Last year, Finney, an undefeated fighter out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, appeared on the show for the first time, submitting Yuri Panferov via rear-naked choke. It wasn’t enough to earn a UFC contract, however, despite every other winning fighter on his episode being awarded a deal, even those who went the distance.

Flash forward a year, and Finney returned, this time picking up a decision win over Cam Rowston. UFC President and CEO Dana White, however, was less than impressed, lamenting Finney’s lack of activity between seasons – during which time he had fought once. He suggested that Finney would be “decimated” in the UFC’s middleweight division, but invited him back for a third (and likely final) look on DWCS 2024 Week 8.

That fight arrives tonight, with Finney set to take on Spain’s Abdellah Er-Ramy, most recently seen fighting under the PFL Europe banner.

Where to Watch DWCS Season 8, Week 8

As always, this week’s Contender Series installment takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV and streams on ESPN+ in the U.S., and SportsNet/UFC Fight Pass in Canada. The action gets underway at 8PM ET, 5PM PT. Full results can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 8 Results

Light Heavyweight: Diyar Nurgozhay def. Bartosz Szewczyk by KO (head kick), Round 2, 3:32
Featherweight: Alberto Montes def. Carlos Calderon by submission (anaconda choke), Round 2, 2:38
Bantamweight: David Martinez def. Xavier Franklin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight: Torrez Finney def. Abdellah Er-Ramy by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:10
Welterweight: Jacobe Smith def. Christien Savoie by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 2, 2:55

Contract Winners: Smith, Finney, Martinez, Montes, Nurgozhay

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 8 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Week Eight rolls around on Tuesday, with Torrez Finney arguably the star of the show. This will be Finney’s third appearance on the Contender Series and he has never lost. Not on the show, not in his professional career. The problem is, he hasn’t done enough to impress Dana White and the matchmakers just yet. In particular, White was critical of Finney’s strength of schedule between his 2023 DWCS appearance and one earlier this season, where he fought just once.

Still, it was enough for Finney to be brought back a second time in 2024, for what may very well be his final shot at the UFC. That and other fights are looming so let’s break them down!

Light heavyweight, Diyar Nurgozhay (9-0) vs Bartosz Szewczyk (8-2-1)

Notable notes

• Nurgozhay is the first fighter from Kazakhstan to fight on the Contender Series.
• This will be the US debut for both guys.
• Szewczyk is the current FEN light heavyweight champion.
• Nurgozhay has seven first-round finishes.
• Nurgozhay has a win over PFL 2019 205-pound champion Emiliano Sordi.
• Szewczyk recently avenged the last loss on his record.
• Nurgozhay is the former Eagle FC light heavyweight champion.

Boxing: Szewczyk
Kickboxing: Szewczyk
Speed: Szewczyk
Output/Volume: Nurgozhay
Footwork/Movement: Szewczyk
Striking defense: Nurgozhay
Wrestling: Nurgozhay
Grappling: Nurgozhay
Gas tank: Szewczyk

Prediction: When it comes to Nurgozhay, he’s pretty limited with just about nothing to offer on the feet. His wrestling isn’t that good either, but he is a threat if he gets the takedown.

Nurgozhay is a bit of a submission threat but I wouldn’t bet he could hold a dominant position. He does throw some mauling ground and pound, that being his best weapon.

Szewczyk is someone I didn’t like at all when I first scouted him, but he’s improved a lot. His cardio and technique have improved a lot in particular. Not saying he’s great but he’s noticeably improved. Nothing sticks out technically but he hits hard and can come at opponents from anywhere. I really like the way he’ll attack and end a flurry with a head kick.

This a tough fight to call on DWCS this week and I can see it going a few ways. I can see Szewczyk just keeping Nurgozhay at bay and finding an eventual finish. I can see Nurgozhay just rushing in and catching Szewczyk. I can see Nurgozhay being able to get the takedown and smash the Polish fighter. To even my surprise I’m leaning towards Szewczyk. I’m just so not a fan of the stand-up, cardio, movement, and wrestling of Nurgozhay. I’ve seen Szewczyk stuff better takedown attempts and in a striking fight, I strongly favor the bigger, faster, and more athletic Szewczyk. I’ve got Szewczyk by third-round TKO and I’m 30% confident.

The post DWCS 2024: Episode 8 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

The co-main event features Sitik Muduev facing off against Frank Buenafuente in a featherweight bout. Lastly, welterweights will command the audience with the headlining spot, as Christien Savoie faces Basil Hafez — with the vacant 170lb title on the line.

