“Dana White’s Contender Series” returns for Season 8 on Aug. 13. The show, which has been a pipeline to the UFC for top talent from around the world, has helped the UFC discover some of the best fighters in the sport today including bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.
There are also many top prospects who have found a home in the UFC through the show such as Bo Nickal, Jack Della Maddalena, Payton Talbott, and Jailton Almeida. Will Season 8 of DWCS produce the sport’s next future star?
Here are the fighters to watch, matchups and results from each week:
Laura Sanko’s top fighters to watch
ESPN spoke with UFC analyst Laura Sanko to get a list of the fighters she is most excited to see on this season of DWCS. “There is an emerging theme this year,” Sanko told ESPN. “Many of the fighters a really young, but they appear to be ready for this stage. They pass the eye test more than the fighters in previous years.”
Torrez Finney, middleweight
Record: 8-0
Age: 25
Fighting out of: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Finney fought on DWCS last season, winning via second-round submission, but he wasn’t awarded a contract. It seemed like UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Mick Maynard wanted him to get a little more experience. Though he won by submission in Season 7, Finney’s background is in wrestling, he was a three-time Tennessee state wrestling champion and a former all-conference fullback at the University of Tennesee Chattanooga. Finney is an absolute powerhouse, and despite his size, he never seems to slow down inside the cage.
Gauge Young, lightweight
Record: 8-1
Age: 24
Fighting out of: Kansas City, Missouri
Young is only 24 years old, but he’s super polished. He started his career as a grappler, but in his last few fights, he has dialed it in on the feet. He’s not a heavy puncher, he’s more of a sniper. Young trains at Ignite Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Academy with former UFC fighters Zac Cummings and Jason High.
Austin Bashi, featherweight
Record: 12-0
Age: 22
Fighting out of: West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Bashi is one of the best prospects in all of MMA. He enters DWCS Season 8 having finished each of his last four opponents (three submissions, one KO). He has a wrestling background, but he has striking that his opponent has to respect. Despite his age, Bashi has already faced and beaten high-level competition. Just two fights ago, he submitted Askar Askar another highly-touted prospect. Bashi has what it takes to be a champion one day.
Artem Vakhitov, light heavyweight
Record: 2-1
Age: 33
Fighting out of: Prokopyevsk, Russia
Vakhitov has little professional MMA experience, but he is a former Glory kickboxing champion. Most notably, Vakhitov was the last guy to beat UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira in kickboxing. And that’s why he’s making this move, he’s coming for Pereira.
How to watch the fights
Watch “Dana White’s Contender Series” on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers stats and analysis for every UFC and DWCS card.
‘Dana White’s Contender Series’ matchups and results:
Week 1 results:
Welterweight: Rami Hamed def. Ding Meng by unanimous decision
*Featherweight: Jose Delgado def. Ernie Juarez by KO1
*Men’s flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho by KO1
*Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wesley Schultz by TKO2
*Light heavyweight: Bruno Lopes def. Mikheil Sazhiniani by TKO2
*Kavanagh, Delgado, Lopes and Abdul-Malik were each awarded a UFC contract
Week 2 matchups:
Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson vs. Pat Pytlik
Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev vs. Hugo Cunha
Men’s bantamweight: Cortavious Romious vs. Michael Imperato
Middleweight: Cameron Rowston vs. Torrez Finney
Men’s bantamweight: Billy Brand vs. Cody Haddon
Week 3 matchups:
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad vs. Michael Aswell
Men’s bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Adam Bramhald
Men’s flyweight: Jack Duffy vs. Jose Ochoa
Middleweight: Andrey Pulyaev vs. Liam Anderson
Middleweight: Marco Tulio vs. Matthieu Duclos
Week 4 matchups:
Welterweight: Seok Hyun Ko vs. Igor Cavalcanti
Middleweight: Will Currie vs. Djorden Santos
Featherweight: Austin Bashi vs. Tommy McMillen
Women’s flyweight: Yuneisy Duben vs. Shannon Clark
Lightweight: Gauge Young vs. Quillan Salkilld
Week 5 matchups:
TBA
Week 6 matchups:
TBA
Week 7 matchups:
TBA
Week 8 matchups:
TBA
Week 9 matchups:
TBA
Week 10 matchups:
TBA