Nine weeks of Dana White’s Contender Series behind us now, and somehow we just got the first bantamweight contract earner of the season. This was a decent episode that didn’t have the highest-level talent but had fun finishes. I think the UFC has a cool new guy to try building hype around in Sal Everett. The only fight to not see the winner earn a UFC contract was our opener.
Alivia Bierley vs Summer Onley
This was a rough fight to open the card with. The first round was slow as both women felt each other out. Most of this round was Onley skipping around the outside landing calf kicks and jabs, while Bierley was looking to counter. Come round two, and Onley turned up the aggression a bit. It was going exactly as planned for her. However, Bierley scored a takedown with just under two minutes left and stole the round with ground and pound. Round three was similar to the second, but Onley was able to reverse a takedown Bierley scored. Alivia Bierley ended up taking home the decision, but I thought Onley had done enough to win it. It was a very close fight, so you can’t be too surprised at the fight going Bierley’s way. Still, it was confusing that two judges scored the fight 30-27.
Looking back, I think both women will think they could have gone for it more. The fight was up in the air in that third round, and neither put a stamp on it. While I think the women’s bantamweight division could use more fighters, that was not a contract-winning performance from Bierley.
Mateus Soares vs Ryuho Miyaguchi
What a performance from Soares. He got on the front foot from the moment the fight started and didn’t let up until he found the finish. Every time he closed the distance on Miyaguchi, Soares was swinging to take his head off. He clipped Miyaguchi a couple of times, and you could tell he felt them. We only got to see one of Soares’ powerful leg kicks. Then, he landed a nice right hand that sat Miyaguchi down. From there, Soares was able to find the finish quickly with a couple of ground-and-pound shots.
Soares is going to be a lot of fun to watch in the UFC. At only 22, he is well-rounded and very dangerous. On the feet, few guys will be able to take the power he lands with. He can take the fight to the ground if needed. Now, at the highest level, I doubt he will go to his ground game very often, as on the feet is where he does his best work. We saw him get submitted by another former Contender Series fighter, Mackson Lee. So there are still question marks about his defensive grappling at the UFC level. Soares is the first men’s bantamweight signed this season, and I expect him to be a lot of fun to watch in the UFC. I also believe he is the most UFC-ready of everyone signed tonight.
Roque Conceição vs Alexander Chavez
Conceição did not waste his second chance on Contender Series. He came out extremely aggressive and gave Chavez no room to breathe. The entire time the fight lasted, Conceição stayed in Chavez’s face, swinging for the fences. Initially, Chavez weathered the storm and kicked around the outside. Just over halfway through the round, Conceição landed a powerful right hand that put Chavez on wobbly legs. Chavez shot and scored a takedown to try to give himself time to recover. However, a slick Conceição locked in a triangle. Chavez did his best to try and slam Conceição, but it only ended up solidifying the round-one submission victory for him.
Conceição’s ceiling is a fun flyweight that finishes a bunch of guys en route to the rankings, but he does have some glaring holes. Offensively, he’s extremely dangerous, but defensively, he is very open. Conceição swings really hard and leaves himself open to counters all the time. We saw him get knocked out by Imanol Rodriguez, and I do think there are other high-level flyweights that could take advantage of the openings Conceição leaves. I also think grapplers at the highest level will be able to control him on the ground. While he has these holes, his offense is dangerous, and he is only 26, so I do see him scoring some cool knockouts in the UFC.
Salhahuddin Everett vs Ozzy Martin
What a welcome-to-the-UFC performance from Sal Everett. Standing at 6”3’, this guy is a massive welterweight. These two had no feeling-out process and got straight to work. Everyone knew Martin would get in Everett’s face early and often, but it didn’t go as planned. Everett did well to stay defensively responsible when Martin closed the distance and then landed big shots at range. Almost two minutes in, Everett was on the front foot and landing often. Finally, he landed a nasty right hook in a combo and put Martin out standing up.
Going from Tuff-N-Uff to the UFC with only 5 fights under your belt is a crazy jump. His pre-UFC competition has been low-level, but the skills are obviously there. Everett has crazy power in his hands, has some slick submissions on his record, and is giant for the weight class. Defensively, he still has some work to do. However, if the UFC doesn’t feed him to the wolves because of the hype, he will be able to keep leveling up in the UFC.
Preston LaGrange vs Nell Ariano
This was a huge opportunity for LaGrange, and he took full advantage. Ariano was originally supposed to be taking on Ivan Gnizditskiy, but LaGrange stepped in. It was on short notice and up a weight class, so I thought Ariano could bully LaGrange. He cracked Ariano early, which forced Ariano to clinch up. After a bit of back and forth in the clinch, Ariano employed his judo and tossed LaGrange. Ariano wasn’t able to get off any damage, and LaGrange was back on his feet very quickly. The two ended up back in the clinch, and LaGrange rocked Ariano with an elbow. From there, LaGrange let off his hands and found the round-one TKO finish.
Unfortunately for LaGrange, I do not think he will find much success at middleweight in the UFC. For the most part, his competition has been weak, and I just don’t think his skills are UFC-level.
