Dana White’s Contender Series 24 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.
Julius Anglickas
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Result: Julius Anglickas def. Karl Reed via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:25
Grade: C
Summary: In what might be my lowest grade given for fighters who finished their fights, I had a hard time justifying an above-average score for Julius Anglickas’ workman-like win over Karl Reed.
Given their similar experience a physical stats, this matchup – which had a lot of potential on paper – didn’t exactly live up to expectations. The fight started off as a feeling out process on the feet that steadily devolved into a grinding clinch affair against the fence (which would sadly become one of the quiet themes of the night).
Reed was initially able to get the better of the wrestling stanzas early, showing the ability to pin Anglickas against the cage and do work from topside. The Lithuanian fighter eventually got back to his feet to answer Reed’s offense with a flurry of his own before the first bell, but it didn’t take long for Anglickas to get back to trying takedown attacks after eating a head kick early on in the second round.
Reed was able to counter wrestle his way back into exchanges before missing big on a high-elbow guillotine attempt that seemed to drain the Upstate Karate product even further, allowing for yet another strong finish from Anglickas. The third round saw the building Anglickas start to get the better of striking stanzas on the feet, but decided to continue to keep pushing the action into the fence instead.
Thankfully for Anglickas, his grinding effort was able to produce a finish (albeit one of the more anticlimactic rear-naked chokes in recent memory, for my money), as Reed tapped the mat ignominiously. I would like to think that I have more of an appreciation for grinding fighters than most, but Anglickas still has room (and thankfully some time) to sharpen up his skills before taking another shot at the big stage.
Tony Gravely
Weight class: Bantamweight
Result: Tony Gravely def. Ray Rodriguez via third-round TKO (punches)
Grade: A
Summary: Coming in as the biggest favorite on the card, Tony Gravely leaves little room for questions or criticisms in his impressive win over Ray Rodriguez.
As MMA Junkie’s Nolan King pointed out ahead of this matchup, both of these fighters may very well be the most deserving to hit the Contender Series stage yet when you look at their regional experience and accomplishments (making this outcome all the more impressive).
Rodriguez is a well-rounded fighter from the Texas area who was able to test Gravely in nearly every phase, but it was Gravely’s wrestling that seemed to be the biggest difference between the two. Nevertheless, even when controlling positions, Gravely still found himself constantly being threatened by Rodriguez, who is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Come the final frame, Rodriguez knew he needed something big as he attempted his best Jorge Masvidal flying knee impression to start the round. Gravely was able to stop him in his tracks with a check hook, but found himself in a Suloev stretch attempt soon after, as Rodriguez managed to scramble to his back.
Thankfully for Gravely, he escaped the position and got on top of an exhausted Rodriguez for the finish from a rear mount. Gravely (who I’m really looking forward to seeing in the octagon) was an easy shoo-in come contract time, but I also hope that the matchmakers give a gamer like Rodriguez some future consideration in case a bantamweight fight falls out in his region.
Sarah Alpar
Weight class: Bantamweight
Result: Sarah Alpar def. Shanna Young via second-round submission (rear naked choke)
Grade: B-
Summary: Given that I’m basing my grades off of the performance on the night (as opposed to a fighter’s overall ceiling), I had a hard time giving Sarah Alpar anything short of a B for technically overachieving as an underdog.
Her opponent, Shanna Young, seemed like a justifiable favorite on paper, but as soon as the match started – it quickly became clear that this would be a raw, back-and-forth affair. After feeling each other out on the feet, Alpar used her wrestling background and stout stature well along the fence, almost imitating Daniel Cormier in the way in which she used the momentum of a single-leg snatch to persuade or opposition into briefly giving their back (something I hope she continues to work on).
Alpar would end up losing her back mount after getting too high (another quiet theme of the overall card), which allowed for Young to re-wrestle her way to a decent D’Arce attempt to close the round. Starting the second frame, Alpar came out a bit more confident and gathered than before, finding a leaping right hook that clearly got Young’s attention.
Young was able to return fire with a right hand of her own, but was taken down soon after by Alpar. From there, Alpar impressively righted a lot of her wrongs from the first round from a riding perspective, steadily collapsing Young’s base before cooking her to submission.
Though I was admittedly surprised to see the UFC president award Alpar a contract, I couldn’t help but be happy for her during the post-fight scrum when hearing more about what she’s looking to stand for. She may not jump off the paper or screen as your typical prospect, but I do see Alpar being a deceptive out for a lot of fighters at 125 pounds (should she healthily make the weight).
Brok Weaver
Weight class: Welterweight
Result: Brok Weaver def. Devin Smyth via unanimous decision
Grade: C+
Summary: Don’t let the letter grade fool you, as there is a lot to like when it comes to Brok Weaver.
Walking out to the cage with the swag of Drexl from “True Romance,” Weaver seemed right at home under the big lights despite being the underdog to Devin Smyth (who had the biggest contingent in the crowd that I’ve seen thus far in Contender Series history).
Weaver, the southpaw, came out hot in hopes of exchanging. Although Smyth initially obliged him, he would quickly return to his wrestling roots by hitting two takedowns in succession, earning himself some decent control time.
Smyth seemed to be exercising his perceived advantages in the takedown department until the toll of his energy output steadily started to become apparent. With Weaver also picking up on this narrative (as he and his corner acknowledged it aloud to one another), his takedown defense appeared to be holding up even better, managing to change the momentum more clearly in the second round.
By the mid-way point of the final frame, Weaver seemed to be taking it to Smyth on the feet, but continued to push into the fence/clinch against his corner’s orders to finish the fight. It wasn’t the best showing in terms of in-fight decision making, but Weaver showed the dogged nature that generally produces fun, action fights if matched correctly.
I wasn’t sure if Weaver would get a contract based on his fight alone, but his ability to cut a killer post-fight promo in his interview with Laura Sanko certainly didn’t hurt his chances at the end of the night. I say pair up Weaver with Laureano Staropoli (should his broken nose be fully mended from his recent withdrawal) for a fun affair on paper.
William Knight
Weight class: Light-heavyweight
Result: William Knight def. Herdem Alacabek via third-round TKO (punches)
Grade: B
Summary: Despite William Knight being a bit raw skills-wise, I had to give him an above-average grade for overcoming both adversity and the stereotypes of his frame.
On paper, Herdem Alacabek’s high-pressure stylings seemed like they would be problematic. To the Swede’s credit, that seemed to be the case for the first 9 minutes of the fight before Knight unleashed the energy he was seemingly storing, taking the mount position to close out the second round.
Alacabek got back on the clock with pressure in the third, but his inexperience going that deep into fights began to show itself with how rapidly he began to tire within that round. Whereas Knight – whose lulls in activity were suspect at times – was able to explode into flying knees and flurries of offense that ultimately helped him secure a dominant position to finish from with just 25 seconds left to go in the third round.
With Knight only fighting professionally since 2018, I was worried that his physical promise would earn the American prospect a rushed trip into the UFC matchmaking machine (which is a familiar tale in our current environment of MMA). Thankfully, however, Dana White decided to dust off elusive “development deal,” something we haven’t seen since Greg Hardy hit the Contender Series.
Say what you will, but these developmental deals are perfect when it comes to talent in the heavy and light-heavyweight divisions, which can be unforgiving in the sense that there’s a small buffer from the bottom to the top. Regardless of which promotion he finds himself in, I look forward to seeing how Knight progresses given the potential we saw here.
