Another season of Dana White's Contender Series is in the books, and with every passing year, this show receives more credibility based on the success of its alums.
The show has produced two champions, current UFC bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley and former light heavyweight title holder Jamahal Hill. Last year Taila Santos nearly became the first woman from Contender Series to win a title. And you're seeing more and more fight cards headlined by DWCS alums (Grant Dawson last week, Sodiq Yusuff this week).
Brett Okamoto, Laura Sanko and Ian Parker share their takeaways and fighters to keep an eye on from Season 7 of Dana White's Contender Series.
Okamoto: Has the UFC found the next Sean O'Malley?
Get ready for the Payton Talbott-Sean O'Malley comparisons. They are coming. These two look alike in build (and hair), and their fighting styles are similar. If the similarities stopped there, I wouldn't compare them because it would be lazy. But when I watched Talbott compete in Week 1, I saw a lot of O'Malley in him.
First, his composure. We've seen many times throughout O'Malley's career how calm he is. Things never speed up for O'Malley, and he's always in control of himself and his surroundings. Talbott struck me as the same. He wasn't overly hyped to be on Contender Series at age 24. He didn't rush anything in the fight and he was very efficient, including defending 12 takedown attempts. He didn't lose his mind when he earned his contract. To me, that shows someone who knows he belongs. O'Malley has been the same way.
Talbott also has great vision. The commentary team talked a lot about his chin, which held up incredibly well to anything his opponent, Reyes Cortez Jr., landed in the fight. Part of that is because Talbott saw all of the shots coming. He sees his opponent's offense and his own openings extremely well, just like O'Malley does. And he has shown that ability through a small number of fights. He only started training recently, when he was in college in Reno, Nevada. That gift is only going to increase with experience.
Since earning a UFC contract during Week 1, Talbott has already booked a fight. He will debut against Nick Aguirre at UFC Fight Night on Nov. 18.
I like Talbott a lot. He has a ton of potential. Dana White said of him, "If this kid can keep his head together, I can't wait to see him at 27." In case you're wondering, O'Malley won the UFC championship at age 28. I'll be following this kid's progress, for sure.
Sanko: Jose Medina impressed Dana White, and that was enough
This season was a reminder that contenders on the wrong side of the outcome in their fight can still earn a UFC contract if they can impress the boss, Dana White.
Three fighters lost their fights during the season but still made enough of an impression to earn a spot on the UFC roster. Jose Medina, Carli Judice and Angel Pacheco are in.
The one that stands out most -- and maybe this is recency bias -- is Medina, who earned a contract on Week 9 after being dominated by Magomed Gadzhiyasulov and ultimately losing by unanimous decision.
This may be a once-ever type of situation. I don't think we'll see a fighter on the receiving end of that type of loss earn a contract often, if ever again. But Medina showing as much heart as he did and taking risks, putting it all out there, made an impression on everyone. It was cool to see him win over the crowd, and Michael Bisping and I as commentators, but I never would have thought he would have won over White, too.
Part of what was notable was that Medina was taking on a really good fighter, and while he may not have won the fight -- or even come close to winning the fight -- he made Gadzhiyasulov look pretty average. And he completely gassed him out. Looking at the two fighters' physiques, you never would have imagined that Gadzhiyasulov would have been the one to run out of gas. Medina came out there and poured his heart out in the Octagon against a guy who was muscled up and looked to be in shape.
I know White intentionally avoids learning about these fighters ahead of time. But I think, when they were in the back making decisions on which fighters to sign, and White found out a little bit of Medina's story -- it was enough to give him a chance. This is a guy with no formal training, a full-time veterinarian who works long, physically demanding days and then goes and trains on top of it. And he does it without a coach. He's never had a coach.
If you put all that together -- bring him down a weight class and get him some good coaching -- he could turn out to be a top fighter.
Parker: Brendson Ribeiro pulls off the best upset of the season
In Week 5's main event, Brendson Ribeiro took on Bruno Lopes in a bout that was supposed to be a showcase fight for Lopes. Lopes entered the fight following a second-round knockout of Willyanedson Paiva to claim the LFA light heavyweight title. He was a -600 favorite against Ribeiro, who entered as a +400 underdog.
These are two light heavyweights who go for broke and look to end fights by knockout, and have been successful in doing so. Lopes was undefeated, but Ribeiro showed that the odds didn't mean a thing to him as he beat Lopes by first-round knockout.
Often, betting on Dana White's Contender Series is challenging because these prospects come from various organizations and have faced different levels of competition. Because of this, sometimes the odds are skewed due to the popularity of an organization or fighters having padded records. In this case, it paid to take a flyer on Ribeiro.
Sanko: Other fighters to keep an eye on in the future
Oban Elliott, Week 3
Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 9-2
There was so much emotion going into his fight. He entered the sport when his father passed away at a young age. His father had been pushing him to train and he never wanted to do it, but after his father passed, his mom encouraged him to do it as a form of therapy to tap into his relationship with his dad.
Steven Nguyen, Week 6
Weight class: Featherweight
Record: 9-1
Nguyen finally earned a contract on his third try on the Contender Series. He first appeared on Season 3, Week 6 in 2019, losing to Aalon Cruz by knockout. Nguyen got another shot on the show on Season 5, Week 4, winning by unanimous decision but without being awarded a contract. He finally broke through this season.
Jean Matsumoto, Week 6
Weight class: Bantamweight
Record: 14-0
When I saw Matsumoto's tape before his fight, I knew this guy was good. He's so talented everywhere. It's rare at this level to be put together in every facet of the game. He's not just a striker. Not just a wrestler. Not just a grappler. He has all the in-between skills that make a fighter a mixed martial artist. As soon as he fought, Bisping and I thought, 'This guy could compete in the top 10 of the division right away."
Eduarda Moura, Week 2
Weight class: Strawweight
Record: 9-0
Moura is a training partner of rising UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida, who earned a contract on Season 5, Week 3 of Contender Series. That chick is good. She's undefeated with eight finishes, which is crazy for a strawweight. There's not one thing she does that particularly jumps off the page because she's so good at everything. But she has legit finishing ability.
Danny Barlow, Week 8
Weight class: Welterweight
Record: 9-0
Barlow was impressive in his fight against Raheam Forest, winning by TKO. He's a crazy athlete. He's one of those guys that makes you think, with a few years of quality technical training, this kid will be unstoppable. His left hand is nasty and he has really good kicks. If he can add some polish to his game, the sky is the limit.