DWCS 78, the second week of 10 in the ninth season of Dana White’s Contender Series, is upon us. Last week at the UFC Apex facility, only two contestants secured UFC contracts.
One of those contract winners, Baisangur Susurkaev (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has already made his promotional debut, submitting Eric Nolan by second-round rear-naked choke to win his second fight in roughly 96 hours. The fighters competing this Tuesday night on DWCS 78 already know that the stakes are high for them, as well as any fighters who follow them in subsequent weeks.
As usual, the five fights making up DWCS 78 can be seen via ESPN+ inside the United States and UFC Fight Pass internationally. Now that The Ultimate Fighter television series has aired its final program-length episode of the 33rd season, Contender Series is back to its usual 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT broadcast time for the remainder of the season.
DWCS 78 Main Event: Manuel Exposito vs. Jose Delano
At the top of the bill for this midweek event, the featherweights take to the fabled Octagon to try and secure a UFC contract. Manuel Exposito (13-2 MMA) meets up with Jose Delano (15-3 MMA.) All fights on DWCS 78 are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round, main event included.
Exposito, a former champion in both Demo Fight and Samurai Fight House, comes into Enterprise, NV having gone 3-2 in his last five trips to an MMA cage. Currently, he’s gotten his hand raised three times in a row.
After an active year in 2024, this marks his first fight of 2025. Last November, he went to the scorecards against Antonio Ramirez (14-11 MMA), winning by unanimous decision.
With over nine months away from the cage ahead of DWCS 78, how much ring rust does he have going into this contest? Watch on Tuesday to find out the answer.
Meanwhile, Jose Delano is sporting a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights, winning three consecutive bouts. An alumnus of and former titleholder in the Legacy Fighting Alliance, he’s scored two stoppages in a row before the bell tolled to end the opening round.
Back on Feb. 7, he stopped Abu Muslim Alikhanov (7-1 MMA) with a punch during LFA 201 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. With Delano on a hot streak going into DWCS 78, expect him to turn the energy up a few notches once the cage door shuts Tuesday night.
DWCS 78 Co-Main Event: Brandon Holmes vs. Cam Rowston
A universal theme for DWCS 78 on Tuesday is one of undefeated fighters. Six of the 10 combatants fighting on this week’s show have yet to lose as professionals. The co-main event of the evening takes place at middleweight.
Brandon Holmes (5-0 MMA) touches down in Nevada for a tilt against Cam Rowston (11-3 MMA, 0-1 DWCS) in the latter’s second Contender Series fight. The former comes in having won nine fights in a row dating back to his days in amateur competition.
Last time out, he finished Zach Borrego (6-6 MMA) with a third-round knockout right before Memorial Day on May 25. Holmes was supposed to have fought this past weekend versus Elias Urbina (5-2 MMA) in Fury FC 107 before being booked to battle Rowston on Tuesday night.
He’s had a quick rise to get to where he is now, having only turned pro in December of 2023. Will he cash in with a UFC contract this week?
Across the way, Cam Rowston, who had been booked to fight Jon Kunneman (10-0 MMA) this week before the latter had to withdraw due to an injured rib, makes a return trip to the Tuesday night MMA promotion with a record of 4-1 over the course of his five latest contests. Since dropping a unanimous decision to Torrez Finney in his first Contender Series appearance last August, he’s rattled off three consecutive wins.
A former champion in Stealth Fight League, he bested Alfred Stoddart (4-5 MMA) by way of unanimous decision late last winter. Will Rowston’s second chance to impress UFC CEO Dana White go better than his first?
DWCS 78: Kaushik Saikumar vs. Louis Lee Scott
Also on DWCS 78, you’ll be treated to a bantamweight showcase between Kaushik Saikumar (5-0 MMA), who went 2-0 in Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and Louis Lee Scott (9-0 MMA), a onetime champ in France’s Ares FC. Saikumar will be making the walk having last fought 10 months ago in CFFC.
That night, he punched his way to a third-round knockout over Adamu Isah (5-2 MMA.) A planned April 19 fight versus Fabriccio Robles (10-2 MMA) was scrubbed without a punch being thrown.
Saikumar boasts an 80 percent finish rate ahead of this week’s card. Expect him to hunt for the stoppage on Tuesday.
In the other corner, Louis Lee Scott has won 10 fights straight dating back to his amateur career. On Valentine’s Day, he submitted Youssouf Binate (5-1 MMA) with an armbar inside the opening round.
Like we’ve mentioned so many times before, when a fighter is on a hot streak, he’s often at his most dangerous inside the cage. Can the streak continue?
Rest of the Card
Two other fights take place on DWCS 79 this Tuesday, a heavyweight showcase matching Josh Hokit (5-0 MMA) with Guilherme Uriel (6-1 MMA) and a featherweight affair between Tommy Cuozzi (8-0 MMA) and Ramiro Jimenez (10-0 MMA.) In this night of undefeated fighters, one question remains:
Which fight or fights are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
