The UFC continues to find new talent through Dana White’s Contender Series after plucking numerous future world champions from the hit TV show.
The ESPN TV show helps Dana White find up-and-coming young talents, hoping to earn themselves a contract with the UFC.
With the ninth season of Dana White’s Contender Series premiering this month, we look back at some of the biggest stars to make their name on the program, including two former UFC world champions.
5. Maycee Barber
One of the top female fighters today came from Dana White’s Contender Series, as Maycee Barber has made the most of her opportunity on the show since her UFC debut.
“The Future” had her first fight in the UFC after beating Jamie Colleen in the second season of the show. Since then, her star has just grown and grown.
She has amassed an impressive 9-2 record to rise near the top of the Women’s Bantamweight division.
With a host of knockout wins to her name, Barber is one of the most exciting women in the UFC today and looks destined to become a world champion at some point in her future.
4. Dan Ige
Middleweight stalwart Dan Ige has spent seven years competing in the UFC, forging a fantastic career off the back of being discovered by Dana White.
He was a contestant on the third season of the Contender Series, beating Luis Gomez in impressive fashion in the third round of their fight.
Ige finished off Gomez with a rear-naked choke, but suffered a loss within a minute when he finally made his UFC debut just six months later.
Luckily, Ige bounced back from the loss, racking up six straight wins to cement himself as a fan-favorite fighter.
While his record in recent times has been quite a bit less impressive, there is no doubt that Ige is one of the most successful men to come from Dana White’s Contender Series in the last nine years.
3. Kevin Holland
If success were simply measured in how many fights a fighter had competed in in the UFC, then Kevin Holland would be at the top of this list by far.
The 32-year-old is tied for the most wins in a calendar year, with five victories in 2020, and has been one of the most active fighters in the promotion since his debut two years prior.
The American fighter has impressed at both Middleweight and Welterweight, earning numerous bonuses for the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night in the past few years alone.
He earned his shot at a UFC career with a win over Will Santiago Jr. on the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series, and is definitely the best signing in value for money from the program.
2. Jamahal Hill
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill is a fixture of the UFC, but he made his start as just another hopeful looking to impress Dana White.
“Sweet Dreams” beat Glover Teixeira in 2023 to win the vacant belt, just four years after a fresh-faced Hill impressed his new boss with a win in the third season of the show.
Sadly, his title reign was brief as injury forced Hill to vacate the belt before he got the chance to defend it, although just being in a title match and winning shows how effective the Contender Series is in finding top talent.
You would think that being a former champion would make Hill the best of all the contenders, but one man has impressed in the octagon even more than him since winning his own contract.
1. Sean O’Malley
Clearly, the biggest star to come out of Dana White’s Contender Series is Sean O’Malley, who continues to impress every time he steps foot inside the UFC octagon.
“Suga” won his UFC contract by beating Alfred Khashakyan in the second season of the show to begin an impressive and dominant run in the UFC Bantamweight division.
O’Malley embarked on an impressive win streak, aside from a TKO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252, earning a host of knockout wins to become the UFC Bantamweight champion in 2023.
He avenged the Vera defeat before back-to-back losses to Merab Dvalishvili to end his title reign, although he remains the top contender in the Bantamweight division.
O’Malley is as impressive a fighter as he is a character in the UFC and should be a big star for years to come in the MMA world, and it all began back at Dana White’s Contender Series.