Dana White's Contender Series season 9
UFC mixed martial arts event in 2025
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Season 9 of Dana White's Contender Series commences in August 2025 and in the US is exclusive to ESPN+, part of ESPN's subscription package.[1]
Week 1 – August 12
| Dana White's Contender Series 77 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | August 12, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
Background
Murtaza Talha was scheduled to face Damian Pinas in a middleweight bout at the event;[2] however, Pinas withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Baysangur Susurkaev on four days' notice.[3]
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Ilian Bouafia | def. | Neemias Santana | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Ty Miller | def. | Jimmy Drago | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Baysangur Susurkaev | def. | Murtaza Talha | KO (front kick to the body) | 1 | 3:04 | |
| Featherweight | Radley da Silva | def. | George Mangos | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Yuri Panferov | def. | Christopher Ewert | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- Santana was deducted one point in the round 1 due to an illegal headbutt.
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[5]
- Ty Miller and Baysangur Susurkaev
Week 2 – August 19
| Dana White's Contender Series 78 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | August 19, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
Background
At the weigh-ins, Louis Lee Scott weighed in at 136.5 pounds, 0.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit and he was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Kaushik Saikumar.[6]
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | José Mauro Delano | def. | Manuel Exposito | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Cameron Rowston | def. | Brandon Holmes | TKO (elbow and punches) | 1 | 2:58 | |
| Bantamweight | Louis Lee Scott | def. | Kaushik Saikumar | TKO (punches) | 3 | 2:20 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Josh Hokit | def. | Guilherme Uriel | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 1:06 | |
| Featherweight | Ramiro Jimenez | def. | Tommy Cuozzi | TKO (elbows and punches) | 1 | 2:53 | |
- Lee Scott missed weight (136.5 lb).
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[8]
- Ramiro Jimenez, Josh Hokit, Louis Lee Scott, Cameron Rowston, and José Mauro Delano
Week 3 – August 26
| Dana White's Contender Series 79 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | August 26, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
Background
Brando Peričić and Elisha Ellison were scheduled to meet at this event in a heavyweight bout, but it was announced during DWCS week 2 event that the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs. Reyes instead.[9]
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Ryan Gandra | def. | Trent Miller | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:51 | |
| Featherweight | Márcio Barbosa | def. | Damon Wilson | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:14 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev | def. | Alik Lorenz | TKO (knee to the body and punches) | 1 | 0:30 | |
| Lightweight | Manoel Sousa | def. | Cristian Pérez | TKO (punches) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Donte Johnson | def. | Darion Abbey | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:04 | |
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[11]
- Ryan Gandra, Marcio Barbosa, Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, Manoel Sousa, and Donte Johnson
Week 4 – September 2
| Dana White's Contender Series 80 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | September 2, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani | def. | Jack Congdon | KO (head kick and punch) | 1 | 1:08 | |
| Middleweight | Cezary Oleksiejczuk | def. | Theo Haig | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Lightweight | Mandel Nallo | def. | Samuel Silva | KO (punches) | 1 | 3:29 | |
| Flyweight | Eduardo Henrique | def. | An Tuan Ho | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Tommy McMillen | def. | David Mgoyan | Decision (majority) (28–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[13]
- Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani, Mandel Nallo, Cezary Oleksiejczuk, and Tommy McMillen
Week 5 – September 9
| Dana White's Contender Series 81 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | September 9, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
Background
Guilherme Pat and Anthony Guarascio were scheduled to meet in a heavyweight bout in the main event, but Pat withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Steven Asplund.[14]
Felipe Franco was originally scheduled to face Ivan Gnizditskiy and then Quentin Pasley, with both opponents eventually withdrawing from the contest and were replaced by Freddy Vidal. At the weigh-ins, Vidal weighed in at 210 pounds, 4 pounds over the light heavyweight limit and he was fined 25 percent of his purse, which went to Franco.[15]
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Steven Asplund | def. | Anthony Guarascio | TKO (punch and elbows) | 1 | 0:16 | |
| Featherweight | Lerryan Douglas | def. | Cam Teague | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Freddy Vidal | def. | Felipe Franco | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 4:48 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Samuel Sanches | def. | Chasen Blair | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:01 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Caroline Foro | def. | Shanelle Dyer | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- Vidal missed weight (210 lb).
