Season 8 of Dana White's Contender Series continues to deliver at the highest level, with yet another four contracts being awarded on week three of the show.
For the third consecutive week, four of the five winners on the night earned their UFC contracts, taking this season's haul of athletes to 12, so far.
The opening bout of the night was very much a wrestler vs. striker affair, with Jack Duffy undoubtedly doing more damage on the feet, whereas Nick Piccininni was the more offensive in the wrestling department. The judges split as the bout went to the scorecards, with Piccininni defeat Duffy by way of split decision. Following the contest, White took to the microphone and explained that he felt that the decision was wrong, and that Duffy should have been the victor and in order to try and rectify this, he has booked a rematch between the two for week 10 of the current season.
Malcolm Wellmaker delivered the stoppage of the night with a first round walk away knock out over Adam Bramheld. After utilising the jab early on to keep Bramheld at bay, the undefeated American waited until he saw the Brit commit to a shot, switched his stance and landed a huge right hand that send Bramheld crashing to the mat and the referee instantly stepping in. Now 8-0, Wellmaker impressed the UFC bosses and was awarded a contract.
In his return to the Contender Series, Marco Tulio claimed a bit of history with the first spinning back kick finish on the show. In his maiden appearance, the Brazilian earned a decision win, but it was not enough to earn a contract but the stoppage over Matthieu Duclos was certainly enough. The first round saw both men commit to some big attacks with Tulio’s, unorthodox at times, advances leading to openings for Duclos. In what could have been initial nerves, the Brazilian came out a lot more measured and launched the fight ending spinning back kick to the liver and the bout was over.
Both Bodgan Grad and Michael Aswell showed exactly what it would mean to earn a UFC contract by going to war over 15 minutes in a contest White would exclaim was ‘one of the best fights ever in the history of the Contender Series.’ It was Aswell who established a foothold in the contest, with Grad taking his time to find his range and rhythm but once he did, fans had an instant Contender Series classic on their hands. Just before the end of an equally entertaining second round, a huge cut opened above the eye of Aswell, but he was cleared to continue and the pair picked up where they left off in the third. For the second time, the judges were split in their decision, with Grad getting the nod by way of 29-28,28-29,30-27 scorecards and he secured his UFC contract in the process. The fight earned both men their show and win money as well as a bonus and Aswell was told that once he heals up, if anyone falls out of a card, Sean Shebly will be signing him straight into the UFC.
The main event of the night saw Andrey Pulyaev negate early wrestling danger from Liam Anderson to earn a unanimous decision win. Anderson was keen to get the fight to the mat in the opening round but the Russian done a sterling job of keeping the contest on its feet and using long, rangy kicks to prevent Anderson from launching more wrestling offence. Pulyaev grew more and more into the bout as it waded on, with his standup ultimately proving to be too much for Anderson.
Find the full Season 8, Week 3 results and list of contract winners below:
Malcolm Wellmaker
Marco Tulio
Bogdan Grad
Andrey Pulyaev
Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 3 Results
- Andrey Pulyaev defeats Liam Anderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bogdan Grad (29-28, 30-27) defeats Michael Aswell via split decision (29-28)
- Marco Tulio defeats Matthieu Duclos via TKO at 2:38 of the second round
- Malcolm Wellmaker defeats Adam Bramhald via knockout at 2:29 of the first round
- Nick Piccininni (29-28, 29-28) defeats Jack Duffy via split decision (29-28)
