Five of the six winning fighters on the night, Wes Schultz, Michael Oliveira, Marwan Rahiki, Juan Diaz and Levi Rodrigues.
The night kicked off with Contender Series returnee Schultz, who needed less than two minutes to secure a super-rare Suloev stretch submission victory over Mario Mingaj to earn his shot in the UFC.
He was followed by Jovan Leka, who battled past Azamat Nuftillaev to earn a unanimous decision victory, though his performance wasn’t deemed quite good enough to earn a UFC chance.
Up next was Michael Oliveira, who showed patience, then power, as he demolished Victor Valenzuela with heavy-handed strikes in the second round of their welterweight matchup.
The fight of the night came in the featherweight bout between Marwan Rahiki and Ananias Mulumba, as Australia’s “Freaky” Rahiki” came back from a big knockdown in the first round to fight back and stop Mulumba by knockout mid-way through the second round after a thrilling matchup.
Then came one of the most devastating knockouts ever seen on the Contender Series, as Juan Diaz unleashed a stunning spinning back elbow that knocked out former ONE Championship title challenger Kwon Won Il with two seconds of the second round remaining.
The night closed out with another stoppage, as Levi Rodrigues defeated the returning Freddy Vidal via first-round TKO.
Dana White’s Contender Series: Official results
- Levi Rodrigues def. Freddy Vidal via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:20
- Juan Diaz def. Kwon Won Il via knockout (spinning back elbow) – Round 2, 4:58
- Marwan Rahiki def. Ananias Mulumba via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:13
- Michael Oliveira def. Victor Valenzuela via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:56
- Jovan Leka def. Azamat Nuftillaev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Wes Schultz def. Mario Mingaj via submission (Suloev stretch) – Round 1, 1:51
