She also got a first in her UFC career — fighting with fans in attendance. After two straight fights at the virtually barren UFC Apex, Luciano got to experience a live crowd in Vancouver (a very live one at that).

“Fighting with the fans was something else. I like the vibe, I like feeling the crowd,” she told Cageside Press following the bout, backstage at the Rogers Arena. “So the more people, the better.”

Believe it or not, she had envisioned the finish ahead of the bout. “That went through my mind many times, that I would submit her with a rear-naked [choke],” stated Luciano (7-2-1).

Oliveira had been dropping down a couple of weight classes for the fight, but Luciano quickly discovered that concerns about her strength were unwarranted. “For like a second I was worried that she was going to be super-strong, but then I felt her hands, and I didn’t feel like she had much power in her punches.”

With a couple of wins under her belt, Stephanie Luciano is now looking to climb the strawweight ladder. “Maybe a ranked opponent next,” she suggested. There’s no one particular that she has in mind, she added. “I don’t have any names in mind, just somebody in the rankings.”

Despite UFC Rio coming just two weeks ago, and Luciano fighting another Brazilian in Oliveira, she wasn’t surprised to find herself fighting in Canada. After all, there were only so many spots on the UFC Rio card.

“I wasn’t surprised, because there’s so many Brazilians in the UFC. So there’s always a Brazilian on every card. But watching the Fight Night from Rio, Charles [Oliveira] winning, that whole energy, that gave me a lot of wanting to come out here and put on a show too.”

Watch the full UFC Vancouver post-fight press conference with Stephanie Luciano above.

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Luciano had fought to a draw on DWCS opposite Talita Alencar, then won the rematch in her octagon debut last August.

The exchanges came relatively quickly in the opening minute and a half, but after 90 seconds Hughes changed up the pace, catching a kick and dumping Luciano on her back. Hughes got on top but couldn’t keep Luciano down; they were soon back on their feet, battling for position along the fence. A reversal of position and Hughes was back in control for a moment before they moved back to center, where Luciano had a bit of an edge. Hughes did land a low kick, and was happy to press forward; she briefly caught another kick with about two minutes on the clock. A Hughes takedown followed, but Luciano immediately reversed and popped back up. They’d finish a competitive round on the feet.

Round two opened with another quick start, both girls firing, but Luciano getting the better of the exchanges. She added a solid side kick to the midsection, and though Hughes continued to move forward, her face was starting to show some damage. That said, Hughes still found a home for her right hand and a moment later drove into a takedown, landing it with Luciano sitting against the fence. Hughes did a great job moving to full mount, landing a smashing elbow and forcing Luciano to go belly down. Hughes looked to get under the neck, and while her hooks weren’t fully in the choke was in tight.

Luciano tried to fence walk, with the ref swatting at her feet to keep her toes from gripping the cage. Lucaino wound up on her back, free of the choke, but with Hughes still mounted high up on her chest. A round that had started strong for Stephanie Luciano had been stolen back by Sam Hughes, who again went after a choke when Luciano gave up her back. Too high up for the choke, “Sampage” settled for landing ground n’ pound including about a dozen or so unanswered elbows.

Early in the third it was Luciano defending a takedown then getting one of her own, though not for long. Hughes made it back up, using the fence to support her for a bit before they went back to center. The fight was still very much up for grabs as Hughes and Luciano exchanged fire. A late takedown attempt by Hughes was stuffed, not for the first time in the round either. Instead she was forced to continue to march forward, with Luciano doing a solid job catching her on the way in as a result.

An emotional Sam Hughes paid tribute to Fortis MMA head coach Sayif Saud after the fight, with the victory representing his 100th win as a coach.

Official result: Sam Hughes def. Stephanie Luciano by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-27)

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The fight was a rematch of the pair’s 2023 Contender Series showdown, which had ended in a draw. Both women had signed on with the UFC; Luciano was making her debut, while Alencar had earned a win over Rayanne Amanda dos Santos earlier this year.

Alencar opened the fight with a head kick that did land clean but Luciano smiled it off. From there, Luciano really took control of the range and was landing the more effective strikes. It was clear after round one Alencar needed to get this fight down because she was outgunned on the feet.

In round two Alencar actually got the quick takedown. It didn’t last long at all as Luciano got right back up. Luciano got right back to work landing on the outside and when Alencar did close the distance Luciano was too strong on the inside. Luciano would land a nice head kick and although Alencar was tough she never got anything off that round.

The biggest moment in the fight happened in round three as Luciano dropped Alencar with a knee. Like in rounds one and two Alencar struggled on the feet looking uncomfortable. Luciano cruised to a decision hardly breaking a sweat making it a clear win in the rematch.

Official Result: Stephanie Luciano def. Talita Alencar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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The undefeated heavyweights in question were Shmil Ghaziev (10-0) and Greg Velasco (6-0), the latter a Cage Fury FC champion. The only downside to the match-up was that one of them would have to lose and be denied a UFC deal — given how desperate the promotion is for heavyweights, it might have been a better idea to just sign the pair of them outright.

