Dana White’s Contender Series returned for a new season last night in Las Vegas and it saw five fighters winning UFC contracts, despite the fact there were only four fights on the night!
Azamat Murzakanov earned his place in the UFC with a first round finish in the main event, initially catching Matheus Scheffel with a solid straight left and then flooring him with a right hand behind it, with a couple of follow-up punches on the mat sealing the deal.
Joanderson Brito’s path to a UFC contract was less decisive, as he appeared to be edging a hard-fought fight with Diego Lopes heading into the third round, but then eye-poked his opponent, leaving him unable to continue.
That led to the bout having to go to the judges for a technical decision, and despite Brito being deducted a point he still got the nod (29-28 x3).
A fight between Victor Altamirano and Carlos Candelario proved to be a close enough fight to spark off a lot of debate about who had won it, with Altamirano ultimately being awarded the split decision victory (29-28 x2, 28-29), but others including Dana White felt Candelario should have got the nod, and so he awarded both fighters a spot on the UFC roster.
A.J. Fletcher opened up the night in spectacular fashion as he launched into a flying knee mid-way through the first round of his fight with Leonardo Damiani and knocked him out, guaranteeing his spot on the roster in the process.
DWCS 5 Week 1 Results
Azamat Murzakanov def. Matheus Scheffel via TKO – Round 1, 3:00
Joanderson Brito def. Diego Lopes via technical decision (due to eye-poke in rd3) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victor Altamirano def. Carlos Candelario via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
A.J. Fletcher def. Leonardo Damiani via KO (flying knee) – Round 1, 2:24
