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Last week, Dana White handed out five contracts for the second time in three weeks, bringing the number of contracts awarded through the first four weeks of Season 6 to 15. Fighters from every division on the men’s side of the roster save for light heavyweight, have garnered a call to the Octagon, while Hailey Cowan became the first female fighter this season to matriculate to the UFC.
Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6 Week 5
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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
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Contract Winners And Interviews | Dana White’s Contender Series Season 6 Week 5
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Tuesday night, five more sets of fighters walked into the cage looking to impress the UFC President, and when White joined Laura Sanko at the end of the evening to discuss the result, he was fired up and ready to hand out a whole bunch of contracts.
Each of the night’s five victors earned deals, with White singing the praises of Denise Gomes, Cameron Saaiman, Jesus Aguilar, Darrius Flowers, and Mick Parkin.
Five weeks, 20 contracts, and consecutive weeks where the UFC President hands out five contracts.
Here’s a look at how it all played out.
Dana White's Contender Series Season 6 Week 5 Results
- Mick Parkin defeats Eduardo Neves by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:57 of Round 1
- Darrius Flowers defeats Amiran Gogoladze by TKO (injury) at 1:13 of Round 1
- Jesus Aguilar defeats Erisson Ferreira by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:56 of Round 3
- Cameron Saaiman def. Joshua Wang-Kim by KO (left hook) at 2:52 of Round 3
- Denise Gomes defeats Rayanne Amanda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Denise Gomes defeats Rayanne Amanda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
These Brazilian hopefuls got after it to kick off this week’s action, combining for one of the most entertaining back-and-forth battles of the season thus far.
In the first round, it was Amanda working as the surprising aggressor, trying to take advantage of Gomes’ patience and catch her before she settled into the fight. In the second, Gomes found her rhythm and started landing with power, happy to eat one in order to land one, consistently landing with considerably more force.
With the fight potentially hanging in the balance, the final five rounds saw both leave it all out there, neither wanting to walk away wishing they had done more. They spent all five minutes trading on the feet, earning a round of applause from White and many others in attendance at the UFC APEX.
In the first round, it was Amanda working as the surprising aggressor, trying to take advantage of Gomes’ patience and catch her before she settled into the fight. In the second, Gomes found her rhythm and started landing with power, happy to eat one in order to land one, consistently landing with considerably more force.
Cameron Saaiman defeats Joshua Wang-Kim by KO (left hook) at 2:52 of Round 3
Cameron Saaiman is poised to become the second-youngest fighter on the UFC roster.
After dropping the opening round of his clash with Joshua Wang-Kim, the 21-year-old from South Africa started to find a rhythm in the second, turning up the pressure and testing the gas tank of his American opponent. In the third, with each man needing to make a statement in order to secure the victory and potentially earn a contract, Saaiman kept his foot on the pedal, and after backing Wang-Kim into the fence, he connected with a left hand that sent him crashing face down into the canvas.
Dana White rose to his feet and shared words with Saaiman, who already looks like a technically sound prospect despite his age. A finish like that could also earn the young bantamweight a call to the Octagon at the end of the night.
Jesus Aguilar defeats Erisson Ferreira by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:56 of Round 3
Despite being the considerably smaller man, Jesus Aguilar proved to be the superior fighter in the middle fight of Tuesday’s card, out-working and out-lasting Season 5 winner Erisson Ferreira.
The Mexican flyweight struggled in the first, having a hard time dealing with Ferreira’s size and strength advantage, pulling the Brazilian into advantageous positions multiple times when looking for takedowns. But as Ferreira started fading, Aguilar started having more success, grasping all the momentum in the second and carrying it with him into the third.
After coming out throwing hands to start the final round, Aguilar changed levels, elevated Ferreira, and slammed him to the canvas. After attacking with some ground and pound, Ferreira wriggled out and looked to work to his feet, but Aguilar dove onto a guillotine choke, adjusting his grip and leaving Ferreira no choice but to tap.
That’s now eight straight wins and four victories by guillotine choke in his last five fights for Aguilar.
Darrius Flowers defeats Amiran Gogoladze by TKO (injury) at 1:13 of Round 1
Darrius Flowers slammed his way to victory on Tuesday night, elevating Amiran Gogoladze as he hunted for an inverted triangle choke off bottom, driving him to the canvas, and forcing the Georgian welterweight to tap after suffering an injury.
Gogoladze closed the distance quickly and looked to take the fight to Flowers, who remained patient in top position as the Georgian hunted for both the choke and an arm. As Flowers rose to his feet, Gogoladze adjusted his grip, wrapping both hands around Flowers, and when he hit the canvas, he knew something was wrong.
Gogoladze alerted his corner of the injury and tapped out, bringing the fight to a halt just 73 seconds after it started.
Flowers has now won four straight, the last three by finish, all this year.
Mick Parkin defeats Eduardo Neves by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:57 of Round 1
Mick Parkin weathered an early barrage from a showboating Eduardo Neves to drag the Brazilian to the canvas and secure a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Neves came out looking to trade and get Parkin out of there quickly, calling him into the center, hitting him with a little “Ali Shuffle” and acting like he was orders of magnitude better than his British adversary. But Parkin, who trains with UFC vets Tom Aspinall and Paul Craig, dealt with the output coming his way, turned the fight into a grappling match, and put Neves in unfamiliar territory, dumping him to the canvas.
As he tried to clamber to his feet, the Sunderland man sunk in a rear-naked choke and squeezed out the tap to move to 6-0 for his career.
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