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It was another night of great fights and performances for the final episode of Contender Series.

On Tuesday night, the tenth and final episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White handed out four more contracts, plus one special accommodation for a fighter to keep developing and join the UFC later on.

The biggest performance of the evening was in the main event as Nick Klein ran roughshod over Heraldo Souza to score a 37-second stoppage and a UFC contract, but a number of other great performances were also rewarded.

With these new additions, that’s 42 total contracts handed out this season on Contender Series, with potentially a few other additions as well.

Klein runs over Souza

In the main event of the evening, Nick Klein ran over Heraldo Souza, scoring a quick rear-naked choke to earn his way into the UFC.

Klein was a slight underdog heading into the bout but didn’t at all look like it as he almost immediately scored a takedown and locked in a rear-naked choke without hooks. As Souza scrambled to defend, Klein was able to work his hooks in, and fully commit to the choke with Souza flattened out beneath him. After that, it didn’t take long for Souza to tap, just 37 seconds into the bout, and earn Klein his third straight submission finish.

Gurule outlasts Piccininni

In the co-main event of the evening, Luis Gurule took home a hard-fought split decision over Nick Piccininni, plus a UFC contract.

This was Piccininni’s second stint on Contender Series, having won a split decision over Jack Duffy on Week 3 that left Dana White wanting. And early on it looked like he might impress as the former three time D-1 All-American wrestler scored an early takedown and backmount. Gurule survived though and scrambled to his feet where he began to put an impressive pace on Piccininni with combination striking, while defending most of Piccininni’s attempts to wrestle.

It was a back-and-forth battle but in the end Gurule landed the more effective strikes over the course of the bout and left Piccininni on the wrong side of a split decision. Gurule is also one of Brandon Royval’s cornermen and was only in the fight as a short-notice replacement, which earned him White’s respect and a UFC contract.

DelValle dominates Monteiro

In the third fight of the evening, Yadier DelValle put a thrilling beating on Antonio Monteiro, winning a big unanimous decision in one of the best fights of this season.

Monteiro was game throughout the contest, but from the opening bell DelValle attacked him with pressure and pace. The most impactful round was the second where DelValle clubbed Monteiro around the cage and looked close to a finish but the Brazilian fighter survived the onslaught and event came back to have his own success late in the round. The third was more of the same though as these two went back-and-forth with DelValle consistently getting the better of it.

In the end, DelValle won the bout 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 and his dominant performance earned him a UFC contract.

Martinez outworks Hernandez

In the second fight of the evening, Julieta Martinez outworked Leslie Hernandez to claim a split decision.

Martinez showed a well-rounded game for all five rounds, landing big strikes on the feet, including a terrific flying knee and head kick, while also scoring takedowns and good work on the ground. In the end, one judge surprisingly scored it for Hernandez but Martinez took the other two and a split decision win.

Despite the win, Dana White did not offer Martinez a contract, telling her she has a bright future in the sport but that the 20-year-old is too young right now, instead offering to keep her training with the UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City until they bring her along later.

Micallef sleeps Ado

In the opening bout of the evening, Jonathan Micallef pulled off a quick submission of Mohamed Ado to earn his spot in the UFC.

Ado started off strong, even threatening Micallef with a power guillotine early in the round. However, Micallef was able to reverse position and quickly move to mount. From there Ado tried to scramble but fell right into Micallef’s triangle. Micallef rolled to his back and locked the choke in and when Ado refused to tap, the Canadian fighter ultimately went to sleep.

Check out the full results below.

Nick Klein def. Heraldo Souza via submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 0:37

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

Yadier DelValle def. Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

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

Jonathan Micallef def. Mohamed Ado via submission (triangle choke) — R1, 3:01

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Dana White does not like the idea of Donald Cerrone coming out of retirement.

On Tuesday, “Cowboy” Cerrone announced that he intends to end his retirement and return to the UFC for two more fights. The 41-year-old’s announcement was mostly met with enthusiasm from fans and fellow fighters, but the UFC CEO was not among them. In fact, White was unequivocal in his dislike for Cerrone coming back to MMA.

