The UFC’s best pipeline for talent is back, as “Dana White’s Contender Series” returns for Season 9 on Aug. 12. The show, which has ushered in many of the fighters on the promotion’s roster today, was also the path for some of the top fighters and prospects in the game.
DWCS was an introduction to former champions such as light heavyweight Jamahal Hill and men’s bantamweight Sean O’Malley for many fight fans. It’s also how newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena cracked the UFC roster. Who will be the next big star to get their big break?
Here are the matchups, results and fighters who earned a UFC contract from each week.
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” Season 9 matchups and results:
Week 1 matchups:
Middleweight: Ilian Bouafia vs. Neemias Santana
Welterweight: Ty Miller vs. Jimmy Drago
Middleweight: Damian Pinas vs. Murtaza Talha
Featherweight: George Mangos vs. Radley da Silva
Middleweight: Christopher Ewert vs. Yuri Panferov
Week 2 matchups:
Featherweight: Manuel Exposito vs. Jose Delano
Middleweight: Jon Kunnenman vs. Cam Rowston
Men’s bantamweight: Kaushik Saikumar vs. Louis Lee Scott
Heavyweight: Josh Hokit vs. Guilherme Uriel
Featherweight: Tommy Cuozzi vs. Ramiro Jimenez
Week 3 matchups:
Light heavyweight: Vitor Costa vs. Ryan Gandra
Featherweight: Damon Wilson vs. Marico Barbosa
Light heavyweight: Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Alik Lorenz
Lightweight: Cristian Perez vs. Manoel Sousa
Heavyweight: Elisha Ellison vs. Brando Peričić
Week 4 matchups:
Welterweight: Jack Congdon vs. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani
Middleweight: Theo Haig vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk
Lightweight: Mandel Nallo vs. Samuel Silva
Men’s flyweight: An Tuan Ho vs. Frank Silva
Featherweight: Tommy McMillen vs. David Mgoyan
Week 5 matchups:
TBA
Week 6 matchups:
TBA
Week 7 matchups:
TBA
Week 8 matchups:
TBA
Week 9 matchups:
TBA
Week 10 matchups:
TBA
