Week two of Dana White’s Contender Series just took place, and I got torched. There were a few very exciting fights and four finishes, but man, did two big favorites fumble hard. One of the losers earned himself a contract in a war, so with all five winners getting contracts, we have six new UFC fighters. Let’s get into each matchup:
Roman Puga vs Taner Trembley
These two men opened up the card with an all-out war. Roman Puga got off to a fast start, putting pressure on Trembley immediately. I knew he had fast hands and slick combinations, but Trembley had no answer early on in the first round. While his striking as a whole looked great, Puga’s jab was the standout strike in his arsenal on the night. He kept sticking it on Trembley’s nose, allowing him to open up with combos that had Trembley busted up within the first two minutes. I expected Trembley to have some early grappling success, but I think the early damage added up, and Puga’s takedown defense was strong. Towards the end of each of the first two rounds, Trembley built some momentum by landing big shots, but they weren’t enough to steal either round. This was the first time in Puga’s MMA career that a fight went to the third round, and you could see he started to slow down. Trembley landed some good shots and eventually found his way to Puga’s back. Puga reversed the position, but Trembley got to his feet pretty quickly. The fight continued as a back-and-forth war that surprisingly made it to the scorecards. Puga secured the victory via a 29-28 decision on all three scorecards.
While Puga won the fight, both men secured UFC contracts. I think both guys can have success in the UFC if they continue to level up. Puga specifically has a pretty high ceiling with how well-rounded he is. Obviously, both guys have to work on some head movement because you can’t take that kind of damage often. The fight was fought at an insane pace, and it was Puga’s first round three, but it would be nice to see his cardio level up so he can keep that pace into the third round. Trembley has crazy durability, but again, he cannot get hit that much often, or the durability will fade. I don’t think everyone he fights will be able to stuff takedowns as Puga did, so Trembley will be able to show off his grappling earlier in fights. Both of these guys will get wins in the UFC, but I really can’t wait to see Puga’s career play out.
Alik Lorenz vs Mahamed Aly
Unfortunately, this fight was a complete letdown. Not strictly due to the fact that Lorenz won and I picked Aly, but more so because Aly put up ZERO fight. When you are gifted another opportunity to fight your way into the UFC after beating an opponent under .500, you have to go for it. Aly was content to kick around the outside without ever engaging, and it looked like he was scared to let his hands go. He also has world-class grappling, and for some reason, the idea of taking the fight to the ground never crossed his mind. Overall, I think Aly is the better fighter, but Lorenz took advantage of this opportunity and really went for it. He came out swinging big and eventually landed the shots to put Aly out. As I said in my prediction, I don’t think Lorenz is UFC-level, and he likely won’t be around long.
Cristian Perez vs Logan Paxton
I wasn’t very complimentary of Paxton in my prediction of this fight, but I have to admit he did better than I expected. Not that he fought any different or looked like he improved, but he was more effective than I thought he would be. Paxton came out overextending on his jab, swinging wild punches, and shooting takedowns. I think Perez was a little slow to get going, and that’s why Paxton was able to land the punches he did. Also, Perez really over-swung on some big shots, and Paxton did well to duck under and get a couple takedowns. Come round two, Perez was ready to go. He landed a slick uppercut that rocked Paxton, and from there, it was pretty much over. Paxton was stumbling all over the octagon before Perez landed a nasty left hook to end the fight.
Perez turned 27 the day before this Contender Series fight, and at such a young age, he has a very high ceiling. The Prospect Vault team has rated him quite highly for a while now. He has been in, and around, my personal top 25 prospects since I joined the team. Perez showed off his striking and power today, but if you didn’t see his first Contender Series fight, the guy can grapple too. He had Manoel Sousa on his back for the better part of two rounds before ultimately gassing out and losing. The fact that he was able to compete with Sousa and dominate for a while leads me to believe he can come in and fight at a high level right away. Lightweight is a tough division, but Perez will be successful.
Trent Miller vs Douglas Rodrigues
Trent Miller scored himself a huge win and a contract as an underdog, but this is another fight where I come away disappointed in the favorite. Not that I was particularly high on Douglas Rodrigues as a prospect, but this felt like a very winnable fight for him. The dude could not get out of his own way. Rodrigues hurt Miller early in the first round but kicked Miller in the cup, which completely halted his momentum. From there, Miller started to take over and dragged this fight into the second round. For some reason, in the second round, Rodrigues thought it would be a good idea to hold onto a bad guillotine after seemingly stopping a takedown attempt. Miller dumped Rodrigues and finished him off with a Von Flue choke. Like Lorenz, I don’t think Miller is UFC level, and I have my doubts he will stick around for a second contract.
Kaik Brito vs Namo Fazil
Other than the first fight of the night, this was the best-matched fight. Both of these guys are very good fighters and ended up putting on a fun fight. Brito is a long, explosive striker and showed that off tonight. He was able to avoid most of Fazil’s big shots and landed some precise strikes from creative angles. In the first round, Brito’s movement really gave him the edge, as Fazil had a hard time closing the distance to land punches of his own. When they came out for the second round, you could tell Brito had slowed down a bit, but was still able to land a bunch of strikes. I think Fazil did a much better job in this round getting inside and landing powerful punches. I scored the fight 19-19 going into the third, but the second round was very close, so I can understand having Brito up 20-18. To start the third round, Brito came out wild looking for a flying knee, and it seemed Fazil had him rocked for a moment. Fazil got a bit too excited and really pushed forward for the finish. As he closed the distance and had Brito’s back against the fence, Brito unloaded two insane overhands, with the second one landing flush. This shot put Fazil out cold. It was an awesome knockout to end a great fight, and Brito secured himself a UFC contract.
I think the former two-time Oktagon champion can and will find success in the UFC. His striking is so creative and a bit wild at times, but he can also be a sniper. In Oktagon, Brito would mix in some grappling, and while it didn’t last too long, we got to see a bit of that tonight. It will be interesting to see how far he can go in the UFC because I’m not fully confident in what I think his ceiling is. Regardless, Brito will definitely be in some fun fights and will definitely score some cool knockouts.
