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Dana White's Contender Series 87: Grading the winners
Dana White's Contender Series 87 took place Tuesday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and we're grading the winners from the five-fight card. Now in its 10th season, the series continues to be a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom grades the winning fighters' performances, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract.
Kicking off the night was a decent middleweight matchup between Joe Kropschot and Jon Kunneman.
Like most of the dynamics of this card, Kropschot vs. Kunneman was your classic pairing of an early-finishing puncher opposite a more well-rounded, workmanlike fighter.
In this case, Kunneman was the puncher who – despite his solid attempts at a Justin Gaethje impression – found himself both fading and falling short of ideas down the stretch.
I really liked the consistent bodywork from Kropschot, who stabbed the body well with hard teeps. And once the fight hit the floor, Kropschot's transitional grappling was on full display with a locked-out kimura-trap armbar that broke Kunneman's arm to finish out the fight.
I'm not shocked to see Dana White sign Kropschot considering both the UFC's business model and the traditional bar that's been set on the show. If I had to guess, I believe that we could see Kropschot filling out an international card before year's end against names like Vlasto Čepo or Mantas Kondratavičius.
In what was one of the more entertaining fights of the night, Tom Pagliarulo survives some early turbulence en route to taking over opposite Ananias Malumba.
This was Malumba's second swing at bat on the Contender Series following another dramatic defeat at the hands of Marwan Rahiki the first time around. And despite hurting Pagliarulo (after a brief drop himself) on multiple occasions, the American's more varied and consistent offense eventually stole the steering wheel away from Malumba, who faded badly in the final frame.
I'm a big fan of fighters who can overcome adversity and finish late, so Pagliarulo gets one of the more deserving A's of the night. I'm not surprised to see Dana White sign the Tyson Chartier and Tiger Beetle product and look forward to seeing more from Pugliarulo.
If his next fight is domestic, then I could see the UFC brass booking him with someone like Steven Nguyen. And if it's international, I think that Keiichiro Nakamura would make for a solid scrap.
Coming through as the biggest betting favorite in Contender Series history, Bilal Hasan makes quick work of Mdrigul Saikia in Round 1 and earns an easy A and UFC contract in the process.
For those of us in the know, Hasan has been surefire prospect material since his come-up in the CFFC.
The Hawaiian-born Indonesian is the definition of dynamism with the savvy of his southpaw-primary, stance-switching game. We didn't get to see too much of Hasan, but it was more than enough to get both the masses and the UFC brass fired up about his potential.
I know Hasan said he's not in a rush to move up the ladder, but with the UFC ladder at flyweight still severely lacking rungs, don't be shocked to see the "Indoninja" in there with names like Mitch Roposo or Andre Lima sooner rather than later.
In what was easily the worst fight of the night, Abe Alsaghir scrapes out a contentious split-decision win over Fabrizio Escarrega.
After realizing how far from UFC-level this fight was in the first frame, I genuinely don't believe that this fight is worth getting up in arms about from a scoring perspective.
No offense to the fighters, who I'm sure didn't show their best, but the UFC's lightweight division is traditionally one of the most prestigious divisions (from a talent perspective) in mixed martial arts history, so it's painful to see this level under consideration for the next class.
I think Alsaghir got a lot more done off the backfoot than he's being given credit for, but backfoot offense, even when you're not short for the division, is not a high-percentage approach.
As for Escarrega, having suspect cardio as a Mexican is as bad as having a suspect chin as a Hawaiian. I'll just leave it at that, and hope that the UFC matchmakers can do better with their lightweight bookings going forward.
As I always say, not all A's are created equal in this series considering the clear precedent for quick finishes that this show rewards.
And though I'm sadly in the minority of being a fan of longer and more meaningful sample sizes, there's no denying Anthony Wint his A for doing his part opposite Matt Adams.
Wint, who is both an athletic unit and a man who comes from a pro football background, has all the surface-level and on-paper attributes that traditionally make fight fans tumescent.
But as someone who loves to remind folks about reality, I tend to reserve my excitement for MMA's 'Great White Hope' of NFL-turned-UFC hopefuls given the fact that Brendan Schaub is still technically the most successful heavyweight of that group (not including the top-tier wrestlers like Gable Steveson or Brock Lesnar that folks like to grandfather into this argument to preserve their perspectives, but I digress).
For what it's worth, I do see the athletic potential Wint brings to the table and believe that his smaller size can be a very manageable issue should he pick up the wrestling aspect of the game at a serviceable level.
Only time will tell, but if there's one confident statement I can make about Wint, it's that his first two bookings will likely be bonus-winning gimmies on main cards against the bottom end of what is an already weak heavyweight division.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White's Contender Series 87: Grading the winners
Continue reading...
Dana White's Contender Series 87 took place Tuesday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and we're grading the winners from the five-fight card. Now in its 10th season, the series continues to be a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom grades the winning fighters' performances, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract.
Joe Kropschot
- Weight class: Middleweight
- Result:Joe Kropschot def. Jon Kunneman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Grade: B
Kicking off the night was a decent middleweight matchup between Joe Kropschot and Jon Kunneman.
