Five more fighters are joining the UFC after the final episode of Contender Series this year.
On Tuesday night, Week 10 of Contender Series took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, featuring six fights instead of the usual five, and the fighters made the most of that extra opportunity, with two people making history by scoring unprecedented finishes in Contender Series, including a Knockout of the Year contender.
Juan Diaz vs. Won Il Kwon
While there was no shortage of highlights this week, the biggest one came in the co-main event of the evening, when Juan Diaz became the first man to win via spinning back elbow in Contender Series history, finishing Won Il Kwon in the second round.
With a huge amount of experience in ONE Championship, Kwon was the betting favorite coming into this fight and looked quite good. Still, Diaz had plenty of success of his own early, using his speed and combination boxing. But in the second round, Kwon’s experience started to take over … until it didn’t. Diaz noticed Kwon ducking his head and took advantage with a spinning back elbow that immediately ended the fight.
Diaz’s win earned high praise from Dana White, and considering he did something never done before in Contender Series history, he was an easy choice for a UFC contract.
Levi Rodrigues vs. Freddy Vidal
In the main event of the evening, Levi Rodrigues won his fight and the love and adoration of UFC CEO Dana White by knocking out Freddy Vidal in the first round.
This was Vidal’s second fight on Contender Series this season, as she tepped in on short notice earlier this year, earning a win but failing to make weight, and worse, leaving White unimpressed. White decided to give Rodriguez another shot, who had no trouble with the scale this time, but struggled mightily with Vidal, who stuffed his takedowns and then jawed Vidal with some huge haymakers. Vidal tried to power through, but a nasty knee in the clinch put a stop to that, earning Rodrigues the knockout win, and leading Dana White to tell Rodrigues he “saved us” from Vidal “stinking up” the place again.
Of course, with praise like that, White offered Vidal a UFC contract.
Marwan Rahiki vs. Ananias Mulumba
In the fourth fight of the evening, Marwan Rahiki and Ananias Mulumba put on one of the craziest fights of the season, ending in a second-round knockout for Rahiki.
Rahiki came in with comparisons to former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and he and Mulumba put on their own version of Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum, battering each other in a wild, back-and-forth war. Mulumba repeatedly dropped Rahiki in the first round and looked moments away from the upset win, but the Moroccan fighter somehow battled on and even dazed Mulumba in the round. Unfortunately, Mulumba spent too much energy pursuing the finish in the first, and Rahiki took over in the second, working Mulumba over with elbows before putting him down in brutal fashion with a well-timed uppercut.
At the end of the show, Dana White was so impressed with the performance that he awarded Rahiki a contract, and also shouted out Mulumba for the great fight, saying they want to bring him back next season.
Michael Oliveira vs. Victor Valenzuela
In the third bout of the evening, Michael Oliveira put on quite the display of striking against Victor Valenzuela, scoring a second-round TKO win.
A veteran of the Brazilian military, Oliveira showed plenty of discipline during his Contender Series fight, hurting Valenzuela multiple times but not getting overly aggressive and forcing the finish. Instead, Oliveira kept thumping Valenzuela up with his jab and counters, eventually breaking the tough Chilean, and forcing the referee to intervene.
At the end of the show, Dana White was quick to award Oliveira a contract, saying he looks forward to seeing him fight in the UFC.
Jovan Leka vs. Azamat Nuftillaev
In the second bout of the evening, Jovan Leka outlasted Azamat Nuftillaev in one of the more forgettable fights of this season of Contender Series.
Nuftillaev came out strong early, using his wrestling skills to take Leka down and control the first round. However, that strategy proved to be disastrous as Nuftillaev was completely gassed after the first five minutes, and Leka took over from there, stuffing takedowns and getting on top of Nuftillaev where he landed a good chunk of ground-and-pound, though he was unable to get the finish. In the end, Leka won a clear unanimous decision, even earning a 10-8 round on two judges’ scorecards, but did not do enough to impress Dana White, who told Leka he’s young and to get back to work.
Wes Schultz vs. Mario Mingaj
In the opening round of the evening, Wes Schultz made history, becoming the first fighter in Contender Series history to land a Suloev stretch, submitting Mario Mingaj in the first round.
Schultz was a contestant on Season 8 of Contender Series, where he lost to Mansur Abdul-Malik. That loss has aged pretty well so far, and Schultz proved he’s talented in his own right on Tuesday, pressuring the previously undefeated Mingaj and cracking him with punches on the feet, before scoring the takedown and then grabbing the unique submission during a transition.
If there’s one way to ensure earning a UFC contract, it’s doing something that’s never been done before, and Schultz was offered high praise from Dana White and a spot in the UFC.
Check out the full results below.
Levi Rodrigues def. Freddy Vidal via TKO (punches) — 3:20, Round 1.
Juan Diaz def. Won Il Kwon via KO (spinning back elbow) — 4:58, Round 2.
Marwan Rahiki def. Ananias Mulumba via KO (elbows and punches) — 2:13, Round 2.
Michael Oliveira def. Victor Valenzuela via TKO (punches) — 3:56, Round 2.
Jovan Leka def. Azamat Nuftillaev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Wes Schultz def. Mario Mingaj via submission (Suloev stretch) — 1:51, Round 1.
