Dana White was able to award every single winner a contract in what must have been one of the easiest nights in Contender Series history.
Not only were the judges not needed at any point, but the corners were only seen in one fight as four of the five bouts ended in first round knockout in the third episode of this year’s Contender Series. Manoel Sousa’s third round stoppage of Cristian Perez was the sole effort that made it into round three.
White now has five new exciting talents on the UFC roster, including two undefeated finishers. With no events this weekend, the CEO now sets his sights on next week’s episode where he will be hoping for similar action.
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The night kicked off with undefeated prospect Donte Johnson taking on Bellator veteran Darion Abbey, whose winning streak was enough to overcome a relatively unexciting 7-4 record. Within a minute, Johnson had earned his contract with a vicious knockout.
Cristian Perez and Manoel Sousa were up next at lightweight, and almost made it to the final bell after an exciting two rounds. However, Sousa got the knockout he needed right on the 13 minute mark, making it an unlucky night for Perez.
If Alik Lorenz wanted to earn a contract, or even win the fight last night, he would have had to overcome whopping 11/1 odds against the undefeated Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev. He didn’t do that as the Turk moved to 7-0 within 30 seconds with a beautiful knee finish.
Marcio Barbosa was up next against Damon Wilson, and we almost saw the bell of the first round. But with seconds left on the clock, the Brazilian scored a right hook that won him a contract of his own.
Then in the main event middleweight Ryan Gandra needed just under three minutes to dispatch of Trent Miller. It meant a rare fifth contract from White and a night full of knockouts at the Apex.
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Dana White was clearly impressed with what he saw from his charges as he awarded all five contracts without hesitation. Speaking on the broadcast immediately after, the fact he explained how this would set the bar for future weeks.
“I think you bring these kids in and not every fight can be a barn burner,” White admitted. “But most of the time they are, I say it all the time; this is your one shot to show us who you are, I don’t care what it says on your record or what you’ve done, tonight show us who you are.
“So tonight is an absolute perfect night, they did [seize the opportunity].”