Contender Series 2024 is a few weeks in now and it has lived up to the hype. We have had three weeks where many prospects have been signed off great performances. My picks have also been quite good, going 4-1 last week on a week which I was not very confident in at all. This week is an interesting one where we could see all 5 winners get signed for the first time this season as I am expecting a lot of finishes again. The fights take place next Tuesday on the 3rd September.

IGOR CAVALCANTI (9-0) vs. SEUK HYUN KO (10-2) – Welterweight

It is impossible to know how good Igor Cavalcanti is because there is no tape on him. His only amateur fight and his pro debut can be found on YouTube but aside from that there is nothing. He spent most of his career fighting for a promotion called Inside Fighters' League but they went under and deleted all of their fights from YouTube. I tried to use the wayback machine to go back in time to watch these fights but I couldn't get it to work. So all I have to work with is 39 seconds of tape and the fact that he has competed in BJJ as a brown belt. Cavalcanti seems to be a grappler first but he has been knocking everyone out. In his amateur debut he ran forward throwing punches and got a 12 second KO. In his pro debut he ran forward, instantly slammed and then choked out his opponent in 27 seconds. He just seems to be a wild fast starter as he has won every fight in the first round against very low level competition. Seuk Hyun Ko is a former sambo world champion where he won in 2017, becoming South Korea's first sambo world champion. He hasn't fought the best competition recently either as his last 3 fights looked like mismatches. He is a striker as I haven't seen him grapple offensively. He looks to be quite technical but he stands in the pocket for far too long. This weakness is the reason why Han Seul Kim was able to knock him out. He has very strong leg kicks and good take down defense, but that defense looks good against pretty low level competition. Neither of these guys are super proven but in the case of Cavalcanti I genuinely have no idea how good he is. He could be the next big thing, or he could just be a guy who can't deal with a step up. I would honestly rather not make a pick since there is nothing to go off with Cavalcanti, aside from 39 seconds of tape and a highlight of a win from 2022 I was able to find on his Instagram. I am actually going to side with Ko though. With Ko at least I know how he fights and he does look pretty good. Cavalcanti is going to come forward like a maniac and I don't know if he, or anyone can keep up that pace for longer than a round. So if Ko is able to survive round 1 then he has a pretty good shot at winning as a massive underdog (+250).

Pick: Seuk Kyun Ko by decision or round 2/3 KO/TKO. Extremely low confidence.

WILL CURRIE (12-3) vs. DJORDEN SANTOS (9-1) – Middleweight

I know Will Currie is a pretty hyped up prospect but it's time for me to give my honest opinion on him. With his skills right now, I think he will struggle to go far in the UFC. Currie is a fantastic submission grappler, and his grappling is really high level for middleweight. On the feet he has good kicks but his boxing isn't great and his striking defense doesn't exist. But his biggest weakness is that he folds under pressure. If someone is coming forward and pressuring him with big strikes and volume, he shells up and backs up against the cage without moving away, throwing back, clinching, or anything that could be effective. He just covers up. This tendency can be seen especially in his fight against Wallison Henrique, and in round 3 against Mick Stanton. If he can work on his boxing this likely wouldn't be a problem for him and he would be a much more effective fighter overall. Watching Djorden Santos, he doesn't seem to be a difficult match up for Currie. Santos does have decent boxing and he throws straight punches from range but he isn't super technical, and he isn't a high volume fighter either. He seems to mostly be a grappler as well but his style is a bit different. He is a grinder up against the cage. His offensive take downs aren't great, but he has shown good take down defense – especially in his most recent fight. If Currie gets the fight down to the ground I think that he is the better grappler. Santos isn't very strong in top position. His opponents have been able to stand up quite easily and Currie has proven that he can win scrambles. If the fight plays out on the feet I think Santos would win as Currie doesn't look very comfortable on the feet. But if it gets down to the ground, Currie should win. Currie is also coming off a big momentum shifting victory against former DWCS fighter Leon Aliu where he dominated with ground and pound for the first round, and Aliu's corner decided for him to not continue. I am going to pick Currie to win using his grappling, and I think he wins by submission in the first two rounds. Odds on him are pretty crazy though, as he is -400 on BetOnline as I write this article.

Pick: Will Currie by submission in round 1/2. Medium confidence.