CFFC 89 Main Card

Jerome Macalino vs. Thomas Majeski

With both men having recorded one professional fight, this pair are relatively new. However they each have a deep resume in the amateur circuit. Since Macalino has a little more experience, Majeski will need to play to his strengths. For instance, Majeski has had success with submissions, so closing the distance is a viable path to victory for the American.

Tyler Bunting vs. Jonathan Piersma

Making his pro debut, Bunting has acquired a perfect 6-0 amateur record. In addition, Piersma is also making his professional debut. Since Piersma has four submission wins of the six on his record, it stands to reason he will try to get this fight to the ground. Conversely, Bunting is no slouch on the ground with a few submission wins as well. All in all, these two athletes have a lot in common. But Piersma’s finishing ability might afford him the edge in this fight.

Mike Gonzalez vs. Vilson Ndregjoni

Lightweight Albanian prospect Ndregjoni has emerged as a submission threat on the European circuit. Unlike the Albanian, Gonzalez’s array of finishes range from submissions to strikes. Also, the fact that Gonzalez has never been submitted before illustrates his aptitude on the mats. Both athletes will put it on the line at CFFC 89 in an effort to further their careers and fanbases.

Jeffrey Glossner vs. C. Grigoriou

Bantamweight young guns Glossner and Grigoriou are powerful finishers. Despite not having a plethora of pro fights, Glossner shocked everyone when he destroyed Justin Tipaldos via strikes, in a mere ten seconds. Conversely, Grigoriou is coming off a nice two fight win streak. If history is an indicator future behavior, one thing is for sure, this fight will start fast.

Sitik Muduev vs. Frank Buenafuente

One of the most exciting fights on the card features power puncher Sitik Muduev. Illustrated by his first and second round stoppages, the Russian has relentless pressure. Incredibly, when given the opportunity Muduev is quite active. In fact, he fought five times in 2018. Additionally, Muduev has also never been stopped. At the same time, Buenafuente has a lot of cage experience. Hence it will be vital he uses the cage to the fullest extent. For example, keeping grappling exchanges in the middle of the mat, instead of by the fence to avoid limbs getting trapped. Despite a couple of rear-naked choke losses, Buenafuente will need to keep the fight away from danger zones that could result in those positions.

CFFC 89 Main Event – Christien Savoie vs. Basil Hafez

The Canadian “Tiger” Savoie is one of Canada’s hottest prospects. With five of his last eight performances ending by stoppage, it’s safe to assume he’s a dangerous force in the welterweight division. Not to mention, Savoie is also unbeaten. In contrast, Hafez has struggled in most of the promotions he’s fought in. While he’s alternated wins and losses a lot, the American has finished fights both by submission and knockout. Considering Savoie and Hafez are the main event, pressure is boiling over for a emphatic performance. After all, leagues like CFCC are watched closely by scouting agents from larger promotions.

The post CFFC 89 Main Card Preview appeared first on Cageside Press.

In this feature, we take six journalists including our own Shawn Bitter, plus four hardcore MMA fans/Podcasters to get their take on who the UFC should sign by year’s end. So far this year, the UFC has signed major prospects like Jiri Prochazka, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Roman Bogatov, Umar Nurmagomedov, Jai Herbert, Manel Kape, Modestas Bukauskas, Nate Landwehr and more. Here, each member of our panel will give their picks on who they think the UFC should sign by the end of 2020.

The Journalists

Shawn Bitter

Middleweight, Roberto Soldic (17-3): Soldic has beaten some stiff competition in his career including Lewis Long (16-5), Borys Mańkowski (19-7-1), and Dricus Du Plessis (12-2), winning five titles including the KSW middleweight title. Soldic is easily one of the best welterweights on the global scene and the UFC would be very wise to try and pry him from KSW. Soldic is always coming forward and always looking for the finish in a controlled chaos manner. KSW has had talent that went to the UFC like Jan Błachowicz, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Aleksei Oleinik, and others.

Featherweight, Igeu Kabesa (12-1): Kabesa’s only loss is to UFC fighter Danny Henry, which was a rematch of their first meeting, which Kabesa won. Of the two, Kabesa has a much higher ceiling. “Smiley” is one of the two best prospects out of South Africa along with Demarte Pena. He is the current EFC Worldwide featherweight champion and on a four-fight win streak. Kabesa is a very decorated wrestler being a 10-time Wrestling Nationals Champion. He is young and solid everywhere. Kabesa has amazing wrestling and grappling, he can move well on the mat and can reach mount fairly easy. His striking is good too, moving in-and-out with explosive punches quickly and his slips and counters are solid.

