Dana White's Contender Series
Week 10 Preview | Dana White's Contender Series Season 7
Preview Each Of The Fights Taking Place Inside The UFC APEX On Tuesday.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends…
The final week of Season 7 is upon us, bringing to a close an interesting 10-episode run at the UFC APEX.
Just as with every previous season, there have been memorable performances and athletes that jump off the screen as competitors to watch at the next level — fighters like Eduarda Moura, Carlos Prates, and Jean Matsumoto. As we head into the final episode of the season, it’s highly likely that the record for the number of contracts awarded will be broken for the seventh consecutive season, as 41 hopefuls have already been called to join the UFC roster, which means it’s “two to tie, three to win” for Season 7.
And there are six pairs of athletes primed to make the walk and step into the cage in an effort to impress UFC President Dana White and join the DWCS Graduating Class of 2023 on Tuesday.
Here’s a closer look at the lineup for the final week of the season.
Torrez Finney vs Yuri Panferov
Middleweights with matching 6-0 records meet here as Torrez Finney takes on Yuri Panferov.
The 24-year-old Finney has blown through his first six professional bouts in less than two years, registering five stoppage victories along the way. He went 5-0 as an amateur, as well, which means “The Punisher” has yet to deal with defeat in his fighting career, and it’s always interesting to see how guys like that handle stepping into the cage with someone that could potentially make them face that reality for the first time.
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Panferov impressed Dana White and the Lookin’ for a Fight crew enough in his Combat Zone 79 win to garner this call to the Contender Series. He too went 5-0 as an amateur before hustling out to six straight wins as a pro, but “The Russian Polar Bear” has yet to face an opponent with a winning record, which adds some additional intrigue to this pairing.
This will be Panferov’s first fight at middleweight, which is another added wrinkle of intrigue in this fight. Each man has flashed the raw tools and upside to stand as solid prospects with room to grow at the next level, but they’ll have to get through the other on Tuesday if they hope to take that next step this week.
Connor Matthews vs Jair Farias
Connor Matthews vs Jair Farias Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 10
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Connor Matthews vs Jair Farias Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 10
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Connor Matthews returns to the UFC APEX for a second time while Jair Farias looks to remain undefeated in this exciting featherweight contest.
Matthews showed grit and heart in his loss to Francis Marshall last season before rebounding with a first-round submission win at that same Combat Zone event featuring Panferov. The 30-year-old is a strong grappler, but has struggled to find quality opponents, which raises questions about how he’ll navigate this week’s challenging assignment.
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A perfect 10-0 in his career, Farias returned from a nearly four-year hiatus in June to register a first-round stoppage win on the Brazilian regional circuit. He’s earned finishes in all but one of his victories, but like Matthews, he’s yet to face truly significant competition, which makes it difficult to assess how he’ll look on Tuesday night.
Issa Isakov vs MarQuel Mederos
Lightweights Issa Isakov and MarQuel Mederos meet to make their respective cases for a place on the UFC roster as they face off in the middle of this week’s finale.
Riding a four-fight winning streak and sporting a 10-2 record overall, Isakov has made five of his last six appearances under the Brave CF banner, facing mostly solid competition. Born in Russia and representing Luxembourg, the former welterweight has won eight of his ten bouts inside the distance, and has been preparing for his trip to Vegas alongside UFC lightweight Fares Ziam.
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A member of the Factory X Muay Thai crew, Mederos has earned five straight victories since suffering the lone loss of his career at the start of 2022. The 26-year-old has logged all eight of his professional appearances in the last 28 months, taking a slight step up in competition whenever possible.
Someone’s winning streak is going to come to an end, and chances are the process of determining who will suffer that fate will be thoroughly entertaining to watch.
Rickson Zenidim vs Andre Lima
It’s an all-Brazilian battle in the flyweight division as Rickson Zenidim faces off with countryman Andre Lima in this one.
Originally scheduled to face Kevin Borjas in Week 1, Zenidim arrives at the APEX with a 14-1 record and coming off a second-round stoppage win over UFC veteran Carlos Huachin. The 24-year-old hurt Huachin with a kick to the body, recognized his discomfort, and chased down the finish, showing good awareness in a fight where he had been struggling to land prior to that moment.
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Brandishing a 6-0 record with five wins inside the distance, the 24-year-old Lima trains under former UFC competitor Lucas Martins and touches down in Las Vegas off a second-round finish in early July under the LFA banner. Like so many other competitors to pass through the Contender Series this season, it’s difficult to get a clear read on where Lima stands as a prospect because he’s yet to consistently face established opposition.
Zenidim seems to have a little buzz in the prospect-watching community and is coming off a relatively high profile win, while Lima trains with a team that has already watched Luana Santos reach the UFC and garner a first-round finish in her debut, so this should be a spirited affair that provides much more information about each man on Tuesday evening.
Ramon Taveras vs Cortavious Romious
It’s Florida versus Missouri in the bantamweight division as Ramon Taveras faces off with Cortavious Romious on Tuesday night in Nevada.
Dana White opted to bring Taveras back for a second look this season, believing his loss to Serhiy Sidey earlier this season was stopped prematurely. The Jacksonville native looked sharp out of the gates against the former BFL champion before getting clipped, and aims to build on that start here.
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The 29-year-old Romious holds a 7-1 record with his lone loss coming by split decision against solid prospect Jornel Lugo. He’s earned six of his seven wins inside the distance, with five of those victories — including each of his last three — coming in the first round.
Taveras is looking to join Charles Byrd, Greg Hardy, Caio Borralho, and Bo Nickal as fighters that have made two appearances in the same season and landed a place on the UFC roster, while Romious is obviously out to prevent that from happening. Both are fast starters and proven finishes, which means things should get going in a hurry in this one.
Lucas Rocha vs Davi Bittencourt
Davi Bittencourt vs Lucas Rocha Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 10
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Davi Bittencourt vs Lucas Rocha Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 10
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Originally scheduled to compete last week at flyweight, Lucas Rocha and Davi Bittencourt meet here on the final week of the season instead, up a division, after Rocha missed weight last week, postponing their bout.
Sporting a 16-1 record despite the fact that he just turned 23 in August, Rocha touches down at the APEX on a five-fight winning streak. He’s faced solid competition as of late and comes into his matchup with Bittencourt off a unanimous decision win at LFA 159 in May.
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The 28-year-old Bittencourt has registered 10 consecutive victories, but it’s difficult to know how much stock to put into those results, as several of those wins have come against overmatched opposition. That being said, his last two opponents had a combined record to 19-3 and he defeated both, besting the first on the scorecards before collecting a second-round submission win in his most recent appearance.
It’ll be interesting to see how the delay and shift in weight class impacts this contest, or if there is added tension between the two as a result of the postponement. Whether there is or isn’t, these two are proven finishers to this point in their careers and should come out looking to put each other on a highlight reel this week.
