Dana White left impressed after Season 8 finale of Contender Series 

Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series concluded Tuesday with four more fighters earning UFC contracts.

Among the newest additions to the UFC roster is Australian welterweight Jonathan Micallef who began the night with a first-round submission of Canada’s Mohamed Ado.

Following a couple minutes of back-and-forth scrambling, Micallef locked in a triangle choke he craftily adjusted until Ado could no longer defend and went unconscious.

Micallef had to inform the referee his opponent was out. The 25-year-old now has a 7-1 record after making his pro debut only 16 months ago.

Although dozens of talented fighters ended up showing out on the Contender Series over the past few months, Canadian athletes ended up going a combined 0-6 this season including Ado’s first pro loss.

Middleweight Nick Klein made quick work of Heraldo Souza in the featured bout of the finale episode.

Klein drove Souza to the ground with an early takedown and snatched the neck before putting on a tight squeeze from which his opponent could not escape.

Julieta Martinez would’ve been the youngest woman signed to the UFC roster, but UFC president Dana White balked at giving her a contract after coming out on the right side of an exciting split decision win over decorated Mexican amateur boxer Leslie Hernandez in strawweight action.

Martinez only turned 20 in September but already boasts an 8-0 professional record. The five-foot-one fighter from Argentina has an aggressive taekwondo style, a high ceiling for potential, plus a great nickname “The Ninja Ferret.”

White said following the event he thought the organization would be doing Martinez a huge disservice if they rushed her into the UFC’s 115-pound division right now, so instead they will set her up at the company’s Performance Institute in Mexico as she continues to develop her skill set.

The purpose of the Contender Series is to sign fighters to the UFC roster if they impress the boss. Despite this, White explained after the event he feels Martinez is still too green and undersized to compete at the UFC level.

White gave Cuba’s Yadier DelValle and Brazil’s Antonio Monteiro a standing ovation following their 15-minute featherweight contest DelValle won by sweeping the scorecards.

DelValle out-landed Monteiro by more than 100 strikes and at one point in the middle of an action-packed second round, DelValle spent roughly one full minute spamming left hands, elbows and knees that hurt Monteiro on multiple occasions. 

Flyweight Nick Piccininni defeated Jack Duffy via a narrow split decision back in Week 3, however, White disagreed with the decision so instead of awarding Piccininni a contract for the win he proposed a rematch take place seven weeks later in the finale. Duffy was not able to compete Week 10, so Luis Gurule stepped in on just one week’s notice and ended on the right side of a split decision.

Piccininni, 27, was a three-time Division 1 All-American and a four-time Big 12 champion during his time wrestling at Oklahoma State University and he wasted no time slamming Gurule to the ground in the opening seconds of the fight, yet his frequent takedowns and accumulated control time was not enough to get the win.

Gurule, 30, is now 10-0 and won the Fury FC flyweight title less than one month ago. He was not overwhelmed, stayed poised when he scrambled back to his feet and was the more active and effective striker whenever the two stood at space.

DWCS Season 8, Week 10 Official Results:

-- Nick Klein def. Heraldo Souza by submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:37 of Round 1

-- Luis Gurule def. Nick Piccininni by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

-- Yadier DelValle def. Antônio Monteiro by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

-- Julieta Martinez def. Leslie Hernandez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

-- Jonathan Micallef def. Mohamed Ado by submission at 3:01 of Round 1

UFC contract recipients: Jonathan Micallef, Yadier DelValle, Luis Gurule, Nick Klein