Dana White’s Contender Series 2022: Week 7 Results
Dana White’s Contender Series sees Dana hand out another four contracts this week, bringing the total contracts delivered this season to twenty-eight.
Brothers from brazil, Gabriel and Ismael Bonfim, both earned a UFC contract after claiming victory on Week 7 of Dana Whites Contender Series. They become the second set of brothers to win a contract following the Cosce brothers’ double contract win in Week three, season four of the Contender Series.
Gabriel Bonfim(13-0 MMA) is the former LFA welterweight champion. His opponent Trey Waters (6-1 MMA), is also an LFA prospect who had called out Gabriel before their contender series matchup. Waters stands at a stagger 6 foot 5 inches. If signed, he would become the tallest active welterweight.
Length and size played a factor that proved difficult for Gabriel. Despite some success, the combatants found their striking evenly matched. Gabriel secured a Von-Flue Choke after a Guillotine attempt by waters at just 4:13 of the 1st round. Bonfim managed to switch to side control and press his shoulder into Waters neck, forcing him to tap.
Brother Ismael Bonfim Secures the Decision on Dana White’s Contender Series
Earlier in the night, Ismael Bonfim (18-3 MMA) had his hands full with Nariman Abbassov (28-4 MMA). The pair had a combined fifty fights, and neither has lost by knockout in their careers. The battle was long and strenuous, but Ismael secured a unanimous decision victory with scores 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
The performance was a masterful one by Ismael. His boxing prowess showed as he dispersed his work evenly throughout his opponent’s body and head. Despite not getting a finish, Ismael still managed to impress the boss Dana White.
Vitor Petrino def. Rodolfo Bellato via Knockout
The main event featured a rematch between two light-heavyweight prospects. Vitor Petrino (7-0 MMA) found himself victorious as the Brazilian flatlined his fellow countryman with a monstrous left hand in the second round.
Rodolfo Bellato (8-2 MMA) is an accredited BJJ specialist with a brown belt under the Nogueira brothers. The first bout with Petrino saw Bellato get knocked out in just twenty-five seconds. However, Bellato never got to the ground to put Petrino in danger.
During this bout, Bellato had time to make something work, still falling short. Vitor managed the grappling game of his opponent exceptionally well. The fight would periodically go from the ground to the feet, eventually finishing when Petrino caught Bellato with a left hand that sent Bellato crumbling to the canvas. Petrino secured the victory at 3:36 of the second round.
Karl Williams def. Jimmy Lawson via Unanimous Decision
Thirty-Two-year-old light-heavyweight Karl Williams (7-1 MMA) made his heavyweight debut as a short-notice replacement against Jimmy Lawson (4-2 MMA).
Jimmy Lawson is a former Penn State Division I wrestler with a Big-Ten championship appearance. Williams gave up nearly thirty pounds in his bout with Lawson. Despite Lawson being the accredited grappler, Williams managed to control most of the fight from the top. WIlliams scored a unanimous decision victory over Lawsone with a score of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27.
Being the underdog, taking the fight on short notice, and doing it a weight class up were all reasons Dana presented Williams the contract.
Tereza Bleda def. Nayara Maia via Unanimous Decision
Tereza Bleda (6-0 MMA) took on Nayara Maia (7-1-1 MMA) In the opening contest.
The Czech flyweight Bleda came into the fight as a massive favorite. At only twenty years old, she’s undefeated throughout her amateur and professional MMA career. Her opponent Maia was also an undefeated prospect out of Brazil. Both fighters posed a huge grappling threat. In the end, Bleda proved to be superior in the grappling exchanges. Bleda secured a dominant unanimous decision victory with scores 30-26, 30-26, and 30-26
Dana was looking for a more explosive performance from the twenty-year-old Czech fighter despite the dominance. Bleda ended up being the only fighter not to secure a UFC deal by night’s end.
Do you think Dana was right with his signees? Did Bleda deserve a contract as well? Was anyone undeserving of their contract? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
