This past Tuesday Night, we witnessed episode one of the annual Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. This will be a weekly event that will take place over the next seven weeks with at least one, sometimes more, contracts given out to the UFC. The cards are set for many of these events, including weeks 2, 3 and 4, that we will discuss in this article and they also have the preliminary schedule for weeks 5, 6 and 7.
Week 1 Review
In week one, we witnessed two contracts being given out by Dana White. There were several options in which Dana White could have gone but he went with two time veteran of the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series Alonzo Menifield, who knocked out his opponent in 0:08 second into the first round. Menifield made a statement with his second shot at earning a UFC contract, knocking out Dashawn Boatwright.
The second contract of the night went to former NFL Defensive End and public bad guy Greg Hardy. Hardy is most known for his off the field antics and his charges for domestic violence. Hardy was later dismissed of the charges due to the fact that his victim did not appear in court. Inside the octagon on Tuesday Night, Hardy made his pro debut and showed that the American Top Team prospect has the striking skills and power to compete at the highest level of MMA. Hardy knocked out his opponent, former NFL Defensive End Austen Lane, who spent several years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hardy showed impressive striking landing a right hand that dropped Lane early in the first round.
There were other options as well, such as Chris Curtis, who knocked his opponent out with a side head kick in the third round. Curtis put on a display of striking that is similar to a UFC veteran and with Sam Alvey in his corner, it appeared that the highlight reel KO would certainly place him as one of the favorites to earn the contract. After the fight was over, Curtis needed to be taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had broke his hand and would require surgery to repair. Curtis announced his retirement from the sport amid finding out about the broken hand and required surgery.
Week 2 – June 19, 2018
Matt Sayles 6-1 vs. Yazan Hajeh 6-0
In the second week of the series, we will see Matt Sayles taking on Yazan Hajeh in the main event. Sayles hasn’t fought inside the cage in over a year, after knocking out his opponent at a regional show on 3.25.2018. Sayles is 6-1 with five of his six wins coming by way of knockout. He will be facing Hajeh, who has won six in a row and has a undefeated record at 6-0. Yazan has only finished two of his opponents but both of those finishes were by KO in the first round.
The undercard on week 2 consists of the following:
Anthony Hernandez 6-1 vs. Jordan Wright 9-0
Giga Chikadze 5-1 vs. Austin Springer 10-3
Emiliano Sordi 16-6 vs. Ryan Spann 13-5
Tyler Hill 8-1 vs. Dwight Grant 7-1
Week 3 – June 26, 2018
Antonina Shevchenko 5-0 vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez 6-2
The main event in week three will consist of two flyweight female fighters in Antonina Shevchenko and Silvana Gomez Juarez. Shevchenko is the older sister of UFC veteran Valentina Shevchenko, who has fought for the UFC Bantamweight Title. Antonina Shevchenko is undefeated at 5-0 and will be looking to use her striking to put Juarez in bad spots and earn the UFC contract. Juarez has six wins and in those six wins, she has finished five of her opponents. Juarez has made a living of beating opponents that were undefeated at the time they fought and she will look to continue that streak of wins over former undefeated opponents when she faces the undefeated Shevchenko.
The undercard on week 3 consists of the following:
Te’Jovan Edwards 5-1 vs. Austin Tweedy 10-1
Oscar Ivan Cota 10-1 vs. Greg Berello 24-8
Jamall Emmers 13-3 vs. Julian Erosa 21-5
Tim Caron 9-1 vs. Andrew Todhunter 8-0
Week 4 – July 10, 2018
The main event in week 4 pits two undefeated lightweights looking to earn the UFC contract. Rafael Fiziev is 5-0 and will be looking to earn his sixth straight finish when he faces Hawaii’s Joey Gomez, who is 7-0. Fiziev should be a significant favorite in this fight, as every one of his finishes come in the first round.
The undercard on week 4 consists of the following:
Bevon Lewis 5-0 vs. Alton Cunningham 5-0
Toby Misech 10-5 vs. Ricky Palacios 9-1
Jordan Espinosa 12-5 vs. Riley Dutro 13-3
John Mustaki 6-2 vs. Jalin Turner 6-3
Week 5 – July 17, 2018
***Main Event Not Yet Set
Maki Pitolo 10-4 vs. Chibwikem Onyenegecha 6-0
Maycee Barber 4-0 vs. Jamie Colleen 4-1
Domingo Pilarte 7-1 vs. Vince Morales 7-1
Austin Vanderford 4-0 vs. Angelo Trevino 7-2
Week 6 – July 24, 2018
***Main Event Not Yet Set
Jim Crute 7-0 vs. Chris Birchler 7-3
Sodiq Yusuff 6-1 vs. Mike Davis 5-0
Jeff Hughes 9-1 vs. Josh Appelt 15-6
Chase Hooper 5-0 vs. Canaan Kawaihae 3-0
Week 7 – Tuesday, July 31, 2018
***Main Event Not Yet Set
Juan Adams 3-0 vs. Shawn Teed 5-1
Dontale Mayes 4-2 vs. Mitchell Sipe 4-0
Ian Heinisch 10-1 vs. Justin Sumter 6-1
All of these fights can be seen on on UFC Fight Pass on Tuesday Night at 8:00 PM ET.