Dana White harshly criticized the Brazilians at the Contender Series. Photo: Reproduction/UFC
The new season of the Dana White Contender Series is now open, an event that will take place over the next nine Tuesdays, where five fights are scheduled with the aim of the athletes seeking to impress the UFC president and his allies in the octagon. In the first episode that took place this Tuesday (12), the company leader showed that he was frustrated with the performances of the chosen ones, especially the Brazilians.
The first Brazilian to compete, Radley da Silva, who also represents Canada, carried high expectations for his performance, given his brutal record in previous events, where he relied on capoeira to knock out his opponents. Scheduled to face the previously undefeated George Mangos, the fighter shattered expectations by using grappling to neutralize his rival for 15 minutes.
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Radley da Silva (left) performing at Contender Series. Photo: Reproduction/UFC
With only four significant strikes landed in the entire fight, Radley was severely criticized by Dana, at the moment the president announced his decisions on who he would sign to the UFC.
"It was a weird night (...) Radley, I don't know if you've seen the show or not, but this is not how you get into the UFC. When I watched your interview afterward, you didn't seem very excited, expecting me to tell you you deserved to be in the UFC. The good news is you're 8-1, go out there, win some fights, and maybe we'll see you again. But next time, show up for the Contender Series," Dana said.
In his post-match speech, Radley admitted that something had hindered his performance, but avoided revealing it to avoid sounding like an excuse. Besides understanding that he had disappointed Dana, the fighter expressed optimism that he might eventually get another opportunity in the future.
Nehemiah Santana
Neemias Santana (right) in defeat at the Contender Series. Photo: Reproduction/UFC
The main event protagonist, Neemias, was considered the underdog for his matchup, but his status was questionable due to his aggressive style and history of knockouts in his MMA career. Sharing the octagon with Ilian Bouafia, the Brazilian, however, ended up surprising his opponent by headbutting him while in a dominant ground position, amid a fight that had been lively and promising for both sides.
The fight was stopped to allow the Frenchman to recover, and Neemias was penalized with a point deduction. Once allowed to resume the fight, the fighters lost their initial momentum and had a monotonous fight until the final bell. Even as he sought to recover, Santana tried to provoke his rival verbally, but hesitated to pull the trigger to deliver his best strikes. In the end, Bouafia triumphed by unanimous decision, but did not win the contract he had dreamed of.
"In that last fight, Santana thought it was 1993 and simply headbutted his opponent in the face. Someone behind me was yelling for Ilian to fight instead of just standing there (without much action). But he didn't fight; after the headbutt, he didn't do anything. Santana yelled a lot, and for a guy who lost a point, I think he should have come and tried to end the fight. He did nothing after the headbutt. The referee who scored it 30-26 (for Bouafia) is insane. The fight was a draw, strange, and I'm not interested in either of these guys. Get back to winning ways, and maybe we'll see each other again," he concluded.
Por fim, dos 10 atletas que se apresentaram, apenas dois foram contratados por Dana White: Ty Miller, que triunfou na decisão dos juízes contra Jimmy Drago e o parceiro de treinos de Khamzat Chimaev, Baysangur Susurkaev, que nocauteou rival ainda no primeiro round e recebeu diversos elogios do presidente.
Read More about: Contender Series, Dana White, MMA, Nehemiah Santana, Radley da Silva, UFC, Ultimate
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