Contender Series 2026 Episode 8 Breakdown and Predictions

Shawn Bitter- I expected more from Visconde going into tape. He’s talented, but I think a lot of his hype is built around that spinning elbow KO. From what I’ve seen, he’s a terrible minute winner but a good moment winner. He’s too low volume and throws a lot of misguided, looping strikes. He is explosive, though, and his low center of gravity makes him difficult to track. Visconde also has a good ground game, solid defensive wrestling, and good cardio, but he’s not much of an offensive wrestler.

Bulaid is an odd one stylistically. He brings a frantic pace and can almost throw himself off balance, but it’s a style he’s mastered. As a Dutch kickboxer, he brings a kick-heavy gameplan and attacks all three levels. He’s dropped guys with leg kicks and has a nasty left kick to the body. Both guys throw spinning kicks, but Bulaid throws his more down the middle, which could be useful here. His biggest issue is throwing with his chest and head too far forward, putting himself in danger. He also has a solid ground game and good TDD.

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On paper, Visconde has all the advantages. He’s the LFA champ, has fought much better competition, has double the experience, and trains at the superior gym. With all that said, I’m still picking Bulaid. In what I expect to be a striking affair, I like Bulaid to mix it up better and bring the fight forward, keeping Visconde from finding those explosive moments.

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Pick: Bulaid by Round 2 KO/TKO

Cedric Dumas- This is the kind of DWCS matchup we should see more often: two experienced regional fighters who have taken very different paths to get here.

Ilias Bulaid brings legitimate kickboxing pedigree into the matchup. A former Enfusion 67kg champion and 2016 K-1 Super Lightweight Grand Prix runner-up, Bulaid has spent much of his combat sports career operating at a high level on the feet.

That background should give him the technical advantage in the striking exchanges, although his MMA résumé is considerably less developed than Visconde’s.

Erick Visconde enters as the LFA featherweight champion and has earned this opportunity by fighting quality opposition around the world. Once viewed primarily as a grappler, Visconde has clearly invested in his striking, highlighted by his viral spinning-elbow knockout of Ary Farias.

The five-round split decision over Gustavo Pintos raises a small red flag, but Visconde has otherwise shown the durability and experience to make this competitive.

I expect Bulaid to control most stand-up exchanges, while Visconde, feeling the pressure of a Contender Series opportunity, is willing to stand and trade. Bulaid should have enough technical advantages to bank rounds without forcing the finish.

Pick: Bulaid by Decision

Nicholas Holt- This is a great stylistic matchup for the fans, as both Visconde and Bulaid bring tons of excitement to the cage. They each throw a high volume of spinning kicks and own big power, though don’t be surprised if this fight involves some grappling exchanges.

Ilias Bulaid tends to push the pace early, whipping every strike with full power. His body and low kicks are extremely violent – it genuinely looks like Bulaid is trying to chop his opponent down with each blow. On the other side of the Octagon, Erick Visconde will be planning to avoid the early rush from Bulaid. He’s already proven to be a solid submission grappler with a sharp rear-naked choke, and he’ll have to flash those tools come Tuesday night. Bulaid simply hasn’t had the experience of grappling with someone at Visconde’s level, and I think he’ll get exposed here.

Pick: Visconde by Round 1 Submission

Xavi Ryder– Week 8 opens up with a very interesting fighter in Ilias Bulaid. Bulaid was a high-level kickboxer who fought in K1 and Enfusion. He had his last kickboxing fight in late 2018 and just over a year later made his MMA debut. The current LFL interim featherweight champion’s striking has transitioned over about as well as you can hope, with six of his nine wins coming by finish. His kicking game obviously stands out, as he has so many kicks in the arsenal he can go to. I love how he throws his calf kicks, but with his speed he goes to all three levels effectively. Bulaid’s distance management is also excellent, allowing him to put on forward pressure while staying hard to hit.

Bulaid takes on his toughest opponent to date, the LFA featherweight champion Erick Visconde. Visconde has earned this opportunity off the back of a 4-0 run against four good opponents. Bulaid has strong high-level combat experience, but Visconde has faced tougher MMA competition. While Visconde isn’t a bad striker, I don’t think he can fight Bulaid on the feet for 15 minutes. I expect Visconde to try to mix in the grappling here when it isn’t going his way on the feet. Bulaid’s defensive grappling has looked pretty competent overall, so I think for the most part this fight will take place on the feet with Bulaid leading the dance.

Pick: Bulaid by Round 2 KO/TKO

Drew Beaupre– This is a great matchup to kick off Week 8, and it’s also a long-awaited DWCS opportunity for Visconde after he capped off a four-fight win streak by claiming the LFA featherweight belt his last time out.

The Brazilian brings a significant edge in MMA experience into this fight, but Bulaid’s extensive kickboxing experience has translated well so far since the Dutchman made the jump over to MMA in 2019. He also boasts both a height and reach advantage, so Visconde could be in for a difficult night if he can’t find a way to close the distance.

The Brazilian will also need to be especially wary of Bulaid’s knees when he does shoot for takedowns, but I still think Visconde’s depth of MMA experience will allow him to navigate the danger on the feet before he hopefully decides to bring Bulaid to the canvas rather than stand and trade with him.

Pick: Visconde by Round 1 Submission

Cangrejo Ruiz- I’m a fan of Visconde as I think he is a high-floor guy, but getting this fight on DWCS is tough. He is super complete, has tools everywhere, and would be a good signing, but his opponent excels over him in the most important area of this show. Bulaid is a great kickboxer, dynamic on the feet and dangerous in the clinch; he has more questions than Visconde, so this is intriguing. In the end, I believe what I have seen from Visconde is that his path to victory is grappling, and he looks for it smartly. Bulaid has shown some grappling but not at this level.

Pick: Visconde by Round 1 Submission

Benjamin Keith –  On the face of it, we have a matchup of some classic styles: Dutch kickboxer vs. Brazilian. Grappler. It is a fun clash of styles and is one of the tougher fights to call this season.

Ilias Buliad is legitimate on the feet, an accomplished kickboxer and unbeaten in his MMA career. He has surgical precision with his strikes, especially his kicks and knees. His grappling defense has been sound, but he really hasn’t faced a good grappler. In fact, he really hasn’t faced any good fighters at all. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Erick Visconde is battle-tested. He has fought and bested many good regional fighters. A good grappler who has become a fun striker in recent years. He is undersized but dangerous everywhere, with a clear path to victory on the ground.

If this were a regular fight, I would lean Visconde. The size difference concerns me, but I just can’t discount the fact that Bulaid hasn’t beaten a single solid fighter and has a background that doesn’t lend itself to grappling defense. However, because it’s the DWCS, Visconde might choose to strike with the Dutch kickboxer, and that wouldn’t go well. At the end of the day, I think Bulaid is just a little too big for Visconde, but I don’t feel great about the pick.

Pick: Bulaid by Round 3 KO/TKO