Rafael Tobias vs Jair de Oliveira

Round 1 – Both men looking for the kicks early. Tobias with the push kicks for distance and Oliveira looking for the leg kicks to soften him up. Oliveira lunges in looking for a strike and is countered with a right. It wobbles him and he clinches to gain his wits. They start throwing again and he’s tagged after throwing another naked leg kick. Tobias looks to finish, but Oliveira hangs in there and gets a reset. They throw with Oliveira finding some success, but then he gets countered and has quite a bit of trouble with it. Tobias finds the distance and is immediately on a double and goes right to the back. It doesn’t take long and he finds a rear naked choke with little resistance.

Official Result: Rafael Tobias def. Jair de Oliveira by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 1 (3:46)

Javier Reyes vs Justice Torres

Round 1 – Reyes comes out swinging that right hand and getting Torres to back up. Torres looking to feint his way into the clinch, but Reyes with the right hand again. Torres does get into that clinch and hits a big takedown, but Reyes is right back up with no damage. Reyes clearly gains some confidence following that exchange and again moves forward. He unleashes with some big straights. He lands to the body and hurts Torres. Reyes with knees in the clinch and Torres drops against the cage. Reyes throws a slew of rights until Frank Trigg steps in to call it off.

Official Result: Javier Reyes def. Justice Torres by TKO (Knees and Punches) – Round 1 (2:32)

Sofia Montenegro vs Jeisla Chaves

Round 1 – It’s Chaves who comes out and lands the first couple of strikes, but Montenegro gets busy right after. She lands a straight down the middle that whips Chaves’ head back. She lands a couple more like it that hads Chaves bleeding. Chaves gets a hook in there that opens up Montenegro on the side of their head too. Montenegro gets on her horse and stays right in Chaves’ face – lots of big landing. Chaves recovers and works her way back into the fight with some body shots and a couple up top. They are both gushing blood with 90 seconds left. Chaves seems to get the better of the exchanges late, which prompts a takedown attempt from Montenegro late. She fails and then end the round with a clinch against the cage. Montenegro 10-9

Round 2 – Montenegro comes out with three straight right hands and all of them seem to land. The last of them drops Chaves and Montenegro looks for a finish with hammerfists. She gets about a dozen warnings for hitting the back of the head. Not to be outdone, Chaves lands an illegal upkick that garners a brief warning as well. Montenegro settles into top control and looks to land some elbows. Montenegro moves to mount, but Chaves uses the cage to create a scramble. She eats a knee on the way up, but does make it back to her feet. They stay clinched against the cage for nearly the rest of the round (with a quick head and arm throw attempt from Chaves). They break with a dozen seconds left and Chaves stuns Montenegro with a 1-2 at the bell. Montenegro 10-9

Round 3 – Chaves the much fresher fighter here in the third. She starts putting the same 1-2 that she landed with late in the second together. She gets a step in elbow to land as well. Montenegro landing a few here and there, but they have nowhere near the impact. With half the round remaining, Montenegro has had enough of eating punches and hits an inside trip to guard. Montenegro grabbing a can opener, but not landing much for the guard. She hears the referee call for action and thinks it’s a stand up and backs up. Chaves, on the reset, lands a slew of more big shots. Montenegro looks for another takedown, but can’t find it. Chaves came on late, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Chaves 10-9

Official Result: Jeisla Chaves def. Sofia Montenegro by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Brahyan Zurcher vs Murtazali Magomedov

Round 1 – The two of them feel each other out a little bit, but Magomedov seems to be finding the range a bit better. He lands a stuff jab that drop Zurcher to the surprise of everyone. He lands some subsequent left hands – a right and an uppercut – and it’s all over.

Official Result: Murtazali Magomedov def. Brahyan Zurcher by TKO (Punches) – Round 1 (1:37)

Đani Barbir vs Mantas Kondratavičius

Round 1 – Barbir comes out swinging and lands a right and and a glancing head kick. Kondratavičius runs into the clinch and looks for a takedown. He gets him down, but is immediately reversed with Barbir coming out on top. They clinch for a bit and then reset. Kondratavičius backs Barbir up and lands a clean right hand and it’s all over!

Official Result: Mantas Kondratavičius def. Đani Barbir by TKO (Punch) – Round 1 (1:06)

DWCS Contract Winners:

• Rafael Tobias
• Javier Reyes
• Sofia Montenegro
• Jeisla Chaves
• Murtazali Magomedov
• Mantas Kondratavičius

And for more Dana White’s Contender Series coverage, check out all of the work here on Cageside Press. We have interviews with the fighters as well as analysis of those getting a chance on Tuesday.