Featherweight, Joanderson Brito (11-2-1): Brito has been on a roll since his last loss in 2015, going 10-0-1 in his last eleven fights. He’s fought for the likes of Future FC and Thunder Fight which are two top promotions out of Brazil. He’s also the former Fusion FC champ, a promotion based in Peru. In his most recent fight, he made his U.S. debut for LFA and beat a top prospect in Jose Mariscal. Brito is a bull walking his foes down and throwing huge looping hooks with big power. He’s a power striker on the feet but has some good wrestling and better top position to fall back on. He’s arguably the best prospect right now out of Brazil.

Featherweight, Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1): Parnasse in my opinion is the best prospect worldwide. Parnasse didn’t really become noticeable until he signed with one of the biggest European organizations in KSW in late 2017.  In April of last year, Parnasse beat Roman Szymański to become the interim KSW featherweight champion. Last December he beat the well-known Ivan Buchinger to retain his interim title. Parnasse would prefer to keep the fight on the feet where he can use his effective movement and a good kickboxing base. This would be one of the biggest if not the biggest signing if somehow the UFC could snatch him up.

Strawweight, Melissa Martinez (7-0): Martinez is currently signed with Combate Americas and is their current 115-pound champion. Recently, Combate champion Gustavo Lopez was able to be released from his contract. Rafa Garcia who is also a champion there has vacated his contract to sign to another promotion. So there is hope for the UFC picking up Martinez. “Super Melly” has the ability to break an opponent down with her chopping leg kicks. She also displays a quick release with her dangerous head kick that she has won a couple of times with. She looks really promising at such a young age and so early in her career.

The post Prospects the UFC Should Sign by the End of 2020 appeared first on Cageside Press.

When we launched this series yesterday, it was Australia and New Zealand in the spotlight. Today it’s the MMA hotbed of Canada, which has brought you the likes of the legendary Georges St. Pierre, Rory MacDonald, and current UFC women’s featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer, among many, many other top fighters.

Featherweight, TJ Laramie (11-3)

Although TJ Laramie is only 22 years old, he’s well experienced and has fought good quality competition. In fact, Laramie has never fought anyone with a losing record. He’s the former TKO featherweight champion, and dominated Charles Jourdain who is doing very well in the UFC. Laramie is a former Kickboxing and jiu-jitsu champion and utilizes a wide skill set, making him an all-around solid fighter. Laramie owns excellent wrestling, a smooth ground game, and one-punch knockout power on the feet. “The Truth” also has excellent cardio going five rounds three times. He’s probably the best prospect out of Canada and one of the best worldwide. His brother Tony (5-2) is no slouch either.

Welterweight, Christien Savoie (8-0)

Christien Savoie has competed at both middleweight and welterweight. He’s won titles in both weight classes inside Canadian promotion Elite 1 MMA. Savoie is mainly a grinder who will push the pace in close quarters. He wants to take the fight to the mat where his ground and pound is excellent landing at a solid rate with good shots from a short amount of distance. The undefeated record says it all.

Flyweight, Malcolm Gordon (12-3)

A fighter by of the name of Yoni Sherbatov was a top prospect in 2017. Last August, Malcolm Gordon stopped Sherbatov early in round one. Gordon is a former WXC champ and the current TKO flyweight champion with two title defenses. With the current problems with the promotion TKO, Gordon may become available sooner rather than later. Gordon is a good wrestler with very strong Jiu-Jitsu. He’s very aggressive with his submission attack and for hunting to finish in general. Gordon has a 100% finishing rate to top it all off.

Bantamweight, Jamie Siraj (8-2)

Jamie Siraj is underrated, but still one of Canada’s best prospects. His last loss came to UFC fighter Cole Smith, but since then, he’s on a five-fight win streak. Siraj is well-rounded getting it done on the feet and on the mat. The Canadian has won the Unified MMA  bantamweight championship.

Siraj has trained with one of the best camps in Tristar Gym out of Montreal, and last year signed on with Iridium Sports Agency. Siraj is well-rounded getting it done on the feet and on the mat. He has a nice flow of output with outstanding shot selection. “The Gremlin” has speed and it really shines when he lets his hands go. He has some solid wrestling as well and that comes with ground and pound and a strong submission base.

