Contender Series 2026 Episode 4 Breakdown and Predictions

Shawn Bitter- McCracken/Sanchez is a rare good fight this season. Both these guys are comfortable in striking or mixing it up in the grappling. McCracken’s style is a technical striker who’s gonna set things up, read his opponent, and rip off big combinations. He has power, but his timing, shot placement, and vision get more credit. McCracken can fight off his back foot with counters or go forward, attacking all three levels. Sanchez is an even more dangerous striker because of his power. He doesn’t set his stuff up or work his way into a moment; he’ll force it. His defense isn’t great, but he’s more focused on getting his stuff in.

Both have capabilities on the mat, but I expect both to wanna strike. I struggle to pick a winner, but I’m gonna lean McCracken ever so slightly. Sanchez will have his moments, but over the course of the fight McCracken is gonna get better. The forward pressure and body work are gonna pay dividends against Sanchez, who already has cardio questions. Not confident at all, but McCracken by third-round TKO is the pick.

Pick: McCracken by Round 3 KO/TKO

Cedric Dumas- I’m a big fan of Liam McCracken, and everything he’s overcome since his accident makes his return to the cage at this level feel almost unbelievable.

It’s also interesting to see the UFC leaning more heavily on Full Contact Contender for UK talent, especially with so many Cage Warriors prospects being overlooked this season. I’m certainly not complaining about McCracken getting the opportunity.

He’s an extremely versatile fighter who can finish you on the feet or on the ground. His footwork helps him create takedown opportunities, and his overall game is incredibly well-rounded. The right hand is dangerous, his back takes are slick, and he’s capable of creating submission threats from virtually anywhere, including off his back. His last performance against a tough opponent was particularly impressive.

Sanchez was actually a pleasant surprise when I went through his tape. In many ways, he reminds me of McCracken. He has legitimate power in both hands, excellent opportunistic instincts, a well-rounded skill set, nasty rear-naked chokes and back takes, along with dangerous clubbing and submission sequences.

The biggest question is his strength of schedule. He’s been impressive, but McCracken has been tested against better opposition.

I think these two are fairly evenly matched, but I’ll side with McCracken’s experience against stronger competition.

Pick: McCracken by Round 2 Submission

Nicholas Holt- I don’t even know how to describe Silvestre Sanchez- I think he gets offended when his opponent even touches him in the cage. You want to talk about power? This dude actually looks like he’s swinging a metal baseball bat with his fists. The cage-side physicians should be afraid when Sanchez enters the octagon; some of these knockouts are just absolutely brutal. If you only pick one to watch, please watch his finish over Matias Gauna… Gauna was undefeated going into that fight with Sanchez, and since being finished, hasn’t faltered since.

That would be Sanchez’s seventh professional fight, and you’d think the competition would get better from there. Building off of a finish like that, Sanchez probably would’ve already been in the UFC by now, but the reality is, his opponents only got worse from there. Maybe there’s something to be said about guys not wanting to fight Silvestre Sanchez, and it’s easier said than done to move up and join an American-based promotion. Though, this is the UFC and while I’m sure the praise surrounding him would’ve only been greater if he had fought a 20+ fight veteran along the way, he didn’t, and that leaves the jury out on how real Sanchez is.

Despite him finishing Matias Gauna in the fashion that he did, Gauna was able to control Sanchez for the opening two minutes of the round. Comparing Gauna’s ground game to Sanchez’s upcoming opponent, Liam McCracken, won’t give a clean-cut answer, but it makes me cautious that Sanchez could be a takedown away from losing the fight. His guard looked solid when he was on his back, and he did use the cage to get up, so once again, it’s going to be difficult to get a true gauge on how responsible Sanchez’s ground game will be come Tuesday night.

With Liam McCracken, he’s definitely the more known quantity in this matchup. He’s run into a couple of solid fighters on his way to becoming an established professional, fighting against Kurtis Campbell and Peter Gabal on the amateur scene as well as Asael Adjoudj in a single fight stint with Bellator. Fast forward to today, McCracken has developed a pretty renowned skillset under the guidance of Aspire Combat Sports Academy.

I’m sure McCracken will be excited to show off his hands to his potential new boss in Dana White, and rightfully so; he’s got an incredibly sharp striking game. Though if McCracken really wants to succeed, he should be bringing out his submission grappling to test the improvement of Sanchez on the ground. The Englishman has had quite the knack for getting to his back in his young career, earning all three of his submissions via rear-naked choke. That same opportunity could present itself for McCracken inside the cage on Tuesday, though the only issue with that is the fact that every fight starts on the feet.

