The latest episode of Contender Series featured a number of great performances and one unexpected twist.
On Tuesday night, the fifth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after four fights, UFC CEO Dana White awarded three UFC contracts.
However, the biggest story of the evening was that only four fights ended up taking place, instead of the planned five bouts. During the broadcast, the commentary team announced that the planned matchup between Quemuel Ottoni and Kody Steele would no longer take place as Ottoni unexpectedly withdrew from the event, leaving Steele without an opponent.
Steele will now wait to compete on a future episode of Contender Series this season, while the three fighters offered contracts will now make their way to the UFC.
Stirling ices Latu
In the main event of the evening, Navajo Stirling scored the most impressive finish in the evening, starching Phillip Latu with a left hook in the second round and punching his ticket to the UFC.
Fighting out of City Kickboxing, Stirling had plenty of expectations on him coming in and the undefeated prospect showed why, displaying a composure beyond his years and well-rounded skills early as Latu mixed things up with him. Then in the second round, Stirling landed a devastating hook during an exchange that sent Latu sprawling and earned him a glowing review from Dana White, who offered him a contract with the UFC.
Belgaroui scores late finish over Iwasaki
In the penultimate fight of the evening, Yousri Belgaroui turned it on when it mattered to score a third-round TKO victory over Taiga Iwasaki.
After falling short in Contender Series last year, Belgaroui was determined to do better this time around, but the former Glory Kickboxing title challenger had a more difficult time than expected against Iwasaki, who proved extremely game for much of the bout. However, after getting a point deducted in the second round for repeated eye pokes, Belgaroui came out more aggressive in the third round and finally landed a pair of big knees that hurt Iwasaki and brought about the end of the fight.
Unfortunately, the eye pokes and the tough start were not enough to impress Dana White who declined to offer Belgaroui a contract.
Musasa edges out Tanzilov
In the second fight of the evening, Josias Musasa had a hard-fought battle with Otar Tanzilov, doing enough to edge out a split decision and earn a shot in the UFC.
This battle of undefeated fighters was one of the most competitive of the evening as Musasa and Tanzilov went toe-to-toe for 15 full minutes of fast-paced action. Tanzilov scored a number of takedowns in the bout but each time Musasa simply stood back up and went right back to work with his pressure and boxing. In the end, two of the judges felt that was good enough to award him the win.
Caliari submits Laframboise
In the opening bout of the evening, Nicolle Caliari made quick work of Corinne Laframboise to earn her way into the UFC.
A former karate world champion, Caliari is best known for her striking skills, but it was her grappling that made the difference on Tuesday as Caliari came out and looked to use her wrestling right from the start, scoring takedowns on the Canadian fighter. Laframboise used this opportunity to get into grappling exchanges and ultimately got Caliari down but that’s when things went wrong for her as Caliari rolled up an armbar that got a first round submission and a UFC contract.
Check out the DWCS results below.
Navajo Stirling def. Phil Latu via knockout (punch) — Round 2, 2:21
Yousri Belgaroui def. Taiga Iwasaki via TKO (knee and punches) — Round 3, 2:34
Josias Musasa def. Otari Tanzilovi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Nicolle Caliari def. Corinne Laframboise via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 4:45