On Tuesday, Dana White's Tuesday Night Contenders Series will return at an all new location, making the move from Fight Pass to ESPN+. The Contenders Series is broadening the scope a little bit, going from just American based fighters to sprinkling in some new countries and locales to the mix. The Contenders Series has its flaws (it's based primarily on the whim of one man, it will always favor finishers over non-finishers) but it's proven to be an intriguing place to find exciting new young talent. At the very least, we can see it's impact on weight classes that needed some new faces like welterweight (Geoff Neal, Dwight Grant), middleweight (Edmen Shabazyan, Ian Henisch) and light heavyweight and heavyweight (Karl Roberson, Juan Adams, Alonzo Menifield, Ryan Spann to name a few). Â It tends to favor raw athletes who finish fights over polished established names and I kind of don't think that's a bad thing. I'm a big gamble on upside guy and this show tends to seek out upside.
The Contenders Series is a fun way to burn an hour and a half most of the time and I can’t think of an episode where I’ve walked away feeling like my time was wasted or feeling like somebody undeserving got a contract. As such, I’m going to be trying (TRYING) to do some detailed previews throughout the season. Her’es what I got for episode one:
Punahele Soriano (5-0, 26 years old, pro since 2017) vs Jamie Pickett (9-3, 30 years old, pro since 2011)
Middleweights
Punahele Soriano
Where He Fight At? Punahele has basically been fighting in name regionals since he turned pro. Backed by Xtreme Couture, Soriano's second ever pro fight was on one of the first PFL cards and he's had pinch hit opportunities in LFA and Titan FC.
Who'd He Ever Beat? Nobody you'd know necessarily. Punahele's fought what I'd refer to as "regional fluff", dudes with records that are puffy on paper but thinner the deeper you get into them. It's like Nasim Richardson's theory that you have to go beyond who the guy is and dig into who HE beat too. Puna's last fight was against Jhonoven Pati who at the time was 4-1.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Punahele's opponents were a combined 10-6 going into their fights with records ranging as spiffy as 5-1 to as bad as 0-3 (his debut).
Why Is He Here? Punahele Soriano's spot here is primarily due to the division he fights in, the way he fights and the fact that this entire show concept is MADE for dudes like him. He's young and he fights at middleweight, a division in renaissance but still riddled with arthritic dudes. He's finished every fight he's had in the first round and often in impressive fashion. He's more athletic than everyone he fights and it shows every time. This is the sort of format where a dude like that gets a test fight like this to determine how much of his skills are fact and how much of it is fiction. Puna probably gets signed with a win.
Jamie Pickett
Where He Fight At? Jamie Pickett is ACTUALLY a DWTCS alum. He fought Charles Byrd on the first season of the Contenders Series and lost in the first round. Outside of that and a Legacy Fighting cameo? Pickett has mostly fought in the Carolinas like Ric Flair in the 80s.
Who'd He Ever Beat? Nobody you'd really know. His best win is Cristhian Torres, a 185/205er who fights primarily in Florida and owns a 14-10 record. Torres is a reliable proven regional busybody though so while it's not the greatest win, it's a solid name for the level. Torres is one of two fighters that Pickett's beaten who at the time of the fight had a winning record, the other guy being a fella by the name of Brian McGinnis who was 4-2 at the time.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Jamie Pickett's record of opposition is 52-47. His best opponent was 7-4 Charles Byrd who got a contract from the UFC (eventually) and has gone 1-2 in the organization. Outside of that you have a bunch of fellas who were 1-2, a few guys who were 8-9 and the aforementioned Torres (12-8) and McGinnis (4-2).