Strawweight, Jasmine Jasudavicius (4-0)

St. Catharines, Ontario’s Jasmine Jasudavicius has fought mostly in the US, most notably for CFFC in her last bout. 4-0 as a pro, Jasudavicius also went 4-0 as an amateur as well as compiling a 3-0 record in boxing. She has looked really good and has improved leaps and bounds with each fight. Aggressive is one way to put it (look back to her BTC 8 bout). She’s a finisher as well and that is what everyone wants to see. While jumping straight to the big leagues might be a little much with only four fights, a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series this season would certainly seem reasonable.

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

In this piece, we feature 25 prospects believed worthy of a spot on the Contender Series Season 4. Left out will be fighters that fought on the previous seasons, though some may return.

Hugo Cunha

Heavyweight | 25 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 5-0 | 3 KO/TKO, 2 Submissions

Hugo Cunha doesn’t have a lot of experience in MMA but is a Brazilian National Team wrestler and a BJJ black belt. You will notice his level of competition has been poor as he’s fought three opponents with an 0-0 record. Cunha has still looked dominant thus far in his career and that’s with a 100% finish rate. From Brazil, the ‘Silverback’ has fought in Florida for Titan FC so fighting in the States increases his stock even more.

Renan Ferreira

Heavyweight | 30 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6-2 | Win Streak: 1 | 5 KO/TKO, 1 Submission

Renan Ferreira’s loss early on in his career to Vinicius Moreira doesn’t look so good today. That was early in his career though and the truth is his ceiling is much higher. Like Cunha, Ferreira has recently fought in the U.S., with that bout being for top promotion LFA. He won his last fight against Jared Vanderaa and before that was on his way to probably beating Brett Martin only to be DQ’d due to punches to the back on the head. “Problema” is a giant standing at 6’10” who has a perfect finishing rate all inside two rounds. All those finishes have come by TKO mostly by ground-and-pound. On the feet, he does hit hard, has heavy leg kicks, and a good jab. Ferreira is a problem on the mat being such a big guy, and he does not let up with his heavy ground strikes.

Bruno Miranda

Lightweight | 29 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 13-3 | Win Streak: 4 | 8 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions

Brazil’s Bruno Miranda lives in Phuket, Thailand as he trains out of Tiger Muay Thai with the likes of many top UFC athletes. Miranda has extensive experience in Muay Thai and it has shown throughout his MMA career. He’s a staple of South Korean promotion Road FC fighting for them nine times. He isn’t locked down in contract-wise and he has a fighting style that should draw the UFC in.

Al Matavao

Light heavyweight | 26 | Nu’uuli, Alaska | 8-2 | Win Streak: 4 | 5 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission

Alaska is a state that lacks higher level fighters but Al Matavao is someone that has potential. In his most recent fight he scored a 16-second knockout. With that alone it’s almost certain he will land on the Contender Series. His last loss was to Jake Heun but since then he has won his next four fights. Matavao is fun to watch and has a style that always produces exciting fights.

Jake Hadley

Flyweight | 23 | Birmingham, England | 5-0 | Win Streak: 7 | 1 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions

Jake Hadley is only 5-0 as a pro but in his amateur career, he was successful and was a 4x amateur British flyweight champion. When Hadley was only 3-0 as a pro he fought a top prospect in Nkazimulo Zulu. Hadley beat him for the EFC Worldwide Flyweight Championship. In his latest fight, he beat a very good Blaine O’Driscoll in his Bellator debut. He could very well go straight to the UFC and there would be no complaints.

Nikolas Motta

Lightweight | 26 | Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil | 11-3 | Win Streak: 2 | 8 KO/TKOs

In 2015, Nikolas Motta competed on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil Season 4 and lost to the eventual winner, Glaico França. Since then, Motta is 5-2 with both losses to good fighters. Motta has a win over current UFC fighter Joe Solecki. Also, a win over Cesar Balmaceda who was on our list last year. From Brazil, he lives in the United States and is the current CFFC lightweight champion.

Christien Savoie

Welterweight | 27 | New Brunswick, Canada | 8-0 | Win Streak: 11 | 5 KO/TKOs

Christien Savoie has competed at both middleweight and welterweight. Elite 1 MMA is a promotion out of Canada and Savoie has won two titles for them at both of those weight classes. Last summer, Savoie was targeted for the Contender Series, which unfortunately didn’t pan out — in fact it hasn’t the past two seasons. This could be the year. Savoie is mainly a grinder who will push the pace in close quarters. He wants to take the fight to the mat where his ground and pound is excellent landing at a solid rate with good shots from a short amount of distance.

