Contender Series 2026 Episode 3 Breakdown and Predictions

Shawn Bitter- Balletto is 4-0-1 as a pro boxer, 3-0 in bare-knuckle boxing, and 11-3 in MMA. He has a 100% finish rate and is the CES welterweight champ. CES sucks when it comes to talent; he’s only beaten bums and lost both times he fought anyone good. Even the guys he beat in Bareknuckle are a combined 4-7 in MMA and 3-9 in bareknuckle. Somehow he was able to fraud his way into this fight.

It’s insane to me that Clancy is taking a step down in competition on the Contender Series. Clancy is a legit prospect as he sits at #4 in our rankings. With all this boxing experience in Boxing from Balletto, this young kid from Scotland is even better on the feet. Clancy has a strong jab, good kicks, and sets up everything pretty well. Where he can show absolute levels is in the grappling. It’s a pointless fight as Clancy is only being used to build the brand. Clancy by TKO in round one with ground and pound.

Cedric Dumas- Sean Clancy Jr. landing on Dana White’s Contender Series feels like proper recognition. The Cage Warriors interim welterweight champion is one of Europe’s clearest prospects: complete on the feet, dangerous on the ground, undefeated, and capable of finishing fights anywhere. He also has an athletic, aggressive style that immediately grabs people’s attention.

What really stands out is that this matchup may actually be a step down in competition from some of the veterans Clancy has already dismantled under the yellow gloves.

Gary Balletto Jr. was a somewhat surprising booking. The Rhode Island fighter has been more active in bare-knuckle recently, picking up three stoppages in BKFC, although the level of competition there remains limited. He’s a proven finisher in MMA as well, but he has never shared the cage with anyone remotely close to Clancy’s level. His two most recent MMA losses came by brutal knockout against current UFC fighters Jeremiah Wells and Billy Ray Goff.

I’ll happily be proven wrong if Balletto can reverse that trend, but on paper, this feels like Clancy’s stage. I expect him to make the gap in overall skill painfully obvious.

Pick: Clancy Jr by 1st round knockout

Nicholas Holt- Alarm the masses, folks; this is about to be a big one. Sean Clancy Jr. is the real deal, and I can’t stress enough how happy I am to see him get this opportunity. When I say Clancy Jr. is a fun watch, I mean it; he’s got a beautiful assortment of offensive tools- strong kicks, high-level grappling, technical boxing. Scotland’s got a superstar on their hands, and we all should applaud Sean Shelby for bringing this one to life.

Clancy Jr. has some of the best footwork and boxing on the regional scene- mixing up his targets consistently with hooks to both the head and body. He likes to work in knees and elbows as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Clancy Jr. slices his opponent early in the fight. He’s every bit of a complete fighter as well; his double-leg takedowns are very emphatic, and changing levels with split-second timing is split-second. What I like most about Clancy Jr’s ground game is how low he gets on his shots, corralling his opponent’s legs with every entry- pushing to find transitions to the back.

This one kind of feels like a set-up fight; Clancy Jr. is miles ahead of his opponent, Gary Balleto Jr., who really doesn’t seem all that invested in MMA anymore. He’s been much more active with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in the past 12 months, and when he did compete consistently, he was knocked out twice in the first round by Jeremiah Wells and Billy Ray Goff.

This matchup is just a weird pull by the Shelby, and unfortunately for Balleto Jr, he’s gonna have to wear the 4 oz. gloves and defend takedowns against Sean Clancy Jr.. I can’t see this one lasting long; Gary Balleto Jr. is in for a quick and painful night. While I think Clancy could bring him to the mat and dominate him quickly, I think he feints the takedown and finds the button for a flashy first-round knockout.

Pick: Clancy Jr. by Round 1 KO/TKO

Chase Gurotsky- This fight is probably the least competitive out of the five. Sean Clancy Jr. at 23 is 8-0 with a 100% win streak, 5 wins via KO/TKO and 3 via Submission. He is 6-0 in Cage Warriors and Scotland’s brightest prospect. He also had a great amateur record of 8-1, with his only loss coming to Roan Crocker, which isn’t bad. At just 23, he has plenty of experience under his belt. Sean has finished all 3 rounds, showing his stamina and late power. He truly is a legit prospect at welterweight, and it will be fun to see what he does on Tuesday.

