The 10th and final week of this season’s Dana White’s Contender Series took place on Tuesday night, with four fighters earning Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.
In the main event, Nick Klein (5-1) quickly upset heavy favorite Gerardo Souza (9-1-1) with an early takedown, and Klein shut out the fight in a total of 37 seconds. . Shaw won by rear naked choke in the first round.
Jonathan Micallef, Yadier Del Valle and Louis Goulet join Klein as winners of the contract. Two of the winners, Gurule and Klein, both came on short notice to win.
The co-main event would be a tough matchup after Del Valle and Monteiro, but it was quite a follow-up in itself, with undefeated flyweight Nick Piccinini and Grule taking center stage. Both fighters performed well in the first round, with Gurule regaining momentum in the second half of the period.
It was truly a matchup between wrestlers and strikers, and it was a very close match heading into the third round. The third frame, which had some interesting moments for both fighters, went to the judges, with Gurule winning by split decision.
Gurule is currently 10-0 in his professional career.
The featherweight showdown between Del Valle (7-0) and Antonio Monteiro (17-4-1, No. 1 in North Carolina) was one of the most exciting fights not only of the night, but of the season. Del Valle dominated in the first round, with Monteiro only landing one significant strike, but the two would catch fire in the second round.
Del Valle landed 91 significant strikes in the first two rounds. Herb Dean warned Monteiro to protect himself and keep fighting, and Monteiro, who found his momentum in the second match, will do just that.
The third round was as fast-paced as the second, but it was Monteiro who showed his strength in the final period. After controlling most of the frame, Monteiro attempted a guillotine, and after he let it go, Del Valle slashed his opponent with a big elbow. After 15 minutes of back and forth, Del Valle made the decision.
The only women’s matchup was a strawweight bout between Julieta Martinez (7-0) and Leslie Hernandez (4-1). Despite the slow start for Martinez, it was a very entertaining back-and-forth. After a rough first five minutes, Martinez turned things around and had a pretty turnaround performance, securing several takedowns in the final two stanzas.
The women’s team would fight through three rounds, forcing Martinez to slow down Hernandez, and the judges awarded the fight a split decision in Martinez’s favor.
Despite the win, Martinez was not signed, but Dana White said the UFC will continue her training at Mexico’s Performance Institute.
Muhammad Addo (5-0) didn’t do well at “Dana White Looking for a Fight,” but he impressed the UFC boss with his fight against Micallef (6-1) I got a second chance to give. Going into the night, Micallef was the biggest betting favorite of the event (-180), and after several upsets between the two, Micallef quickly finished off Ado with a first-round triangle choke victory.