 Casey O’Neill

Strawweight | 22 | Queensland, Australia | 4-0 | Win Streak: 9 | 1 Submission

When it comes to young up-and-comers, Casey O’Neill is one of the best. From Scottland, O’Neill has fought her entire pro and amateur career in Australia. She’s the current Eternal MMA Strawweight Championship. She even moved up to 125 in her latest fight because it’s so hard for her to find strawweights willing to fight her. O’Neill also fights out of an excellent camp in Tiger Muay Thai.

Hailey Cowan

Flyweight | 27 | Waco, Texas, US | 5-1 | Win Streak: 5 | 2 KO TKOs, 1 Submission

Hailey Cowan has an extensive background in gymnastics and was very accomplished at Baylor University. She won a few tumbling national titles and is a two-time All-American. After coming up short in her pro-MMA debut, she then went on to win her next five fights looking impressive in the process. She’s a staple of top regional promotion LFA who always does a great job molding fighters.

Anthony Ivy

Welterweight | 29 | San Antonio, Texas, US | 8-2 | Win Streak: 4 | 5 KO TKOs, 3 Submission

Anthony Ivy is on a nice five-fight win streak currently and is the Fury FC and the WXC welterweight champion. Ivy has some good qualities on the feet with good clinch work and an explosive head kick. He’s primarily wrestler who chains his takedowns together well to go along with good timing, setups, and executions. In the grappling realm, he has perfect control showing superb ability to get dominant positions. His work ethic and cardio set him apart from other welterweight prospects.

John Gotti III

Welterweight | 27 | Oyster Bay, New York, US | 5-0 | Win Streak: 9 | 4 KO TKOs

John Gotti III is best known as the grandson of the infamous John Gotti, the Italian-American gangster known as the “Teflon Don.” John Gotti the third is going down a different path, pursuing a career in MMA, and has looked really good so far. He’s a knockout artist who recently went the distance for the first time. That’s a plus, for him to get that in early in his career. He has a style Dana White would want on the Contender Series.

Jose Johnson

Bantamweight | 24 | Copperas Cove, Texas, US | 11-5 | Win Streak: 5 | 7 KO TKOs, 1 Submission

Jose Johnson, being only 24, has an amazing amount of experience. Not only is he 11-5 as a pro but he has an extensive amateur career going 68-12. At a point in his pro career, Jose was 5-4 but since late 2018 he’s looked much improved. He’s the current Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting bantamweight champ and recently fought for the top UFC feeder league LFA. Johnson has looked stellar as of late. He is now on a five-fight win streak, all finishes in the first round.

Emillio Trevino

Light-heavyweight | 24 | Boise, Idaho, US | 5-0 | Win Streak: 6 | 2 KO TKOs, 1 Submission

Emilio Trevino is still a bit unknown due to only fighting pro for three years, and his lack of a busy schedule. Without much experience, he’s still fought for both LFA and Bellator MMA. Trevino fights out of a karate stance and is a fighter who fights behind his kicks. He actively switches stances and throws from different angles as well. He’s still green but has the toolset to go far.

The post Scouting Prospects for the Contender Series Season 4: Part 1 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The welterweight division currently has a three-way dance at the top of the division, with champ Kamaru Usman, “BMF” titlist Jorge Masvidal, and the surging Leon Edwards. Tyron Woodley is still in the mix as well. The 170lb weight class has always been one of the sport’s deepest, frankly. But there’s always the need for fresh faces, so here’s our pick for 10 athletes the UFC can bring in his year.

Here’s a look at last year’s list, featuring current UFC roster members Sean Brady and Takashi Sato signing with the UFC in 2019:

Sean Brady
Takashi Sato
Joaquin Lopez
Sidney Outlaw
Mounir Lazzez
Chris Curtin
Christien Savoie
Roberto Soldic
Kitt Campbell

Be sure to visit our other installments in this series (linked below):

10 Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020
10 Light Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020
10 Middleweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020
10 Lightweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020
10 Featherweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020

The post 10 Welterweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2020 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Future FC 11 | Friday | Brazil

Featherweight: Gabriel Alves Braga (4-0)

Only 4-0 and 21-years-old, Gabriel Alves Barga has really impressed. He has a solid ground game with his ground-and-pound but prefers to stay standing. Braga is very technical as he loves to throw from all different kinds of angles. He throws a bit of everything including knees and elbows, and puts all his strikes together perfectly. Braga rips the body frequently and he mixes that into combinations very well. He’s always throwing output, mixing in all his weapons. He fights Loibe de Oliveira Neto (4-0).

