UFC stars such as Sean O’Malley, Jamahal Hill, Maycee Barber, Joe Pyfer, Tracy Cortez, Raul Rosas Jr., Jack Della Maddalena, Brendan Allen, Caio Borralho, and Payton Talbott are included on the growing list of fighters to gain notoriety from appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Many more fighters will have the opportunity to earn a UFC contract this summer during the eighth season of Dana White’s Contender Series, which debuts Tuesday night.
There will be several Canadians who can earn a spot on the UFC roster this summer if they impress White and the UFC brass.
Thus far, the annual series that debuted in 2017 has resulted in seven Canadians being awarded contracts from UFC CEO Dana White. T.J. Laramie in Season 4 and Yohan Lainesse in Season 5, both of whom are no longer with the promotion, and Mike Malott, Chad Anheliger and 14th-ranked women’s flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius in Season 5, plus Caio Machado and Serhiy Sidey in Season 7.
Five different weight classes will be represented Week 1, headlined by undefeated middleweight prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik taking on standout grappler Wes Schultz in the main event.
DWCS Week 1 Fight Card:
— Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Wes Schultz
— Meng Ding vs. Rami Hamed
— Mikheil Sazhiniani vs. Bruno Lopes
— Jose Degaldo vs. Ernie Juarez
— An Tuan Ho vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
While none of the 10 athletes from Week 1 are from north of the border, below is a preview of the Canadians scheduled to compete for a contract this season.
(Note: bouts are subject to change and more Canadians may be added. This article will be updated regularly throughout the 10-week season eight.)
WEEK 2: Aug. 20
Pat Pytlik (Waterloo, Ont.) vs. Andreas Gustafsson
After more than three years of inactivity due to a combination of injuries and a lack of regional mixed martial arts events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pat Pytlik has returned with a fire after defeating former Ultimate Fighter contestant Mike Hill and Ryan Leininger via first round knockouts.
The latter knockout occurred the night before UFC 297 took place in Toronto at a Unified MMA event with Dana White in attendance and made enough of an impression to earn him a spot on the Contender Series.
Gustafsson is a well-traveled opponent, having competed for Cage Warriors, KSW and Brave CF and, as a result, has fought a higher level of competition.
Having been cageside fulfilling commentary duties for Pytlik’s two most recent fights, I know firsthand that Pytlik is always looking to deliver excitement and has a style that is conducive to earning a contract on the Contender Series should he emerge the victor.
Michael Imperato (Woodbridge, Ont.) vs. Cortavious Romious
Imperato has waited 10 long years for another opportunity to crack the UFC roster. In 2014, Imperato was signed as a short-notice replacement to face future champion Aljamain Sterling, but just one day after being signed, he was cut by the UFC as a result of some unfortunate comments that he made on a Canadian reality show that had come to light.
Imperato was immediately apologetic regarding his mistakes and never stopped chasing his dream. He experienced many ups and downs along the way, alternating wins and losses and being unable to find the consistency required to earn a UFC contract.
That all changed in January when Imperato competed on the aforementioned Unified MMA card and, with White in attendance, he had a career-defining win over former Bellator mainstay Ricky Bandejas, finishing him in under one minute.
Imperato now has a chance at redemption when he faces Romious, who is looking for his own second chance after falling short against Ramon Taveras on last year’s season of Contender Series.
Romious, while still somewhat raw, has shown great finishing abilities in his MMA career thus far having won seven of his eight professional wins by stoppage.
WEEK 4: Sept. 3
Shannon Clark (Lethbridge, Alta.) vs. Yuniesy Duben
Less than two years after making her professional MMA debut, Clark has put herself on the map and established herself as one of Canada’s top unsigned competitors. Sporting a 5-0 record, her win earlier this year against then-undefeated LFA flyweight champion Thaiany Lopes stands out on her résumé.
Earning a championship in LFA, widely regarded as one of the best regional promotions in North America, has often been a meal ticket to an opportunity to earn a UFC contract. That opportunity comes against undefeated Venezuelan Yuniesy Duben, who has only competed once since 2020 and has yet to face an opponent with a single professional win on their record. Both fighters boast a very high finish rate with only one of their combined 10 fights having gone the distance.
WEEK 5: Sept. 10
Corinne Laframboise (Montreal, Que.) vs. Nicolle Caliari
Laframboise was poised and ready to compete last season when she received surprising news just one week prior to her scheduled bout. Laframboise was pregnant and had to put her UFC dreams on hold to welcome her daughter Aurélie earlier this year.
Three weeks after giving birth, Laframboise posted a photo on Instagram in phenomenal shape and now has another opportunity to earn a UFC contract this season against Caliari. Laframboise is 5-2 in her last seven bouts with those two losses coming to expected future title challenger Manon Fiorot and fellow Canadian Jamey-Lyn Horth, who is currently on the UFC roster.
Caliari at 7-2 also has suffered losses at the hands of UFC-level opponents in Kay Hansen and Syuri Kondo, both previously on the UFC roster. Calliari trains alongside ranked strawweight Marina Rodriguez.