Five earned UFC contracts in the final edition of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, and the season broke a new record for octagon deals with 46.
The previous record was 43, the broadcast announced at the close of the Tuesday night event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. But with the signings of winners Lucas Rocha, Marquel Mederos, Connor Matthews, Andre Lima and Ramon Taveras, that record fell. Only one winner, the physical specimen Torrez Finney, didn’t earn a contract based on White’s hesitancy over the development of his skills.
Taveras wins shootout with Romious
In his second attempt to earn a UFC contract, Ramon Taveras stood toe-to-toe with Cortavious Romious and slung leather until Romious hit the canvas, the victim of a well-placed left hand. A hammerfist put Romious out and gave Taveras the 28-second TKO to complete the contract-winning redemption.
Lima shows up, Zenidim doesn’t
Andre Lima spent the better part of three rounds chasing Rickson Zenidim around the cage, picking him apart at distance. At several points, he stopped in his tracks and tried to goad Zenidim into a fight. Only in the third round did Zenidim finally realize he’d done virtually nothing, charging headlong across the cage into a clinch battle he lost. It was a shutout for Lima via 30-27 scores, and mostly because Zenidim didn’t give the judges much of anything to score.
Matthews’ well-rounded skills trump Farias
Connor Matthews brought a little more petrol in his tank in a three-round slugfest with long-limbed Jair Farias. At the end of the second round, Farias barely made it back to his stool, the victim of several huge punches that sent him running across the cage to escape. Farias caught a second wind and made it interesting in the third, but ultimately, Matthews’ ability to fight in multiple ranges, breaking up striking with takedowns, gave him the unanimous nod by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.
Finney outmuscles Panferov
The tremendously imposing physique of Torrez Finney was good for one thing: carrying and slamming Yuri Panferov. When the two were on their feet, Panferov lit him up with punches. But in the second round, Finney listened to his coaches and started setting up his shots with punches. Soon, he had gotten a slam and hadn’t paid for it with his chin. Panferov failed to defend his back, and when Finney couldn’t crank his way to a tap once, he did it again from the back, securing the rear-naked choke at 2:43 of the second round.
Mederos repeas history with Isakov
Just moments from a knee-KO from Rocha, Marquel Mederos pulled off his own against Issa Isakov, stopping his opponent cold at 4:09 of the first round with a shot up the middle. Like Rocha’s opponent, Isakov desperately wanted to get the fight to the ground left himself exposed while closing the distance. This time, the cage was there to catch Isakov as he bounced off it, so it was announced as a TKO. But make no mistake, it was a knockout.
Rocha bounces back, starches Bittencourt
Flyweight Lucas Rocha had a lot of ground to make up after missing weight by 5 pounds for his Contender Series debut. Delayed by one week, Rocha delivered and then some by starching Davi Bittencourt with a perfectly placed knee 18 seconds into the second round. Bittencourt’s relentless grappling assault backfired big time when he shot from distance and walked right into the knee, with the canvas waking him up as he impacted.
Full DWCS Season 7, Week 10 results:
Ramon Taveras def. Cortavious Romious via KO (punches) – Round 1, 0:29
Andre Lima def. Rickson Zenidim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Connor Matthews def. Jair Farias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Torrez Finney def. Yuri Panferov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:43
Marquel Mederos def. Issa Isakov via TKO (knee) – Round 1, 4:09
Lucas Rocha def. Davi Bittencourt via KO (knee) – Round 2, 0:18
