What should have been a five-fight card, however, was truncated thanks to one fighter missing weight by a wide margin Monday morning. Brazilian Willian Souza, set to face Farid Basharat, essentially weighed in for the wrong weight class, hitting the scales at 146 pounds for a bantamweight fight.

Basharat, whose brother Javid won his way into the UFC on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, successfully made weight at 136 pounds. That led the Nevada Athletic Commission to wave off the fight, as such seismic weight discrepancies are not allowed under the commission’s rules.

As a result, four fights moved forward for Tuesday night’s show.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 1 kicks off at 8PM ET, airing live on ESPN+ in the United States, and on UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results from the card, at the UFC Apex, can be found below.

Kicking off the night, a couple of fouls slowed the opening round of Alessandro Costa vs. Andres Luna Martinetti at flyweight, with both an eye poke and low blow halting the action. Luna opened the second with a high kick, and utilized kicks high and low throughout the round. Costa was loading up on his punches, and would add his own head kick attempt with two minutes left in the frame. Towards the end of the second, Luna feigned being hurt, trying to lure Costa in in comical fashion. Moments later, he was hurt for real, dropped care of a heavy right hand, but managed to reverse while on the ground. Luna, who found success with his jab in the second, was tagged again early in the third, but not dropped. Still, that right hand from Costa felt laser-guided, and he’d come away with the split decision win.

In the second fight of the night, Dennis Buzukja and Kaleio Romero squared off. Both fighters exchanged heavy kicks in the opening 30 seconds. Buzukja showed off his renowned striking while Romero relied on his superior wrestling. Romero used the entire first round to try and take Buzukja down but could not do it. The calf kick was a weapon for Romero in round two, and then he got back to clinching Buzukja against the cage. Buzukja eventually got off the fence and hurt Romero, causing him to panic-wrestle. Buzukja landed a takedown in round three; Romero looked very tired. Romero looked like he was trying for a twister but Buzukja defended. Buzukja pulled off the unanimous decision.

Fight three saw light heavyweights Anton Turkalj and Acácio dos Santos get right after it. Dos Santos cracked Turkalj and fired back with a high kick, then started grappling with his opponent. Most of the first round was Turkalj trying to sneak in a rear-naked choke and controlling Dos Santos. The second round saw both fighters landed heavy combos, after which Turkalj landed a slam takedown on Dos Santos. When they got back to their feet, Dos Santos started landing the better punches, and Turkalj attempted a flying knee. The third round started fast like the first two but it eventually ended up with Turkalj just grappling Dos Santos en route to a decision win.

A big takedown from Pyfer opened up the featured fight on Tuesday. He threatened with an arm-triangle choke that looked tight, but Diaz turned away, rolled, and survived — with Ozzy later reversing the position. They’d end the first back on the feet, Diaz pressing.

In round two, Joseph Pyfer earning himself a UFC contract. A huge shot dropped Diaz, a counter-left to the chin. A bit of follow-up, and that was it. “Thank you for the f*cking opportunity,” Pyfer told Dana White from the cage.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 1 Results

Middleweight: Joseph Pyfer def. Ozzy Diaz by knockout, Round 2, 1:39
Light Heavyweight: Anton Turkalj def. Acácio dos Santos by unaimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Dennis Buzukja def. Kaleio Romero by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Flyweight: Alessandro Costa def. Andres Luna Martinetti by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Contract Winners: Joseph Pyfer

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6, Week 1 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Let’s get right to it.

Light heavyweight: William Knight vs. Cody Brundage

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Brundage
Speed: Brundage
Output/Volume: Brundage
Knockout Power: Knight
Chin: Brundage
Kickboxing: Knight
Footwork: Brundage
Wrestling: Even
Grappling: Brundage
Submissions: Brundage
Cardio: Knight

Prediction

This fight could look like the Knight/Alacabek fight in 2019 on the Contender Series. Alacabek was winning early but gassed out and Knight took over and finished the fight. I’m not positive how deep the gas tank is on Brundage but of the little footage I’ve seen he does slow as the fight goes on.

Knight meanwhile is pretty durable, having only been finished once early in a fight, and I’m not sure Brundage has the ability to finish him. I do think Brundage is the more well-rounded fighter but it depends on how his cardio fares. The pick is going to be Brundage because I think he has the advantage on the feet and if he gets the takedown I believe he has the ability to finish. Not a confident pick at all, admittedly.

