The latest season of Dana White’s Contender Series kicked off with a bizarre, and downright disappointing, night on in Las Vegas.
DWCS began in 2017 and has produced a notable number of fighters currently on the UFC's roster. Since the show's inception in 2017, a couple have even gone on to claim UFC championships. Known as "The ultimate job interview," DWCS features five fights weekly, over the course of 10 weeks, as combatants compete to impress UFC CEO and President Dana White and earn a UFC contract.
Last year's edition saw 42 fighters earn a contract with the world's leading MMA organization across 10 events, slightly down from the 46 handed out in 2023. Episode one of season nine this week saw 2 prospects earn the opportunity to taste the Octagon's bright lights.
The big moments for season nine kicked off (literally and figuratively) with a bang courtesy of Baysangur Susurkaev. Susurkaev delivered an impressive body kick that dropped Murtaza Talha, scoring a walk-off KO just three minutes into the bout.
Ty Miller would then follow up with a strong performance, thanks to his advanced boxing skills, to sweep the scorecards against Jimmy Drago and earn his own Octagon deal.
The featured fight of the evening at middleweight saw Ilian Bouafia defeat Neemias Santana via a controversial decision. Bouafia was hit with an intentional headbutt early on in the fight, resulting in a timeout and what could have been a DQ finish. Bouafia fought on, with Santana receiving a one-point deduction, but the fight was lackluster. Though commentary (among pundits), as well as White himself, believed the fight was a draw, Bouafia came away with a unanimous decision.
Needless to say, Bouafia did not earn a contract.
The night began with Yuri Panferov besting Chris Ewert by decision. Panferov managed to outwork Ewert with powerful strikes and eight minutes of control time on the ground, but it wasn't enough for a deal.
Radley Da Silva followed up with a grappling-heavy victory over George Mangos, but it also wasn't enough to impress the UFC boss.