The UFC on ESPN 9 card features nine fighters who previously have competed on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Not all of them earned contracts from their appearance on the show, but those who didn’t certainly remained on the UFC’s radar until they eventually got the call.
Some of the former Contender Series athletes will get to revisit a familiar place when they compete Saturday at the UFC Apex, which has been the home of the talent-finding series since Season 3.
Here are the nine Contender Series alums who will be in action Saturday:
Augusto Sakai (vs. Blagoy Ivanov)
Augusto Sakai earned a UFC contract on the first edition of Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil in 2018 when he stopped Marcos Conrado Jr. in the second round.
Since then, Sakai (14-1-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has scored three big wins over Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura, earning a spot in the UFC’s top 15 heavyweight rankings as a result.
He will take on Bulgarian veteran Blagoy Ivanov in the co-main event as he looks to establish himself as one of the rising contenders in the division.
Daniel Rodriguez (vs. Gabriel Green)
Daniel Rodriguez did not earn a contract on the Contender Series after going the distance for the first time in his career in his win over Rico Farrington last July. That did not deter him, however, as he then went on to capture the Smash Global welterweight title with a second-round finish of Quinton McCottrell.
Shortly after, Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) received a short notice call to face Tim Means at UFC on ESPN+ 25, and he didn’t disappoint. Fighting on enemy territory, Rodriguez came up big as an underdog when he stunned the crowd by submitting Means in the second round.
He was originally scheduled to face Kevin Holland in Las Vegas on Saturday but, after Holland was forced out due to injury, Rodriguez drew UFC newcomer and former Bellator veteran Gabriel Green (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), and will look to notch his eighth win in a row against the newcomer, who arrives in the UFC riding a six-fight win streak.
Roosevelt Roberts (vs. Brok Weaver)
Roosevelt Roberts earned a contract on DWCS in July 2018 when he choked out Garrett Gross in the second round.
He then tasted success in his first two UFC bouts, submitting Darrell Horcher in the first round, then defeating Thomas Gifford via unanimous decision.
Roberts (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) suffered his first pro loss to Vinc Pichel last June, but capitalized on an opportunity to replace the man that bounced him out of the ranks of the unbeaten when he stepped in for Pinchel to face Alexander Yakovlev in Moscow. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Now he is set to face Brok Weaver in a battle of rising former Contender Series prospects.
Brok Weaver (vs. Roosevelt Roberts)
Brok Weaver came into the Contender Series last August with a lot of experience in both the amateur and pro circuits. His engaging personality and all-action fighting style helped earn him a UFC contract when he defeated Devin Smyth in an entertaining showing.
The proud member of the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians made his promotional debut in February when he defeated Rodrigo Vargas via disqualification when he was struck by an illegal knee and rendered unable to continue.
Weaver (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will be looking to win the fight by more conventional means when he takes on fellow Contender Series alum Roosevelt Roberts.
Antonina Shevchenko (vs. Katlyn Chookagian)
Antonina Shevchenko will get her biggest opportunity to date when she faces former UFC title challenger Katlyn Chookagian.
Sister of current UFC flyweight champ Valentina, Shevchenko (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) earned a contract after her Contender Series appearance in 2018, when she showed off her muay-Thai skills, stopping Jaimee Nievera in the second round.
She picked up a win over Ji Yeon Kim in her UFC debut, but was then upset by veteran Roxanne Modafferi as she fell to her first pro loss.
Shevchenko bounced back well last August when she defeated Lucie Pudilova, and now has the opportunity to propel herself up the rankings when she takes on Chookagian.
Billy Quarantillo (vs. Spike Carlyle)
Billy Quarantillo failed to make his mark during his time on “The Ultimate Fighter,” but received another opportunity on the Contender Series four years later.
Quarantillo (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) finally became a member of the UFC roster when he rallied to stop Kamuela Kirk at the UFC Apex last July.
He followed up that performance with victory on his UFC debut as he submitted Jacob Kilburn last December at UFC on ESPN 7 to notch his sixth straight win.
Now he will take on fellow streaking featherweight Spike Carlyle in a 150-pound catchweight bout.
Jamahal Hill (vs. Klidson Abreu)
Jamahal Hill earned a UFC contract last July when he finished Germany’s Alexander Poppeck.
The undefeated light heavyweight then defeated Darko Stosic via unanimous decision in his promotional debut in January, but admitted he wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance.
Now Hill (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will have the opportunity to impress once again when he takes on Kildson Abreu.
Vince Morales (vs. Chris Gutierrez)
Vince Morales’ Contender Series experience ended in disappointment when he was submitted by Domingo Pilarte in 2018.
After missing out on a contract, Morales rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Justin Hugo at Bellator 205 and less than two months later, he received the call to step in on short notice for a UFC fight.
Morales (9-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) replaced Frankie Saenz to face one of the bantamweight division’s hottest prospects, Song Yadong, but the fight didn’t go his way.
He picked up his first official UFC win when he defeated Aiemann Zahabi at UFC on ESPN+ 9. However, Morales suffered a unanimous decision loss to Benito Lopez last July.
He will look to get back in the win column in Las Vegas when he faces Chris Gutierrez.
Casey Kenney (vs. Louis Smolka)
It took a while for Casey Kenney to finally appear on the UFC scene.
After failing to secure a contract on his first Contender Series appearance in 2017 when he defeated Cee Jay Hamilton, Casey was handed another chance at a UFC contract less than a month later. But, agonizingly, he fell short once again as he was defeated by Adam Antolin.
Kenney kept plugging away and notched numerous impressive wins under the LFA banner en route to capturing the promotion’s 125 and 135-pound titles. That resurgence saw him earn his big break when he was called in on short notice to face former UFC flyweight title challenger, Ray Borg.
Kenney (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) cashed in big by upsetting Borg and went onto to play spoiler one more time, by bouncing Manny Bermudez out of the ranks of the unbeaten in his next fight.
He saw his six-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili in February and will look to rebound when he faces veteran Louis Smolka.