The post Dana White’s Contender Series 2025: Week 7 – Play-by-Play & Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

We’ve got this week’s breakdown and predictions ready to go! Read on ahead of Tuesday night’s Episode 7.

Light heavyweight, Rafael Tobias (13-1) vs. Jair de Oliveira (6-0)

Notable Notes

• Oliveira would be the shortest 205er in the UFC if he was to be signed.
• Both have wins by KO/TKO, submission, and decision
• Both have a combined 13 first-round finishes
• Oliveira is moving down to 205
• Oliveira doesn’t have a win over someone with a winning record nor below 30
• Oliveira has five finishes all in round one
• Tobias will be five inches taller
• Both guys you’ve probably seen fighting at your local grocery store

Rafael Tobias

Another questionable selection from the matchmakers, Rafael Tobias comes in with a shiny 13-1 record at just 22 years old—but the résumé doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Most of his fights have been in small Brazilian promotions with little accessible tape, and the one time he stepped up in competition, at LFA, he was knocked out in the second round by what I’d call a proven but low-level fighter. He’s never been successful in a cage I rate at all, and that’s concerning when having thirteen wins.

On the feet, Tobias is messy. He throws with decent volume and carries good power, but his technique is sloppy and his defense is a major liability. His head doesn’t move, he overextends on strikes, and he’s already been knocked out once.

He’s billed as a grappler, but his actual level is unclear. Most of his takedowns come from body-lock trips in the clinch, and his wrestling doesn’t look strong enough to consistently bring fights to the mat. Even when he does, his grappling has shown holes—he’s been swept by lesser opponents, and many of the submissions he’s picked up have come against fighters who shouldn’t have been getting caught in the first place.

Jair de Oliveira

Matchmakers should be ashamed when bringing in guys like this. They just look at his record and say, “Sure, why not?”. They don’t look into their fights, nor do they do any legwork at all. Very lazy at times, and it shows. Oliveira is a 5’9″ 205er that’s fought at heavyweight. He’s decently athletic but is punching up at the sky to connect. The best guy he’s beaten is a 5’7″ 37-year-old. They are really grasping for straws when it comes to middleweight and up, but it should be important to know that giving undeserved guys like this is only gonna hurt your product in the future rather than help it.

Prediction: Going into a Tobias fight, I figured whoever he’s fighting could have a chance. He SHOULD run through Oliveira. With how flawed Tobias is, he’s at least in the right weight class and has potential to be halfway decent in the future. He does have a chance to get caught if he strikes, but has a wide open path if he wrestles—bigger, stronger, and more technique. Tobias should win by submission in round one, and other than that, it’s a loss for Tobias. Either way, it’s not much of a win.

The post DWCS 2025: Episode 7 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

A spot in the league’s regular season was on the line as eight fighters faced off in Orlando, Florida. Last season, British standout Brendan Loughnane had won it all, completing a journey that began when he was snubbed on Dana White’s Contender Series, denied a UFC contract despite a dominant performance.

Who would join Loughnane in the PFL regular season? Mexican featherweight Brahyan Zurcher headlined Friday’s five-fight card, looking at his toughest test yet in David Evans. Undefeated at 4-0 to start the night, Zurcher had told Cageside Press that he had hopes of being called Rookie of the Year this season.

SBG Ireland’s Nate Kelly, winner of six straight, was also in action, paired up with Zachary Hicks. Hicks had won three fights in 2022, two by submission, after missing all of 2021.

The PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 card takes place at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, with the event’s stream kicking off at 9PM ET. Full results from Friday’s card can be found below.

PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 Results

Brahyan Zurcher def. David Evans by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:37
Nathan Kelly def. Zack Hicks by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 2:30
Gabriel Braga def. Ago Huskic by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 29-28)
James Gonzalez def. Vikas Singh Ruhil by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:20

Brahyan Zurcher earns a PFL contract and a spot in the regular season

The post PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 6 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

The money, however, wasn’t there, and instead, Zurcher (4-0) transitioned to MMA, picking up his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu along the way. Training with Xtreme Couture, Zurcher has also been able to work alongside another Mexican standout — UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno.

With Moreno having reclaimed gold recently, and fellow Mexican star Alexa Grasso challenging for gold this weekend, Zurcher doesn’t need to look far for inspiration these days.

