Dana White's Contender Series Season 8 Week 1: Fighter Background/Betting Tips
Dana White's Contender Series will begin its eighth season on Tuesday, August 13, and run for ten weeks. Fighters will compete at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas to earn a UFC contract.
DWCS has given out 245 contracts since its first season in 2017, producing two UFC champions with current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley and former UFC Light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. The talent range has significantly increased between the first and most recent seasons. The first season saw 16 UFC contracts earned compared to 46 contracts in 2023.
This week's event consists of five fights in five weight classes: flyweight, featherweight, welterweight, middleweight, & light heavyweight.
An Tuan Ho vs Lone'er Kavanagh
The first fight on the card will be between two undefeated flyweights with 6-0 records An Tuan Ho and Lone'er Kavanagh. Kavanagh is 25, fighting out of Great Britain Top Team in London, England. Ho is 23, hails from Vietnam but now resides & trains at MMA Lab in Arizona. Both guys have three knockouts, two decisions, and one submission. Kavanagh's most recent win was in Cage Warriors, while Ho's came in LFA; two very competitive regional MMA organizations.
Considering how similar both men's produced results have been up to this point, it is worth looking into the experience advantage. Of Kavanagh's last five opponents, only one was not undefeated going in, the betting pick is Kavanagh to win by decision.
Jose Delgado vs Ernie Juarez
The next fight was originally supposed to be between featherweights Icaro Brito and Ernie Juarez. Visa issues forced Brito out with his replacement being Jose Miguel Delgado. Delgado is a Yuma Arizona native, who like An Tuan Ho trains at MMA Lab in Phoenix. Delgado has a record of 7-1 with four submissions and three knockouts, his most recent being a knockout at LFA 188. Juarez is from New Jersey, but now resides and fights out of Gracie Fighter Stockton, in Stockton California. He is undefeated at 8-0 record with four decisions, two decisions, and 2 knockouts finding success within Urijah Fabers A1 Combat.
Despite being undefeated, Juarez is a betting underdog. The opponent change means Juarez needs a new game plan for Delgado with less time to prepare. Delgado accepted the replacement opportunity and is actively competing and winning. The pick for this fight is Jose Delgado by decision.
Mikhail Sazhiniani vs Bruno Lopes
A light heavyweight scrap between Mikhail Sazhiniani and Bruno Lopes is next. The 27-year-old Sazhiniani hails from Georgia and trains under Spitfire Gym Berlin. He became the Georgia Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion in his last outing scoring a first-round knockout. With a record of 13-2, 12 wins are by knockout and one decision, and he is currently on a six-fight winning streak. His two career losses are by knockout and submission. The 31-year-old Lopes fights out of Brazil and trains under China Team. He has a 12-1 record with five submission wins, five knockouts, and one decision with his only loss being against Brendson Ribiero on a DWCS fight card in 2023. He is coming off a second-round submission where he won the LFA light heavyweight championship.
Lopes is a betting favorite going into this fight but Sazhiniani is a live underdog considering his high finish rate. The pick is Lopes to win by submission but Sazhiniani by knockout is a real possibility also.
Meng Ding vs Rami Hamed
Next is a welterweight fight between Meng Ding and Rami Hamed. Hamed is replacing Islam Dulatov on short notice. Both fighters bring a wealth of experience to this match-up. Hailing from China, Ding is 29 years old with a record 34-8 and fights out of Daqin Martial Arts. Having competed in ONE Championship previously, his most recent success has been found in the JCK organization. Of his eight losses, two have been by knockout, four by submission, and two by decision. Hailing from Lebanon, Hamed is 33 years old with a record of 12-3, eight knockouts, two submissions, and one decision. A professional since 2015 representing MMA Masters, Hamed has found most recent success under Titan FC. All three of Hamed's losses are by submission.
Ding is the favorite which is warranted considering the experience advantage, stylistic matchup, and significant height and reach advantage in favor of Meng Ding. The pick is Meng Ding to win by knockout.
Mansur Abdul Malik vs Wes Schultz
The main event for the first DWCS card is a middleweight matchup between Mansur Abdul Malik and Wes Schultz. Abdul-Malik is 26 with a 5-0 record with four of his wins coming by knockout and one by submission. None of Abdul-Malik's fights have made it out of the first round, with his most recent win being a knockout in under two minutes at LFA 176. Abdul-Malik trains at MMA Masters alongside Rami Hamed. Schultz is 28 with a 6-1 record with two knockouts, three submissions and one decision. The only loss of Schultz's career is to DWCS alumni Dylan Budka with Schultz since accumulating a three-fight win streak each by first-round stoppage.
Abdul-Malik is the favorite despite never going past the first round. Considering the high finishing rate and low total fight time, Abdul-Malik as a favorite is logical. But if this fight goes into the second round it could begin to change. The safe bet is Abdul-Malik by knockout, but in the event of getting into the latter stages, Schultz is certainly a live betting underdog.
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