Dana White's Contender Series (season 5)

Season 5 of Dana White's Contender Series will commence in August 2021 and in the US would be exclusive to ESPN+, ESPN's new over-the-top subscription package.^[1][2][3]

Dana White's Contender Series
Season 5
Country of origin	United States
Release
Original network	ESPN+
Original release	August 31 (2021-08-31) – November 2, 2021 (2021-11-02)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 4 Next → Season 6

Week 1 - August 31

Dana White's Contender Series 37
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	August 31, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Light Heavyweight	Azamat Murzakanov	def.	Matheus Scheffel	TKO (punches)	1	3:00
Featherweight	Joanderson Brito	def.	Diego Lopes	Technical Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	0:10	^[a]
Flyweight	Victor Altamirano	def.	Carlos Candelario	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	AJ Fletcher	def.	Leonardo Damiani	KO (flying knee)	1	2:24

1. Brito was deducted one point in round 3 due to an eye poke which rendered Lopes unable to continue.

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[4]

• Azamat Murzakanov, Joanderson Brito, Victor Altamirano, Carlos Candelario, and AJ Fletcher

Week 2 - September 7

Dana White's Contender Series 38
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	September 7, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Josh Quinlan	vs.	Logan Urban	No Contest	1	0:47	^[a]
Middleweight	Chidi Njokuani	def.	Mario Sousa	TKO (elbows)	3	1:35
Bantamweight	Saimon Oliveira	def.	José Alday	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Flyweight	C.J. Vergara	def.	Bruno Korea	TKO (knee to the body)	1	0:41
Bantamweight	Chad Anheliger	def.	Muin Gafurov	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00

1. Original a KO (punches) win for Quinlan; overturned following Quinlan failing a drug test.^[5]

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[6]

• Josh Quinlan, Chidi Njokuani, Saimon Oliveira, C.J. Vergara, and Chad Anheliger

Week 3 - September 14

Dana White's Contender Series 39
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	September 14, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Light Heavyweight	Jailton Almeida	def.	Nasrudin Nasrudinov	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	1:49
Bantamweight	Mo Miller	def.	Brandon Lewis	Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Albert Duraev	def.	Caio Bittencourt	Submission (neck crank)	1	3:29
Heavyweight	Łukasz Brzeski	vs.	Dylan Potter	NC (overtuned by NAC)^[7]	3	3:51
Welterweight	Jack Della Maddalena	def.	Ange Loosa	Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Women's Flyweight	Jasmine Jasudavicius	def.	Julia Polastri	Decision (unanimous) (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)	3	5:00

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[8]

• Jailton Almeida, Albert Duraev, Łukasz Brzeski, Jack Della Maddalena, and Jasmine Jasudavicius

Week 4 - September 21

Dana White's Contender Series 40
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	September 21, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Catchweight (189 lbs)	AJ Dobson	def.	Hashem Arkhagha	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:21	^[a]
Welterweight	Michael Morales	def.	Nikolay Veretennikov	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Steven Nguyen	def.	Theo Rlayang	Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 30–26)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Kleydson Rodrigues	def.	Santo Curatolo	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Victor Martinez	def.	Jacob Rosales	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

1. Originally a middleweight bout; Arkhagha missed weight.

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[9]

• AJ Dobson, Michael Morales, Kleydson Rodrigues, and Victor Martinez

Week 5 - September 28

Dana White's Contender Series 41
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	September 28, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Light Heavyweight	Ihor Potieria	def.	Łukasz Sudolski	TKO (punches)	1	3:41
Middleweight	Caio Borralho	def.	Aaron Jeffery	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Daniel Zellhuber	def.	Lucas Almeida	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Rizvan Kuniev	def.	Edivan Santos	TKO (punches)	3	1:00

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[10]

• Igor Poterya and Daniel Zellhuber

Week 6 - October 5

Dana White's Contender Series 42
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	October 5, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Mike Malott	def.	Shimon Smotritsky	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	0:39
Flyweight	Carlos Hernandez	def.	Daniel Barez	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Catchweight (139 lbs)	Fernie Garcia	def.	Joshua Weems	TKO (punches)	1	2:10	^[a]
Middleweight	Joseph Holmes	def.	Shonte Barnes	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	2:46
Lightweight	Genaro Valdéz	def.	Patrik White	TKO (punches)	2	0:44

1. Originally a bantamweight bout; Weems missed weight.

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[11]

