It would be no easy feat for either fighter, with TUF alum Cole matched up against LFA veteran Thomas Petersen, a former heavyweight champ in that promotion. Ramirez, booted from the most recent Ultimate Fighter season to make room for one of Conor McGregor’s guys, arguably had an even tougher test in Carlos Prates. Prates, a ONE Championship and LFA alum, was on a six-fight win streak entering Tuesday night’s match-up.

Thus far in season seven, Dana White had handed out 13 contracts through 14 fights (with one bout cancelled), so there was a very good chance the night’s winners would have their next fight under the UFC banner.

Also featured on Tuesday’s DWCS card, strikers Bolaji Oki and Dylan Salvador faced off in what promised to be an explosive stand-up fight, while Canadian Mateo Vogel featured in a competitive booking with Tim Cuamba.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 4 kicks off at 8PM ET on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 airing live on ESPN+ in the U.S., and UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results can be found below.

Bolaji Oki kicked Tuesday night’s card off with a bang, coming out of the gate hot against Dylan Salvador. While many had given the striking edge to Salvador, it was Oki who began unloading on his opponent against the fence. Salvador covered up, but Oki then ripped the body, mixing up his strikes. Another body shot had Salvador dropping to his knees, the end coming seconds later.

TUF 30 alum Chandler Cole did not have a great outing on Tuesday, as he was taken down early and often by former LFA champ Thomas Petersen. When Cole got back up in the opening round, he swung for the fences, but ate a knee and was soon taken to the mat again. Petersen briefly had a straight arm-bar but bailed on it in favor of dropping elbows. Round two saw Petersen land another early takedown, and this time he locked up a nasty-looking kimura, forcing the tap!

A close fight played out between featherweights Tim Cuamba and Mateo Vogel, with Cuamba starting strong. Vogel found his flow later in the opening round, and the second frame was very very close— with Vogel’s kicks, especially low kicks, standing out. In the third, Vogel took over, finally landing a much sought-after takedown, hunting the rear-naked choke to the bell. Cuamba came away with the decision win, two rounds to one.

The fourth fight of the night went the distance as well, with Marco Tulio taking on the much taller Yousri Belgaroui, winning a decision on all three scorecards.

In the final fight of the evening, Carlos Prates lit up Mitch Ramirez on the feet. Within 30 seconds of the opening round, he had landed a couple of leg kicks that nearly put Ramirez on his backside. It was his hands, however, particularly his left, that did the real damage. Early in the second, that left hand connected, putting down Ramirez, who looked dazed and didn’t get back to his feet before the ref stepped in.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 4 Results

Welterweight: Carlos Prates def. Mitch Ramirez by TKO (punch), Round 2, 1:14
Middleweight: Marco Tulio Silva def. Yousri Belgaroui by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Tim Cuamba def. Mateo Vogel by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Heavyweight: Thomas Petersen def. Chandler Cole by submission (kimura), Round 2, 1:08
Lightweight: Bolaji Oki def. Dylan Salvador by TKO, Round 1, 2:46

Contract winners: Bolaji Oki, Thomas Petersen, Carlos Prates

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 4 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

While Cole didn’t get the result he wanted in the fight, he was happy with the show he put on for the UFC’s executives. With that in the bank, the injury storyline, and the fact that many who have lost in the house had gotten contracts in the past – Cole felt pretty good about his chances to make his UFC debut after the fact.

“I felt like I was right there and I put on a good show. Especially, I thought the storyline would help me get on the big show. Dislocating my arm on day one, completely tearing my UCL, and still putting on the fight of the season,” Cole explained. “But we all got emails from the UFC saying ‘best of luck – we wish you all the best in the future of your career.”

The email was hard for him. Not just because he wasn’t going to realize his goal, but because of the harsh reality that he would have to go back to the regional scene to take fights. While he likes fighting in front of his home crowds and his friends and family, it was hard for him to take the step back.

“When I got that I was kind of bummed. Having to fight back locally – you know, I love my fans and I love the love I get back home – but I haven’t really made it if it’s easy to come watch me fight,” he said. “It was hard to go back to the regional scene. It was hard to get motivated, but the discipline kept me in the gym – the discipline kept me training. Going back to fight on the regional scene, it was hard because I know when I belong.”

But find that motivation he did. The Virginia native vowed to stay as active as possible – even taking a boxing fight despite never putting in a boxing training camp. That activity has led him to Dana White’s Contender Series to get where he feels he really belongs.

“My goal was just to stay active. I knew a lot of people wouldn’t want to fight me,” Cole said. “It was a mess trying to find opponents, but basically it got up to the point where I’m like ‘look it doesn’t matter if I got to fight the high school janitor. Sign him up – I’m just trying to fight.”

Cole will fight Thomas Peterson as part of week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series this Tuesday. That fight will air on ESPN+ with the card beginning at 8pm EST.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:23.

The post DWCS’ Chandler Cole On the Struggle Back to the Show appeared first on Cageside Press.

