“Dana White’s Contender Series” returns for Season 8 on Aug. 13. The show, which has been a pipeline to the UFC for top talent from around the world, has helped the UFC discover some of the best fighters in the sport today including bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.
There are also many top prospects who have found a home in the UFC through the show such as Bo Nickal, Jack Della Maddalena, Payton Talbott, and Jailton Almeida. Will Season 8 of DWCS produce the sport’s next future star?
Here are the fighters to watch, matchups and results from each week:
Laura Sanko’s top fighters to watch
ESPN spoke with UFC analyst Laura Sanko to get a list of the fighters she is most excited to see on this season of DWCS. “There is an emerging theme this year,” Sanko told ESPN. “Many of the fighters a really young, but they appear to be ready for this stage. They pass the eye test more than the fighters in previous years.”
Austin Bashi, featherweight
Record: 12-0
Age: 22
Fighting out of: West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Bashi is one of the best prospects in all of MMA. He enters DWCS Season 8 having finished each of his last four opponents (three submissions, one KO). He has a wrestling background, but he has striking that his opponent has to respect. Despite his age, Bashi has already faced and beaten high-level competition. Just two fights ago, he submitted Askar Askar another highly-touted prospect. Bashi has what it takes to be a champion one day.
Artem Vakhitov, light heavyweight
Record: 2-1
Age: 33
Fighting out of: Prokopyevsk, Russia
Vakhitov has little professional MMA experience, but he is a former Glory kickboxing champion. Most notably, Vakhitov was the last guy to beat UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira in kickboxing. And that’s why he’s making this move, he’s coming for Pereira.
How to watch the fights
Watch “Dana White’s Contender Series” on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers stats and analysis for every UFC and DWCS card.
‘Dana White’s Contender Series’ matchups and results:
Week 1 results:
Welterweight: Rami Hamed def. Ding Meng by unanimous decision
*Featherweight: Jose Delgado def. Ernie Juarez by KO1
*Men’s flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho by KO1
*Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wesley Schultz by TKO2
*Light heavyweight: Bruno Lopes def. Mikheil Sazhiniani by TKO2
*Kavanagh, Delgado, Lopes and Abdul-Malik were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 2 results:
*Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson def. Pat Pytlik by TKO2
*Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev def. Hugo Cunha by TKO1
*Men’s bantamweight: Cortavious Romious def. Michael Imperato by unanimous decision
Middleweight: Torrez Finney def. Cameron Rowston by unanimous decision
*Men’s bantamweight: Cody Haddon def. Billy Brand by SUB1
*Haddon, Romious, Kuniev and Gustafsson were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 3 results:
*Featherweight: Bogdan Grad def. Michael Aswell by split decision
*Men’s bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker def. Adam Bramhald by KO1
**Men’s flyweight: Nick Piccininni def. Jack Duffy by split decision
*Middleweight: Andrey Pulyaev def. Liam Anderson by unanimous decision
*Middleweight: Marco Tulio def. Matthieu Duclos by TKO2
*Wellmaker, Tulio, Grad and Pulyaev were each awarded a UFC contract
**Piccininni and Duffy were offered a rematch at DWCS Season 8, Episode 10
Week 4 results:
*Welterweight: Seok Hyun Ko def. Igor Cavalcanti by unanimous decision
*Middleweight: Djorden Santos def. Will Currie by unanimous decision
*Featherweight: Austin Bashi vs. Dorian Ramos by SUB2
*Women’s flyweight: Yuneisy Duben def. Shannon Clark by KO1
*Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld def. Gauge Young by unanimous decision
*Salkilld, Duben, Bashi, Santos, and Ko were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 5 results:
*Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Phil Latu TKO2
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui def. Taiga Iwasaki by TKO3
*Featherweight: Josias Musasa def. Otari Tanzilovi by split decision
*Women’s flyweight: Nicolle Caliari def. Corinne Laframboise by SUB1
*Caliari, Musasa and Stirling were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 6 matchups:
Men’s bantamweight: Aaron Tau vs. Elijah Smith
Heavyweight: Talisson Teixeira vs. Arthur Lopes
Welterweight: Joey Hart vs. Benjamin Bennett
Middleweight: Ateba Gautier vs. Yura Naito
Lightweight: Ahmad Hassanzada vs. Dylan Mantello
Week 7 matchups:
Heavyweight: Bailey Schoenfelder vs. Danylo Voievodkin
Welterweight: Daniel Frunza vs. Vadym Kutsyi
Light heavyweight: Kevin Christian vs. Francesco Mazzeo
Week 8 matchups:
TBA
Week 9 matchups:
TBA
Week 10 matchups:
TBA