Dana White's Contender Series key numbers, best prospects from Season 8

Dana White’s Contender Series wrapped up its eighth season this week, and just like in previous years, it was a mid-week outlet for fight fans and a useful tool for the UFC to help supplement its roster.

“If you look at the past as far as what the show has accomplished as far as world champions and top-10 ranked fighters, it’s a testament to how good this show really is,” the UFC president said Tuesday night following the season finale.

Of the dozens of UFC contracts that were awarded this season, not all will be created equal – figuratively speaking at least. Some of the fighters who impressed the boss will have short-lived and forgettable UFC stints, while others who went unsigned will eventually sign with the UFC and carve out decent careers.

Eventual UFC titleholders like Sean O'Malley and Jamahal Hill got their start through DWCS. Plus, just look at the following eclectic sample of other stars and rising contenders that have emerged from the show in recent years: Bo Nickal, Maycee Barber, Jack Della Maddalena, Caio Borralho, Carlos Ulberg, Azamat Murzakanov, Anthony Hernandez, Payton Talbott, Grant Dawson, Johnny Walker, Joe Pyfer, Tracy Cortez, Raul Rosas Jr., Mike Malott and Jasmine Jasudavicius.

Season 8 had plenty of standout performances, so below are the final key numbers plus a subjective list of the top eight prospects to emerge from this year’s crop of talent.

Total Fights: 49
Athletes: 98
UFC Contracts Awarded: 42
Wins by Decisions: 12 unanimous, 6 split
Wins by Knockout/TKO: 22 (fastest KO: Yuneisy Duben, 73 seconds in Week 4)
Wins by Submission: 9 (fastest sub: Nick Klein, 37 seconds in Week 10)

THE ELITE EIGHT

1. Jacobe Smith, 28, Welterweight, Week 8: Fighters in the 170-pound division were put on notice when Smith debuted on DWCS. He has an All-American calibre wrestling base and keeps adding to his MMA skill set each time out. He already looks like a future title contender who could beat some established names in the division.

2. Lone'er Kavanagh, 25, Flyweight, Week 1: The former world champion kickboxer from England scored an incredible first-round step-in left hook knockout over An Tuan Ho that White called “one of the nastiest knockouts we’ve ever seen on the show.” Kavanagh is a 7-0 Cage Warriors veteran out of the respected Great Britain Top Team. A high-ceiling prospect in the 125-pound division.

3. Navajo Stirling, 26, Light Heavyweight, Week 5: It is no fluke he’s already in the UFC at just 5-0. Stirling is an example of iron sharpens iron as he trains with the City Kickboxing team in New Zealand alongside Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and fellow 205-pound DWCS alumnus Carlos Ulberg. In a division that lacks depth, it’s conceivable he could quickly work his way into the rankings. The fighter he beat, Phil Latu, is a dangerous striker and a game opponent who might also get a shot in the UFC one day but Stirling landed a picture-perfect left hook to get the highlight KO. Stirling’s UFC debut has been booked for Dec. 14 against Tuco Tokkos.

4. Austin Bashi, 22, Featherweight, Week 4: Considered one of the top young prospects in the entire sport, Bashi is already 13-0 as a pro despite his age and he showed why in his submission win over Dorian Ramos. Physically powerful with fight IQ beyond his years, there’s plenty to build off for this 145-pound prospect.

5. Islam Dulatov, 26, Welterweight, Week 9: The fighter from Germany is 11-1 with a 100 per cent finishing rate. His hellacious elbow knockout of Vanilto Antunes was one of the highlights of the season and there’s no shortage of intriguing matchups to make with this rising 170-pounder.

6. Cody Haddon, 26, Bantamweight, Week 2: Australia’s Haddon is already 1-0 in the UFC after picking up a win earlier this month just two months after earning a contract through DWCS with a three-minute submission of Billy Brand. Haddon is 8-1 and his lone loss was a close 2021 decision to fellow Aussie and recent UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg.

7. Kevin Vallejos, 22, Featherweight, Week 7: Argentina is producing quality fighters at a rapid rate these days, and you can add Vallejos to that list. His fast and accurate hands helped him secure a quick finish and a UFC contract.

8. Malcolm Wellmaker, 30, Bantamweight, Week 3: Wellmaker had one of the cleanest knockouts of the season when he slept Adam Bramhald with a beautiful counter right hand after establishing a stiff, educated jab. The well-roundedness of his game still needs to be tested by a seasoned opponent, but Wellmaker certainly looked ready to step into the deep waters at 135 pounds.

