A promotion returns for our MMASucka staff picks.
Dana White’s Contender Series will see its first event of the calendar year take place later this evening, July 26 with the promotion’s 47th event from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ten fight cards will span over the next ten weeks with fighters from around the globe competing for their chance at earning a UFC contract from President Dana White. The fights will begin at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) live for subscribers on ESPN+.
Results from Dana White’s Contender Series 47 will be available here at MMASucka.
Be sure to recap our staff picks from last Friday’s Bellator 283 and last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 208. Also, stay tuned this weekend for our UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2 picks from Dallas, Texas.
The Fights
Ozzy Diaz and Joseph Pyfer will look to cap off the night in fashion as the two middleweights will meet in the featured main event.
Diaz comes in as Legacy Fighting Alliance’s most recent 185-pound champion after his March knockout of Bruno Assis. The Los Angeles native has yet to go the distance in his professional career with a lone defeat in 2018 and all seven of his victories coming within two five-minute rounds. Diaz’s opponent, Pyfer, comes in as one of the youngest competitors on the card at just 25. This will be the second Contender Series opportunity for the rising talent after his 2020 fight with Dustin Stoltzfus ended due to an unfortunate arm dislocation while defending a takedown.
Undefeated Swede Anton Turkalj takes on Brazil’s Acacio dos Santos in the co-main event.
A main card pairing between Farid Basharat and Willian Souza was cancelled after Souza missed the bantamweight mark by ten pounds. In turn, only four fights will be counted for our MMASucka staff picks at Dana White’s Contender Series 47. See those further below.
Staff Picks
Staff picks in 2022 will follow the same set of rules from the 2021 season. Throughout the calendar year, staff picks will be composed of main card fights from both UFC and Bellator events. Main card fights and selected preliminary fights will be included for PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will be composed of the entire fight card.
The WINNER of staff picks in 2022 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. A winner is determined simply by the individual correctly picking the most victorious fighters at the year’s end. Nate Freeman secured his first victory with MMASucka in 2021 with a compiled record 243-136.
Find our Dana White’s Contender Series 47 staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC on ABC 3:
1T. Wesley Riddle: 135-68
1T. Nate Freeman: 135-68
3. Michael DeSantis: 132-71
4. Frazer Krohn: 131-72
5. William Dong: 128-75
6. Julio Monteros Jr.: 127-65
7. Jeremy Brand: 125-72
8. Mike Lynch: 123-74
9. Chris Presnell: 120-77
10. Andrew Benjamin: 118-85
11. Tim Wheaton: 117-60
12. Brandon Joint: 103-65
13. Ash Camyab: 95-67
14. Coby Weinsier: 87-47
15. Jack Goodwillie: 86-37
16. Brian Knight: 82-57
17. Chinyere Okafor: 72-38
18. Jacek Okninski: 69-54
19. Mat Bricker: 24-22
20. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – Bellator 283 & UFC Fight Night 208 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Alessandro Costa (10-2), -265
vs.
Andres Luna Martinetti (12-0), +225
Flyweight Division
~ 125 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Costa via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Costa via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Costa via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Costa via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Luna Martinetti via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Costa via Split Decision
Chris Presnell: Costa via Round 2 SUB
William Dong: Costa via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Costa via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Costa: 8
Staff picking Luna Martinetti: 1
Dennis Buzukja (7-2), -210
vs.
Kaleio Romero (6-1), +180
Featherweight Division
~ 145 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Romero via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Romero via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Buzukja via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Buzukja: 7
Staff picking Romero: 2
Anton Turkalj (7-0), -170
vs.
Acacio dos Santos (14-4), +145
Light Heavyweight Co-Main Event
~ 205 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Turkalj via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Turkalj via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Turkalj via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: dos Santos via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Turkalj via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Turkalj via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Turkalj via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Turkalj via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Turkalj via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Turkalj: 8
Staff picking dos Santos: 1
Ozzy Diaz (7-1), -115
vs.
Joseph Pyfer (8-2), -105
Middleweight Main Event
~ 185 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Diaz via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Diaz via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
Chris Presnell: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Diaz via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Diaz via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Diaz: 9
Staff picking Pyfer: 0
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
DANA WHITE’S CONTENDER 47 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