Why Is He Here? On paper, Pickett's here to fill a spot. There's nothing wrong with that necessarily! Pickett's job is to test Soriano and see if he's the goods or not. Granting Pickett the caveat that he took the fight vs Byrd on short notice (although I may have that flipped around depending upon who you ask), it's not a record that inspires you to believe he's here to do anything but give Soriano a challenge. We've seen Dana and company do this before; the exciting guy gets a name opponent by regional standards who is stylistically all wrong for him. Soriano is a great wrestler and Pickett's wrestling has never been what I'd consider to be a strength. He's here to be "the opponent" but the Contenders Series has seen the opponent win before. That's kinda what makes it great.
Brok Weaver (13-4, 26 years old, pro since 2013) vs Leon Shahbazyan (7-1, 23 years old, pro since 2016)
Welterweights
Brock Weaver
Where He Fight At? Brok Weaver has been casually cutting his teeth down at Island Fights, a little promotion that hid in obscurity before it wound up on Fight Pass. They've churned out some guys like Mike Perry, Alex Nicholson and Mike Davis. Weaver's primarily spent the entire of his career in Florida.
Who'd He Ever Beat? I don't necessarily know if folks would consider these names quality but Weaver has fought and beaten Charles Bennett (THAT Charles Bennett), Contenders Series alum Mike Mustaki and regional dudes like Elvin Brito and Socrates Pierre. You kinda got beat those two dudes to get anywhere in Florida MMA. Â He's also lost to Socrates Pierre, current rising WW Demarques Jackson and Titan FC vet Martin Brown.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Removing our pal Krazy Horse from the mix, Weaver's opponents at the time of their fight own a pretty good 74-39 with some really good fighters since pretty much his 6th or 7th pro fight. Adding Krazy Horse to the mix, the record is 104-75. Hard to argue with that sort of competition especially in Florida.
Why Is He Here? I don't know if Weaver is UFC quality but this feels like rewarding a guy who has done really well against relatively good competition in a pretty tough division. He's on a six fighting winning streak against competition with winning records minus one guy who was 7-9. He's beaten the fighters you'd know if you follows regional MMA on a more heavy basis. I also assume there may be some bareknuckle rub since dude fought (and lost) to Joe Riggs.
Leon Shahbazyan
Where He Fight At? California! Leon has fought primarily against less than stellar competition on the California regional scene at places like Gladiator Challenge.
Who'd He Ever Beat? Nobody. Tapology is very good at what they do and I have to assume they have no reason to lie when you look at the names and records. The first fighter Leon fought with a winning record was also his only pro loss.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? I feel bad for even writing this up but Shahbazyan's opponents were 16-70 with two guys making their debuts, one guy at 0-1 and one fella rocking an 18-40 record. The one fighter he faced with a winning record at 4-2 was Bellator vet Gabriel Green.
Why Is He Here? Let's begin with the outside of the cage stuff first. Shahbayzan's here because he's trained by Edmund Tarverdyan, fights out of Glendale, is managed by Ronda Rousey AND his little brother Edmond is 2-0 in the UFC. Watching his fights on youtube, there's really nothing to suggest he's ready for this spot. That said as we've seen with Sergio Pettis, you tend to have the training wheels taken off of you when your brother is a big deal. The experience difference is so vast in this fight that I'm almost on paper uncomfortable with how bad it COULD wind up. Or Leon blows through Weaver and makes me look stupid.
Kali Robbins (6-2, 34 years old, pro since 2015) vs Hannah Goldy (4-0, 27, pro since 2016)
Women's Strawweight
Kali Robbins
Where She Fight At? If you're a fan of Invicta then Robbins is not new to you. She's fought in the organization twice as well as making her debut in RFA.
Who'd She Ever Beat? Sharon Jacobson is the best win on Kali's resume, perhaps made more impressive by the fact that it was her fifth pro fight. Robbins' two losses are pretty quality too in UFC vets Pearl Gonzalez and Hannah Cifers.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Kali Robbins' opposition is not bad, pulling in at 31-25. Her strength of schedule is skewered by beating Sharon Jacobson when she was 4-1. Her losses are to Pearl Gonzalez at 6-3 in Invicta and then 7-3 Hannah Cifers in Cifers' last fight outside the UFC.