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[17]
- Caroline Foro, Shanelle Dyer, Samuel Sanches, Lerryan Douglas and Stephen Asplund
Week 6 – September 16
| Dana White's Contender Series 82 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | September 16, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Bantamweight | Hecher Sosa | def. | Mackson Lee | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Iwo Baraniewski | def. | Mahamed Aly | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:20 | |
| Lightweight | Thomas Gantt | def. | Adam Livingston | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 2:47 | [a] |
| Middleweight | Paddy McCorry | def. | Hwang In-su | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Cody Chovancek | def. | Raphael Uchegbu | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:10 | |
- Livingston was deducted one point for repeatedly grabbing the fence.
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[19]
- Hecher Sosa, Iwo Baraniewski, Tommy Gantt, and Cody Chovancek
Week 7 – September 23
| Dana White's Contender Series 83 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | September 23, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
Background
Jeisla Chaves was scheduled to face Regina Tarin in a Women's Flyweight bout; however, Tarin withdrew from the fight and was replaced by Sofia Montenegro.[20]
Fighting Nerds prospect Icaro Brito was scheduled to Javier Reyes in a Featherweight bout; however, Brito's U.S. visa was denied and he was replaced by Justice Torres.[20]
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Mantas Kondratavičius | def. | Đani Barbir | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:06 | |
| Featherweight | Murtazali Magomedov | def. | Brahyan Zurcher | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:37 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Jeisla Chaves | def. | Sofia Montenegro | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Javier Reyes | def. | Justice Torres | TKO (knees and punches) | 1 | 2:32 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Rafael Tobias | def. | Jair de Oliveira | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 3:46 | |
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[22]
- Mantas Kondratavičius, Murtazali Magomedov, Jeisla Chaves, Sofia Montenegro, Javier Reyes and Rafael Tobias
Week 8 – September 30
| Dana White's Contender Series 84 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | September 30, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Damian Pinas | def. | Vitor Costa | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:46 | |
| Bantamweight | Louis Jourdain | def. | Magno Dias | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 0:39 | |
| Welterweight | Christopher Alvidrez | def. | Eliezer Kubanza | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:44 | |
| Featherweight | Kurtis Campbell | def. | Demba Seck | TKO (elbows and punches) | 1 | 1:20 | |
| Flyweight | Rashid Vagabov | def. | Paulo Henrique da Silva | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[24]
- Kurtis Campbell, Christopher Alvidrez, Louis Jourdain and Damian Pinas
Week 9 – October 7
| Dana White's Contender Series 85 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | October 7, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Magomed Zaynukov | def. | Lucas Caldas | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Adrián Luna Martinetti | def. | Mark Vologdin | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Imanol Rodriguez | def. | Roque Conceição Moreira Jr. | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:12 | |
| Middleweight | Luis Felipe Dias | def. | Donavon Hedrick | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:37 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Luke Fernandez | def. | Rafael Pergentino | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:15 | |
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[26]
- Magomed Zaynukov, Adrián Luna Martinetti, Mark Vologdin, Imanol Rodriguez, Luis Felipe Dias and Luke Fernandez
Week 10 – October 14
| Dana White's Contender Series 86 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dana White's Contender Series |
| Date | October 14, 2025 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Fight card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Levi Rodrigues | vs. | Freddy Vidal | NC (overturned) | 1 | 3:20 | [a] |
| Bantamweight | Juan Díaz | def. | Kwon Won-il | KO (spinning back elbow) | 2 | 4:58 | |
| Featherweight | Marwan Rahiki | def. | Ananias Mulumba | TKO (elbows and punches) | 2 | 2:13 | |
| Welterweight | Michael Oliveira | def. | Victor Valenzuela | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:56 | |
| Heavyweight | Jovan Leka | def. | Azamat Nuftillaev | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Wesley Schultz | def. | Mario Mingaj | Submission (kneebar) | 1 | 1:51 | |
- Originally a TKO (knees and punches) win for Rodrigues; overturned after he tested positive for nandrolone.[27]
Contract awards
The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:[29]
- Levi Rodrigues, Juan Díaz, Marwan Rahiki, Michael Oliveira, and Wesley Schultz