Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 6, Week 4: All Five Winners Earn UFC Contracts

Tonight was the fourth episode of the 6th season of Dana White’s Contender Series and here’s how it went.

Last week, Jamal Pogues, Erik Silva, and Clayton Carpenter earned contracts. Bo Nickal got a finish in the main event in 62 seconds, however Dana White instead offered them another fight for the finale of Dana White’s Contender Series on September 27th vs. (9-1 MMA) Donovan Beard. Here is how this week’s episode went down.

The first fight of tonight’s episode was between Ahmad Hassanzada vs. Nazim Sadykhov at Lightweight.

This fight would last until the two minute mark of the 3rd round. In the 1st round it would be all Sadykhov who opened a nasty cut on Hassanzada, dropped him in the 2nd round and got the finish in the 3rd with a hard right hand.

Nazim Sadykhov def. Ahmad Hassanzada via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:59.

The second fight went down between Hailey Cowan vs. Claudia Leite in the Women’s Bantamweight.

In the first round a cut was opened up over the right eye of Leite from a hard right elbow by Cowan which caused the fight to be paused so the doctor could take a look, but the fight continued. Leite would take the 2nd round as she found her way to the back and looked for a rear-naked choke. They scrambled for position, and Leite locked in a deep arm triangle, but the tap would not come. In the third round Cowan would reverse the early takedown from Leite and began working from top position. Cowan would attempt to scramble back to her feet in the closing seconds, but this ended with Leite looking for a rear-naked choke at the horn.

Hailey Cowan def. Claudia Leite via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

The third fight went down between Jack Cartwright vs. Jose Johnson in the Bantamweight division.

In the first round. Johnson would get the takedown, Cartwright scrambled and locked in a deep D’Arce choke, but Johnson remained calm and worked his way free. Johnson scrambled to a favorable position. From full mount, Johnson landed heavy strikes until the round concluded. In the 2nd round with less than a minute left, Cartwright found the back of Johnson and looked for a rear-naked choke. He was unable to secure the attempt, but maintained top control. In the 3rd round, Johnson would lock in a triangle choke attempt and landed more elbows. A moment later, Cartwright attempted a kimura but ended up with Johnson on top in full mount landing more elbows before the end of the fight.

Jose Johnson def. Jack Cartwright via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

The fourth fight of the night went down between Claudio Ribeiro vs. Ivan Valenzuela in the Middleweight division.

Ribeiro sized up Valenzuela for the first few seconds of the bout. A hard right leg kick spun Valenzuela around. Just as Valenzuela completed his spin and attempted to land a spinning backfist, a hard punch from Ribeiro crushed his chin and he crashed to the canvas. Ribeiro won by knockout in less than half a minute.

Claudio Ribeiro def. Ivan Valenzuela via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:25.

The fifth and final fight of the night went down between Thomas Paull vs. Esteban Ribovics in the Lightweight division.

The feature bout of the evening started off blazing as Ribovics unleashed hard strikes from the beginning, but Paull answered back with a few counters of his own. A low blow from Ribovics caused a brief pause in the action, but when the fight resumed, the action remained heavy. Ribovics continued and found home for a clean right hook that sent Paull to the ground. A few follow-up punches later, and this one was all over.

Esteban Ribovics def. Thomas Paull via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:30.

UFC President Dana White would hand out a contract to the following:

Nazim Sadykhov
Hailey Cowan
Jose Johnson
Claudio Ribeiro
Esteban Ribovics

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