Like most of the dynamics of this card, Kropschot vs. Kunneman was your classic pairing of an early-finishing puncher opposite a more well-rounded, workmanlike fighter.
In this case, Kunneman was the puncher who – despite his solid attempts at a Justin Gaethje impression – found himself both fading and falling short of ideas down the stretch.
I really liked the consistent bodywork from Kropschot, who stabbed the body well with hard teeps. And once the fight hit the floor, Kropschot's transitional grappling was on full display with a locked-out kimura-trap armbar that broke Kunneman's arm to finish out the fight.
I'm not shocked to see Dana White sign Kropschot considering both the UFC's business model and the traditional bar that's been set on the show. If I had to guess, I believe that we could see Kropschot filling out an international card before year's end against names like Vlasto Čepo or Mantas Kondratavičius.
Tom Pagliarulo
- Weight class: Featherweight
- Result:Tom Pagliarulo def. Ananias Malumba via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:24
- Grade: A
In what was one of the more entertaining fights of the night, Tom Pagliarulo survives some early turbulence en route to taking over opposite Ananias Malumba.
This was Malumba's second swing at bat on the Contender Series following another dramatic defeat at the hands of Marwan Rahiki the first time around. And despite hurting Pagliarulo (after a brief drop himself) on multiple occasions, the American's more varied and consistent offense eventually stole the steering wheel away from Malumba, who faded badly in the final frame.
I'm a big fan of fighters who can overcome adversity and finish late, so Pagliarulo gets one of the more deserving A's of the night. I'm not surprised to see Dana White sign the Tyson Chartier and Tiger Beetle product and look forward to seeing more from Pugliarulo.
If his next fight is domestic, then I could see the UFC brass booking him with someone like Steven Nguyen. And if it's international, I think that Keiichiro Nakamura would make for a solid scrap.
Bilal Hasan
- Weight class: Flyweight
- Result:Bilal Hasan def. Mdrigul Saikia via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:45
- Grade: A
Coming through as the biggest betting favorite in Contender Series history, Bilal Hasan makes quick work of Mdrigul Saikia in Round 1 and earns an easy A and UFC contract in the process.
For those of us in the know, Hasan has been surefire prospect material since his come-up in the CFFC.
The Hawaiian-born Indonesian is the definition of dynamism with the savvy of his southpaw-primary, stance-switching game. We didn't get to see too much of Hasan, but it was more than enough to get both the masses and the UFC brass fired up about his potential.
I know Hasan said he's not in a rush to move up the ladder, but with the UFC ladder at flyweight still severely lacking rungs, don't be shocked to see the "Indoninja" in there with names like Mitch Roposo or Andre Lima sooner rather than later.
Abe Alsaghir
- Weight class: Lightweight
- Result: Abe Alsaghir def. Fabrizio Escarrega via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Grade: D
In what was easily the worst fight of the night, Abe Alsaghir scrapes out a contentious split-decision win over Fabrizio Escarrega.
After realizing how far from UFC-level this fight was in the first frame, I genuinely don't believe that this fight is worth getting up in arms about from a scoring perspective.
No offense to the fighters, who I'm sure didn't show their best, but the UFC's lightweight division is traditionally one of the most prestigious divisions (from a talent perspective) in mixed martial arts history, so it's painful to see this level under consideration for the next class.
I think Alsaghir got a lot more done off the backfoot than he's being given credit for, but backfoot offense, even when you're not short for the division, is not a high-percentage approach.
As for Escarrega, having suspect cardio as a Mexican is as bad as having a suspect chin as a Hawaiian. I'll just leave it at that, and hope that the UFC matchmakers can do better with their lightweight bookings going forward.
Anthony Wint
- Weight class: Heavyweight
- Result:Anthony Wint def. Matt Adams via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:34
- Grade: A
As I always say, not all A's are created equal in this series considering the clear precedent for quick finishes that this show rewards.
And though I'm sadly in the minority of being a fan of longer and more meaningful sample sizes, there's no denying Anthony Wint his A for doing his part opposite Matt Adams.
Wint, who is both an athletic unit and a man who comes from a pro football background, has all the surface-level and on-paper attributes that traditionally make fight fans tumescent.
But as someone who loves to remind folks about reality, I tend to reserve my excitement for MMA's 'Great White Hope' of NFL-turned-UFC hopefuls given the fact that Brendan Schaub is still technically the most successful heavyweight of that group (not including the top-tier wrestlers like Gable Steveson or Brock Lesnar that folks like to grandfather into this argument to preserve their perspectives, but I digress).
For what it's worth, I do see the athletic potential Wint brings to the table and believe that his smaller size can be a very manageable issue should he pick up the wrestling aspect of the game at a serviceable level.
Only time will tell, but if there's one confident statement I can make about Wint, it's that his first two bookings will likely be bonus-winning gimmies on main cards against the bottom end of what is an already weak heavyweight division.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White's Contender Series 87: Grading the winners
Continue reading...
