Dana White’s Contender Series is back for the eighth Tuesday of the season, which is beginning to near its conclusion.
This week’s block of fights will unbeaten Danny Barlow square off against Raheam Forest in a battle of welterweight prospects from the South. Four other exciting fights will precede this week’s welterweight main event, as 10 fighters vie to impress UFC President Dana White and earn UFC contracts.
This week’s episode of DWCS is set to get underway at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Main Event — Barlow vs. Forest
Danny Barlow, a 6-0 prospect out of Tennessee with four finishes to his name, is a fighter tailor-made for DWCS and the theoretical A-side to Tuesday’s main event. While he has fought twice in the past for CFFC and is yet to lose in MMA, he has no titles to his name, but has plenty of theoretical upside to go around. At 6-foot-2, Barlow is huge for the division and carries with him an 80-inch reach. In this way, Barlow reminds of former LFA welterweight champion Trey Waters, who has since punched his ticket to the UFC and even gotten his hand raised inside the Octagon. He trains out of Law School MMA under Head Coach Brian Hall, who has competed for Bellator in the past.
We're back for week 8 of #DWCS 👊
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— UFC (@ufc) September 26, 2023
Barlow’s opponent, Raheam Forest, will not be an easy out, however, and is no slouch himself. He also shares a few parallels with Barlow. For one, he has also competed in CFFC, which routinely makes trips to states such as Mississippi. Unlike Barlow, Forest has tasted CFFC gold, though he dropped the belt to Charles Radtke in Philadelphia back in April. He rebounded against Treston Vines, so Tuesday’s fight should absolutely be on the level of a regional MMA title fight. He is also set to fill in on short notice, as Barlow’s original opponent and former DWCS alum, Justin Burlinson, was forced out of the bout with an injury.
Rest of the Card
The heavyweights will do battle in Tuesday’s co-main event when Germany’s Alexander Soldatkin takes on Brazil’s Mario Piazzon. Piazzon is 6-0 with five finishes, but he has fought a questionable level of competition in his native Brazil. Soldatkin, meanwhile, is the far more proven commodity, having fought all over the European regional scene. He is also riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak dating back to 2019 after having started his career 3-3.
Two 7-1 featherweights will also square off when Danny Silva battles Angel Pacheco. Their commonalities extend well beyond their record, as both men have finished 13 of their 14 combined victories. However, Silva will enter the cage five years the junior of his opponent, Pacheco.
In a rare, non-women’s strawweight fight on The Contender Series, Lithuania’s Ernesta Kareckaite is set for action against American Carli Judice. The UFC women’s flyweight division isn’t quite as bare bones as the women’s bantamweight division, but can still use plenty of depth that is sure to be provided by the winner of Tuesday’s fight, barring shenanigans. The show will be opened by a bantamweight contest between Vinicius Oliveira out of Brazil and Victor Hugo Madrigal out of Mexico.
For up to the minute results and updates, be sure to stay locked in to MMA Sucka.
Dana White’s Contender Series 64 Results
Danny Barlow def. Rahaem Forest via TKO (Punches) at 1:19 of Round 1
Mario Piazzon def. Alexander Soldatkin via disqualification (Illegal Knee) at :20 of Round 3
Danny Silva def. Angel Pacheco via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ernesta Kareckaite def. Carli Judice via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Vinicius Oliveira def. Victor Hugo Madrigal via Knockout (Punch) at 3:02 of Round 1
