Only three events remain for a promotion in 2023 with MMASucka staff picks.
Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 8, also titled as Dana White’s Contender Series 64, takes place tonight, September 26th from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ten fighters look to round out the month with a UFC contract in their hands with fights beginning at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on ESPN+.
Stay locked in to MMASucka for results from Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 8.
Take a look back at our picks from Saturday’s Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards event from Dublin, Ireland and UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot from Las Vegas.
The Fights
Tennessee-native welterweights Danny Barlow and Raheam Forest will clash in the night’s main event. Forest stepped in with less than two weeks’ notice after 2021 Contender Series competitor and former Cage Warriors title challenger Justin Burlinson was forced out due to visa issues.
Barlow brings in his undefeated professional run of six victories including two in 2023 that saw him claiming the Attitude MMA Welterweight Championship in March and a first-round knockout in July. Former Cage Fury FC Champion Forest rebounded after losing the belt in March in blistering fashion with a knockout in just 26 seconds over Treston Vines.
In the co-main event, Alexander Soldatkin of Germany and Mario Piazzon of Brazil are set to battle in the heavyweight division. After a three-and-three start in his career, Soldatkin has impressively rallied with eleven consecutive wins since May of 2019 including ten by stoppage and nine in the first round. Opponent Piazzon has yet to face defeat whilst following in similar footsteps finishing five of his six opponents in one round as well as earning two championship defenses of his Demo Fight title.
The night’s midway fight sees Danny Silva and Angel Pacheco put their identical records of seven victories and one defeat on the line at featherweight.
Another short notice replacement sees undefeated flyweight Carli Judice stepping in for an injured Sora Rakhmonova, the younger sister of UFC welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov. Judice will fight kickboxer and also-undefeated Ernesta Kareckaite.
Opening the ESPN+ card sees former UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion Vinicius de Oliveira and recent Budo Sento Championship winner Victor Hugo Madrigal meet at 135 pounds.
See further below for our Dana White’s Contender Series 64 picks and predictions.
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.
Who have the MMASucka staff picked to win at Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 8?
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 6:
1. Ben Jamieson: 231-117
2. Michael DeSantis: 228-120
3. Jeremy Brand: 222-126
4. Wesley Riddle: 220-128
5. Nate Freeman: 216-132
6. Frazer Krohn: 211-137
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 192-110
8. Andrew Benjamin: 161-137
9. Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
10. Brian Knight: 140-84
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Chris De Santiago: 6-6
18. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – Bellator 299 & UFC Vegas 79 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Vinicius de Oliveira (18-3), -278
vs.
Victor Hugo Madrigal (12-3), +225
Bantamweight Division
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: de Oliveira via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: de Oliveira via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: de Oliveira via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: de Oliveira via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: de Oliveira via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: de Oliveira via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking de Oliveira: 6
Staff picking Hugo Madrigal: 0
Ernesta Kareckaite (4-0-1), +145
vs.
Carli Judice (3-0), -175
Women’s Flyweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Judice via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Judice via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Judice via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Judice via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Judice via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Judice via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Kareckaite: 0
Staff picking Judice: 6
Danny Silva (7-1), -218
vs.
Angel Pacheco (7-1), +180
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Silva via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pacheco via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Silva via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Silva: 5
Staff picking Pacheco: 1
Alexander Soldatkin (14-3), -380
vs.
Mario Piazzon (6-0), +300
Heavyweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Soldatkin via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Soldatkin via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Piazzon via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Soldatkin via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Soldatkin via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Soldatkin via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Soldatkin: 5
Staff picking Piazzon: 1
Danny Barlow (6-0), +102
vs.
Raheam Forest (7-1), -122
Welterweight Division
– Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Forest via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Forest via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Barlow via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Barlow via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Forest via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Barlow via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Barlow: 3
Staff picking Forest: 3