“I hate it. I hate it,” White said at his post-Contender Series media scrum on Tuesday. “Love him, hate that.

“He retired. For what? What’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. I hate it. When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They don’t just retire because — they retire because they know it’s over. They know it is.

“Not just this sport but any professional sport, is hard to walk away from. Not just the money — that’s obviously a very hard part of it — but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage and the place is packed. Look at every time we’re at a show and we show Cowboy Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts. He’s beloved. He’s beloved because the guy goes to war, and he’s been in wars for years, and it’s time to not go to war anymore. There’s nothing left to prove for him.”

Cerrone is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history, with a number of promotional records to his name. After retiring from the sport in 2022, he was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023 in the Modern wing. However, the end of Cerrone’s career left much to be desired as he lost six of his final seven fights, with only a No-Contest in between the losses.

White isn’t sure exactly why Cerrone wants to return but if it’s a matter of money, White says they can always figure something else out.

“I’d rather work something else out with him, figure out another way,” White said. “If it’s about money, then he can do something else. Because he ain’t going to fight for the rest of his life and he’s always going to need to make money. So let’s figure that out now instead of three years from now.”

Based on Cerrone’s statements though, it doesn’t seem like money is the primary motivator. “Cowboy” currently has 48 fights in his career in either the UFC or WEC, and explicitly noted he’d like to make it to 50.

But White appears to be more concerned with Cerrone’s longterm health than anything else, and it doesn’t seem like “Cowboy” will get his wish unless he can change White’s mind.

“Cerrone shouldn’t think about fighting again,” White said. “Cerrone needs to think about what’s next. He should have been thinking about it two years ago but apparently he didn’t, and he needs to. But we’re here for him. We love Cerrone. We’ll help in any way we can. I don’t want to see him get punched in the face anymore.”

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DUI
| BJPenn.com

It’s that time!

Season eight of Contender Series has finally come to an end. Goodbye Tuesday mixed martial arts (MMA) action. Week 10 goes down tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, in front of UFC CEO, Dana White, and his cadre of matchmakers.

As has become standard for the program of late, four out of five fighters earned UFC contracts last week.

In the main event this evening, Nick Klein (5-1) steps up on a week’s notice to fight Brazil’s Heraldo Souza (9-1-1). In the co-main event, Oklahoma State wrestling stud Nick Piccininni (7-0) returns after competing in week three to take on Luis Gurule (9-0), who also is fighting on a week’s notice. The “Featured” bout sees Lightweights clash as Cuba’s Yadier DelValle (7-0) fights Antonio Monteiro (17-4-1). 20-year-old Julieta Martinez (7-0) takes on “Dora the Destroyer” Leslie Hernandez (4-1). Welterweights kick off the card as Mohamed Ado (5-1) fights Jonathan Micallef (6-1).

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Nick Klein vs. Heraldo Souza
Luis Gurule defeats Nick Piccininni via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Yadier DelValle defeats Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision (30x27x2, 30×26)
Julieta Martinez defeats Leslie Hernandez via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Jonathan Micallef defeats Mohamed Ado via submission Round 1, 3:01

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

185 lbs.: Nick Klein vs. Heraldo Souza
125 lbs.: Luis Gurule defeats Nick Piccininni via split decision

155 lbs.: Yadier DelValle defeats Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision

115 lbs.: Julieta Martinez defeats Leslie Hernandez via split decision

170 lbs.: Jonathan Micallef defeats Mohamed Ado via submission

For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.

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Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen was less than two weeks away from a title defense against Fabian Edwards when he got word that his fight was being moved.

Just 11 days before the Bellator London card took place, Eblen’s fight with Edwards was suddenly removed from the event and eventually rescheduled for the PFL pay-per-view show on Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia. No explanation was given and even Eblen admits he was never told why the change was made.

“They just moved the fight,” Eblen told MMA Fighting. “Not sure exactly what happened. I was prepared to fight in London and I was actually pretty excited for it. But you know they moved it, I’m a company man so I did what they wanted me to do. They took care of me though, so there’s no issue and now I’m ready to go fight in Saudi Arabia.”

When it comes to PFL taking care of him, Eblen didn’t disclose if that meant a payout for the disruption to his training camp but whatever happened, he was satisfied enough to roll with the punches.

While he was focused on peaking for the event on Sept. 14, Eblen ultimately shut down his training to rest his body and then pick back up again to prepare for Oct. 19 instead.

“It changed a lot,” Eblen said about his training camp. “Like I said, they took care of me. I’m not having any issues with it. I took a couple of weeks off, did some light training and then I’m going to peak again [Oct. 19] and I leave in two and a half [weeks].

“I’m in shape. Just took some time off sparring, got back into sparring this week. Just going to do a small little camp before I go back out.”

The change also affected plans that Eblen had with friends and family traveling to see him fight.

He revealed that a large group of supporters were set to attend the Bellator London card but that’s no longer the case with his title defense now taking place in Saudi Arabia.

That inconvenience may have actually served as a bigger annoyance than the interruption to his training camp but Eblen knows the crowd, his friends and family in attendance or the amount of travel involved going to the event don’t matter as much as going out and winning when it actually comes time to fight.

“I’ve already been to Saudi Arabia,” Eblen explained. “There’s just not as much to do afterwards. Less people are likely to go just because it’s so much further. London, I had a big group going. It would have been fun to hang out with them after. Saudi’s a little bit different story. Less people are going to show up to that one but it is what it is. No big deal.

“I’ve been to Saudi before, I really enjoy it. They have great hospitality. I liked fighting there last time. I don’t care [if I’m not the main event]. I get paid the same. No big deal to me.”

When it comes to his opposition, Eblen is actually facing Edwards in a rematch after they just fought back in September 2023. On that night, Eblen scored a third round knockout with both fighters picking up a single win since that encounter.

A second fight coming together so quickly probably seems odd but Eblen wasn’t totally shocked when Edwards was presented as his next opponent.

“I mean there’s nobody else really,” Eblen said. “It’s kind of the problem of Bellator at the moment and even PFL, they don’t really recruit middleweights because they don’t have a middleweight division. It is what it is.”

As far as running it back with someone he just knocked out a year ago, Eblen doesn’t look at the rematch as a potential stumbling block just because he already has a win over Edwards.

Instead, Eblen prefers to keep the focus on himself and the person standing across from him when the fight starts doesn’t really matter much in the end.

“I already beat him,” Eblen said. “I don’t really think about that. I just think about getting better. I’m not really worried about the people I fight.

“They’re just going to put somebody in front of me and that’s the person that I’ve got to fight, regardless of who it is, whether it’s a person I’ve already fought or somebody I’ve never fought. I just do my job. As long as the check clears, I’m good.”

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Mike Perry got himself into trouble when he was arrested in Clermont, Florida, on October 12 for multiple offenses.

According to a recent report by MMA Fighting, information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that “Platinum” was apprehended and processed by Clermont Police officers early Saturday morning at 1:04 AM EST. He is currently facing charges of driving under the influence (DUI) and refusing to sign a citation that mandates a court appearance, both classified as second-degree misdemeanors in the county. 

As per the report, Perry declined to undergo a roadside sobriety test after being stopped for exceeding the speed limit by about 20 miles per hour. The officer reportedly detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, but the BKFC star repeatedly denied any consumption.

The 33-year-old Michigan native stood firm in his decision despite being warned multiple times that his refusal to comply would result in his arrest, which eventually led to him being handcuffed and taken to the Clermont Police Department for a breath test.

However, “Platinum” was subsequently released on a $ 1,500 bond later that day and was assigned to appear before the Florida court on October 30. If proven guilty, Perry could potentially face a maximum of two months in jail and fines reaching up to $ 500.

The former UFC welterweight fighter is rebounding from a sixth-round knockout defeat to Jake Paul this past July. Aside from that setback, Perry is thriving in his bare-knuckle fighting career under the BKFC banner. He is currently riding a five-fight unbeaten streak and boasts victories over notable former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold.

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• Read More: Jake Paul Reveals Verbal Agreement With Mike Perry To Rematch In PFL, Dirty Boxing Down The Line

Continue Reading Mike Perry Arrested For DUI and Citation Refusal in Florida at MMA News.

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