With the Labor Day weekend in the rear-view mirror, summer is over, at least unofficially. At this time of year, the sun will set around 8 pm local time. While the sun goes down earlier and earlier now, the intensity goes up at the UFC Apex, especially on Tuesday nights.
Week number four of Dana White’s Contender Series takes place this Tuesday evening from the Apex facility. Live coverage of MMA‘s most aggressive job interview begins at its customary broadcast time of 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN+ inside the United States. Up to now in this eighth season of the program, 12 prospects have secured UFC deals as a direct result of appearing on the show, with four more fighters securing deals last week.
As usual, five fights will happen inside the famed UFC Octagon. Highlighting the night is a contest at 170 lbs. in the DWCS 70 main event.
Cavalcanti vs. Ko Caps Week 4 of DWCS on Tuesday
Igor Cavalcanti (9-0 MMA) takes on Ko Seok Hyun (10-2 MMA) during the headliner. As with all fights on Contender Series throughout the season, the DWCS 70 main event is an advertised three rounds at five minutes per round to close the evening’s activities.
🇰🇷Ko Seok Hyun (10-2) confirmed on IG today that he is indeed fighting Igor Cavalcanti on DWCS on September 3rd. Ko was in talks to be on RTU, then Naiza FC, now DWCS. Story:https://t.co/8yPEAVkzYS
— Chris Presnell (@mmaecosystem) June 5, 2024
DWCS 70 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the DWCS 70 main event on Tuesday night, Igor Cavalcanti stands as the taller man at 5-foot-11, compared to the 5-foot-10 frame of Ko Seok Hyun. Cavalcanti owns a 79 1/2-inch reach, with no such information accessible for Ko at press time.
Currently, the oddsmakers have Igor Cavalcanti installed as a -310 favorite on the money line, while Ko Seok Hyun counters as a +250 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening in MMA this week or weekend, please wager responsibly.
Can Igor Cavalcanti Remain Undefeated as He Searches for UFC Deal?
Igor Cavalcanti has yet to lose thus far in his MMA career. Last time out, he scored a first-round knockout in just 42 seconds over Paulo Mauricio Junior (5-4 MMA) on March 17 during Inside Fighters League 13 in Rio Grande, Brazil. Dating back to his amateur MMA career. Cavalcanti has won 10 consecutive MMA bouts and 11 combat sports fights all told.
The lone non-MMA win in his 11-bout winning streak came in January of 2022 during a cage boxing match against Lucas Esquiva during NFC 23 from Bahia. Looking at Cavalcanti’s MMA record, this is the kind of competitor that Dana White and the matchmakers are looking for while assembling cards for Contender Series events.
He’s 9-0 as a professional and has won all of his fights by way of stoppage. As we’ve seen countless times over the run of the Contender Series program, sometimes just getting your hand raised at the end of the 15 minutes isn’t enough to book a UFC contract by the time an episode signs off for the evening.
Can he score his 10th consecutive stoppage win as a professional? More importantly, will he secure a UFC deal by the end of this episode? Tune into the DWCS 70 main event and find out.
Ko Seok Hyun Returns For First Fight Since December
In the other corner, Ko Seok Hyun has posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. At the present moment, he’s on a three-fight winning streak, extended last time out against Alwin Kincal (7-8 MMA) by way of first-round knockout (left hook followed by ground strikes) during AFC 29.
Much like Igor Cavalcanti, Ko Seok Hyun is a man who’s right in Dana White’s wheelhouse for this show, but he hasn’t set foot inside a cage in close to nine months’ time. When the DWCS 70 main event begins this Tuesday evening inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Ko will have been on a layoff amounting to five days shy of nine months.
Any lengthy hiatus to a fighter’s career could potentially prove detrimental toward a fighter’s development. What kind of ring rust does Ko have going into the DWCS 70 main event? Only time will tell.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
With both of these men having great stoppage rates, don’t expect the DWCS 70 main event to go the contracted 15 minutes on Tuesday night.
“Jacare” Goes to Work in a Hurry
Igor Cavalcanti, nicknamed “Jacare”, doesn’t like to waste time once the cage door closes on fight night. Once he walks into the Octagon on Tuesday, here’s a word of advice: Don’t look away from the screen.
Back in his professional MMA debut in August of 2021 versus Antonio Carlos, he took Carlos down almost immediately after the fight began and proceeded to unload a vicious burst of ground and pound to soften his opponent up. From there, he applied the torque to lock in the rear-naked choke in under 30 seconds.
All it’ll take Igor Cavalcanti to finish the DWCS 70 main event is one takedown. If he drops Ko Seok Hyun a single time, the fight could be over almost as quickly as it begins.
Ko Seok Hyun Also Puts Opponents Away Quickly
In the other corner, Ko Seok Hyun sings “Anything you can do, I can do better.” He can also wrap up a fight before the viewer at home can finish putting the pickles on their submarine sandwich.
Just look at the tape of his fight versus Alwin Kincal from last fall. Upon a pause for an illegal blow in the opening round, Kincal wobbled Ko, prompting him to stalk his opponent until he scored a brutal left hook to drop Kincal, finishing the job with a flurry of ground and pound shots.
If Ko Seok Hyun can beat Igor Cavalcanti to the knockdown, it’s game on in the DWCS 70 main event.
Final Thoughts
While it’s only the fourth week of 10 in the Contender Series season, the DWCS 70 main event could very well have fight of the year potential written all over it. Don’t forget to tune in.
Prediction: Igor Cavalcanti by First-Round Submission.