AUSTIN BASHI (12-0) vs. Dorian Ramos (8-2) – Featherweight

Bashi was originally scheduled to fight Tommy McMillen, which would have been a massive prospect vs. prospect fight. Unfortunately McMillen has had to pull out due to injury and Bashi has a replacement. Ramos has stepped in on less than a week's notice to fight arguably the best prospect in the USA. I strongly believe that Bashi is very undersized for featherweight but with some help from the UFC PI I think he could get back down to bantamweight. Both Ramos are grapplers and honestly I think that Bashi is the better grappler. Ramos is no easy feat for anyone but he is also a small featherweight which is the opposite to Bashi's original opponent. Ramos has been wrestled before and he does give his back often. Bashi is great at getting the back which is why I think he finds a choke, and early. Both guys' striking isn't great but Bashi is going to be faster on the feet as well.

Pick: Austin Bashi by submission in round 1. High confidence.

YUNEISY DUBEN (4-0) vs. SHANNON CLARK (5-0) – Women's Flyweight

We have our first women's fight of Contender Series 2024. Yuneisy Duben is an odd choice as she is 4-0 against opponents with no experience and has fought once in 4 years. Her opponents total combined MMA record is 0-0 and some of them have never fought again. Of those that did fight again, none of them picked up any wins. One of them is now 0-3 and another is now 0-4. She has a background in Taekwondo and Wushu (Kung Fu) and according to her Instagram she has won gold medals in international competitions in both sports. Watching her fights, she does looks pretty good on the feet but has been pretty low volume in most of them. Her most recent opponent was able to get take down on her so I think it's safe to say her take down defense isn't the best. Shannon Clark looks to be a decent fighter but she is somewhat boring at times. On the feet she pressures forwards but is very flat footed with no defense. That shouldn't matter too much in this fight though as she mostly fights in the clinch and she will be the bigger, stronger fighter. In the clinch she is very offensive throwing plenty of knees and elbows. Hard to tell how good her pure grappling is but she did submit a BJJ black belt in her most recent fight with a brutal bull dog choke that was actually pretty hard to watch. I think Clark will use her size advantage to grind against Duben on the cage and get take downs. I'm going to pick Clark to win by submission. Her moneyline is now -500 on BetOnline so looks like the odds makers agree with me.

Pick: Shannon Clark to win by round 1/2 submission. Medium-High confidence.

QUILLAN SALKILLD (6-1) vs. GAUGE YOUNG (8-1) – Lightweight

Of all the fights excluding the main event, I think this is the most difficult fight to predict. The odds for this fight were also delayed a couple of days so I was expecting them to drop them at -110 either side. Salkilld ended up opening as a pretty big favourite at -220. I do agree as I am going to pick Salkilld but I am pretty surprised to see the odds drop this wide. Salkilld has only 7 professional fights but you can't tell when watching him. He's tall for lightweight standing at 6'0′ and he uses that size well as he boxes from range. His striking looks very solid and he has shown one punch KO power in his quick win over Blake Donnelly. He has good boxing counters and throws in combinations. His grappling is definitely his biggest strength though. He is heavy on top and no matter what position he is in he will threaten submissions. His wrestling is his biggest weakness and his take down defense is very average. Gauge Young is an interesting prospect as he has clearly improved over time. He started out fighting some low level guys but then took a big step up in competition against Bellator veteran Bobby Lee. This loss has been scrubbed off the internet and the only way I could watch it was in highlight form from Bobby's Instagram. From the highlights I saw it looked like Lee was able to win the grappling exchanges and eventually Lee submitted a gassed out Gauge Young. Young is a good prospect but I think he needs a bit more time. He is mostly a wrestler and his wrestling is by far his best skill which makes this fight interesting. On the ground he has ruthless ground and pound and has won most of his wins by KO/TKO in this way. He has one punch KO power but his striking isn't super technical and at times he can look a bit lost on the feet. I do worry about his cardio a bit as he was gassed out in round 3 against Lee, and even at the end of round 1 against Manny Muro he was breathing pretty heavy. Salkilld has fought 5 round fights before, and at 155. Young hasn't fought at 155 since that loss to Lee in 2022. This is an interesting match up as I think each fighter's strength is the opponents weakness. The way I see the fight going is Young getting an easy take down early like Dom Mar Fan did. But after that it gets interesting as Salkilld will not be content on bottom position. So I think Young likley wins round 1 with his wrestling. But after that I can see Salkilld being the fresher fighter as the fight goes on. I also think Salkilld has more ways to win, and is better in more areas than Young. So for that reason I am going to pick Salkilld to win by late finish –  probably in a similar way that Bobby Lee was able to beat Young.

Pick: Quillan Salkilld to win by round 3 submission. Low-medium confidence.