Dana White will have a slightly different vantage point when watching live fights this week, mere days after the UFC’s first Sphere event.

Mixed martial arts action returns to the UFC Apex Tuesday for Week 6 of Season 8 of the Contender Series, with all 10 athletes scheduled to compete successfully making weight on Monday.

Bantamweight Aaron Tau is one of three fighters on the card looking to keep his pro MMA record unblemished. New Zealand’s Tau is 6-0 and faces 6-1 American Elijah Smith but the combined record of Tau’s opponents to date is 21-26.

Arthur Lopes is a smaller heavyweight fighter taking a bout against 6-0 Talisson Teixeira, who will have roughly a 40-pound weight advantage on Tuesday. Both men have six pro wins, five of which were via KO/TKO, so the judges are not expected to be required.

Dana White's Contender Series

Watch the newest season of Dana White’s Contender Series Tuesday nights on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+, as fighters look to earn a UFC contract.

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Yura Naito (6-0) faces Ateba Gautier (6-1) in a middleweight bout and Legacy Fighting Alliance veterans Joey Hart and Benjamin Bennett meet at welterweight.

Lightweights Ahmad Hassanzada and Dylan Mantello will both look to make good on their second chance on the Contender Series. Mantello lost in the first round to Kaynan Kruschewsky last year, and Hassanzada lost in the third round to Nazim Sadykhov in 2022. Hassanzada and Mantello are the two most experience fighters scheduled to compete.

Projected bout order and weigh-in results:

-- Aaron Tau (135.5) vs. Elijah Smith (136)

-- Talisson Teixeira (259) vs. Arthur Lopes (218)

-- Joey Hart (170.5) vs. Benjamin Bennett (171)

-- Ateba Gautier (186) vs. Yura Naito (186)

-- Ahmad Hassanzada (154.5) vs. Dylan Mantello (156)

Three unbeaten pros featured on Dana White's Contender Series Week 6

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