Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Week 1 Results: Winners And Losers

The eighth season of Dana White’s Contender Series kicked off from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. This season, Season 8 of the Tuesday night fight cards runs for 10 weeks. The fighters are competing to earn a UFC contract. Five fights took place on tonight’s fight card, and four fighters earned contracts.

The first two winners on the card, Lone'er Kavanagh and Jose Delgado set the bar for the entire season with two stunning knockout wins.

Below, we look at the winners, losers, video highlights, results and contract winners from the DWCS Season 8 Episode 1 fight card.

DWCS Season 8 Episode 1 Fight Card Results

Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Wes Schultz via TKO at 3:55 of Round 2 (Ground strikes)

Rami Hamed defeats Meng Ding via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Bruno Lopes defeats Mikheil Sazhiniani via TKO at 4:14 of Round 2 (Punches)

Jose Delgado defeats Ernie Juarez via knockout at 1:25 of Round 2 (Knee to head)

Lone'er Kavanagh defeats An Tuan Ho via knockout at 2:35 of Round 1 (Punch to head at distance)

Winners

Mansur Abdul-Malik: Mansur Abdul-Malik went past the first round for the first time in his career on Tuesday, but not that much longer, as he finished Wes Schultz in the second stanza with nasty ground and pound from mount.

For a fighter who had never gone to the second round, Abdul-Malik paced himself well while controlling the fight's location for most of this middleweight matchup.

Abdul-Malik only has six pro fights, and he needs some work on shot selection, he was throwing everything with full power, but he looked good in picking up a sixth knockout win.

Rami Hamed: Fighting for the first time since 2022, Rami Hamed picked up a unanimous decision victory over Meng Ding. After the win, he said he took the fight on short notice while recovering from an injury.

Hamed employed a karate-style that was reminiscent to Stephen Thompson. He had good speed with his striking, andshowed decent distance management and counters, which prevented his opponent from generating much offense.

Bruno Lopes: For someone who was in his second appearance on the DWCS, Bruno Lopes did not fight with a sense of urgency. It took him a long while to get going, and he nearly got finished in the first round. However, his patient approach paid off as he found an opening for a knee to the body, which was the beginning of the end.

Jose Delgado: Jose Delgado picked up his fight opposite Ernie Juarez on short notice, but the MMA Lab product was well prepared for Tuesday's contest. Delgado had a big size advantage over Juarez, and he used it well.

Delgado employed crisp striking while also showing he had some wrestling chops. He used his combinations very effectively and mixed up his targets. His game plan for the fight left Juarez confused and frustrated, and had him more or less shelling up whenever Delgado was on the attack.

Delgado's furious offense was the main reason he could find the fight-finishing knee when Juarez put his back against the cage.

If there is a slight knock against Delgado, it's that he could use his length a little better.

Lone'er Kavanagh: Lone'er Kavanagh set the bar for Season 8 of Dana White's Contender Series, scoring a vicious and frightening knockout that left his opponent, An Tuan Ho, unconscious in the center of the Octagon for an unsettling amount of time.

Kavanagh showed patience and poise from the start of the flyweight fight, looking to gauge time, space, angles, and counters. He did all those things, and when he saw an opening to step in for a vicious left hook, he connected with a lot of power and precision. The blow needed zero follow-up as Ho collapsed to the canvas.

Losers

Wes Schultz: Wes Schultz wanted to use his wrestling against Mansur Abdul-Malik, but he could not do much because of his opponent’s strength. He also struggled with his cardio. This was not a great showing from Schultz.

Meng Ding: Meng Ding struggled with the stance and pace of Rami Hamed for the first two rounds. He had some success in the third round, but he also landed several low blows that cost him a point.

Mikheil Sazhiniani: Mikheil Sazhiniani’s offense was winging overhand punches and calf kicks. He was reckless and overextended himself, showing no defense when he stepped in and overthrew his punches. To make things worse, Sazhiniani’s cardio faded as the fight wore on.

Ernie Juarez: Ernie Juarez was aggressive to start his matchup against Jose Delgado, but he could not deal with the offense or size of his opponent. As the fight wore on, Juarez was left to shell up to avoid the offense of Delgado. Juarez is gritty and tough, but he is not UFC-ready.

An Tuan Ho: An Tuan Ho was aggressive at the start of his matchup with Lone'er Kavanagh, throwing everything with power, but Kavanagh quickly picked up his opponent’s tendencies and flattened him with a frightening left hook.

Contract Winners

Mansur Abdul-Malik

Bruno Lopes

Jose Delgado

Lone'er Kavanagh

Scorecards

Video Highlights

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