Just a week ago, in the fifth installment of DWCS 2020, Knight earned himself a shot at the UFC proper. Now, it’s Nchukwi’s turn — despite being just 3-0 and not having fought since defeating Knight.

Jackson-Wink MMA product Phil Hawes will also compete Tuesday night. “Megatron” appeared on the Contender Series back in 2017, and while he came up short there, he hasn’t lost since, putting together three straight wins split between Bellator MMA and Brave CF.

Undefeated prospects are always worth keeping an eye on, especially when they’ve hit double digits. That’s the case for Aliaskhab Khizriev, with a 12-0 record entering the night. While the level of competition Khizriev faced early in his career was underwhelming, his last victory came against a name UFC fans will be very, very familiar with: Rousimar Palhares. Khizriev not only escaped with his leg intact, but managed to finish the Brazilian within a minute via ground and pound. That step up in competition coupled with an unblemished record have many observers high on his chances at a strong future in the UFC.

As always, the action gets underway at 8PM ET, live on ESPN+ (UFC Fight Pass internationally). Check back for results as the night unfolds.

For his part, Aliaskhab Khizriev wasted no time taking down Henrique Shiguemoto, and quickly took the back, locking in the rear-naked choke. Claiming the win in under a minute, the middleweight (who has also fought at welterweight) couldn’t have done much more to secure a UFC deal.

Drako Rodriguez clearly got the memo. Securing his own submission win with a triangle, he put away Mana Martinez in under three minutes. Martinez was locked up tight enough that he went to sleep before he could tap.

Phil Hawes got it as well. A big right hand sealed the deal, knocking down Khadzhi Bestaev with follow-up strikes a mere formality.

Church vs. Blackledge wound up being the first fight on week six of the Contender Series to leave the opening round. Blackledge’s takedowns were the story early. That, and low blows. Early in the second, the action was halted by by a low knee on Church. A second knee went upstairs, adding insult to injury. Or just more injury. Church opted not to take the full time allotted for recovery, and was soon in danger again. However, this time it was Church landing low, with a kick to the cup. When the action resumed, Blackledge earned another takedown, working in some shots to the body and head. Blackledge would press hard in the third, and while he couldn’t get the finish, he controlled to the bell, earning the decision win.

Nchukwi vs. Matavao was about the clearest example of power vs. speed you’ll find in modern MMA. Nchukwi frankly dwarfed his opponent, landing by far the more powerful strikes. But Matavao was willing to throw, and when he did, he threw a lot. He was rocked early, however, and grazed by a kick later in the round. That or the follow-up punch opened up a small cut.

Nchukwi didn’t take much time in the second, flooring Matavao early with a heavy head kick. Matavao was down for a while after that kick, but did recover and sit up under his own power.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 6 Results

Tafon Nchukwi def. Al Matavao by knockout (head kick), Round 2, 2:01
Sherrard Blackledge def. Cameron Church by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Phil Hawes def. Khadzhi Bestaev by TKO, Round 1, 1:18
Drako Rodriguez def. Mana Martinez by technical submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 2:22
Aliaskhab Khizriev def. Henrique Shiguemoto by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 0:50

Contracts: Aliaskhab Khizriev, Drako Rodriguez, Phil Hawes, Tafon Nchukwi. Sherrard Blackledge invited back for a second fight this November.

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4, Week 6 Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

A Contender Series fight is one that has stakes like none other, where fighters must showcase their skills to impress the UFC president enough for a contract with the promotional giant.  Holding the Contender Series with a smaller cage inside the UFC Apex venue makes for a tense atmosphere, and with only close friends and family of the competing fighters in attendance as spectators. Emotions always run high, as a limited amount of contracts can be given out on any given night, and many fighters can potentially have their dreams snubbed out solely because of bad luck.

In rare cases, however, a fighter gets a second look. This series will examine those.

Phil “Megatron” Hawes (7-2 MMA)

Age: 31 years old

Height: 5’11”

Weight Class: Middleweight (185lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2017 (Week 4)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Julian Marquez (7-2 MMA)

Second DW’s Contender Series Fight:  2020 (Week 6)

New Opponent: Khadzhimurat Bestaev (10-3 MMA)

First DWCS Fight

Phil Hawes made his first appearance on the Contender Series during the show’s inaugural season back in 2017. Hawes, who entered the bout with a 4-1 record, took on Julian Marquez in the featured fight for that night.