LFA 80 | Friday | US

Featherweight: Steve Garcia Jr. (10-3)

Steve Garcia Jr. is coming off a win last Summer on the Contender Series and although he looked good, he missed weight, which was certainly a factor in not getting a UFC contract. He’s had problems with his takedown defense in the past but the Jackson-Wink MMA product is improving with time. The tall rangy striker is a dangerous guy with power in his hands. Garcia also has good combinations he throws and some good footwork compliments his stand-up. He fights Jose Mariscal (10-4).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O5VNRHBosE

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: Future FC, LFA and a Bit More! appeared first on Cageside Press.

Featherweight, Sodiq Yusuff (10-1)

UFC 246 is the first UFC event of 2020. The first of not just the year but the decade. On the top of the card is Donald Cerrone going against the returning “Notorious” Conor McGregor. Not a lot of star power on the card, but Vegas will host many top up-and-comers. With a slew of unranked but possibly future stars we put the spotlight on “Super” Sodiq Yusuff.

Maycee Barber is a Contender Series alum that potentially one day could be a real contender. Sodiq is another DWCS fighter that has tons of potential, but who is currently outside the rankings. Yusuff is 3-0 in the UFC with key wins over Sheymon Moraes and Gabriel Benitez. If you date back to his Contender Series bout he had a stellar performance against a very good competitor in Mike Davis. Yusuff at 10-1 overall in MMA is an explosive striker with six finishes all via strikes. Primarily a striker, Yusuff has a lot of power in both hands. He has a hard chin, and is comfortable sitting in the pocket to take one to give one. People also forget that Sodiq is good wrestler and a solid grappler.

Yusuff is set to take on Andre Fili  at UFC 246, a veteran of 26 fights. Fili has been in the UFC since 2013 and has an 8-5 octagon record. He’s had his bumps in his career but lately he’s really come into his own. Fili is a technician with sharper and quicker hands than Yusuff. Yusuff though has the power to put down Fili. This looks to be a very good fight and if Yusuff gets it done he will no doubt make the top 15.

Welterweight, Christien Savoie (7-0)

Savoie has competed at both middleweight and welterweight. Elite 1 MMA is a promotion out of Canada and Savoie has won two titles for them at welterweight and middleweight. Savoie was contacted last summer to be on the Contender Series, but it just didn’t pan out.

Savoie is mainly a grinder who will push the pace in close quarters. He wants to take the fight to the mat where his ground and pound is excellent landing at a solid rate, with good shots from a short amount of distance. Savoie is defending his Elite 1 MMA welterweight title against Pat Carroll this Saturday. Pat is 4-1 as a pro and is on a 4-fight win streak

The post Fighter Spotlight: Sodiq Yusuff and Christien Savoie appeared first on Cageside Press.

UPDATE: According to Christien Savoie, the fight with Williams is no longer happening.

This season on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, the UFC has been targeting more international fighters more so than just US-based guys. They have received fighters from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, and more. Sources confirm to Cageside Press that Canada’s Christien Savoie will take in American Jordan Williams in a middleweight clash.

Canada’s own Christien Savoie is 7-0 as a professional and 26-years-old. Savoie has competed at both middleweight and welterweight. Elite 1 MMA is a promotion out of Canada and Savoie has won two titles for them at 170 and 185. Savoie was contacted last summer to be on the Contender Series. However, injuries held him back from that opportunity.

Standing across from Savoie will be 7-2 Jordan Williams. Williams competed last season on the Contender Series against Tim Caron. He beat Caron but wasn’t awarded a contract in the end. The win was also switched to a no contest when Williams tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

Williams hasn’t fought since the Contender Series but has a fight scheduled for April 27th on Bellator 220. In the last five years, Williams has only one loss which is to UFC fighter, Dwight Grant.

Savoie was featured on Cageside Press’ list of 10 welterweights the UFC should sign in 2019 as well as prospects who should be on the Contender Series Season 3.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Christien Savoie vs. Jordan Williams Set for Contender Series on July 23 appeared first on Cageside Press.