DWCS has always been open to giving second chances, and even thirds, but in this case, it’s a TUF cast member, and a would-be Ultimate Fighter cast member, who are getting another crack at the UFC. Heavyweight Chandler Cole appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 30, where things did not go his way — but he’s won a couple of fights since.

Mitch Ramirez was supposed to appear on The Ultimate Fighter 31, only to be yanked from the show to make room for one of Conor McGregor’s guys. The snub did not go over well with fight fans, who saw it as a particularly egregious form of nepotism, but Ramirez finally gets his shot on Tuesday.

The full card made weight on Monday, so here’s a took at Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Episode 4!

Lightweight: Dylan Salvador vs. Bolaji Oki

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Salvador
Speed: Salvador
Output/Volume: Salvador
Kickboxing: Salvador
Striking defense: Oki
Footwork/movement: Oki
Wrestling: Oki
Grappling: Salvador
Gas tank: Even

Prediction: Up to this week this is my favorite fight booked thus far for DWCS 2023. Salvador is more known to the larger audience and Oki should have more eyes on him than he has. On paper, you see Salvador has four submissions so you would think he’s a grappler. That is not the case.

Salvador competed in muay thai and kickboxing for years before transitioning into MMA. He’s 4-1 in MMA and 64-16-2 in kickboxing/muay thai. Salvador is a former two-weight WAKO World champion and fought five times for Glory. He won the Glory lightweight contender tournament in 2016. Salvador has a kickboxing win over UFC contender Giga Chikadze.

Oki is currently the best fighter out of Belgium. The UFC has only had two fighters from the county fight in the UFC and neither won a fight. If Oki was to get to the UFC he definitely would be the first one to get a win for his home country. Oki’s only loss came in his debut so he’s won his seven fights consecutively. He has a key win over Nair Melikyan who was supposed to fight on the Contender Series last season.

This is a fantastic fight between two serious strikers. Oki is more powerful and precise whereas Salvador is more volume-based and aggressive. It could come down to who can mix in a few takedowns but I like the takedown defense enough from both to believe this will come down to who has the better striking. I’m slightly leaning toward Salvador. Melikyan gave Oki some issues with his pressure so Salvador should have even more success. I’m picking Salvador because he’s more pressure-heavy in-your-face that I think can wear on Oki. Love the fight though and I believe we see both in the UFC regardless.

The post DWCS 2023: Episode 4 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

That also means it’s weigh-in day, and on Monday, all fighters made weight at the UFC Apex for Tuesday night’s show.

While the Contender Series is all about bringing in up-and-coming unknowns, there are usually a couple of recognizable names, and that’s certainly the case this week. One name that immediately sticks out is that of heavyweight Chandler Cole — an LFA, PFL, and Cage Fury FC veteran who appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 30 last year.

Mitch Ramirez, meanwhile, was given the boot from the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, TUF 31, in favor of one of Conor McGregor’s guys. Recently, he returned to the regional scene and pleaded his case to get his chance at the limelight back. He has that very chance here, fighting as a welterweight.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 4 airs Tuesday night at 8PM ET on ESPN+ in the U.S., and UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results from Monday’s weigh-in can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 4 Weigh-In Results

Welterweight: Carlos Prates (170) vs. Mitch Ramirez (171)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (186) vs. Marco Silva (185.5)
Featherweight: Tim Cuamba (145.5) vs. Mateo Vogel (144.5)
Heavyweight: Chandler Cole (264) vs. Thomas Petersen (264)
Lightweight: Bolaji Oki (156) vs. Dylan Salvador (155)

The post All Fighters Make Weight for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 4 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chandler Cole Interview (2:23)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with Contender Series heavyweight, Chandler Cole. Cole discusses the harsh reality of leaving the Ultimate Fighter without a contract and details the ‘good luck’ email that the UFC sent out to him and other contestants. He then discusses his efforts to stay busy and relevant on the regional scene, which included taking a kickboxing fight with no dedicated training camp for it. Now with a chance to fight in front of the boss again, he’s ready to get that contract and do so in a familiar place.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 78 (20:28)

Following UFC Nashville, the UFC returns to their cozy home inside the Apex for UFC Vages 78. Rafael dos Anjos will square off with Vicente Luque in the main event on Saturday, with their spots in the welterweight division at stake. We’ll also see the light heavyweight debut of Chris Daukaus and the retiurn of Cub Swanson. We’ll be breaking down all of those fights for you as part of Fights, Dogs, and Parlays. And, as the name would suggest, we’ll also be hitting you with an underdog and a parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Isaac Dulgarian Interview (32:09)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC featherweight, Isaac Dulgarian. “The Midwest Choppa” discusses the harsh reality of having his UFC debut get canceled right after moving to a new state and gym. The need for a big win is high for the Factory X product and he’ll be bonus hunting at UFC Vegas 78. He also shoots his shot to get his grandfather one of the exlusive tickets to watch him fight inside the Apex. There, he’ll fight Francis Marshall as part of the ESPN+ prelims this Saturday.

