Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series brings us to only the second week this season where all five winners didn’t earn UFC contracts. A much better week all around, with no bad referee interference, a real Contender Series-level fight, and possibly the best overall group of contract winners so far this season. I believe Natividad and Moreno are already UFC level, while Kozák and Pasley have high ceilings.
Christian Natividad vs Colton Loud
Colton Loud obviously has the frame and tools to be a dangerous fighter, but Natividad gave him no chance. Loud landed a few solid kicks, but nothing truly damaging before Natividad punished him to the body. A great two-punch combination that finished with a left hook to the liver balled Loud up, and Natividad was able to finish with a bit of ground and pound from there.
I’m glad Natividad dispatched Loud quickly because Natividad is clearly UFC level. I was just worried that, with the number of decisions he’s won, he wouldn’t be entertaining enough in a dominant win to earn a contract. Seeing him get the finish that early proves he is a level above Loud and ready for the UFC.
Apollo Gomes vs Won Il Kwon
While there were some concerns about Kwon’s durability after two consecutive finish losses, I really thought this was a fight he could get a win in. Early on, he looked good and looked like he was heading towards finishing Gomes.
In the first round, Kwon defended takedowns well and was dangerous on the feet, hurting Gomes twice. Again, early in the second round, Kwon stuffed takedowns and landed shots at range. About halfway through the round, the pace dropped off in a big way, and Gomes started to advance on the front foot. Gomes landed a few solid left hands and took Kwon’s back near the end of the round, making it 19-19 heading into round three. When Kwon came out for round three, it was quickly clear that he didn’t have enough left in his tank. Gomes was the aggressor for most of the round and even put Kwon down on one knee with a punch. Gomes ended up earning the decision victory in an ugly performance, and I think the choice to not give him a UFC contract was the correct one.
Martin Kozák vs Christian Echols
I’m glad Kozák did what he was supposed to do in this one, but this should not be the story of the show. We get matchups like the next fight I will talk about every once in a while, but for the most part, one guy should take care of business in each matchup. Echols took this on short notice and jumped on a good opportunity; however, Kozák’s original opponent was also expected to lose. I would’ve loved to see a sick highlight reel finish from Kozák, but I can’t be mad at that performance as he stayed out of danger and broke his opponent down en route to a round two finish.
I think I like Kozák a little more than most of the Prospect Vault team, but he definitely has some things to clean up, as well as some unknowns. While his frame and long-range weapons are what make him so dangerous, his tall-man defense is scary. Echols isn’t particularly dangerous on the feet, but the way Kozák was just leaning back out of range made me nervous. A better striker will take advantage of those situations. The big unknown is his takedown defense. He defended well against Echols and on the regional scene, but who knows what a really good wrestler will do to him. I believe Kozák has a high ceiling, but I have reservations about whether he will reach it.
Isaac Moreno vs Reginaldo Junior
People on Twitter/X are not happy about this decision. Moreno looked great in the first round up until the end. His range control was great; he looked really fast, and Junior was having a lot of trouble finding his way inside. It seemed like he wanted to put an unneeded stamp on the round when he was already leading. Moreno went for a big flurry of punches and then got caught when he went to try to land in the clinch. Junior landed a right hand over the top of Moreno’s clinch control, which dropped him. It was a flash knockdown, as Moreno was up quickly and even landed more before the round ended.
The second round played out very similarly to the first, but without Moreno getting overaggressive and getting knocked down. Moreno did very well at range, took advantage of Junior being backed up against the cage, and built back up after getting taken down. Then round three was all Junior. He dragged Moreno down pretty early in the round and kept him there for most of it. Moreno escaped an anaconda attempt and then, for some reason, shoved his head into a d’arce attempt.
The last two rounds were clear, with the second going to Moreno and the third going to Junior. The first round went unanimously to Moreno, and that upset people. I scored it for Moreno, but I would’ve absolutely understood it going to Junior. For me, each man’s flash knockdown was inconsequential, as they both fully recovered instantly. With that in mind, I thought Moreno had done enough outside of those moments to warrant the round being given to him.
For me, these are the best kinds of Contender Series fights. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see prospects I like get guaranteed highlights, but more often than not, the fights should be two high-level guys matched up against each other. While Moreno was in camp for a Fury FC bout, it was still a month out, so he didn’t get to finish camp. I think this was a big reason he was held down for round three, and I expect him to look better in full camp situations. Moreno was high on my top 25 list, so I feel good that he faced adversity and still beat another good guy. I am very excited to see how he looks in his debut on a full camp, and don’t be surprised if we see Moreno knocking on the doors of the welterweight rankings in a few years.
Quentin Pasley vs Arlind Berisha
I was completely wrong about this one. Pretty much everything happened exactly opposite of how I expected. I thought Berisha would score a successful takedown and land brutal ground and pound. Instead, after a tentative beginning to round one, Berisha tried and failed to initiate the grappling. Pasley was able to turn Berisha around on the fence and score a takedown of his own. From there, he put Berisha’s head through the canvas with elbows and earned himself a UFC contract.
Being as high as I was on Berisha now makes Pasley a very interesting light heavyweight prospect. He is athletic, has big power, seems well-rounded, and just beat a solid opponent. It’s going to be a big jump going from his first opponent with a win on his record to UFC-level guys, but at the very least, he has the tools to be successful. If they build him up slowly to let him keep learning and improving, Pasley could have an exciting future ahead of him.