Why Is She Here? Well for starters, the UFC is going to need more strawweights eventually. As women's flyweight picks away at the depth, opportunities in the ranks will open up. Robbins is far from the least qualified contestant fighting for one of those spots. She's got a bit of a name, she's been around the block so to speak, her window is closing given her age and it's pretty much now or never for her to get into the organization.
Hannah Goldy
Where She Fight At? Hannah Goldy is another fighter who has spent her time down in Island Fights.
Who'd She Ever Beat? Hannah Goldy made her pro debut against UFC veteran Gillian Anderson and beat her by decision. She also fought Elisa Blaine, the Bellator fighter who beat Ana Julaton. It's a pretty good record for someone with just four fights.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Not much to report here since Goldy's record of opposition is 4-1. Two debuts, 2-0 and 2-1. Easy math that even I could figure out.
Why Is She Here? The association with Roy Jones Jr doesn't hurt I suppose. Roy's a big Island Fights guy and RJJ has tweeted her out/mentioned her before. Goldy's 4-0 record is also pretty impressive with some damn good strength of competition. There's no reason why she shouldn't be here as the UFC tries to find more faces for strawweight and flyweight. Goldy also has viral buzz as she's the lady Alex Nicholson proposed to on the scales before a UFC event and as mentioned before, RJJ tends to up her a bit on social media.
Bill Algeo (12-3, 30 years old, pro since 2012) vs Brendan Loughnane (16-3, 29, pro since 2010)
Featherweight
Bill Algeo
Where He Fight At? Bill Algeo's resume reads like a dude who has been fighting since 2012 all over the Northeast. We've got WSOF (yeah, he was around before the name change), CFFC and ROC. Basically all of the cool places for regional MMA at the time.
Who'd He Ever Beat? Algeo's record isn't loaded with names so to speak but he's been the ROC featherweight champion for a good long minute now. He's beaten former TUF contestant Jeff Lentz, regional MMA fighter Tim Dooling and John De Jesus. His losses are REALLY impressive and well worth keeping an eye on with guys like UFC top 10 FW Shane Burgos and solid UFC veteran Jared Gordon in the mix.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Bill Algeo's quality of competition record wise is FIERCE with a 71-36 combined record at the time of their fights with Algeo. Jeff Lentz is probably the best opponent he has with the 11-4 record and his losses are to dudes like 4-0 Shane Burgos and 11-1 Jared Gordon. Worst fighter on his record numerically is the 10-6 John De Jesus.
Why Is He Here? He's really good? Bill Algeo's a really solid regional featherweight who is worthy of the opportunity. He may be overaged for the Contenders Series but 30 isn't a death sentence even in a tough division like 145 lbs. Algeo's earned this shot and I'll always be in favor of long term regional champions getting the opportunity.
Brendan Loughnane
Where He Fight At? The UFC! Loughnane was apart of the UFC's Smashes season pitting Australia against the UK. That's the same season that gave us Robert Whittaker, Ben Alloway, Mike Wilkinson and Norman Parke. Outside of that, he's popped around ACB and BAMMA quite a bit as well.
Who'd He Ever Beat? If you've been around since 2010, you've probably beaten your fair share of quality dudes on the European scene. Brendan Loughnane has wins over Mike Wilkinson, Ali McClean and Jason Cooledge. His losses are to Mike Wilkinson in the UFC, "Fire Kid" Tom Duquesnoy via split decision and a split decision loss to long time veteran Pat Healy.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Brandan has been around a good long minute so again, no surprise he's got a pretty solid quality of competition record. Loughnane's opponents were a combined 158-98 at the time of their fight. The best opponents record wise are obviously Pat Healy at 30-23, 10-1 Tom Duquesnoy, 7-0 and later 9-3 Mike Wilkinson and 11-1 Paata Tsxpella. Loughnane went a combined 2-3 against those guys.