Honourable mentions: Elijah Smith, Ateba Gautier, Luis Gurule, Artem Vakhitov, Kody Steele, Jonathan Micallef, Talisson Teixeira, Andreas Gustafsson, Diyar Nurgozhay, Julieta Martinez, Jack Duffy

DWCS SEASON 8 OFFICIAL WEEK-BY-WEEK RESULTS:

WEEK 1
— Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wes Schultz via technical knockout at 3:55 of Round 2
— Rami Hamed def. Meng Ding via unanimous decision (30–26, 29–27, 29–27)
— Bruno Lopes def. Mikheil Sazhiniani via technical knockout at 4:14 of Round 2
— Jose Degaldo def. Ernie Juarez via knockout 1:25 of Round 2
— Lone'er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho via knockout at 2:35 of Round 1
UFC contract recipients: Mansur Abdul-Malik, Lone'er Kavanagh, Jose Degaldo, Bruno Lopes

WEEK 2
— Andreas Gustafsson def. Pat Pytlik via technical knockout at 3:20 of Round 2
— Rizvan Kuniev def. Hugo Cunha via technical knockout at 4:59 of Round 1
— Cortavious Romious def. Michael Imperato via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
— Torrez Finney def. Cam Rowston via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
— Cody Haddon def. Billy Brand via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:09 of Round 1
UFC contract recipients: Cody Haddon, Cortavious Romious, Rizvan Kuniev, Andreas Gustafsson

WEEK 3
— Andrey Pulyaev def. Liam Anderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
— Michael Aswell def. Bogdan Grad via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
— Marco Tulio def. Matthieu Duclos at 2:38 of Round 2
— Malcolm Wellmaker def. Adam Bramhald via knockout at 2:29 of Round 1
— Nick Piccininni def. Jack Duffy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
UFC contract recipients: Malcolm Wellmaker, Marco Tulio, Bogdan Grad, Andrey Pulyaev

WEEK 4
— Seok Hyeon Ko def. Igor Cavalcanti via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
— Djorden Santos def. Will Currie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
— Austin Bashi def. Dorian Ramos via submission (rear-naked choke) 3:15 Round 2
— Yuneisy Duben def. Shannon Clark via knockout at 1:13 of Round 1 
— Quillan Salkilld def. Gauge Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC contract recipients: Yuneisy Duben, Quillan Salkilld, Austin Bashi, Djorden Santos, Seok Hyeon Ko

WEEK 5
— Navajo Stirling def. Phil Latu via knockout at 2:21 of Round 2
— Yousri Belgaroui def. Taiga Iwasaki via technical knockout at 2:34 of Round 3
— Quemuel Ottoni vs. Kody Steele cancelled (Ottoni withdrew)
— Josias Musasa vs Otari Tanzilovi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
— Nicole Caliari def. Corinne LaFramboise via submission (armbar) at 4:45 of Round 1
UFC contract recipients: Navajo Stirling, Josias Musasa, Nicole Caliari

WEEK 6
— Elijah Smith def. Aaron Tau via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
— Talisson Teixeira def. Arthur Lopes via knockout at 1:57 of Round 1
— Benjamin Bennett def. Joey Hart via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
— Ateba Gautier def. Yura Naito via technical knockout at 4:00 of Round 2
— Ahmad Hassanzada def. Dylan Mantello via submission (rear-naked choke at 2:41 of Round 3
UFC contract recipients: Talisson Teixeira, Ateba Gautier, Elijah Smith, Ahmad Hassanzada

WEEK 7
— Danylo Voievodkin def. Bailey Schoenfelder via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:13 of Round 1
— Daniel Frunza def. Vadim Kutsyi via TKO at 3:30 of Round 2
— Kevin Christian def. Francesco Mazzeo via submission (triangle-armbar) at 4:17 of Round 2
— Kevin Vallejos def. Cam Teague via TKO at 2:23 of Round 1
— Alexia Thainara def. Rose Conceicao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
UFC contract recipients: Danylo Voievodkin, Kevin Vallejos, Daniel Frunza, Kevin Christian, Alexia Thainara

WEEK 8
— Diyar Nurgozhay def. Bartosz Szewczyk by knockout at 3:32 of Round 2
— Alberto Montes def. Carlos Calderon by submission (anaconda choke) at 2:38 of Round 2
— David Martinez def. Xavier Franklin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 
— Torrez Finney def. Abdellah Er-Ramy by technical knockout at 4:10 of Round 1
— Jacobe Smith def. Christien Savoie by technical knockout at 2:55 of Round 2
UFC contract recipients: Jacobe Smith, Torrez Finney, David Martinez, Alberto Montes, Diyar Nurgozhay

WEEK 9
— Artem Vakhitov def. Islem Masraf by technical knockout at 4:23 of Round 1
— Kody Steele def. Chasen Blair by knockout 4:07 of Round 2
— Mario Pinto def. Lucas Camacho by knockout at 1:43 of Round 1
— Islam Dulatov def. Vanilto Antunes by knockout at 2:44 of Round 1
— Sean Gauci def. Anthony Drilich by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC contract recipients: Islam Dulatov, Mario Pinto, Kody Steele, Artem Vakhitov

WEEK 10
— 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