Tonight, we saw more UFC contracts handed out in the third week of the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series. We saw the most amount of fights we’ve seen all season as six fights took place tonight in the UFC‘s APEX.
So far this season, Dana White has been very generous with the contracts. The UFC president has shelled out ten contracts after two weeks. Last week, all five winners got a contract while in week one, White even gave a UFC contract to a fighter who lost.
With the promotion upping the amount of events they are hosting, they are constantly looking to add talent and The Contender Series is proving to be a gold mine for them. Tonight, the promotion ended up handing out another five contracts tonight.
UFC Contract Winners
Jailton Almeida
In the featured bout of the evening, we saw a battle of light heavyweights as Jailton Almeida (13-2) took on Nasrudin Nasrudinov (9-0). Nasrudinov entered the bout as the massive favorite and entered the contest with the same reputation as most fighters that come out of Dagestan.
However, it was Almeida who looked the most impressive in the grappling exchanges this evening. While everyone expected Nasrudinov to come forward and take Almeida down, we saw the opposite. Almeida’s strength gave Nasrudinov problems throughout the entire fight.
In the second round, Almeida landed a takedown and was able to work his way to the back of Nasrudinov. Once there, he was able to secure a rear naked choke and get the finish. Almeida’s dominant performance earned him a UFC contract.
Albert Duraev
The fourth fight of the night featured a battle of middleweights as Albert Duraev (13-3) took on Caio Bittencourt (14-6). Many were looking forward to this one and Bittencourt was riding a long winning streak as he was hoping to earn himself a UFC contract.
However, this fight ended up being incredibly one-sided in the other direction. Early on in the first round, Duraev was able to get a takedown and Bittencourt wouldn’t get back up. Duraev tied him up on the ground and use his ground and pound to secure dominant positions. Towards the end of the first, Duraev locked up a choke and got the tap. With his dominant win, Dana White gave him a contract.
Lakasz Brzeski
The third fight of the night featured a battle of heavyweights as Lukasz Brzeski (8-1-1) took on Dylan Potter (10-5). These two heavyweights wasted no time as both men started the fight throwing bombs. Immediately, Brzeski had the upper hand as he was landing big shots. However, Potter hung in there and threw back.
Both men looked absolutely gassed just halfway through the first round. For the rest of the fight, Brzeski pushed forward while Potter tried to hold him off. In the final round, Brzeski got a takedown and got the back of Potter. He sunk in a choke and initially it looked like Potter tapped however, upon further review, he was just fighting the hands.
Nevertheless, Brzeski got the submission win and earned himself a UFC contract as a result.
Jack Della Maddalena
The second fight of the evening paired up prospective welterweights Jack Della Maddalena (9-2) and Ange Loosa (7-1). This fight ended up being an absolute war as both men were going all out for a UFC contract.
Throughout the entire fight, it was Della Maddalena who was pushing forward and landing the better shots. In the second round, Della Maddalena slipped which allowed Loosa to get on top. In that, Loosa almost ended up securing an arm-triangle choke, however, Della Maddalena powered through.
In the third round, Loosa had success early in the round, but Della Maddalena turned things around about halfway through. Throughout the final couple of minutes, Della Maddalena put his foot on the gas and had Dana White standing up at the end. A sensational win that earned him a UFC contract.
Jasmine Jasudavicius
The first UFC contract of the evening went to Jasmine Jasudavicius (6-1) who defeated Julia Palestra (8-3) in an entertaining battle in the women’s flyweight division. This fight was back-and-forth, but there was a clear strategy for Jusdavicius.
The Canadian flyweight wanted to get the fight to the ground throughout. Palestra has great Muay Thai and you could tell when the two would exchange. However, Jusdavicius did a fantastic job of getting the fight to the ground throughout the three round contest.
In the first round, Jusdavicius was so dominant that she came within seconds of a finish. While it was a grinding performance, she did enough in Dana White’s eyes to earn herself a UFC contract.