Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series returns tonight (August 13) with the next set of hopefuls looking to impress the UFC bosses and earn an all-important contract.
The show has had many a star sign with the promotion over the last few years, with the likes of Brendan Allen, Jamahal Hill, Jack Della Maddalena, Bo Nickal, Joe Pyfer and current UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley all earning their shot in the UFC on the back of impressive performances on the Contender Series.
Opening the inaugural card of the season, Cage Warriors standout Lone’er Kavanagh will take on LFA prospect An Tuan Ho. Both men hold identical 6-0 professional records and have had similar runs under their respective promotions. Kavanagh made his debut in 2019 but after two bouts, had a three-year hiatus. When he returned in 2022, the Great Britain Top Team Man signed with Cage Warriors and very quickly became a fan favourite due to his exciting striking style. He then competed three more times and was considered the number 1 contender set to face Cage Warriors Flyweight champion Shaj Haque but the opportunity to compete on the Contender Series came first.
Ho has only fought professional for 18 months. Much like Kavanagh, ‘The Highlight’ is extremely well known for his elusive and impressive striking game, with three of his six wins coming by way of strikes. In his most recent contest, Ho faced Miguel Sanson and although was taken to the decision for only the second time in his career, Ho cruised to a unanimous decision win. In their 12 wins, the pair have only saw the scorecards 4 times.
Jose Miguel Delgado and Ernie Juarez will then square off in a Featherweight contest. Having largely competed in and around Arizona thus far, Delgado will make the trip to Vegas looking to earn his spot on the UFC roster. Activity has been key for Delgado, especially in 2024. The Contender Series bout will be the fourth time he has competed this year, having already picked up one submission win and two stoppages by way of strikes. Juarez has been a regularly feature on Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat, having fought 5 times in the last 17 months. The 26-year-old is currently undefeated, with a record of 8-0, which includes four stoppages and four decision wins.
Bruno Lopes gets a rare second opportunity to earn a UFC contract when he steps in against Mikheil Sazhiniani. Lopes competed on last year’s Contender Series when he came up against fellow Brazilian Brendson Ribeiro. Ribeiro stopped Lopes in the very first round but ‘Brunao’ returns tonight looking to right the wrongs of his first appearance. Georgian MMA is at an all-time high, with Sazhiniani hoping to join the likes of Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili as Georgian athletes signed to the UFC roster. The Light Heavyweights have 22 stoppages between them, with 15 of them coming in the very first round.
At only 29, Meng Ding will make the walk to the cage for an astonishing 43rd time when he faces Rami Hamed tonight. ‘The Ruthless Assassin’ made his professional debut in 2015 and has spent a large majority of his career competing under the Chinese MMA Super League and Jue Cheng King MMA promotions. In his most recent outing, Ding claimed the JCK Welterweight title against Kuerbanjiang Tuluosibake. Hamed enters the bout on riding a four fight win streak but has not competed since December 2022.
The evening’s main event will see Mansur Abdul-Malik and Wes Schultz fight it out at Middleweight. Abdul-Malik is yet to see the second round as a professional, having racked up one submission win and four striking wins in his five professional bouts. Schultz is no stranger to first round finishes himself, with 4 of his 6 wins coming within the first five minutes. Like so many on the current UFC roster, Shultz’s call up to the Contender Series came following a successful spell on LFA, where is has earned two victories since the turn of the year.