• Mike Malott, Carlos Hernandez, Fernie Garcia, and Genaro Valdéz

Week 7 - October 12

Dana White's Contender Series 43
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	October 12, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Catchweight (137.25 lbs)	Christian Rodriguez	def.	Reyes Cortez	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00	^[a]
Heavyweight	Martin Buday	def.	Lorenzo Hood	TKO (knee)	1	4:56
Catchweight (127 lbs)	Jake Hadley	def.	Mitch Raposo	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	3:11	^[b]
Lightweight	Vyacheslav Borshchev	def.	Chris Duncan	KO (punch)	2	0:28
Women's Strawweight	Maria Silva	def.	Kathryn Paprocki	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00

1. Originally a bantamweight bout; Rodriguez missed weight.
2. Originally a flyweight bout; Hadley missed weight.

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[12]

• Martin Buday, Jake Hadley, and Vyacheslav Borshchev

Week 8 - October 19

Dana White's Contender Series 44
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	October 19, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Jonny Parsons	def.	Solomon Renfro	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Piera Rodríguez	def.	Valesca Machado	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Caio Borralho	def.	Jesse Murray	TKO (punches)	1	1:41
Light Heavyweight	Armen Petrosyan	def.	Kaloyan Kolev	KO (head kick and punches)	1	4:27
Bantamweight	Pedro Falcão	def.	James Barnes	KO (punches)	3	3:55

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[13]

• Jonny Parsons, Piera Rodríguez, Caio Borralho, and Armen Petrosyan

Week 9 - October 26

Dana White's Contender Series 45
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	October 26, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Gadzhi Omargadzhiev	def.	Jansey Silva	Submission (kneebar)	1	4:19
Bantamweight	Cristian Quiñonez	def.	Long Xiao	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Catchweight (139 lbs)	Javid Basharat	def.	Oron Kahlon	Submission (guillotine choke)	3	4:12	^[a]
Women's Flyweight	Karine Silva	def.	Qihui Yan	Submission (guillotine choke)	2	1:44
Lightweight	Manuel Torres	def.	Kolton Englund	TKO (punches)	1	2:10
Featherweight	Oliver Murad	def.	Xie Bin	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

1. Originally a bantamweight bout; Kahlon missed weight.

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[14]

• Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, Cristian Quiñonez, Javid Basharat, Karine Silva, and Manuel Torres

Week 10 - November 2

Dana White's Contender Series 46
Information
Promotion	DWCS
Date	November 2, 2021
Venue	UFC Apex Centre
City	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Maheshate	def.	Achilles Estremadura	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Yohan Lainesse	def.	Justin Burlinson	KO (punches)	1	1:37
Flyweight	Erisson Ferreira da Silva	def.	Lun Qiu	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Jonas Bilharinho	def.	Canaan Kawaihae	TKO (spinning wheel kick)	3	4:00
Flyweight	Juan Puerta	def.	Zhifa Shang	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00

Contract awards

The following fighters were awarded contracts with the UFC:^[15]

• Maheshate and Yohan Lainesse

References

1. "Dana White's Contender Series takes on international theme, 10 fights added to upcoming season". MMA Junkie. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
2. Sherdog.com. "6-Foot-7 Brazilian Edivan Santos to Fight on Dana White's Contender Series Sept. 28". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
3. Sherdog.com. "Jungle Fight Champ Lucas Almeida Meets Daniel Zellhuber at Contender Series on Sept. 28". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
4. "Dana White's Contender Series 37 results: Five contracts awarded, including one fighter who suffered a loss". MMA Junkie. 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
5. "NAC overturns DWCS winner Josh Quinlan's UFC contract-earning victory after positive drug test". MMA Junkie. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
6. "Dana White's Contender Series 38 results: 5 more fighters score UFC deals". MMA Junkie. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
7. "NAC suspends two Dana White's Contender Series fighters for using banned substances". 13 December 2021.
8. Morgan, John (2021-09-15). "Dana White's Contender Series 39 results: Five more fighters secure UFC deals". MMA Junkie. from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
9. "Dana White's Contender Series 40 results: Four more fighters score UFC deals". MMA Junkie. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
10. "Dana White's Contender Series 41 results: Two fighters earn contracts". MMA Junkie. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
11. "Dana White's Contender Series 42 results: Four fighters signed to UFC, one heads to 'Lookin' for a Fight'". MMA Junkie. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
12. "Dana White's Contender Series 43 results: Three more secure UFC deals, including one who missed weight". MMA Junkie. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
13. Staff (2021-10-19). "Dana White's Contender Series Season 5, Week 8 Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
14. Staff (2021-10-26). "Dana White's Contender Series Season 5, Week 9 Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
15. Staff (2021-11-02). "Dana White's Contender Series Season 5, Week 10 Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-11-03.