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It’s that time of year again!

Contender Series is back with 10 straight weeks of mixed martial arts (MMA) action. This week’s show starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ for the first two weeks (because of The Ultimate Fighter 32 final episodes), and then things switch back to the usual 8 p.m. ET time slot moving forward.

In the main event, undefeated powerhouse Mansur Abdul Malik (5-0) takes on fellow finisher Wes Schultz (6-1) in a Middleweight matchup. The rest of the card is filled with fun fights as Rami Hamed (12-3) steps up on short notice to fight knockout artist Meng Ding (34-8) in the co-main event. Light Heavyweight sluggers Bruno Lopes (12-1) and Mikheil Sazhiniani (13-2) collide in the featured bout. Jose Delgado (7-1) takes on Ernie Juarez (8-0) in a Featherweight bout. And finally, two of the best Flyweight prospects in the world kick off season eight as An Ho (6-0) takes on England’s Lone’er Kavanagh (6-0).

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Wes Schultz via TKO, Round 2 – 3:55
Rami Hamed defeats Meng Ding via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
Bruno Lopes defeats Mikheil Sazhiniani via TKO (punches) Round 2, 4:14
Jose Delgado defeats Ernie Juarez via knockout (knee) Round 2, 1:25
Lone’er Kavanagh defeats An Ho via knockout (punch) Round 1, 2:35

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

185 lbs: Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Wes Schultz via TKO

170 lbs: Rami Hamed defeats Meng Ding via unanimous decision

205 lbs: Bruno Lopes defeats Mikheil Sazhiniani via TKO (punches)

145 lbs: Jose Delgado defeats Ernie Juarez via knockout (knee)

125 lbs: Lone’er Kavanagh defeats An Ho via knockout (punch)

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A new season of Contender Series is underway and UFC already has four new fighters under contract.

On Tuesday night, season eight of Contender Series kicked off in Las Vegas, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White awarded contracts to Mansour Abdul-Malik, Bruno Lopes, Jose Delgado, and Lone’er Kavanagh, who all picked up big finishes at the UFC APEX.

Abdul-Malik brutalizes Schultz

Abdul-Malik showed why the Xtreme Couture gym is so high on him, as the 26-year-old prospect moved to 6-0 in his career with a brutal stoppage of Wes Schultz in the night’s main event.

Abdul-Malik landed big power punches right from the opening bell, but Schultz’s gameness kept him in the bout and even led to Schultz having impressive moments in the second as he poured out some unorthodox offense that had Abdul-Malik reeling.

Unfortunately, that explosion was the last of his gas tank, and after Abdul-Malik weathered the storm, he turned things around, took the mount, and then finished the bout with some nasty elbows, which earned him a UFC contract.

Hamed outpoints Ding

A former kickboxer, Rami Hamed stepped in on short notice against the most experienced fighter in Contender Series history, Meng Ding, and though he didn’t blow anyone’s socks off, the Lebanese fighter did pick up an important win. Showing shades of Stephen Thompson, Hamed bounced around the cage and outpointed Ding, who couldn’t ever find a rhythm, and even had a point deducted for repeated low blows as he struggled to get to Hamed.

Unfortunately for Hamed, his performance didn’t sway Dana White and he missed out on a contract.

Lopes stops Sazhiniani

Last season, Bruno Lopes entered Contender Series as an undefeated fighter, but less than four minutes later, the Brazilian light heavyweight suffered his first loss against contract winner Brendson Ribeiro. Things were different this time around though, as Lopes overcame a rough start to stop Mikhail Sazhiniani with nasty body shots in the second round of their contest.

Sazhiniani came out strong to start with wild, looping shots that dropped Lopes and put him on the defensive. But in the second round, Lopes hurt Sazhiniani with a knee to the body, and the follow-up shots forced referee Herb Dean to stop the bout and for White to give him a contract.

Jose Delgado ices Ernie Juarez

UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby was high on Jose Delgado as a prospect and everyone saw why on Tuesday night.

Despite taking the fight on short notice, Delgado came out aggressively, putting a strong pace on Juarez with punches, knees, and ground-and-pound. Then, in the second round, Delgado backed Juarez up to the cage and landing a gorgeous stepping knee as Juarez ducked down, immediately slumping his opponent and earning his UFC contract.

Kavanagh delivers dazzling knockout over Ho

Hyped up by Laura Sanko as one of the best prospects she’s ever seen on Contender Series, expectations were sky high for Lone’er Kavanagh, and he somehow exceeded them, scoring a brutal knockout in the first round over fellow undefeated prospect An Tuan Ho.

