So far, 12 contracts have been handed out on Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series- 10 more athletes enter the cage tonight looking to add themselves to the roster.
Every week of the season so far has seen the opening bout either deliver a barnburner or a highlight reel finish, tonight it falls to Quillian Salkilld and Gauge Young to continue the trend as the Lightweights open up tonight’s proceedings.
Salkilld will be flying the flag for Australia as he competes outside of Perth for the first time in his professional career. After suffering a loss in his debut, 24-year-old comes into the Contender Series bout riding a six fight win streak, with four stoppages amongst them.
Having been taken solid step ups in opposition throughout his career, Salkilld will do that once more against Young, who will be his most experienced opponent to date. Young enters the UFC Apex for his 10th professional bout having built an 8-1 record up until this point, and enters the fight on a three fight win streak, with all bouts ended within the distance.
For the first time this season, fight fans will see a women’s bout on the show, as Yuneisy Duben and Shannon Clark square off. Duben is yet to see the third round in any of her victories, with three striking finishes and a corner stoppage on her resume. Clark is considered by many as one of the best unsigned female Flyweights in North America. The Canadian has already competed once this year, where she secured the LFA Flyweight title with a second round Bulldog Choke at LFA 177.
It will then be the turn of the Featherweights to showcase their skills in an all-American affair as Austin Bashi meets Dorian Ramos. Bashi’s rise through the American scene has been electric, with the 22-year-old already 12-0-0, with his elite level wrestling proving to be too much for anyone standing opposite him. Ramos will be hoping he can become the first man to hand Bashi a loss and is in some fine form to lead to an intriguing contest. The 6 of the 8 of the 30 year old’s win have come within the distance and has is a former UWC Featherweight champion.
The co-main event will see Will Currie look to following in the footsteps of fellow Cage Warriors alumni Lone’er Kavanagh on this season of the Contender Series and claim a UFC contract, as he takes on Djorden Santos in a Middleweight affair. Currie is the most experienced athlete appearing on this week’s show, with a 12-3 record. After just four bouts on the UK domestic scene, ‘Drago’ pulled on the yellow gloves and signed a multi-fight deal with Cage Warriors and established himself as one of the most recognisable names on the Cage Warriors roster with his exciting fighting style.
In his eighth bout with the promotion, Currie got his shot at Cage Warriors gold, when he faced Mick Staton at Cage Warriors 151. It was not to be for Currie, as he dropped a unanimous decision but has since rebuild a solid three fight win streak. Santos gets his shot at the big leagues in his ninth year as a professional.
The Brazilian bolsters a 9-1 record and is currently on a four fight streak and will present somewhat of an unknown quantity for Currie, having had almost a two year Hiatus from competition.
Yet another top, unbeaten prospect will take to the cage in the main event, as Igor Cavalcanti faces Seok Hyun Ko. Cavalcanti only joined the professional ranks in 2021 but since doing so has been on a seriously impressive run. All 9 wins on his record coming in the very first round, with 7 stoppages by strikes and two by submission.
However, tonight’s opponent, Ko, is without doubt his biggest challenge to date and will see the Brazilian take a big step up in competition. The contest will see Ko make the walk for the first time in 2024, having been a regular feature on Angel’s Fighting Championship for several years prior. Having only been to the scorecards four times in his 12 bouts, it is unlikely the judges will be needed in this one.
