Fight fans already have seen a total of eight UFC contracts handed out thus far during Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, but will that average stay level, increase or perhaps decrease after Week 3?
White awarded four fighters a chance at the UFC in each of the first two weeks of DWCS this summer – seven of eight have come thanks to stoppage wins – and 10 more fighters have a shot at impressing the UFC president on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Someone’s “0” will go in the opening bout of the card when 7-0 Jack Duffy faces 6-0 Nick Piccininni at 125 pounds.
Duffy, who has fought only twice in the past five years, was initially slated to face Mitch Raposo, then Jose Ochoa at this event before Piccininni stepped in. More than half of Duffy’s pro wins have come by submission and those grappling skills may come in handy.
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. Five of Piccininni’s six pro MMA wins have been via submission.
Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight Liam Anderson will face Russian finisher Andrey Pulyaev in the featured bout of the night. Anderson is 6-2 with six finishes and coming off an 84-second knockout in February.
Pulyaev, 26, is coming off a 76-second win via punches in February, so matchmakers must feel these two 185-pounders make for an exciting clash of styles.
Bogdan Grad was finished early by Tom Nolan on DWCS 12 months ago and is looking to make good on his second appearance when he faces 23-year-old Michael Aswell in featherweight action. Aswell is 9-1 as a pro with all his fights taking place in Fury FC.
England’s Caged Steel bantamweight champ Adam Bramhald looks to hand American Malcolm Wellmaker his first pro loss. Wellmaker is 7-0 and just like Bramhald he is five-foot-10 and 30 years old.
Marco Tulio won a decision last summer on DWCS but wasn’t awarded a contract. Tulio has fought just once since that victory, winning an LFA contest in his native Brazil. He faces France’s Matthieu Duclos, 6-2 with five wins by KO/TKO.
Every fighter scheduled to compete on Tuesday’s card successfully made weight Monday.
Full DWCS Week 3 fight card and official weigh-in results:
Middleweight: Andrey Pulyaev (185) vs. Liam Anderson (185)
Featherweight: Michael Aswell (145) vs. Bogdan Grad (145.5)
Middleweight: Matthieu Duclos (184) vs. Marco Tulio (185)
Bantamweight: Adam Bramhald (135.5) vs. Malcolm Wellmaker (135.5)
Flyweight: Jack Duffy (125) vs. Nick Piccininni (125)