After a few minutes of feeling each other out, Kavanagh stepped in with a vicious left hook that floored Ho and left him on the canvas for several minutes after the bout. Fortunately, Ho was able to eventually come around and walk out of the cage under his own power, and Kavanagh punched his ticket to the UFC.

Check out DWCS results below.

• Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wes Schultz via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 3:55
• Rami Hamed def. Ding Meng via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
• Bruno Lopes def. Mikhail Sazhiniani via TKO (body punches) — Round 2, 4:14
• Jose Delgado def. Ernie Juarez via knockout — Round 2, 1:25
• Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho via knockout — Round 1, 2:35

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

On the second episode of UFC 305 Embedded, defending champ Dricus du Plessis does a meet and greet with fans in Australia; the City Kickboxing team — including former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, and Kai Kara-France — fly into Perth; Mateusz Gamrot goes for a walk in the woods; Carlos Prates hits the gym; Steve Erceg spends time with his family; Tai Tuivasa puts in work, plus more.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White’s vision for UFC 306 is starting to come to light.

The UFC CEO on Tuesday revealed the first details of his production plan for the Sept. 14 event at Las Vegas’ famed Sphere venue, which White has repeatedly called “a love letter” to Mexican combat sports.

“So what we’ve done, really what we’re going to do on September 14 takes over a year to do. We’re doing it in four months,” White said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. “So, when the show starts, we’re going to have the prelims, and then we’re going to tell — throughout the rest of the night — the history of combat in Mexico, from the beginning of time and into the future. So the first fight of the night will start at the beginning of time, the main event will be the future of Mexico. That’s the first time I’ve ever talked about this.”

UFC 306 features a 10-fight card headlined by two title bouts, as UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley faces Merab Dvalishvili in the main event and UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso puts her belt on the line in a trilogy bout against Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso is the first Mexican UFC women’s champion and her most recent bout against Shevchenko headlined UFC’s inaugural Noche UFC event in September 2023.

The Sphere is a $ 2.3 billion venue that features a 160,000 square-foot 16K-resolution wraparound screen inside and generally seats between 18,000 to 20,000 people. White has touted the pay-per-view show as a one-off, due to it being the most expensive production in promotional history, with more than $ 17 million already spent. However, with the cheapest tickets priced in the thousands, TKO Group Holdings chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer said the event could end up producing the largest live gate in company history.

“Look, we’re bullish,” Schleimer said on an investor call in early August. “We’ve talked obviously about this being a cultural event and Dana has publicly stated how much more [invested UFC is] in this event, and obviously this is going to be a massive spectacle for those in the arena and for those at home.

“On the top side, this will be one of the largest gates if not meaningfully the largest gate that we’ve ever done, and on the cost side, it’s going to be the single largest investment that we’re making in an event. It’s even more expensive than we originally anticipated.”

With a month to go until the big day, White is excited to show off what UFC put together, but also knows he must deliver on the spectacle he’s promised for more than a year.

“Listen, we have to execute, but this thing is going to be — if you are even this much Mexican, you are going to love this event on Mexican Independence Day at the Sphere,” White said. “I guarantee you. It’s so badass.”

UFC 306’s full card lineup can be seen here.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Shot down
| BJPenn.com

Former PFL middleweight Joilton Lutterbach was using performance-enhancing drugs before getting the call to compete against Shara Magomedov as part of the UFC Saudi Arabia fight card last June in Riyadh. The 31 year-old “Peregrino” failed to alert the promotion of his prior steroid use, then flunked his pre-fight drug test administered by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD).

The result was a two-year suspension and pink slip from UFC.

Lutterbach (38-9, 1 NC) tested positive for 3a-Hydroxy-2a-methyl-5a-androstan-17-one, a metabolite of drostanolone (an anabolic steroid), forcing the promotion to pivot and book Magomedov against Brazilian bruiser Antonio Trocoli. “Shara Bullet” went on to win the contest by way of third-round technical knockout, then made a quick turnaround for the UFC on ABC card earlier this month in Abu Dhabi.

Magomedov defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk by unanimous decision.

“Thank you for all the messages of affection during this difficult time, I actually used juice three months ago and had no idea that I would sign with UFC,” Lutterbach wrote on social media. “I could have hidden in the mountains or gone to Thailand to hide as many do and are not tested, but I preferred to take the risk and believe I was clean and fit to fight.”

Lutterbach will be eligible to return on June 23, 2026.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts