The UFC’s best pipeline for talent is back, as “Dana White’s Contender Series” returned for Season 9 on Aug. 12. American welterweight Ty Miller earned the first contract on the season after his unanimous decision win over Jimmy Drago. White then showed his appreciation for Khamzat Chimaev’s Russian teammate Baysangur Susurkaev, who White said stole the show when he knocked out Murtaza Talha with a vicious kick to the liver in the first round.
Susurkaev immediately put his UFC contract to work, booking a spot on the UFC 319: Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis undercard in Chicago just four days later. Susurkaev rode the hype wave all the way to his first win, a second-round rear naked choke submission of fellow debutante Eric Nolan.
In Week 2, four of five fights ended early with four knockouts. The other, a unanimous decision victory by Jose Delano over Manuel Exposito in the main event, was an exciting three-round affair in which both fighters battled to the final bell. All five winners left the UFC Apex with UFC contracts.
How to watch the fights
Watch “Dana White’s Contender Series” Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
FightCenter offers stats and analysis for every UFC and “DWCS” card.
“Dana White’s Contender Series” Season 9 matchups and results:
Week 1 results
Middleweight: Ilian Bouafia def. Neemias Santana by UD
Welterweight: Ty Miller def. Jimmy Drago by UD
Middleweight: Baysangur Susurkaev def. Murtaza Talha by TKO1
Featherweight: Radley da Silva def. George Mangos by UD
Middleweight: Yuri Panferov def. Christopher Ewert by UD
Miller and Susurkaev were given UFC contracts.
Week 2 results
Featherweight: Jose Delano def. Manuel Exposito by UD
Middleweight: Cam Rowston def. Brandon Holmes by TKO1
Men’s bantamweight: Louis Lee Scott def. Kaushik Saikumar by TKO3
Heavyweight: Josh Hokit def. Guilherme Uriel by TKO2
Featherweight: Ramiro Jimenez def. Tommy Cuozzi by TKO1
Jimenez, Hokit, Scott, Rowston and Delano were given UFC contracts
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
Heavyweight: Guilherme Pat vs. Anthony Guarascio
Featherweight: Cam Teague vs. Lerryan Douglas
Light heavyweight: Felipe Franco vs. Ivan Gnizditskiy
Lightweight: Chasen Blair vs. Samuel Sanches
Women’s flyweight: Shanelle Dyer vs. Carol Foro
Week 6 matchups
TBA
Week 7 matchups
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Week 8 matchups
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Week 9 matchups
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Week 10 matchups
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