Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Episode 6 Recap

Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Episode 6 Recap

On Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Episode 6 four fighters earned UFC contracts. It is a unique cast of characters with various pros and cons as they enter the UFC. It is time to rank this group of contestants and determine who has the most potential. The best fighters will be listed first while the weakest fighters sit at the bottom.

Elijah Smith- Bantamweight

Elijah Smith earned a UFC contract with a decision win against Aaron Tau. The 22-year-old bantamweight ended up getting his hand raised after a dog fight.

Smith showed a lot of impressive skills for his age. At five-foot-nine, he was the longer fighter. This advantage was utilized as he used straight shots to land while staying out of range for counters. Plus, he landed some slick counters of his own.

In the grappling realm, Smith showed a lot of positives. I do not think he has elite wrestling entries, but he was great at finishing takedowns once he got ahold of his opponent. In the top position, he was offensive. This hunt for damage resulted in losing position a few times; however, he did a good job of not putting himself in a bad spot. The best example of this is when he used a guillotine to get back to his feet rather than end up on his back.

The question for Smith will be his cardio. In the early rounds, he looked sharp. The issues arose when the technical bout turned into a brawl. Smith got tired and ate shots at the end of the fight. If his cardio ends up being effective, he has a shot at having a great career.

Smith is one of the best prospects from this season of DWCS. That may be a surprise considering he has not been as dominant as other top prospects. That’s because he had some aspects working against him. This was a tough stylistic matchup that he took on short notice. In his DWCS bout, he fought a physical opponent who wanted to push the pace and get in a scrap. I am impressed that he handled a tough matchup against an older, more experienced opponent. This was accomplished while fighting on short notice. In a more technical fight, he can look much cleaner.

Overall, Smith has a strong skill set for a 22-year-old. It is a well-rounded approach with quality tools in both striking and grappling. This is present while also being athletic. Smith will go down as a fighter with elite potential and will be a top-tier prospect from this DWCS season.

Ateba Gautier- Middleweight

Ateba Gautier knocked out Yura Naito in the second round to earn a UFC contract. The 22-year-old is a physical specimen with a lot of raw skills.

The amount of power that Gautier produced with his strikes was ridiculous. The important part is that he was not throwing wild with massive overhands. Instead, he was doing serious damage with short punches in the pocket. Plus, his ground and pound was impactful. It felt like he did serious damage every time he touched Naito.

Gautier also landed some strong strikes while Naito attempted takedowns. This came in the form of uppercuts and knees. The timing of these strikes was impressive.

The problem with Gautier is that he appears to have limited grappling skills. In the first round, it looked like he was looking to his corner for instructions on how to defend a takedown. It wasn’t great. It does not help that fighters will likely desperately wrestle him so they do not have to deal with his power.

Gautier is a very raw prospect with serious physical tools. It will take a lot of improvements for him to hit his ceiling. This is especially true in the grappling realm. Thankfully, he is only 22-years-old. That makes it possible for him to improve and become an elite fighter. If he can grow, his physicality will make him a serious problem. I would be out on Gautier if he was older, but at his age, he is a high-upside project with a very low floor.

Tallison Teixeira- Heavyweight

Tallison Teixeira earned a UFC contract with a first-round knockout against Arthur Lopes. The UFC desperately needs heavyweights and Dana White did not think twice about adding Teixeira.

Teixeira is a massive heavyweight. At six-foot-seven, he has an 83-inch reach. That makes him one of the tallest and longest fighters in the division.

On the outside, Teixeira has a strong jab and straight, his jab and straight. Additionally, his high kicks are solid. On the inside, he throws good knees.

I have serious concerns with Teixeira. This begins with his DWCS opponents. Lopes weighed in at 218 pounds. This was a heavyweight bout. Lopes is essentially a light heavyweight who decided he did not want to cut weight. Still, Lopes was pressuring Teixeira and landing strikes. What will happen when Teixeira fights a UFC heavyweight who will get in his face and throw strikes? I expect them to land a lot of big shots based on his DWCS performance.

It does not help that Teixeira has never fought a good heavyweight in his career. I am not expecting him to have wins over top-tier fighters, but he has only fought bums. When Teixeira fights a UFC heavyweight it will be a massive step up in competition.

It should be noted that Teixeira allegedly has a BJJ black belt. That is not something we have seen in a fight, but a proficient grappling game would greatly affect his UFC outlook.

At the end of the day, I cannot be high on a heavyweight who was eating shots against a light heavyweight on DWCS. It does not help that he does not have any meaningful regional wins either. I expect semi-talented UFC heavyweights to land big shots against Teixeira.

Ahmad Hassanzada- Lightweight

The final UFC contract winner from this episode of DWCS was Ahmad Hassanzada. The 28-year-old lightweight finished Dylan Mantello with a rear-naked choke.

In the first round, Hassanzada used his grappling to rack up some control time and win the round. That taxed his gas tank, however. This allowed Mantello to come back and seriously hurt Hassanzada in the second round. Similarly, at the end of the round, he was gassed out. This resulted in two tired fighters in the third round. Hassanzada seemed to want victory more than Mantello and used his grappling to finish the fight.

Frankly, this was a fight between two bad fighters. Previously, both fighters lost on DWCS and this was their second chance at a contract. Mantello’s loss has aged horribly. In his appearance , he was finished in the first round by Kaynan Kruschewsky. At the time, it was clear Kruschewsky was not any good and that was solidified with his 0-2 start in the UFC. The point is that Mantello was finished in the first round against a fighter who will likely get cut from the UFC. Meanwhile, Hassanzada could not finish him until the third round and was nearly finished before mounting the comeback.

In specific skills, Hassanzada’s striking is centered around spinning attacks and slow overhands. It’s bad. Plus, he has horrible defense. Despite being a grappler, his skills are not that impressive. It is nothing intimidating for opponents.

Hassanzada will likely be one of the worst fighters to walk away from this season of DWCS with a contract. If he isn’t that is not a good sign for the remainder of the season.

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