The post DWCS 2020 Week 5 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

Flyweight, Jasmine Jasudavicius (4-0) 

Jasmine Jasudavicius’ opponent Gabriella Gulfin was significantly smaller but the aggressor. It was easy for Jasudavicius to get the Thai clinch and bully Gulfin. Jasudavicius landed many knees to the body and excellent elbows to the head. Jasudavicius hurt Gulfin with an elbow off the break and landed a few good right hands. All the punishment forced Gulfin to shoot for a lazy takedown as Jasudavicius defended and landed knees to the body sending the ref in.
Grade: A

Bantamweight, Herbeth Sousa (15-1)

Herbeth Sousa fought Alexander Keshtov in February, which was a battle between two top prospects in the division. The fight, however, wasn’t even close as Sousa dominated all four rounds. Sousa secured five takedowns showing good chain wrestling in the process. Sousa gave Keshtov no room as he was all over him in the grappling department. It wasn’t a flashy performance but a very dominant one.
Grade: B

Middleweight, Kyle Daukaus (9-0)

It was all Kyle Daukaus in this fight en-route to a second-round finish. Daukaus made this a grappling match showcasing his skills. He went for countless submissions such as the d’arce, arm-triangle, guillotine, and the RNC. His long arms led to a huge advantage on the mat. Daukaus was winning every grappling exchange and won every scramble. In the second round, he finally put his opponent away with the d’arce choke.
Grade: B

Welterweight, Iuri Lapicus (14-0)

Iuri Lapicus had his biggest challenge to date going against Marat Gafurov, the former ONE Featherweight Champion. Lapicus started off the fight landing very hard outside leg kicks forcing Gafurov to tie up. Lapicus hit a beautiful judo throw then scrambled to the back to finish with the RNC. Beautiful finishing sequence.
Grade: A+

Flyweight, Erin Blanchfield (5-1)

Erin Blanchfield fought Victoria Leonardo last month, who is a good prospect and someone we’ve featured here before. Coming in this was a grappler in Erin fighting a striker in Leonardo. Blanchfield couldn’t really get the takedown but she didn’t really need it. In the first, Blanchfield dropped Leonardo with a brutal head kick. Somehow Leonardo survived and made it to the second round. Erin threw that head kick over and over until she once again landed it flush this time sending the ref in. Leonardo is a super tough girl and a grappler just took her out with a head kick.
Grade: B+

Lightweight, Kenny Cross (10-3)

Kenny Cross has quietly flown under the radar with four consecutive wins now, and a 100% finish rate. In this fight, he beat a good fighter in Robert Hale handing him his first TKO loss in his career. Light on his feet, Cross landed a straight left down the pipe buckling the knees of Hale. Cross capitalized with a left hook putting Hale down and the extra punches resulted in the TKO.
Grade: B-

Heavyweight, Cody Brundage (5-0)

Cody Brundage beat Erick Lozano last December via decision. The outcome wasn’t good enough so they rematched and this time Brundage got the early stoppage. Brundage quickly closed the distance and got the fight to the mat. He transitioned into the mount and would lock in the arm-triangle for the tap.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Gadzhi Rabadanov (14-3)

Gadzhi Rabadanov usually dominates opponents with his wrestling. In this fight though, he excelled on the feet. Rabadanov scored four knockdowns throughout three rounds. He dropped his opponent with two short left hands and a short right hand. In round three, he landed a huge overhand right dropping his foe, but he was really tough. Rabadanov did well in burst and picked his shots well.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Usman Nurmagomedov (9-0)

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a lot of relatives in the sport and Usman (cousin) has quietly grown into a good prospect. Usman displayed a heavy kickboxing attack throwing at range plus front kicks and roundhouse kicks. While looking good from the outside, Usman landed  key knees in the clinch and some good elbows getting the TKO stoppage.
Grade: C+

Featherweight, Ľudovít Klein (16-2)

L’udovit Klein continues to build his resume with seven straight wins now. In this bout he was able to take out a former UFC fighter in Łukasz Sajewski. The Polish Sajewski was heavy for the takedown at the bell. While Klien did show some solid takedown defense he was eventually taken down. Klein worked his way back to his feet and landed a barrage of punches and kicks. Klein would drop Sajewski with a head kick sending the ref in for the stoppage.
Grade: B-

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