The UFC returned last night with their ninth contender series card of 2020. The action was a little slower than last week, but despite that, several contracts were still handed out by Dana White. The newcomers are solid additions to their respected weight classes.
It was an odd night when it came to The Contender Series. Normally, fighters go all out to get finishes, but last night we saw some fighters play it easy. That’s not what Dana White is looking for when he puts on these cards.
Fighters who won but didn’t earn UFC contracts last night included bantamweight Danny Sabatello (9-1) and middleweight Mario Filipe De Sousa (12-1). Sabatello went to a very conservative wrestling game plan and grinding out a decision while De Sousa had a close fight that White thought he lost.
UFC Contract Winners
Luana Pinheiro
The first UFC contract of the night was handed out to strawweight Luana Pinheiro (8-1). The Brazilian strawweight entered the cage last night with everyone talking about her slick Judo. However, it wasn’t her judo that impressed Dana White last night.
Pinheiro has incredible power for a strawweight and she showed that off in her striking last night. She knocked out the last fighter she faced and she did it again last night. Halfway through the first round she blitzed and floored Stephanie Frausto.
The combination put her down and Pinheiro’s killer instinct went to work. She followed up with a few clean shots that forced the referee to stop the action. Not often are their ladies with that kind of power in the UFC‘s strawweight division.
Nikolas Motta
The second UFC contract of the evening was handed out to lightweight Nikolas Motta (12-3). Motta showed last night that he’s got very good striking and he showed that he can really impress UFC brass.
However, there were some drawbacks in his performance. Dana White was on the fringe about giving Motta a contract. Motta took on Joseph Lowry last night and appeared at times that he could finish the fight if he pressed on the gas.
However, Motta would hold back just a little. When Lowry would return, Motta would strike fiercely, but that lack of killer instinct nearly cost him a contract. However, in the end, Dana White rewarded his dominant decision victory with a UFC contract.
Natan Levy
The final UFC contract of the night was handed out to featherweight Natan Levy (6-0). Levy competes at featherweight, however, he took this opportunity at short notice and fought at a catchweight nearly 15 pounds above his normal weight class.
However, that didn’t stop Levy from dominating. Levy took on Shaheen Santana and used his superior grappling to dominate the fight. Santana came into the fight with a number of submissions which made the performance by Levy even more impressive.
Dana White seemed extremely excited because Levy is from Israel. The UFC has been looking for a fighter from Israel for a long time, and they might have found that contender in Levy. After dominating the whole fight, Levy finished things with a submission in the third.