MMASucka staff picks are locked in for the night of awaiting prospects.
Ten fighters looking to secure a contract to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship are ready for combat at Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 6 (also titled as Dana White’s Contender Series 62) taking place later tonight, September 12th from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is available on ESPN+ beginning at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT).
Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 6 results will be available here at MMASucka.
Be sure to recap our staff picks from Saturday’s huge UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland event in Sydney, Australia.
The Fights
24-year-old James Llontop and 27-year-old Malik Lewis will clash in the night’s featured main event at lightweight (155 pounds). Representing Peru awaits Llontop who, after starting his career with two wins and two losses, has strung together eleven consecutive victories including his capturing of the Fusion FC Welterweight Championship in October of last year. His opponent, current Peak Fighting Lightweight Champion Lewis, makes his return to the Contender Series stage losing his one and only professional match to Trevor Peek by second-round knockout just 364 days ago.
In the co-main event, Brazilian heavyweights (265 pounds) Eduardo Neves and Jhonata Diniz get their shot at a UFC contract. 2022 Contender Series competitor Neves gets his second tryout in front of UFC President Dana White fresh off a first-round knockout over Hyago Silva to claim the vacant LFA Heavyweight title. Former ACB Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion and Glory competitor Diniz has displayed his striking abilities in MMA with an undefeated run of five wins all by knockout inside the first round.
Getting his biggest test to date awaits former Attitude MMA Lightweight Champion A.J. Cunningham who puts his three-fight win streak on the line in the featherweight division (145 pounds) against Steven Nguyen, who returns to Dana White’s Contender Series for the third time after appearances in 2019 and 2021 as well as his first fight in nearly two years.
Two additional fights make up the awaiting event. 2021 Contender Series notable and recent LFA title victor Julia Polastri meets Paraguay’s Patricia Alujas at women’s strawweight (115 pounds) while undefeated bantamweights (135 pounds) Jean Matsumoto and Kasey Tanner take lead in the night’s opener.
Find our staff picks and predictions for Dana White’s Contender Series 62 further below.
DWCS 2023 – Week 5 Contract Winners: Dione Barbosa (women’s flyweight), Serhiy Sidey (bantamweight), Jean Silva (featherweight), Dylan Budka (middleweight), Brendson Ribeiro (light heavyweight)
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/or 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.
See below for our MMASucka picks at Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 6.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 5:
Ben Jamieson: 217-111
Michael DeSantis: 214-114
Jeremy Brand: 207-121
Wesley Riddle: 207-121
Nate Freeman: 206-122
Frazer Krohn: 198-130
Julio Monteros Jr.: 187-105
Andrew Benjamin: 156-132
Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
Brian Knight: 134-80
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 – UFC 293 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Jean Matsumoto (13-0), +100
vs.
Kasey Tanner (6-0), -120
Bantamweight Division
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Tanner via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Matsumoto via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Matsumoto via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Matsumoto via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Matsumoto via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Matsumoto via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Matsumoto: 5
Staff picking Tanner: 1
Julia Polastri (11-3), -535
vs.
Patricia Alujas (9-2), +400
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Polastri via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Polastri via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Polastri via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Polastri via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Polastri via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Polastri via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Polastri: 6
Staff picking Alujas: 0
A.J. Cunningham (10-2), +215
vs.
Steven Nguyen (8-1), -265
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Nguyen via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Nguyen via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Nguyen via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Nguyen via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Nguyen via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Nguyen via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Cunningham: 0
Staff picking Nguyen: 6
Eduardo Neves (7-1), +130
vs.
Jhonata Diniz (5-0), -155
Heavyweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Diniz via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Diniz via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Diniz via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Neves via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Diniz via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Diniz via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Neves: 1
Staff picking Diniz: 5
James Llontop (13-2), -170
vs.
Malik Lewis (6-1), +145
Lightweight Division
– Main Event –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Llontop via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Lewis via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Llontop via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Lewis via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Llontop via Round 2 SUB
Ben Jamieson: Llontop via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Llontop: 4
Staff picking Lewis: 2