Why Is He Here? When Dana White first started talking about the Contenders Series, he spoke about the idea of fighters maybe struggling to make it in the UFC being given the opportunity to earn their keep on the show. That idea was toyed with in parts but not fully implemented and keeping with that theme, the UFC also toyed with using the Contenders Series as a spot for dudes who flamed out of the organization to fight their way back in. We've seen guys like Joby Sanchez and Julian Erosa primarily make good on this (although the combined 0-5 record suggests some dudes are best left out) and now Brendan Loughnane looks to try his hand at it. He's at least earned the chance.
Yorgan de Castro(4-0, 31 years old, pro since 2017) vs Alton Meeks (3-0, 25 years old, pro since 2018)
Heavyweight
Yorgan de Castro
Where He Fight At? CES MMA primarily. The promotion that once held Batista's first pro fight has been a bit of a hot spot for DWTCS guys.
Who'd He Ever Beat? Nobody I've heard of. Yorgan has only had 4 fights and it's regional HW MMA so he hasn't fought anybody anybody has heard of.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Case in point? The record of opposition at the time of their fights is a rather blegh 10-11. His best opponent in record is 3-1 Ras Hylton which is on youtube if you wanna check it out. His best opponent in actuality is probably 7-6 veteran gatekeeper Carlton Little who lost to TUF Contestant Justin Frazier.
Why Is He Here? Welp. A look at Castro's fights have me assuming that he's probably better suited a weight class down. He looks IMO like a Cannonier type; a dude who can fight at HW but also at 205 lbs if need be or even lower. He's here because the UFC was trying to set up Penn State wrestler Jimmy Lawson for a DWTCS spot. They asked him to a win a fight and IF he won, he'd get de Castro. Lawson lost and de Castro was kept on with a new opponent. From cannon fodder to potential UFC deal. Dude loves his naked leg kicks and his overhand rights too so chances are he's either getting flattened or flattening someone.
Alton Meeks
Where He Fight At? Some in Florida, some in Georgia.
Who'd He Ever Beat? A lot of nothin'. Alton Meeks' wrestling credentials and his college football background suggest his best opponents probably aren't the dudes on his MMA ledger.
Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? His opponents are a combined 4-6. His best win is probably 2-3 Baraq Hunter who also fought Alex Nicholson (and lost).
Why Is He Here? It's actually interesting but the UFC might've tripped and fell into somebody. Meeks is the Jimmy Lawson replacement but some digging suggests there's some stuff here. He's apparently a good enough wrestler to have had some Olympic aspirations and he played college football which suggests the athleticism is there. He apparently took up  fighting after a few weeks of training and so he might actually be capable of getting even better. Meeks is here because one HW pulled out and the UFC needs HWs. Just collect big doughy dudes.
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HW Juan Adams just BLASTED out Shawn Teed and then proceeded to style on him in the post fight. Some ATG dickhead shit talk from Juan Adams. "This guy has a Dad bod. Maybe if he hit the gym more instead of the BBQ then he would've had a better chance." Did the best to state his case for a UFC spot and then at least talked some people into liking/hating him. Paul Felder shitting all over his post fight speech.
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Worth noting that this is the first DWTCS episode in a long time where there’s no obvious winners. Also some kinda funky records on here. Things could get weird, bros.Â
Julian Williams TKOs Tim Caron in the third round of our first fight.
Middleweights move really slowly. It's the clunky man tough dad division so it is what it is. Jordan Williams, a type 1 diabetes survivor, took this fight on a week's notice and actually showed off some great power in his hands early going. On the ground, he looked like a middleweight. He looked heavy, sometimes clunky but powerful when he opted to let his hands go. There were a few moments where I thought he could've ended it ont he feet but Tim Caron offered such little resistance as it pertains to takedown defense that I don't blame him for taking it. I don't know if Williams is going to get a contract but I'd LOVE to see him get a second shot on the Contender Series. Maybe with a bit more time, he'll have an even more impressive performance.
