“Dana White's Contender Series” returns for Season 8 on Aug. 13. The show, which has been a gateway into the UFC for top talent from around the world, has helped the UFC discover some of the best fighters in the sport today, including bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley and former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.
There are also plenty of top prospects who have found a home in the UFC through the show, such as Bo Nickal, Jack Della Maddalena, Payton Talbott, and Jailton Almeida. Will DWCS Season 8 produce the sport’s next star?
Here are the fighters to watch, matchups and results for each week:
The best fighters to watch according to Laura Sanko
ESPN spoke with UFC analyst Laura Sanko to get a list of the fighters she's most excited to see on this season of DWCS. “There's an emerging theme this year,” Sanko told ESPN. “A lot of the fighters are very young, but they seem ready for this stage. They pass the eye test more than fighters from previous years.”
Torrez Finney, middleweight
Record: 8-0
Age: 25
Fighting for: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Finney fought on DWCS last season, winning via second-round submission, but was not awarded a contract. It seemed like UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Mick Maynard wanted him to get a little more experience. Although he won via submission in Season 7, Finney has a wrestling background, being a three-time Tennessee state wrestling champion and a former all-conference fullback at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Finney is an absolute powerhouse, and despite his size, he never seems to slow down inside the cage.
Young, light caliber
Record: 8-1
Age: 24
Fighting for: Kansas City, Missouri
Young is only 24 years old, but he's a very polished fighter. He started his career as a wrestler, but in his last few fights, he's honed in on the feet. He's not a hard puncher, he's more of a sniper. Young trains at Ignite Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Academy with former UFC fighters Zac Cummings and Jason High.
Austin Bashi, featherweight
Record: 12-0
Age: 22
Fighting for: West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Bashi is one of the hottest prospects in all of MMA. He comes into DWCS Season 8 having finished each of his last four opponents (three submissions, one KO). He has wrestling experience, but he has a striking game that his opponent must respect. Despite his age, Bashi has already faced and defeated high-level competition. Just two fights ago, he submitted Askar Askar, another highly touted prospect. Bashi has what it takes to be a champion one day.
Artem Vakhitov, light heavyweight
Record: 2-1
Age: 33
Fighting for: Prokopyevsk, Russia
Vakhitov has little professional MMA experience, but he is a former Glory kickboxing champion. It should be noted that Vakhitov was the last boxer to defeat UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in kickboxing. And that's why he's making this move – he's going for Pereira.
How to watch fights
Watch “Dana White's Contender Series” on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
There is also FightCenter, offering statistics and analysis for every UFC and DWCS card.
Dana White's 'Contender Series' Matchups and Results:
Week 1 results:
1:03
Lone'er Kavanagh's KO stuns Dana White in DWCS win
Lone'er Kavanagh lands a tremendous left hook and Dana White loves it.
Welterweight: Rami Hamed defeated Ding Meng by unanimous decision
*Featherweight: Jose Delgado defeated Ernie Juarez by KO1
*Men's flyweight: The lone Kavanagh defeats. An Tuan Ho by KO1
*Average weight: Mansur Abdul-Malik defeated Wesley Schultz by technical knockout on 2 occasions
*Light heavyweight: Bruno Lopes defeated. Mikheil Sazhiniani by TKO2
*Kavanagh, Delgado, Lopes and Abdul-Malik each earned a contract with the UFC
Week 2 results:
1:07
Andreas Gustafsson scores brutal second-round TKO win
Andreas Gustafsson lands a series of powerful knees to the head of Pat Pytlik, leading to a second-round TKO victory.
*Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson defeated Pat Pytlik by TKO2
*Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev defeated. Hugo Cunha by TKO1
*Men's bantamweight: Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato by unanimous decision
Average weight: Torrez Finney defeated Cameron Rowston by unanimous decision
*Men's bantamweight: Cody Haddon defeated Billy Brand for SUB1
Haddon, Romious, Kuniev and Gustafsson all earned UFC contracts.
Week 3 matches:
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad vs. Michael Aswell
Men's Bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Adam Bramhald
Men's Flyweight: Jack Duffy vs Jose Ochoa
Average weight: Andrey Pulyaev vs. Liam Anderson
Average weight: Marcus Tullius against Matthieu Duclos
Week 4 matches:
Welterweight: Seok Hyun Ko vs Igor Cavalcanti
Average weight: Will Currie vs. Djorden Santos
Featherweight: Austin Bashi vs. Tommy McMillen
Women's Flyweight: Yuneisy Duben vs. Shannon Clark
Light: Caliber Young vs. Quillan Salkilld
Week 5 matches:
To be confirmed
Week 6 matches:
To be confirmed
Week 7 matches:
To be confirmed
Week 8 matches:
To be confirmed
Week 9 matches:
To be confirmed
Week 10 matches:
To be confirmed