“It’s crazy. I get to train side-by-side with Brandon Moreno when he’s in camp. Like you mentioned, he’s very inspiring, you know?” Zurcher told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “I see everything that they do, and then I look at myself, and everything that I’m doing is not a lot different. I’m just following the steps of these guys, and I want to do what they’re doing for us. I want to bring more eyes into Mexican mixed martial arts, and at one point of course be a world champion like they are.”

Step one could very well be landing in the PFL’s regular season. Zurcher will have that opportunity once again this Friday, as he returns to action after debuting in the league last year. While he picked up the win, Zurcher was denied a contract on last year’s Challenger Series, though given his lack of experience, that didn’t surprise him.

“What I think they’re looking for, of course, a win, and a finish. I wasn’t very surprised I didn’t get the contract last year,” said Zurcher. “What do you expect, a guy with only two or three fights going into the season with the fighters they have — you know, the featherweight division is probably one of the most stacked weight classes in the world, not just the PFL.”

“So I wasn’t very surprised, but I was very happy that I was one of the candidates to get the contract.” Zurcher knows that the same situation could arise this Friday, with the league wanting him to get more seasoning. That said, “of course I’m going into the cage, give my everything, get a great performance, get a finish, and look for the contract.”

The PFL Challenger Series, like Dana White’s Contender Series or ONE Championship’s Warrior Series, is very much a job interview in the cage. The question of whether you look to put on a show, or simply focus on the win, comes up often.

“Every time I step into the cage I’m always looking for a finish. That’s something that I learned,” Zurcher said on that front. “I just go out there and do my job, and my job is to win fights. If the finish comes, it comes, if not, I just go in there and win fights. That’s my job. If I keep winning fights, everything is going to come into place at one point.”

Challenger Series opponent David Evans is, on paper, the toughest test to date for Zurcher. But Zurcher doesn’t feel that’s the case in practice.

“Yeah, he’s my most experienced opponent, but I train at Xtreme Couture, and I get to train with some of the best fighters in the world every single day,” stated Zurcher. “I believe I’ve seen every single style. I train with some of the best grapplers, strikers, and just great fighters overall. I feel like David Evans is nothing special. He of course is a good fighter, that’s why he’s co-headlining with me, but nothing special.”

Zurcher feels Scottie Stockman, who he faced on the show last year, was “a tougher opponent. Better hands, he’s got better wrestling.”

“I’m not underestimating David, but I feel like it’s a good match-up for me. Nothing special.” And, added Zurcher, “once he starts feeling my hands and my kicks, he’s going to turn into a wrestler.” Brahyan believes he’ll have the size advantage and takedown defense to stop Evans’ wrestling — and if Evans does get him down, “he’d better watch his neck and his limbs. I see myself coming out with a win for sure.”

The win could land him in the PFL regular season, which is ultimately the goal for Brahyan Zurcher. “If it’s not this year in the season, 100%, 2024 you will see me there,” he promised, then added “I wouldn’t be surprised if I get my contract this weekend, and this year they call me Rookie of the Year.”

Watch our full interview with PFL Challenger Series featherweight Brahyan Zurcher above. Zurcher faces David Evans this Friday in Orlando, FL.

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Announcing the full card scheduled for March 3, 2023 via press release, the promotion has Brahyan Zurcher (4-0) and David Evans (5-1) facing off in the evening’s main event.

Zurcher, undefeated through his four fights as a pro, previously competed for Combate Global, and has twice appeared inside the Professional Fighters League cage. Most recently, he defeated Ricardo Jimenez in a non-tournament bout at PFL 7 in August.

Evans most recently fought for LFA, picking up a decision win against Gary Konkol.

“The PFL Challenger Series is where some of the best fighters in the world begin to create their legacies, and we’re excited to introduce the Featherweight division for the 2023 PFL Challenger Series” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo, in Thursday’s release. “We are proud to present these athletes with a global platform, fighting to achieve PFL Regular Season glory.”

Also announced for the featherweight line-up on March 3, Ireland’s Nathan Kelly (6-2), currently on a six-fight win streak with five first-round finishes, will face wrestler Zachary Hicks (8-4).

The full card currently stands as follows:

• Brahyan Zurcher vs. David Evans
• Nate Kelly vs. Zachary Hicks
• Ago Husic vs. Gabriel Braga
• Vikas Singh Rhul vs. Igeu Kabesa

Kabesa just turned up in our 10 Featherweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023 feature, but it appears the league may get to him first. The Challenger Series airs weekly on Fubo Sports Network starting later this month. A spot in the regular season is up for grabs for one of the night’s big winners.

The post PFL Challenger Series Featherweight Line-Up Announced for March 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.