Before Sterling defended his belt for a second time, “Sugar” Sean O’Malley finally joined the ranks of the bantamweight elite against Sterling’s old foe: Petr Yan. 

The fight was considered a huge step up in competition for the Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus, but O’Malley quickly proved he belonged with the best in the weight class as he and Yan went back and forth for 15 minutes. Although O’Malley rocking and cutting Yan was impressive, even more so was his recovery after Yan clocked him with some of his best shots, as well. It was the first time we saw O’Malley’s championship resolve, and this would be his final fight before taking the belt from Sterling about a year later. 

Future Contenders Turn In Statement Wins

Beneil Dariush, Manon Fiorot and Belal Muhammad each turned in crucial performances for their personal pursuits of a UFC title, taking out Mateusz Gamrot, Katlyn Chookagian and Sean Brady, respectively. Dariush earned himself a No. 1 contender fight against Oliveira, which he would fall short in a few months later in Vancouver. Meanwhile, Fiorot and Muhammad find themselves on the precipice of title shots after picking up another win since their victories in Abu Dhabi.

“I go in the back after the fight to tell the kid [Angel] it was an awesome fight and that he was going to get his win money and his ear is hanging off and he’s crying. He could give a f*** about the win money,” White said. “Angel says to me that ‘I want to be in the UFC so bad, I said, ‘Dude you’re right up my alley.’”

“He wanted to win this fight so bad, how bad do you think he’ll want to win his first UFC fight?”

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Three of the four athletes from those two bouts had to go directly to the hospital, making it a strange moment where White wasn’t able to actually announce to the fighters that they made it to the UFC. To White, that’s a testament to those athletes and how much heart and toughness they brought into the Octagon.

“You either have that dog in you or you don’t, and both the girls and the guys have truckloads of it,” White said. “Tonight, signing both of the people who lost is what this show is all about.”

Mokaev is 23 years old with 10 wins and one no contest in his career, with each of his last four victories coming inside the Octagon. He’s navigated tough spots in each of his last two outings, rallying to earn third-round submission finishes to keep things moving in a positive direction, but now he’s stepping in against his first ranked opponent, which is a brand-new test for the ultra-talented rising star.

This is a fascinating matchup because Mokaev said after his UFC 280 win over Malcolm Gordon that he needed to be more serious and focused, and then came dangerously close to getting kneebarred by Jafel Filho five months later, and now he steps in with Elliott, the kind of guy that will ruin your night if you’re not locked in from the outset.

This is the point where scores of promising, unbeaten fighters have stumbled in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see how Mokaev handles this test or if Elliott will collect the biggest win of his UFC career.

Magomed Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker

A month before the vacant 205-pound title goes up for grabs at Madison Square Garden, Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker face off in a crucial bout that will determine which of them is on the short list of potential title challengers heading into next year.

Ankalaev hasn’t fought since battling Jan Blachowicz to a draw last December at UFC 282, which resulted in the title remaining vacant. The 31-year-old Russian is 18-1-1 overall, unbeaten in his last 10 appearances, and profiles as one of the most complete and dangerous talents in the division, though he’s struggled to dial up his best efforts in the biggest spots at times.

The women’s strawweight division saw a ton of movement after Marina Rodriguez’ TKO win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez.

Waterson-Gomez moved back to No. 14, which made the way for Loopy Godinez and Angela Hill to each move up a spot. In addition, Tabatha Ricci moved up a spot to No. 10 and Amanda Ribas fell one spot behind Ricci to No. 11.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 8 Results

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Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7 Week 8 Fight Card

Vinicius Oliviera vs Victor Madrigal 

Danny Barlow vs Raheam Forest Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 8

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Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!

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Danny Barlow vs Raheam Forest Preview | DWCS Season 7, Week 8

That’s a tall task for Oliveira, though, as he tries to crack the code against Makhachev, who’s riding a 12-fight win streak, the third longest in lightweight history and the longest active win streak in the UFC. Not only has he not lost a fight since 2015, Makhachev continues to look more impressive each time out, finishing five of his last six opponents.

The last time these two fought, Makhachev surprised MMA analysts by not only out grappling the UFC’s greatest submission threat, but out striking him, as well. Known for his wrestling capabilities, Makhachev continues to build confidence in his striking. Regardless of where he is in the Octagon, at distance, in the clinch or on the ground, Makhachev has connected with 60.2 percent of his significant strike attempts at lightweight, the second highest in the division’s history.

Recapping The Best Of The Lightweight Division in 2023

This then opens the door for his unmatched wrestling to take effect. After gaining respect on the feet, Makhachev is just as efficient with his takedowns as he is with his strikes. Makhachev has secured 30 of 48 takedowns at lightweight, or 62.5 percent, which is the third highest in lightweight history.

Much like last month, where Da’Mon Blackshear was the clear choice after hitting just the third twister in UFC history, tapping Volkov as the recipient of this honor here was obvious, as well, as the Russian heavyweight rolled into Sydney and tapped out Tuivasa with an Ezekiel choke from mount in their co-main event pairing.

Volkov has been more aggressive in his last couple outings and carried that into UFC 293, taking the fight to “Bam Bam” out of the chute and getting up on the scorecards after one. In a fun little bit of foreshadowing, the commentary team spoke throughout the contest about the amount of time and energy Volkov had been putting into working on his ground game since moving to Las Vegas, only for the towering big man to get the fight to the floor and go to work.

Because he has excellent striking and has primarily opted to keep things standing, folks forget that Volkov is a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt and that his long limbs make him extra tricky to deal with on the canvas. He was so comfortable and smooth once he dumped Tuivasa to the canvas, climbing right into mount and floating with the Australian as he defended, attacking the whole way through.

The whole MMA community had their eyes glued to the TV when Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier threw down at UFC 291. Not only was it a rematch of one of the best fights in recent memory, but it was also a massive fight for the lightweight division.

With the BMF belt on the line, it was Gaethje who came through with a signature moment, landing a head kick that dropped Poirier. Gaethje followed up with an extra strike but that was all the referee needed to see before stopping the bout. Gaethje hit his trademark backflip celebration and was crowned the new BMF champion.

Gaethje will now wait to see who leaves UFC 294 with the belt and he’ll likely be the first up to face the winner of Makhachev and Oliveira. If it’s Oliveira, it’ll be a rematch that Gaethje has been wanting back, and if it’s Makhachev, it’ll be a fight that Gaethje has always wanted.

The battle between rising welterweight sensation Chimaev and former world title challenger Gilbert Burns lived up to the war Chimaev had hoped for. So much so that it was named 2022 Fight of the Year. Yet Chimaev still managed to preserve his unblemished record with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. 

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Chimaev, now 11-0. Burns fell to 20-5.

Order UFC 294: Makhachev vs Oliveira 2

It only took three strikes for Chimaev to get close enough for a takedown, and only a minute in, Burns had already been dragged to the mat. Luckily for Burns, the Brazilian took about 90 seconds to get free, and then the two were back on their feet again. The welterweights exchanged several shots, and with a minute left in the round, a right hand dropped Burns, and while “Durinho” recovered quickly, it was a big moment for Chimaev. 

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