The post TTP Ep. 390 with Chandler Cole, Isaac Dulgarian and UFC Vegas 78 appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s a fitting intro for an episode entitled “Crush Your Dreams.” But this week, the focus is back on the heavyweights.

Coach Julianna Pena calls Jordan Heiderman “my viking,” and he certainly looks the part. He’s confident in his wrestling ahead of his match-up with Chandler Cole; Pena cautions him not to keep his chin too high and to keep his guard up. Especially given Cole has a heavy right hand.

Heiderman is a steelworker who gave up a decent job to commit to The Ultimate Fighter. He refers to his gym as more of a club, not even a real team. Previously, he had been training just a couple of times a week.

For those in need of a refresher, heavyweight Chandler Cole was injured earlier in the season, a bicep tear. Luckily, he’s been able to fight through it. In his day job, Cole is a corrections officer. His motivation for getting to the UFC is to show that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can succeed. Cole says he grew up poor, sometimes not eating at the end of the month when food stamps ran out.

He’s also a wrestling coach at his local high school back in Coeburn, Virginia.

Cole is concerned that coach Amanda Nunes will have him go too hard in training, given his injured arm. “I trust ya’ll, I just don’t want to hurt myself either,” he tells her. “You have to deal with it. I feel like you’re going to be fine when you step in the cage,” Nunes tells the camera.

The Ultimate Fighter 30: Heiderman vs. Cole

For his size — he’s a chubby, Chris Barnett style heavyweight — Chandler Cole has no issue firing a head kick early against Heiderman. Both men mix in some low kicks; Cole lunges in with his right hand. Cole comes over the top with a right hand off a low kick, setting it up well. Heiderman is reacting, rather than attacking, and while his low kicks are crisp, he doesn’t get his hands going much in the first half of round one. Cole’s corner tells him to “surprise” Heiderman, somewhat giving away the surprise by calling for it. Heiderman fires a push kick, then Cole lands a spinning wheel kick to the jaw that rocks Heiderman! Cole can’t seem to follow up and they wind up in a heap on the ground for a moment.

“I need you to focus,” Pena tells Heiderman between rounds. He’s still shaking off the cobwebs from the looks of things.

In round two, Cole breaks out the spinning back kick again early, to the body this time. Nunes tells him not to play; his corner urges him to “just keep touching him up.” Cole fakes and feints a few spinning attacks without pulling the trigger. He leads with a low kick and misses with a right hand. Heiderman is firing single jabs, not setting them up. Two minutes in, he adds a leg kick to the mix. Heiderman’s hesitancy to pull the trigger is a big concern. He starts putting short combos together late in the round, with Pena screaming “again, again, again” over and over. Cole fires a high kick.

They’d head to a third after a close second round. Cole gets his hands going early, and uncorcks a calf kick. Cole and Heiderman start trading, and Cole drops him! Heiderman gets back up, and hurts Cole! Cole shoots, Heiderman stuffs it, Cole goes down, turtles up, and eats a ton of hammer fists before the ref calls it! Great comeback by Heiderman, who nearly lost it after the second.

Official Result: Jordan Heiderman def. Chandler Cole by TKO, Round 3

Dana White admits after the fight that he thought Chandler Cole had the win after two rounds. That may bode well for him getting another look from the UFC, despite being eliminated from the tournament.

“I was preparing the entire time for three rounds. I wanted a dogfight, and that’s what I got,” Heiderman said following the bout.

Next week, it’s the final women’s flyweight bout of the opening round: Brogan Walker vs. Hannah Guy. For those that missed it, Guy is the girl that beat Bellator darling Valerie Loureda last year.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 30, Episode 7 — Heavyweight Hopeful Mounts Comeback appeared first on Cageside Press.

Heavyweight is always in need of bodies, and TUF 30 will look to provide a few options to the UFC. There are some strong prospects, a UFC champion’s brother, and a returning veteran among the mix. All will compete for the title of The Ultimate Fighter under the tutelage of Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes.

Here’s our look at the full field of heavyweights who will enter the TUF house this year.

Nyle Bartling, 29-years-old, 6-0

Bartling came into MMA off a solid wrestling pedigree. He grew up wrestling. He was a three-time state qualifier and claimed the district title three times. Outside of wrestling his freshman year for Ohio State, he wrestled his last three years of college for the University of Nebraska. His wrestling has translated very well and he is most likely the best wrestler among the TUF 30 cast. What will hold him back is his striking. Bartling has a lot of holes on the feet but hasn’t had to worry about it yet since he’s had his way with opponents so far.

Where a lot of heavyweights struggle the most is off their back and Bartling is the guy to put you there. Unlike a lot of other big men Bartling has the grappling to go along with the wrestling. His wrestling base and overall ground game, despite the lack of striking, will take him far.

The post The Ultimate Fighter Season 30 Cast Breakdown: The Heavyweights appeared first on Cageside Press.