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

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

Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8, Episode 8 resulted in five fighters earning a UFC contract. This episode features some strong talent. Almost as important, it did not feature any horrible talent that should not have been signed to the promotion. Those two things combine to give us a strong batch of new UFC fighters.

The goal of these recaps is to determine which fighters have the most potential and which will be the most successful in the UFC. The post will begin with the most promising fighters listed first.

Jacobe Smith- Welterweight

The most promising fighter from this episode of DWCS was Jacobe Smith. This is the type of prospect you get excited about before he steps into the octagon. Smith is a Division 1 All-American and Two-Time NJCAA National Champion in wrestling. In MMA, he has trained at Fortis MMA while also spending time at AKA. That’s quite the resume.

Smith’s performance in the octagon backed all of the hype. It was an impressive victory that put his wrestling on full display. Smith showed a wide array of creative takedowns. On the ground, he had serious ground and pound which ultimately earned him a stoppage.

Smith showed a lot of great skills throughout this bout. This began with his wrestling. On top of that, he did a great job of mixing strikes into his grappling. This occurred both on the ground as well as in the clinch.

One aspect of Smith’s game that I was impressed with was his aggressiveness when from the top position. It looked like he was willing to let big strikes fly because he would be able to scramble back to the top position if his opponent began to escape. This allowed him to throw without worrying about losing his position.

If I were to poke holes in Smith’s game, I would highlight his cardio and BJJ. As far as cardio goes, he is untested in that area. Smith is a physical wrestler with a ton of aggressiveness. That is a style that is hard to maintain. It does not mean Smith can’t have good cardio, but I would like to see it. In the BJJ realm, Smith did not show much submission upside. Plus, he has never landed a submission in his career. I would like to see him add that layer to his grappling.

Overall, there is a lot to be excited about with Smith. At 28 years old, he has wrestling, power, physicality, and a solid understanding of how to implement his skills. I fully expect him to get wins in the UFC and he has the potential to make a run toward the rankings. Smith will go down as a top prospect from this DWCS season.

Diyar Nurgozahy- Light Heavyweight

Diyar Nurgozahy earned a contract on DWCS with a head-kick knockout over Bartosz Szewczyk. The 27-year-old is a solid addition to the light heavyweight division.

Nurgozhay showed a lot of intriguing traits. I thought he was a patient and intelligent striker. In the light heavyweight division, a lot of fighters are wild and chaotic. That was not the case for Nurgozhay. Instead, he waited for his opponent to throw and landed counters. This was done while being on the front foot. At the same time, he landed solid kicks when he was the aggressor. It also appeared like his shots did damage.

This is not overcomplicated. The light heavyweight division often lacks technique. Nurgozhay should be in plenty of fights where he has more tools and combinations while also being more technical. On the defensive side of the equation, he showed solid instincts and did not put himself in bad positions. This all provides optimism that he can win fights and eventually work toward the rankings.

David Martinez- Bantamweight

The quality of the prospect begins to change at this point in the post. The following fighters are not elite prospects, but they do present reasons to be excited. These fighters are far from being bums that will go winless in the UFC.

This section of prospect begins with David Martinez. The 26-year-old earned a UFC contract with a decision win over Xavier Franklin.

Martinez and Franklin got into a dogfight. It was a close fighter with a few really close rounds. Ultimately, Martinez earned the win with big moments and consistent leg kicks.

The stand-out trait for Martinez was his leg kicks. Throughout this fight, he was consistently landing very hard leg kicks. This led to a lot of damage to Franklin’s lead leg. At one point, he even dropped Franklin with a leg kick.

Martinez did not throw as much with his hands as you would have liked to see; however, he had the most outputs at the right moments. At the end of each round, he picked up the pace. This helped him edge out close rounds and win the decision.

On top of skills, Martinez seemed to be tough with good cardio and physicality. Those are always good traits to see from a prospect. Those attributes push him up the DWCS ranking and make him a more promising prospect.

At the end of the day, Martinez is a solid fighter. I could see him getting wins in the UFC. The issue that I have is that I do not see elite skills. That caps his ability to make a serious run in the bantamweight division.

Torrez Finney- Middleweight

The next prospect to earn a contract on DWCS was Torrez Finney. This was Finney’s third bout on DWCS. In his other two outings, he won the fight and left empty-handed. This time around, he got a ground-and-pound stoppage over Abdellah Er-Ramy and walked as a UFC fighter.

Finney won this bout with the usage of his grappling. It did not take him long to get the fight to the ground. In the top position, slowly advanced position and nearly landed a submission. Still, he got to the back and landed damaging strikes. That is what won him the fight.

The issue with Finney’s skills is shown when he struggles to get the takedowns. Finney is there to be hit. This is a serious issue because his grappling is not top-tier. It is not a foregone conclusion he will be able to dominate competent defensive grapplers.

It has to be noted that the UFC passed on Finney twice. The promotion made him fight three times on DWCS before they gave him a contact. It is concerning the UFC was not urgent to give him a contract.

The biggest issue with Finney is that he is a five-foot-eight middleweight. That does allow him to carry much more muscle than his opponents, but it makes it incredibly difficult to compete on the feet. In all likelihood, big middleweights will be able to outstrike him from range. That range issue will also make it hard for him to get inside and land takedowns. The one size comparison we have for Finney is Joaquin Buckley. That is not great considering Buckley had to drop to welterweight to find consistent UFC success.

I think Finney’s size significantly caps his potential. That said, his wrestling is good enough to get him UFC victories. That is assuming the UFC does not give him three terrible matchups to start his career.

Alberto Montes- Featherweight

The final contract winner from this DWCS episode was Alberto Montes. The 30-year-old earned a contract after submitting Carlos Calderon with an Anaconda Choke in the second-round.

This was a very eventful fight. Calderon was determined to push the pace in every realm of the fight. In turn, Montes spent the majority of the fight countering. On the feet, he landed his counter right several times. In the grappling, he threatened from chokes and landed a sweep.

Montes’ front choke series is legit. It was impressive to see him chain his Peruvian Necktie attempt into the Anacafdo Choke. That move finished the fight. Plus, he nearly ended the fight with a D’Arce Choke in the first round.

I have a lot of questions about Montes. Calderon’s style really forced Montes’ hand. It was an impressive victory, but it makes it hard to scout him for the future. It is hard to say what his offensive will look like when he is forced to be aggressive. Plus, it is hard to say if his counter punches will be effective against better strikers.

I think Montes has a high range of outcomes based on what he showed on DWCS. I ended up placing him at the bottom of this post because he did not fight a great opponent and is already 30 years old. I do not think he is awful, but once again, his overall ceiling is capped.

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