McCracken is going to have to be extremely cautious when closing down the range for his takedown attempts, and he shouldn’t get discouraged early even if it appears Sanchez looks prepared. As long as McCracken is smart enough to disrupt the rhythm of Sanchez with level changes so much that he never gets started, he could end up having a lot of success in this fight.

The clean and logical path would be to go with McCracken given his potential grappling advantage against Silvestre Sanchez, but it’s time to shake things up a bit. I’m not trusting anyone to use their ground game on DWCS anymore. If there are one or two boxing exchanges in the opening five minutes, I don’t expect McCracken to make it out cleanly. There’s something special about Sanchez’s power, and if he hits the right button, he’ll put you to sleep in an instant.

Pick: Sanchez by Round 1 KO/TKO

Xavi Ryder- This is one of my favorite fights of the season. These guys are both well-rounded and extremely talented, so it is unfortunate one has to lose.

Liam McCracken is a dangerous fighter regardless of where the fight goes, but I think he shines on the feet. His footwork and timing are great, allowing him to land slick combinations with big power. He is a very diverse striker and will give his opponent things to think about at all three levels. On the ground, he is a BJJ black belt with fast back takes and a variety of ways to threaten with submissions.

On the other side is a very similar fighter in terms of their well-roundedness in Silvestre Sanchez. On the feet, Sanchez is dangerous, but for a different reason than McCracken. He has absurd power in his hands. Not quite as clean as McCracken, but he is willing to make opponents exchange with him. Sanchez also has some fast kicks that he likes to mix in. Defensively, he can get into some trouble when closing the distance, but does a better job at range of sliding out of the way of punches. The same goes for his grappling. Offensively dangerous with good back takes and rear naked chokes, but defensively can be exploited. In his sole loss, he was put on his back for most of the fight. Sanchez could definitely sleep McCracken with a big punch, but I expect McCracken to put good volume on Sanchez en route to a mid to late TKO.

Pick: McCracken by Round 2 KO/TKO

Drew Beaupre– This is pretty clearly the best fight on the card in terms of overall talent. While both men are well-rounded, I expect that the desire to find a finish will lead to them both trading strikes for the majority of the bout.

McCracken’s pressure and willingness to mix things up to the body could break Sanchez down, but he’ll have to be wary of the heavy shots coming back at him before the Mexican starts to potentially fade. I’ll be curious to see if either man tries to mix things up with a takedown as the fight goes on, but I also don’t think tying up with McCracken would favor Sanchez even at the start of the fight when he’s still fresh.

Pick: McCracken by Round 2 Submission

Cangrejo Ruiz- This is what DWCS should be all season, two talented guys with the opportunity to jump to the big show with a great win. Both guys are good strikers, with McCracken more focused on long combinations with plenty of feinting on setups while Sanchez works with shorter combinations, looking to finish the fight with each punch. Both guys have solid ground games, and if the fight goes there, I lean toward Sanchez imposing his physicality. This is one of the toughest predictions of the season, but if the fight develops on the feet, McCracken’s toughness should nullify Sanchez’s power unless his lights go off while scoring more points volume-wise.

Pick: McCracken by Decision

Benjamin Keith- Now this is more like it. Both Sanchez and McCracken are legitimate prospects with the potential to actually have winning records inside of the UFC. More matchups like this, please, even though at the end of the day I will be sad one of them has to lose.

Liam McCracken is easily the more tested of the two fighters here. He is good everywhere, and has only looked better and better as the level of competition has grown. He is fantastic at getting in the pocket, landing a quick combo, and getting back out safely. His grappling isn’t his go-to weapon, but he is technically sound both offensively and defensively. There isn’t a moment or position that appears to make him uncomfortable. He is smart, and while he doesn’t have lights-out power, his timing is spot on, and he usually finds his mark, be it body or chin. I really like this kid, and win or lose here, he will be fighting for a big promotion one day.

Silvestre Sanchez is a bit of a terminator. He isn’t super active, and there’s no wasted movement in the cage, but when he lands, it is devastating. He has some of the best lightweight power that I have seen in a while. His level of competition leaves a lot to be desired, but when he lands a counter or an overhand, it looks like something that would do damage against even the best. Sanchez’s grappling defense could use a little work, but like McCracken, he maintains good composure in all aspects of the game. His style doesn’t lend itself to winning many decisions, but standing in the pocket with him is incredibly risky.

I am a bit stumped here. I think both of these guys would wipe the floor with the other lightweights on the card. Silvestre is the more dangerous fighter, but I can see this leap in competition being a bit too much for him. I trust McCracken to avoid the death blow and slowly wear him down, but a win for either guy would be both plausible and super impressive.

Pick: McCracken by Round 3 Submission