Last night, UFC president Dana White’s Contender Series made it’s return on ESPN+. The show featured eight fighters who were all vying for a contract with the world’s premier MMA organization.
Fighters tend to go all out looking for finishes or excitement in these fights which is why so many love the Contender Series. With that, let’s take a look at the three fighters that walked away with UFC contracts last night.
Jordan Leavitt
Lightweight Jordan Leavitt (7-0) took on Jose Flores (9-2) in the first fight of the evening last night. Both guys were known for their ground skills both coming into the fight with several submission wins. Instead of seeing the ground fighters stand, Leavitt had other plans.
Leavitt immediately shot in for a takedown. Once he got the fight to the ground, Leavitt controlled Flores. A few minutes in, Leavitt was able to lock in an arm-triangle choke to secure the first round finish.
Afterwards, Leavitt showed his personality with his signature splits and worm celebration. The quick first round win was enough to earn him a UFC contract from Dana White.
Uros Medic
To me, the most impressive performance came in the third fight of the evening when lightweights Uros Medic (6-0) and Mikey Gonzalez (7-2) went head-to-head. Medic looked absolutely sensational in this one.
At 6’1, Medic looked massive in there as a lightweight. Medic immediately pressed forward in the first round with powerful kicks hurting Gonzalez to the legs and the body.
Just a couple of minutes into the contest, Medic landed a powerful combination against the cage that floored Gonzalez. Strong follow up shots caused the ref to stop the action. Dominance from Medic who’s going to be dangerous in the UFC.
Dustin Jacoby
The final fight of the evening featured light heavyweight’s Dustin Jacoby (12-5) and Ty Flores (7-3). Jacoby came into the contest as a veteran of Bellator so he had some big promotional experience.
Jacoby went after Flores hard for the first two rounds of their fight. In total, he landed 131 shots last night in their contest. The fight came close to getting stopped a couple of times, but Flores’ toughness was on full display.
After pushing an incredible pace for two rounds, Jacoby completely hit a wall and gassed in the third. You could tell he was going all out for the finish to impress the UFC. He was still dominant in winning a unanimous decision.
Despite not getting the finish, White decided to reward Jacoby with a contract for his performance. He did try to go all out, but just couldn’t quite get the finish he wanted.
Brightest UFC Future?
The Contender Series is fantastic for adding new talent in the UFC. The series has already produced some big time guys for the promotion. The guy I’m the most excited for has to be Uros Medic.
The UFC‘s lightweight division is absolutely filled with killers. Medic will fit right in with his long and lethal striking style. I think the promotion will build him slowly, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him as a contender one day in that division.