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

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

Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Episode 6 was nearly a train wreck. The promotion signed five new fighters during the episode. It is not a great crop of fighters, either. Thankfully, one of the fighters appears to be an elite prospect. The rest? Well, we will get into that.

In this DWCS recap, the purpose is to attempt to determine which prospects are the most promising as they enter the UFC. The best prospects are listed at the top of the post while the worst are at the bottom. In this specific post, understand that there is a massive drop-off in potential after the top fighter.

Kevin Vallejos- Featherweight

It is indisputable that Kevin Vallejos is the best prospect signed from this episode of DWCS. The 22-year-old used his sensational boxing to pick up a win over Cam Teague. Vallejos is so much better than the other prospects from this episode that I would predict he will get more UFC wins than the other four fighters combined.

Vallejos has ridiculous boxing. In this fight, he got in the pocket and ripped combinations. This was successful because he threw various combinations that mixed in body shots. Vallejos even had Teague hurt with body shots before finishing him with headshots.

I do not know where all of these Argentinian MMA fighters learn to box, but these guys are good. Vallejos joins the likes of Esteban Ribovics and Francisco Prado as talented Argentinian prospects. The catch is that Vallejos may be the best of the three.

This is not Vallejos first fight on DWCS. In Season 7 , he fought Jean Silva. That fight was going well for Vallejos in the early stages. The boxing skills were clear. Silva ended up mounting a comeback and winning the later rounds. In hindsight, that loss aged well. Silva is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Drew Dober, Charles Jourdain, and Westin Wilson. The most impressive part of the situation is that Vallejos gave Silva a more competitive fight than those opponents.

Vallejos is currently the best prospect from this season of DWCS. His pure boxing skills make him an immediate threat while giving him championship potential. I do not use the word championship loosely while discussing DWCS prospects. It does not mean he will be a champion, but most fighters do not have the potential to mention that thought.

Alexia Thainara- Women’s Strawweight

Alexia Thainara is the next best prospect from this episode of DWCS. The strawweight earned a UFC contract with a decision win over Rose Conceicao.

The best part of Thainara’s performance was her ability to throw hard for three rounds. At the start of this fight, she was landing clean strikes. Once she began to land, she never stopped. The only pause in striking volume came when she landed a takedown.

Thainara did not have the cleanest striking, but she had some positives. This began with her length. I liked her straight shots and leg kicks. Those were her most effective weapons from the fight. Additionally, I liked how she missed targets and attacked all three levels.

Thainara was a little messy. This resulted in eating counter shots. I expect more technical strikers to really find success in that particular area.

Ultimately, I view Thainara as a fighter who can get wins in the UFC, but will struggle to reach a high level. The ability to pace her opponents with power shots will help her win decisions. I expect her to fight opponents who do not have the physicality to technical striking to overcome those strengths. That said, she would need to make some real improvements to reach the rankings. At 26, it’s not impossible. It is not something I would predict, however.

Daniel Frunza- Welterweight

Daniel Frunza earned a UFC contract with a knockout over Vadym Kutsyi. The victory was largely because of Frunza’s superior cardio.

This bout showed some positives and negatives for Frunza. The positives were that he has power, solid kicks, and respectable cardio. The issues came with his defense. That included his striking and grappling defense. Kutsyi managed to find success in the first round as he dropped Frunza with an uppercut while also having several minutes of control time.

Frunza eventually won this fight because Kutsyi had terrible cardio. All Frunza had to do was reach the second round. At that point, Kutsyi could not properly defend himself and Frunza took advantage.

I cannot project Frunza as a promising prospect. I did not like his grappling and his striking defense is not great. These flaws are not present injunction with overwhelming offensive skills. It does not help that he is 30. That caps his room for improvement.

Danylo Voievodkin- Heavyweight

The final two signees from this episode of DWCS are bottom-of-the-barrel prospects. The more promising of the two is heavyweight Danylo Voievodkin. The 24-year-old earned a contract with a first-round submission against Bailey Schoenfelder.

Voievodkin dropped Schoenfelder with a pair of hooks before submitting him with a rear-naked choke. I am not sure it is a very repeatable outcome, however.

I do not see much to be excited about with Voievodkin. On the feet, he did not show anything noteworthy. The shots he landed that hurt his opponent felt more flukey than anything. Plus, the rear-naked choke he landed was sloppy.

Voievodkin’s 7-0 record is inflated with wins against awful competition on the Eastern European regional MMA circuit. For example, he has a win over Yuri Gorbenko who holds a 12-54 professional record. We have seen this story multiple times and it rarely ends well.

The bar to become a successful unranked UFC heavyweight is low. Still, I am doubtful Voievodkin can reach that level.

Kevin Christian- Light Heavyweight

The final UFC contract winner from this episode of DWCS was Kevin Christian. The light heavyweight earned a UFC contract with a second-round triangle armbar against Francesco Mazzeo.

Christian highlight attribute is his height. At six-foot-eight, he is massive. That plays into his submission skills as he uses his length to attack opponents.

The problem with Christian is that he is not effective off his back, does nothing on the feet, and is not physical. The only reason he won this fight is because Mazzeo gassed out horribly.

In the UFC, competent grapplers should be able to work from the opposition and avoid his submissions while strikers should be able to land clean. I fail to see how he finds success.

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