Hawes was able to take Marquez down and flatten him out midway through the first round, at one point taking his opponent’s back. Hawes showed great control in order to hold Julian down and land some impressive ground n’ pound late in the round.

However, Julian came out early in the second round with some vicious striking, hurting Hawes immediately and forcing a panic shot out of Hawes.

When Hawes was finally able to return to his feet, the effects of the wrestling was apparent on his striking, as it had slowed tremendously. After more grappling a very fatigued Hawes, in the process of returning to his feet, caught a nasty head kick rending him unconscious. Hawes was really dominating the fight until fatigue began to set in and Julian took over eventually controlling the fight by keeping most exchanges on the feet.

Contender Series Opponent 

Phil’s Contender Series opponent back in 2017 was Julian Marquez. After Marquez impressed Dana with his finish of Phil, he was offered a UFC contract.

Since signing with the UFC Julian has looked really good. Marquez fought Darren Stewart in his debut bout and was able to finish the middleweight with a front choke in the second round.

Julian took on Alessio Di Chirico next in July of 2018 and though he came out on the losing side, he fought very well, forcing the judges to a split decision. Julian has been inactive since then and is looking to get back in action soon, but in his two UFC appearances, it is apparent that he belongs with the promotion.

The Road Back 

Since Phil’s first Contender Series bout back in 2017 he has had 3 professional MMA bouts.  All 3 of these bouts have been wins for Hawes and he has finished each of his opponents as well.

It is important to note, however, that after the DWCs fight, Phill took close to two years off without competing in professional MMA.

When Phil came back, he faced Michael Wilcox, under the Bellator banner. Wilcox entered the bout with a record of 6-3. That fight was stopped by the cage-side doctor at the end of the first round due to a cut.

Just 5 months later Phil faced Dominik Schober who entered the bout with a record of 11-7. Hawes was able to submit his opponent in the very first round.

Earlier this year in January, Phil fought Yuri Fraga, who entered the bout with a record of 13-10-1. In what would be his final fight before his upcoming second DWCS appearance, Hawes managed to finish his opponent by TKO via punches in the first round.

Gameplan/ New Opponent  

For Phil Hawe’s second appearance on DWCS he will be taking on the 10-3 Khadzhimurat Bestaev. Bestaev is a huge man, standing at 6’6″, and usually fights at light heavyweight. Bestaev has faced UFC-level competition, losing to Alonzo Menifield back in 2017. All of Bestaev’s wins are by stoppage and he has never heard the final bell, win or lose. However, it is important to note that a lot of Bestaev’s past opponents had been making their pro debuts, only had a couple of fights, or had close to losing records. It will be important for Phil Hawes, in his second DWCS appearance, to use his wrestling and land effective strikes to finish the fight while on the ground, in order to avoid fatigue and a potentially dangerous standup striking battle.

The post Redemption: Second Chances on Dana White’s Contender Series — Phil Hawes appeared first on Cageside Press.

Thing is, Tafon has not fought since that win, which came last November. Still, big things are expected of the light heavyweight, with the 205lb division badly in need of fresh blood.

That’s just one of five compelling bouts this week, so let’s get right to our preview and predictions.

Light Heavyweight: Tafon Nchukwi vs. Al Matavao

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Nchukwi
Speed: Nchukwi
Output/Volume: Nchukwi
Knockout Power: Nchukwi
Chin: Nchukwi
Kickboxing: Nchukwi
Footwork: Nchukwi
Wrestling: Neither
Grappling: Neither
Submissions: Neither
Cardio: Nchukwi

Prediction

Although Al Matavao has much more pro experience than Tafon Nchukwi, this is a big mismatch in favor of Nchukwi. The fight will most likely stay standing and in every aspect, Tafon has the advantage. What really stands out has got to be the physicality of Nchukwi. Matavao is a very small 205lb’er standing at 5’8″. That makes him even smaller than Kelvin Gastelum. I expect Tafon to bully Al Matavao around on DWCS and put him away quickly.

The post DWCS 2020 Week 6 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.