Talita Alencar, meanwhile, brought some serious jiu-jitsu credentials with her to this week’s DWCS outing. But whether she had the wrestling to get Stephanie Luciano down in order to use her BJJ was another question entirely.

Igor Da Silva, a 20-year old flyweight out of Brazil, was a hot prospect at 7-0, but would be getting a solid opponent in Jhonata Silva.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 7 gets underway at 8PM ET on ESPN+ in the U.S., and UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results can be found below.

To kick off Tuesday nights action, Igor Da Silva put away Jhonata Silva on the feet after storming out of the gate in the second round. One fight later, it was Kaynan Kruschewsky enduring a bit of early adversity before submitting Dylan Mantello inside of a round.

In the lone women’s fight of the night, Talita Alencar found some success with her takedowns but struggled to impose her will with her highly touted jiu-jitsu game, thanks in part to Stephanie Luciano’s length and flexibility. Then, in the third, with Alencar tiring, Luciano came on strong, lighting Alencar up at times but making the questionable decision to engage on the ground repeatedly. Some Fight IQ issues there to be sure, but Luciano came close to finishing and did enough to earn a 10-8 round, making the fight a draw.

Daniel James would go on to win a unanimous decision over JaCobi Jones, pulling off the upset, while Shamil Gaziev didn’t take long to submit CFFC champ Greg Velasco. Velasco didn’t seem able to fight the hands and quickly tapped when the big man took his back.

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

Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev def. Greg Velasco by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:38
Lightweight: Daniel James Allen def. JaCobi Jones by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight: Talita Alencar vs. Stephanie Luciano ends in a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Lightweight: Kaynan Kruschewsky def. Dylan Mantello by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:52
Flyweight: Igor da Silva def. Jhonata Silva by TKO (strikes), Round 2, 2:37

Contract Winners: Igor da Silva, Kaynan Kruschewsky, Stephanie Luciano, Shamil Gaziev

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Our breakdown and predictions are set for DWCS 2023 Episode 7! Read on!

Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev Vs. Greg Velasco

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Gaziev
Speed:  Gaziev
Output/Volume: Gaziev
Kickboxing: Velasco
Striking defense: Velasco
Footwork/movement: Gaziev
Wrestling: Gaziev
Grappling: Velasco
Gas tank: Velasco

Prediction: The UFC needs to sign all the heavyweights they can so matching two of the best prospects against each other here is confusing.

Both men have accomplished a lot in their MMA careers thus far. Gaziev was an IMMAF world champion as an amateur. Even though he hasn’t won any titles as a pro he’s beat good competition. Wins over Kirill Kornilov and Darko Stosic are solid wins. Velasco hasn’t fought quite as good competition but at heavyweight, it could definitely be worse. He is the current CFFC heavyweight champion with one title defense.

There is a lot of hype behind Gaziev and rightfully so. He has some major holes being his gas tank and his striking defense. For striking defense to be a concern at heavyweight isn’t a good match. He doesn’t have to worry about that here because Velasco isn’t a power puncher. Gaziev does have to worry about the cardio because Velasco has very good heavyweight cardio. Most think Gaziev dominates this fight but I think it’s closer than that.

I am ultimately picking Gaziev because I think he’s a bad match-up for Velasco. Gaziev is the bigger and stronger man with the better wrestling technique. I do favor the jiu-jitsu of Velasco but the top position of Gaziev will be good enough. If Velasco had better striking I would pick him in this fight. In fact, I think Gaziev could chin-check Velasco, especially with how his hands have looked lately. I either think Gaziev finishes early with a blitz of strikes or he wins by decision by takedowns and top position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJWXDgZ3qeQ&pp=ygUNU2hhbWlsIEdhemlldg%3D%3D

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What does Week 7 have in store for fight fans? Well, if the name Talita Alencar rings a bell, then you’ve probably got your eye on the grappling scene. The 32-year old might be just 4-0 since making her pro MMA debut in 2021, a bit of a late start, but she holds a treasure chest of gold medals in BJJ, with a laundry list of accolades saying ultimately one thing: do not go to the ground with this woman!

We’ll see if fellow strawweight Stephanie Luciano can manage that come Tuesday night.

At heavyweight, a pair of undefeated talents collide when 10-0 Shamil Ghaziev meets the 6-0 Greg Velaso, meanwhile.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 7 does down Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at the UFC Apex, with weigh-ins coming a day earlier and getting underway at noon PT on Monday. Full weigh-in results can be found below.

No misses at the scale on Monday — all fighters made weight for Week 7.

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

Women’s Strawweight: Talita Alencar (115) vs. Stephanie Luciano (115.5)
Lightweight: Kaynan Kruschewsky (154) vs. Dylan Mantello (155)
Flyweight: Jhonata Silva (125.5) vs. Igor da Silva (125.5)
Heavyweight: Shamil Ghaziev (259.5) vs. Greg Velasco (263.5)
Lightweight: JaCobi Jones (156) vs. Daniel James Allen (156)

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