Week 2 of Dana White’s contender series got off to a great start. Bantamweights Cameron Smotherman and Charalampos Grigoriou were first up. Cyprus native Grigoriou wasted no time in impressing the boss as he finished Smotherman via TKO in one minute of the very first round.
Continuing the first round finish trend, strawweight Eduarda Moura got the victory in the second fight of the night over the undefeated fellow Brazilian, Janaina Silva. Moura’s teammate and heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida was in attendance for this fight. Almeida was jumping, as he witnessed his teammate put on a great performance in front of the boss.
Featherweights Hyder Amil and Emrah Sonmez were up next and did they not disappoint. The two went back-and-forth for 15 minutes as Amil scraped out the win via unanimous decision. Gilbert Melendez’s fighter Hyder Amil improves his record to 9-0.
“Turkish power” was the name of the game in the next bout. Turkish light heavyweight Ibo Aslan made quick work of Brazilian Contender Series vet Paulo Renato Jr. It was not easy though as Renato Jr put on immense pressure at the start. Aslan stayed composed and found his opening as he won via TKO.
Four fights down, which means it was now time for the main event. Cage Warriors champion George Hardwick faced Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady. Going into the fight, Hardwick had all the hype as some people even questioned why he had to go through the Contender series first. Al-Selwady silenced the doubters as he completely outclassed the Cage Warriors champion Hardwick over the course of three rounds.
Another amazing night for Dana White’s Contender Series as all five winners impressed Dana White and received UFC contracts.
Dana White’s Contender series continues on Tuesday August 22 at 5:00 p.m. PST from the UFC APEX on ESPN+.
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