Week four of season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series belonged to the underdogs and continued to deliver in a huge way last night, as all five winners were awarded UFC contracts.
Last night’s episode saw three dominant decision wins, one slick submission, a highlight reel knockout and a very happy UFC CEO.
Quillan Salkilld and Gauge Young continued this season’s trend of opening the show in style, with the pair going to war over 15 minutes. White was that impressed that he headed into the octagon after the fight to chat with both athletes. Over the three rounds, fans were treated to every aspect of the sport by both men but it was Salkilld who came out on top, with a unanimous decision victory. The win also secured the Australian his UFC contract.
The star of the night was comfortably Yuneisy Duben, who delivered a devastating first round knockout against Shannon Clark in their Flyweight contest. As Clark stepped into range, the Venezuelan uncorked a huge right hand that rendered Clark unconscious before she had hit the floor. The underdog’s knockout brought White to his feet as the select few inside the Apex exploded with cheers. He was so impressed with the performance, that Duben was stood next himself and Laura Sanko as the UFC CEO announced who had won the contracts. Speaking on the performance he said: “There’s two types of people in this world. There’s people who will come in and go ‘Oh my god, I am a 13/1 underdog.’ And there is people that will come in and go ‘How dare you make me a 13/1 underdog.’ We saw a couple of I dare you tonight and I love that stuff, that’s what this show is built on.
“I don’t know if she can grapple, I don’t know if she can kick, I don’t know if she can defend a takedown but let me tell you what. One of the most impressive knockouts I have ever seen. A huge underdog, 1:13 of the very first round, congratulations, you are in the UFC.”
Austin Bashi was the third athlete of the night to be welcomed to the UFC, following his second round submission over Dorian Ramos. There was a lot of hype surrounding Bashi heading into the contest, and he certainly lived up to it, dominating Ramos from the first bell to the tap. The pace in which the American set throughout was frightening and proved to be too much for his short notice opponent. At only 22, and now 13-0-0, the young Featherweight has the potential to become a huge start in the UFC.
Much like Duben, Djorden Santos was a competitor that on paper, was a massive underdog. Undeterred by the beating odds heading into the contest, Santos worked tirelessly for 15 minutes to had Will Currie a unanimous decision loss and take all three rounds in the process. The first round was the tightest between the pair, with both men having some success throughout but it was Santos that had the better of the chances. This continued throughout the second and third and White liked what he saw from the Brazilian and handed him a contract.
Seokyeon Ko rounded out the night with a unanimous decision win against the previously undefeated Igor Cavalancti and secured yet another win for the underdogs inside the Apex. It was clear prior to the bout that Ko was likely to cause problems Cavalancti hadn’t seen before and this was certainly the case. After managing to do what no other man has managed so far, and making it out of the first round against Cavalancti, Ko worked meticulously to drain his opponent of all energy and slow down as the contest went on, with his third round all but solidifying the win. With the win, South Korean athlete moved to 11-2 and into the UFC roster.
