Dana White's Contender Series 70: Grading the winners

Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2024) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. With that trend in mind, I once again will be taking a look at the winning fighters, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, and grading their performances in regard to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.

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Quillan Salkilld

Weight class: Lightweight
Result: Quillan Salkilld def. Gauge Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Grade: B+

Summary: Setting the tone for the night was a UFC-level dogfight between Quillan Salkilld and Guage Young.

Considering that Young was on my : prospect to watch list for 2024, I feel obligated to give Salkilld a high grading despite the Aussie technically being favored to win.

Although Young found a solid rally point in Round 2, Salkilld’s length and offensive bursts appeared to take the lead in the proverbial dance, allowing him to hold the initiative for large parts of the fight.

I think that Salkilld’s size will certainly help him at 155 pounds (particularly when blanketing opponents from topside), but the native of Western Australia showed some solid body punches and quick kicks off shifts that stood out on the feet.

White signing the enthusiastic Australian came as little surprise given how impressed the UFC president appeared to be with both men post-fight. Young should still get some booking consideration down the road, while I see Salkilld being paired up with someone like Anshul Jubli on the next international card

Yuneisy Duben

Weight class: Bantamweight
Result: Yuneisy Duben def. Shannon Clark via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:13
Grade: A

Summary: Between the emphatic knockout and being the biggest underdog to come through in Contender Series history, I had a hard time denying Yuneisy Duben anything but an A for her stunning stoppage of Shannon Clark.

Despite the fight being short and sweet, Duben was already checking the aggression of Clark with solid counter hooks from both stances.

Clark failed to properly respect the power coming back her way and was caught with a haymaker of a right hand by Duben that came off of a knee-tap fake.

What a setup out of the open stance, notice the lead hand touch the outside leg, and feint the knee tap to the overhand. #DWCS

— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) September 4, 2024

I like that Dana White acknowledged the lack of overall information we got from such a short fight, but don’t disagree with him signing the Venezuelan fighter who is training out of Peru.

Considering Duben’s lack of experience, don’t be surprised to see her paired up with someone like Carli Judice for her first official UFC assignment.

Austin Bashi

Weight class: Featherweight
Result: Austin Bashi def. Dorian Ramos via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:15
Grade: A

Summary: Although Austin Bashi did what was expected given both his hype and the short-notice nature of his opposition, I can’t help but give this kid an A for the skills he had on display.

One of my prospects to watch for 2024, I was already well aware of Bashi’s wrestling and back-taking ability.

In this fight, Bashi showed improved striking while things were on the feet, displaying everything from solid jab triggers to healthy change-ups in his shot selection. Insane athleticism is also a huge key for Bashi’s success, which – coupled with his wrestling ability – makes me less reluctant than I usually would be with his stated intentions of permanently fighting up at featherweight from here on out.

Dorian Ramos will probably get booking consideration down the road for taking this fight on 5 days’ notice, while Bashi will likely be paired up with someone like Jeka Saragih or Manolo Zecchini before year’s end.

Djorden Santos

Weight class: Middleweight
Result: Djorden Santos def. Will Currie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Grade: C+

Summary: I initially leaned toward giving Djorden Santos a B- for coming through as north of a 3-1 underdog opposite Will Currie, but had to bump the Brazilian down a notch after obliging the Englishman in the grappling department despite hurting him multiple time on the feet.

In Santos’ defense, he does have some serviceable submission grappling in his back pocket, but he already seemed to figure out the dynamic of this matchup on the feet before reverting to wrestling a rocked foe – which is a big no-no for myself and many.

Unfortunately for both parties, Currie proved to be surprisingly durable to both the body and the head, dragging out yet another pace-killing fight above 170 pounds (a trend that’s sadly been even more prevalent in this season of the Contender Series).

I’m not sure how Currie got installed as that large of a favorite without having a semblance of a boxing game, but the English fighter and his team should know what needs to be improved upon going forward.

As for Santos, I’m not surprised to see him signed given the obvious cost-effective recruitment that’s at play with this program. Hopefully, the matchmakers book him in a more action-friendly fight opposite the likes of someone like Zac Reese for his first octagon assignment.

Seok Hyun Ko

Weight class: Welterweight
Result: Seok Hyun Ko def. Igor Cavalcanti via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Grade: B-

Summary: Closing the show with another upset is Korea’s Seok Hyun Ko, who earns the B- that Santos nearly received in the previous section for his win over the heavily favored Igor Cavalcanti.

With Cavalanti being the more ‘athletic looking’ fighter who had the height and reach advantage, MMA gamblers fell into their usual trap of backing contextless stats in lieu of actual evidence (as footage on the Brazilian was hard to come by). But as fighters who are hyped up for first-round finishes tend to do, Cavalcanti began to quickly fade after five minutes or so of action.

Ko, on the other hand, demonstrated solid and patient southpaw pressure, showing slick head movement and counters to boot. Akin to Santos in the fight before, Ko also elected to grapple his opposition – though I’d argue it made much more sense given the size and style dynamics at play.

I’m not sure why the UFC brass keeps blindly putting their beloved big men atop every card when all the good fights and finishes are happening in the lighter-weight classes, but I was happy to see Ko become the first Korean fighter to be signed on the Contender Series. Even though I wouldn’t be shocked to see Ko booked against someone like Nikolay Verentennikov on the next international card, I’d love to see him paired up with Billy Goff for a guaranteed action fight.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 70.