Fight card three of ten is underway for a popular Tuesday promotion and MMASucka staff picks.
Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 3, also titled as Dana White’s Contender Series 59, will take place later tonight, August 22nd from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada as fighters look for their shot at a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Four fights kick off at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on ESPN+.
Stay tuned to MMASucka for Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 3 results.
Recap our staff picks last weekend’s PFL 8 2023 Playoff picks on Friday and UFC 292: Sterling vs. O’Malley on Saturday.
The Fights
Undefeated middleweights (185 pounds) will faceoff in the night’s main event between Eli Aronov and Zachary Reese. Israel’s Aronov returns to mixed martial arts for the first time since May of last year where he claimed a second-round arm triangle over 2020 Contender Series notable Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz. Aronov’s opponent, Reese, comes in with finishes over all five of his opponents by either knockout or submission inside the first round.
In the co-main event, Oban Elliott and Kaik Brito will clash in the welterweight division (170 pounds). Elliott made his impressions known with four consecutive victories within the last 15 months competing for Cage Warriors including a win over their former Middleweight Champion over Matthew Bonner. Brito brings the most experience of competitors at tonight’s events with 16 victories in 20 professional matchups as well his third-round knockout over David Kozma claiming the OKMMA Welterweight Championship last December.
Two additional fights make up the main card ahead. Striking talents Anna Verbeek and Josefine Lindgren Knutsson are to meet at flyweight (115 pounds), and undefeated finisher Robbie Ring represents Virginia in the fight card opener versus Peru’s Fusion FC competitor Luis Pajuelo at 145 pounds (featherweight).
After Luciano Pereira suffered a medical issue during his Monday morning weigh-in attempt, the 22-year-old was removed from his flyweight (125 pounds) pairing with undefeated Felipe dos Santos and the bout was cancelled. In turn, Dos Santos was given a UFC contract after stepping in on short notice to fight #10-ranked UFC flyweight Manel Kape at UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland on September 9th.
See our MMASucka staff picks for Dana White’s Contender Series 59 further below.
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Who wins and who is predicted at Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 3?
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 2:
Ben Jamieson: 191-101
Michael DeSantis: 186-106
Jeremy Brand: 183-109
Nate Freeman: 181-111
Wesley Riddle: 178-114
Frazer Krohn: 175-117
Julio Monteros Jr.: 163-98
Jack Goodwillie: 139-83
Andrew Benjamin: 137-118
Brian Knight: 126-79
Tim Wheaton: 105-60
Roemello Reyes: 62-34
Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
Brandon Joint: 12-9
Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
Joshua Yule: 7-6
Chris De Santiago: 6-6
Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – PFL 8 2023 & UFC 292 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Robbie Ring (6-0), -166
vs.
Luis Pajuelo (7-1), +140
Featherweight Division
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ring via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Pajuelo via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Pajuelo via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Ring via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ring via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Ring via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Ring via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Ring via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Ring: 6
Staff picking Pajuelo: 2
Isis Verbeek (4-1), +225
vs.
Josefine Lindgren Knutsson (5-0), -278
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Lindgren Knutsson via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Lindgren Knutsson via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Lindgren Knutsson via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Lindgren Knutsson via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Verbeek via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Lindgren Knutsson via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Lindgren Knutsson via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Lindgren Knutsson via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Verbeek: 1
Staff picking Lindgren Knutsson: 7
Oban Elliott (8-2), +130
vs.
Kaik Brito (16-4), -155
Welterweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Brito via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Brito via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Brito via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Brito via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Elliott via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Brito via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Brito via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Brito via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Elliott: 1
Staff picking Brito: 7
Eli Aronov (6-0), +142
vs.
Zachary Reese (5-0), -170
Middleweight Division
– Main Event –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Reese via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Reese via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Aronov via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Reese via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Reese via Split Decision
Nate Freeman: Aronov via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Aronov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Reese via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Aronov: 3
Staff picking Reese: 7
