145.5)

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 6 Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

For RIZIN fans, Kinoshita is best known for being disqualified while delivering head stomps at RIZIN Trigger 1st. Not because of the stomps, but because he held the cage while delivering them. Souza was making the drop from middleweight, and would have a considerable advantage in length.

That’s just the tip of the ice berg. Blake Bilder fights TriStar’s Alex Morgan. A top Polish prospect appears. A promising women’s strawweight fight is also anticipated. Week 6 of DWCS Season 6 could very well be the strongest episode, talent-wise, of the Contender Series to date. Not just this season, but in the show’s history.

How will things play out in the cage? Our breakdown and predictions are set for the latest DWCS episode — read on!

Middleweight: Yusaku Kinoshita Vs. Jose Henrique

Tale of the tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: I wasn’t aware of Kinoshita prior to this fight but it’s hard not to be impressed.

Henrique is interesting considering he’s a six-foot-five middleweight. For someone his size, it is disappointing to see him be more of a clinch fighter. He does have decent distance management but not like he should.

Henrique was in a lot of danger in his last fight getting socked around in round two. He showed incredible toughness but he’s not going to take those shots against Kinoshita and survive.

Outside of the length, Kinoshita is much better on the mat. Henrique is the march larger guy but Kinoshita is the type to walk him down and land power shots. I’m not impressed with Henrique and I believe Kinoshita has this covered everywhere and walks through Henrique.

The post DWCS 2022 Week 6 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

For this instalment, we head to the Great White North. Canada has produced a number of MMA champions over the years: Carlos Newton (UFC), Georges St-Pierre (UFC), Rory MacDonald (Bellator), Julia Budd (Bellator), Sarah Kaufman (Strikeforce/Invicta FC) and more.

Our original Scouting the Globe series singled out five Canadian talents:

• TJ Laramie who was signed to the UFC but went 0-2 and is now a free agent.
• Christien Savoie lost and hasn’t fought since November 2020.
• Malcolm Gordon who is signed with the UFC and is 2-2 for them.
• Jamie Siraj who has been sidelined due to major health issues.
• Jasmine Jasudavicius who is signed with the UFC and 2-1 for the promotion.

Let’s take a look at who has been shining on the Canadian scene since then.

Lightweight, Anthony Romero (11-1)

Romero has had an interesting career over the last two years. He fought on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, and although he was dominant, he wasn’t awarded a contract in the end.

He had a setback last year, but has since won his last two. He’s 11-1 as a pro and went 9-1 as an amateur. So he’s 20-2 combined with multiple regional titles. Romero is a Taekwondo black belt and a world IBJJF bronze medallist. Romero is extremely well-rounded. He has excellent wrestling, a good ground game, is very technical on the feet, and has a great gas tank. In his last outing, he won with a highlight-reel flying knee knockout. He deserves a big-time break for a big promotion.

The post Scouting the Globe 2022: The Five Best Prospects From Canada appeared first on Cageside Press.