Four fighters earn contracts in Week 1 of 'Dana White's Contender Series'

Dana White's Contender Series returned for its eighth season on Tuesday with a bang.

While the show has been criticized recently for losing its exquisiteness and handing out too many contracts, the opening episode of the 2024 season featured four knockouts from the five fights. All four of those fighters — Lone'er Kavanagh, Jose Delgado, Bruno Lopes and Mansur Abdul-Malik — received a contract from Dana White at the end of the episode.

Featured in the fourth fight of the night, Russian striker Rami Hamed was the only fighter to win and not get a contract. White cited Hamed's advanced age, 33, as a reason for his denial on top of his fight with Meng Ding lacking enough action to convince him that he was worth a roster spot.

White was most impressed with Kavanagh on the night, calling the 25-year-old's first-round finish "one of the most vicious knockouts ever in the eight seasons of the show." Kavanagh entered the night expected to engage in a high-level action fight with fellow undefeated prospect An Tuan Ho, but instead needed just 12 significant strikes to end his night as the newest member of the UFC's flyweight division.

Behind Kavanagh, Abdul-Malik gave the second-best impression on the night in the main event. Although he was widely expected to win, the Xtreme Couture product fought into the second round for the first time in his career and ended the fight with brutal ground-and-pound to become the first fighter to finish Wes Schultz.

The UFC CEO had the most hesitation with giving Lopes a contract, saying he is typically "not interested" in signing prospects over the age of 30. However, with the Brazilian exorcising his demons in avenging his previous loss on DWCS in 2023 with a second-round TKO, White said he believes the light heavyweight is worth a shot.

Episode two of DWCS will continue next Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. ET from the UFC APEX. Like the season opener, the fights will be available for streaming on ESPN+.