Dana White’s Contender Series 21 took place Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-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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Billy Quarantillo
Weight class: Featherweight
Result: Billy Quarantillo def. Kamuela Kirk via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:22
Grade: A
Summary: In what was a tale of two fights, Billy Quarantillo came back from some decent adversity to help himself earn an A in my book and, more importantly, a UFC contract.
Although his pressure would pay off later, Quarantillo’s aggression cost him a crucial takedown early against Kamuela Kirk – a fighter who’s been practicing jiu-jitsu since the age of 4. That said, the pretty picture Kirk was painting on the floor began to quickly fall apart after Quarantillo was able to shuck the Jamaican-Hawaiian off of his back.
Kirk was able to keep a solid poker face as he made it back to his feet, but it was clear that the grappling efforts took something out of him.
Shortly after, Quarantillo – who tends to have a slower start – began to hit his stride in the first half of the second round, meeting Kirk’s more dynamic offerings with hard punches and pressure. And by the midway point of the round, Quarantillo’s adjustments to keep things in boxing range paid off, as an exhausted Kirk was relegated to playing defense in his weakest area on paper.
The fight could’ve been stopped in the corner between rounds 2 and 3 due to the excessive damage Kirk was taking, but thankfully Herb Dean was closely watching that narrative (as I imagine all combat sports officials are operating with heightened senses and heavy hearts right now), stopping the action standing.
Quarantillo should make for a nice action-fighting addition to the UFC’s featherweight stable. I say throw him in there with fighters the likes of Steven Peterson or Daniel Teymur to start off, seeing how he swims in fun stylistic matchups.
Jamahal Hill
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Result: Jamahal Hill def. Alexander Poppeck via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:29
Grade: A
Summary: Although there wasn’t a ton of adversity or action early on, I found it hard to not give Jamahal Hill an A for his contract-earning effort over Alexander Poppeck.
With this being one of the “greener” matchups on the card, this fight was a bit of a wildcard in regards to what to expect. Both men started off somewhat tentative, trying to score single shots down the pipe in what was an open-stance matchup.
Hill, the southpaw, found some quiet success to the body in the first round, though I’m not sure he could see how effective his shots were through Poppeck’s poker face (seemingly shying away from those attacks after).
That said, come the second round, Hill appeared to be a completely different fighter. The 28-year-old came out much more aggressive and dialed in, attaching right hooks to his previous single-shot attacks. Hill then smartly revisited the bodywork from the previous round, hurting Poppeck more visibly this time around.
Hill then began to attack Poppeck’s body with impunity by pushing into the Thai clinch, following his crumbled foe to the floor for the finish. Though a contract winner here, Hill is still fairly green for the UFC stage, as I wouldn’t be surprised to see him paired with someone coming off of a loss like Paul Craig or Mike Rodriguez for his first official assignment.
J.J. Okanovich
Weight class: Lightweight
Result: J.J. Okanovich def. Christian Lohsen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Grade: C
Summary: Well. I can’t give A’s to everyone as J.J. Okanovich earns a C for his win over Christian Lohsen in a fight that Dana White labeled as “awkward.”
The fight started off strong with both fighters swinging heavy – something that forced Lohsen to start exercising his perceived grappling edge. The 24-year-old was able to pick an ankle to get Okanovich to the floor, synching up a chain of submission threats from front-chokes to triangles soon after.
Unfortunately for Lohsen, Okanovich – the American Kickboxing Academy product – was able to parlay his experience of training with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and survive the stanzas, finishing the frame on top.
From then on, Lohsen was clearly gassed out, relegating himself to occasional winging hooks and collapsing takedown entries. But Okanovich, despite staying disciplined and working well in boxing range, never really seemed to change up his targets or shot selection, arguably staying in second gear for the remainder of the contest.
There’s a thin line between being too conservative and having questionable fight IQ – neither of which being things you want to figure on this format of a show. I’m not sure we see either guy get a call-up before next season without some serious seasoning first, especially in a stacked division like lightweight.
Sean Woodson
Weight class: Featherweight
Result: Sean Woodson def. Terrance McKinney via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 1:49
Grade: A
Summary: In keeping with the theme of overcoming adversity, Sean Woodson earns an A for his short-notice upset over Terrance McKinney.
McKinney, who was a Sikjitsu standout with an interesting story heading into the fight, came out focused and looking to implement his game immediately against a long and lanky foe who was trying to use his boxing chops. Woodson was able to defend McKinney’s initial takedown attempts nicely using solid fundamentals, but McKinney doggedly kept after it, scoring a trip after a brief separation.
It did not take long for McKinney to find Woodson’s back – a position he decided to ride out until the end of the round as opposed to being aggressive with it (something I’m sure he is questioning now).
McKinney was able to secure a takedown and find the back even faster come the second round, but once again chose a more neutral-style back ride that eventually allowed Woodson to escape. When McKinney got back to his feet, Woodson drew out his takedown shot with a shuffling flying knee that knocked him out.
There are certainly holes in Woodson’s game, but given his size, striking skills and ability to put on a show with just five days’ notice, I can see why the UFC president signed him. For me, I’d love to see the 6-foot-3 featherweight start off with some fun style matchups like Mike Trizano or Suman Mokhtarian.
Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Weight class: Middleweight
Result: Ramazan Kuramagomedov def. Jordan Williams via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Grade: B
Summary: Don’t let the letter grade for Ramazan Kuramagomedov fool you: This was a solid three-round war between two game fighters.
However, as the biggest betting favorite of the card (closing as high as -700), you could argue that a more definitive performance was expected from Kuramagomedov over Jordan Williams in this spot. But the returning Dana White’s Contender Series alum in Williams did not make things easy.
The 27-year-old American kept the stance-switching Kuramagomedov honest with the power from his southpaw striking arsenal, disrupting a lot of the volume that was being tossed his way. Kuramagomedov surprisingly leaned very little on his wrestling base in the first half of the contest, but was able to change gears a bit come the second round after landing a sweet leg kick and flying knee in succession, following with a takedown soon-after.
The third round saw more of the same in regards to competitive kickboxing exchanges, which caused a quintessential back-and-forth affair that caused both men to collapse into their corners immediately after the final bell sounded.
Williams landed the harder shots, but Kuramagomedov was the slightly busier man who threw more variety – something I believe got him the nod from the judges. Dana White didn’t agree with the decision, stating that he thought Jordan had won. I don’t know if this was necessarily the first fight that White should’ve bent the rules on by giving both fighters a contract, but I certainly wouldn’t have been mad if he did – especially at middleweight.
For complete coverage of Dana White’s Contender Series 21, check out the MMA results.