Gary Balletto a 31 year old 11-3 fighter from Rhode Island is currently riding a long 4 fight win streak. He started fighting pro in 2015 and consistently fought MMA, losing only his debut to Jeremiah Wells and Billy Ray Goff, up until 2022. From 2023-2026, he only took 4 MMA bouts, 2 boxing bouts, and, more recently, 3 bare-knuckle boxing fights. He fought mostly in MMA out of CES, especially lately, which isn’t the best promotion, leading me to believe he is not on the level of Sean Clancy. Youth should win out in this one.

Pick: Clancy Jr. Via 1st Round KO/TKO 

Xavi Ryder– This is such an odd matchup, as we have Sean Clancy Jr., who is top 10 in the Prospect Vault rankings, and Gary Balleto, who has fought three times in bare-knuckle boxing more recently than he has fought in MMA. Balleto is definitely a finisher, but has never beaten anyone good. His best win is Daniel Frunza, who was finished twice in the UFC and then sent back to LFA. In Balleto’s two fights where he stepped up in competition, he was finished by current UFC fighters Billy Ray Goff and Jeremiah Wells. I don’t think the CES welterweight champion has a chance in this one.

On the other side, Sean Clancy Jr. is one of the most UFC-ready fighters on this season of Contender Series. He is a supremely talented striker who performs well at all levels. Clancy Jr. is also very athletic and can take the fight to the ground when he chooses. His game is complete and he can finish fights no matter where they go. As I said, Clancy Jr. is one of the best fighters we will see this season and will surely become a fan favorite. Balleto is not his toughest test, and Clancy Jr. can finish this fight however he wants.

Pick: Clancy Jr. via Round 1 KO/TKO

Drew Beaupre– Clancy certainly isn’t the only fighter on this season of DWCS that falls under this category, but it’s shocking the UFC is making him go through such a mismatch instead of just signing him outright. The unbeaten Scot has finished all eight of his opponents since turning pro, and he unfortunately missed out on a Cage Warriors welterweight title unification bout in April when Justin Burlinson was pulled from the matchup on fight day.

Balletto’s last three fights were all stoppages with BFKC, and keeping things standing presents his best path towards an upset here. Unfortunately for him, Clancy is no slouch on the feet himself and is going to command a significant advantage on the ground, and he’s also a massive step up from the caliber of MMA fighters that Balletto has beaten in CES. (Pick: Clancy)

Cangrejo Ruiz- Clancy is one of the brightest Cage Warriors and has one of the highest ceilings in this DWCS class. His grappling worries me, so I am not as high on him as others, but the talent is undeniable. He gets a favorable draw in Gary Balletto, who was focused more on boxing and bare-knuckle since losing to Billy Goff in 2022.

Prediction is Clancy by R1 KO

Benjamin Keith-  Sean Clancy has, rightfully, been on the radar of many MMA fans for a while now. The well-rounded Scottish fighter is the Cage Warriors welterweight champion, and is 8-0 as a pro, with no fights having reached the 3rd round. Clancy has a top-5 pedigree among fighters in this season of DWCS and is far more advanced than most 23-year-old prospects. He is dangerous everywhere, powerful on the feet and slick on the ground. The only things that separate him from the top tier of the UFC are footwork and striking defense, but those will continue to improve as he gets more fights. Expect to be hearing his name on main cards for years to come, especially in the UK.

Gary Bellatto has 10 fights over the past 4 years, in which he is unbeaten. The issue is, only 4 of those are in MMA. He has found success in Boxing and BKFC, seemingly leaving MMA behind until he received this call. I bet he was as surprised as the rest of us. He is tough, has solid footwork, and decently fast hands. I don’t think he has an advantage on the feet, but he should be able to hang with Clancy. He will struggle to defend on the ground against the Scotsman, though, and if Clancy chooses to take that route, it should be a short night out for “Batman”.

Prediction: Clancy by 1st round submission.