Dana White’s Contender Series 19 took place Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the four-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
With a refreshing but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders whom the UFC matchmakers can use for future events. So, with that trend in mind, I will once again be taking a look at the winning fighters regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, grading their performances in regards to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.
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Jonathan Pearce
Weight class: Lightweight
Result: Jonathan Pearce def. Jacob Rosales via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 1:50
Grade: A
Summary: In what was my favorite fight of the night, Jonathan Pearce backed up everything he’s been saying in the leadup to his back-and-forth war with Jacob Rosales.
Pearce, whose popular story hit MMA Junkie earlier this week, came forward early with offensive pressure, which, in turn, allowed a composed Rosales to hit counters on his oncoming opponent.
Thankfully for Pearce, adversity is a face that is all-too-familiar to him, and he was able to keep his Zombie-like approach despite the counter strikes and submission attempts thrown his way. And once the second round started ticking away, you could begin to smell the momentum shifting.
Rosales’ feet started to steadily slow a bit while trying to stage offense in return, something that seemingly also made his head more of a stationary target for a marauding Pearce to latch onto – unleashing a series of unruly uppercuts that gave me flashbacks to Tim Boetsch’s classic upset over Yushin Okami.
Pearce continued to pour on the pressure in the third frame, where he ended up taking things to the floor for the finish (which was justly stopped by Herb Dean due to heavy ground strikes). Lightweight may be a stacked party to enter in regards to getting a contract with the UFC, but with a gritty style that reminds me of the second coming of Josh Neer and a feel-good story to go along with it, you can count me in when it comes to Pearce.
Maki Pitolo
Weight class: Middleweight
Result: Maki Pitolo def. Justin Sumter via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:37
Grade: A
Summary: In a fight where he was both the underdog and the undersized fighter, Maki Pitolo certainly impressed the masses at middleweight, as he was a projected shoo-in on most people’s power rankings by the end of the night.
Pitolo, who typically competes at welterweight, moved up to meet a returning Contender Series alum in Justin Sumter.
Sumter, the southpaw, was showing confidence and comfortability early, hitting classic southpaw counters on the oncoming Hawaiian. Sumter’s power certainly earned Pitolo’s respect; unfortunately for Sumter, it only made Pitolo fight smarter.
After waking up his feet, Pitolo began to intelligently feint his way into space, attempting to draw out the big shots from Sumter. Once the 28-year-old from Oahu corralled his opposition against the fence, he beautifully changed levels to the body of Sumter, opening up the stoppage opportunity shortly after.
Pitolo – with a vocal push from Dana White – will likely drop back down to welterweight after now officially earning a contract with the UFC. And with a nickname like “Coconut Bombz” (which, to me, sounds like something that should be painted on the side of a World War II-era bomber plane or, at the very least, the name of a killer weed strain), I suspect we’ll see some action-friendly fights ahead for Pitolo.
Hunter Azure
Weight class: Bantamweight
Result: Hunter Azure def. Christian Ocon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Grade: B+
Summary: Don’t let the grade differential fool you, Hunter Azure (who might want to consider the nickname of “Honey Badger”) earns the highest grade you’ll see me give for a dominant decision win in this series.
Sure, Azure was one of the more moderate favorites on the card, but he brought a pace and pressure that seemingly overwhelmed Christian Ocon’s best efforts and impressed me and many in the process.
Ocon, who is a crisp and composed striker for his experience level, found himself being thrown off his striking game early due to the hard leg kicks that Azure was hitting him with on the feet. And with the lightning-fast, level-changing takedowns that followed shortly after, it steadily became clear where this fight was heading.
A four-time state champion wrestler, Azure displayed the aggressive style that earned him said titles, relentlessly riding Ocon’s legs and keeping him heavy on his hands – something that helped allow Azure to strike and advance his way toward choking positions. However, as Michael Bisping noted from the commentary position, Azure may have been a bit too committed to finishing in a certain fashion (though that’s something that will arguably adjust itself with experience, as you can’t count that against a now 7-0 fighter too hard).
For that reason, I wasn’t sure if the UFC president would sign the young bantamweight, but I’m glad he did. Azure, who is yet another successful MMA Lab fighter, looks to have all the tools (particularly the wrestling and cardio) to become a future player in the division.
Antonio Trocoli
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Result: Antonio Trocoli def. Kenneth Bergh via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:57
Grade: A
Summary: In one of the faster fights of the night, Antonio Trocoli turned the tides quickly as the third victorious underdog on the card.
The 28-year-old Brazilian, unbeknownst to most, broke his foot on the very first kick he threw in the fight, which all but caused Kenneth Bergh to push forward on his opponent.
Bergh – a Frontline Academy fighter who trains with UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson – is a powerful force in close, but his forward pressure here put him on the wrong end of an uchi mata (hip toss). And once on the floor, the size of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt became apparent as Trocoli’s frame started to engulf Bergh in the ground exchanges.
Bergh ultimately ended up getting neck cranked for his get-up efforts, causing an excited Trocoli to forget all about his mangled foot.
Trocoli deservedly got a contract in Dana White’s Oprah-like post-fight interview with Laura Sanko, but the question remains as to what division the Brazilian will compete in due to his flexibility and frame (somehow competing as a welterweight in previous outings). Considering he weighed in for this contest at 202.5 pounds, I’d like to see him back as a middleweight when he’s healthy.
Joe Solecki
Weight class: Lightweight
Result: Joe Solecki def. Jesse Wallace via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:49
Grade: A
Summary: Although this may have been one of the more one-sided bouts of the evening, Joe Solecki may have been the fighter who impressed me the most.
As John Morgan and I discussed on MMA Junkie’s pre-show, there are certain types of “special” that you can spot early on – and Solecki may have some of that going for him. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has been grappling since age 6, Solecki goes through the motions seamlessly, almost as if he were a submission-chaining cyborg.
Solecki’s dance partner, “Jesse” James Wallace, was also no slouch, as the Cole Miller protege provided a stiff test on paper. Perhaps it was the anticipation of Solecki’s grappling, but Wallace quickly found himself on the wrong end of a few punches, getting his return kick caught and countered into a takedown for his efforts.
From there, Solecki was able to show some of his wrestling improvements under noted grappler/MMA fighter John Salter, securing a wrist-ride variation from half-guard (aka: “the Dagestani handcuff”) to pour on pressure and persuade his opponent to give his back.
After securing a slightly-off-to-the-side back mount, Solecki quietly (and awkwardly) isolated Wallace’s head and arm, baiting the American Top Team fighter to turn into him – falling right into an arm-in guillotine variation that was taught to me as a “boa choke.”
But regardless of the name, it was a sweet submission series from a fighter who – whether it be his maturity or ability to articulate well – reminds me of a young Kenny Florian. And like I did with “KenFlo,” I will also be looking forward to seeing where Solecki’s journey lands him in the UFC’s lightweight division.
For complete coverage of Dana White’s Contender Series 19, visit the MMA Events.
