Dana White’s Contender Series 23 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.
Dwight Joseph
Weight class: Bantamweight
Result:
Grade: C+
Summary: Don’t let the letter grade fool you, as I still contend that Dwight Joseph arguably over-performed in this spot against Jay Perrin.
Joseph, who came in as a slight underdog to Perrin, found himself taken down early and forced into exchanges with the slightly more experienced man. Nevertheless, Joseph was able to explode back to his feet and quietly punctuate the striking stanzas with counter lefts and body kicks.
Come the second round, Joseph’s counters and kicks – which came from awkward, southpaw angles – seemed to stun Perrin to the body, forcing the 26-year-old to shoot right into a guillotine choke that, thankfully for him, wasn’t fully synched up.
To his credit, Perrin had his head in the right place by looking to control position on a more aggressive fighter, but Joseph was good about diligently working his way to standing positions and separations whenever Perrin attempted to stifle him.
Perrin ended up getting things to the floor in the third, securing Joseph’s back for some solid control time. But Joseph, though finally starting to show signs of fatigue, was able to reverse the position and get back in the fight enough to edge out the judge’s scorecards.
Although the African southpaw came through as my underdog to upset, I ultimately agree with White that Joseph, at now just 5-0, could use a bit more seasoning before making the jump to the big show.
Andre Muniz
Weight class: Middleweight
Result: Adnre Muniz def. Taylor Johnson via first-round submission (rear naked choke)
Grade: A
Summary: In what was the most impressive performance of the night, Andre Muniz earned an A for his veteran-like taming of the wildman that is Taylor Johnson.
Despite what seems like an obvious experience edge in hindsight, Taylor was a highly-touted LFA prospect who came from an accomplished NAIA wrestling background and generated a lot of interest. He came out in character early, scoring a quick takedown after eating a check hook from Muniz.
Once topside, Taylor displayed his vaunted power as he looked to pound his Brazilian foe’s head into the mat. Muniz was able to slap on a quick armbar, but the American literally slammed his way out of the submission hold.
Taylor’s aggressive ways would end up getting him into trouble after Muniz was able to create a scramble off of an omoplata attempt, eventually securing a high underhook in the chaos that allowed him to sit up and advance toward the American’s back. And with Taylor reverting to his wrestling sensibilities by tripoding/turtling for a bit too long, Muniz was able to sink his hooks in and take his back – locking up a choke soon after.
Considering this was Muniz’s second victorious showing in front of Dana White, it was to the surprise of no one that he earned a contract. For my money, pit Muniz up against the winner of this weekend’s matchup between Rodolfo Vieira and Oskar Piechota.
Herbert Burns
Weight class: Featherweight
Result: Herbert Burns def. Darrick Minner via first-round submission (triangle-armbar)
Grade: A-
Summary: I know that a “minus” is somewhat of a weird caveat to attach to an A grading, but you could argue that Herbert Burns ended up being fairly fortunate to walk away with the win despite being a 6-1 favorite over Darrick Minner.
Brother to UFC lightweight Gilbert Burns, the heavily favored Brazilian initially came out obliging Minner’s fast start, swinging wildly like he was looking to gain respect. But after being on the wrong end of a series of blows against the fence, Burns’ smarter senses got the better of him as he pulled guard to safety.
Now, before you start accusing Eddie Bravo of writing that last sentence, Burns – an accoladed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt (in and out of the gi) – is one of the few fighters you’ll see me state that about.
To Minner’s credit, he was able to defend the initial submission attempts from Burns and, more importantly, make him pay for his engagements with heavy ground strikes. The problem, however, is that Minner ultimately continued to overstay his welcome inside of his opponent’s house.
Still, if Minner hadn’t borderline fell into Burns’ triangle-armbar submission, who knows how that fight would’ve gone. Burns’ level of competition and repeat looks in front of the UFC president certainly helped his case for a contract, but I hope he continues to refine his standing technique and decision making before debuting in one of the organization’s more stacked divisions.
Lucrezia Ria
Weight class: Flyweight
Result: Lucrezia Ria def. Marilia Santos via split decision
Grade: C-
Summary: In what is one of the lower grades I’ve given out this season, I found it hard to justify an above-average rating for Lucrezia Ria’s split-decision win over Marilia Santos.
The first round (which was the closest, for my money), featured competitive exchanges that saw both ladies have their moments. Ria, the southpaw, was able to hit counters from range while Santos rushed in bursts. The problem with Santos’ approach, however, was her willingness to exercise her ground advantages; so much so that she was willing to relinquish to her back upon any off-balancing or adversity.
That said, Santos was still able to briefly secure a back mount, as well as finish the frame fighting for a scoreable armbar catch.
The second round featured more of the same, with Santos coming on strong with strikes about two minutes in. That surge in momentum caused Ria to take her Brazilian counterpart to the floor, where a series of sloppy 50/50 positions and scrambles took place.
Santos came out in the third round with the appropriate urgency, putting it on tiring Ria for the majority of the final frame, finishing with yet another armbar attempt. I narrowly scored it for Santos (giving her rounds 1 and 3), but the UFC president seemed adamant that Santos was robbed by the judges, subsequently squashing any contract talks for the two ladies.
Nevertheless, despite both fighters showing to still be a bit green for this level, I wouldn’t be surprised to see either woman pop up on an international UFC card within the next 6-9 months.
Omar Morales
Weight class: Lightweight
Result: Omar Morales def. Harvey Park via second-round TKO (punches)
Grade: A
Summary: In what was another solid upset to close the night, I had a hard time giving Omar Morales anything but an A for his deconstruction of Harvey Park.
Reminiscent to last week’s DWCS lightweight main event, we had yet another Asian-American favorite fall victim to his own pressure against a kick-heavy Hispanic fighter.
Park, who carried the more legitimate experience on paper, came in showing his usual heavy-handed composure on the feet, steadily stalking his prey for the majority of the first round. However, despite absorbing two low blows within the first five minutes, Morales was able to quietly counter on the outside with low, chopping calf kicks.
By the second round, Park could only stalk so much before breaking his poker face, as Morales’ lower limb attack appeared to pay dividends faster than expected, subsequently opening up a finish for the Venezuelan fighter shortly after.
White seemed more than impressed with Morales, who I’m sure will fit nicely into the UFC’s South American expansion. I suspect we’ll see Morales in the octagon before 2020 – hopefully in a fun stylistic fight against the likes of either Alex White or Damir Hadzovic.
