The third season of Dana White’s Contender Series kicks off June 18, and the promotion recently announced the night’s five-fight lineup.
A middleweight clash between Punahele Soriano (5-0) and Jamie Pickett (9-3) serves as the featured bout of Dana White’s Contender Series 17, which streams live on ESPN+ from the brand new UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Additional bouts include welterweights Leon Shahbazyan (7-1) vs. Brok Weaver (13-4), strawweights Hannah Goldy (4-0) vs. Kali Robbins (6-2), featherweights Bill Algeo (12-3) vs. Brendan Loughnane (16-3) and heavyweights Yorgan De Castro (4-0) vs. Alton Meeks (3-0).
A Hawaiian native, Soriano now lives in Las Vegas and fights out of the city’s famed Xtreme Couture camp. The undefeated Soriano has ended all five of his professional wins to date in the first round, including appearances under the PFL, LFA and Titan FC banners.
North Carolina’s Pickett returns for a second crack on Dana White’s Contender Series. He currently stands at 7-1 in his past eight bouts, with the lone loss in that run coming in the debut episode of the series, when he suffered a technical submission loss to current UFC fighter Charles Byrd.
Launched in 2017, Dana White’s Contender Series sees fighters compete in front of the UFC boss in hopes of earning an invitation to compete in the sport’s biggest promotion. Previous editions of the series streamed on UFC Fight Pass.
For more on Dana White’s Contender Series 17, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
