This is a great Contender Series card that I am really looking forward to. So far this season my picks have been great and I am coming off a card where my picks went 3-2, with 4 of those picks being low confidence, and 2 of those wins coming from underdogs. I advised to not bet on last weeks card and to save it for this week, because this is a card I am much more comfortable with. It is overall a higher level card and I have a couple high confidence picks.

BAILEY SCHOENFELDER (5-0) vs. DANYLO VOIEVODKIN (6-0) – Heavyweight

This is a tough heavyweight fight to call. Schoenfelder is a small heavyweight who I could see fighting at 205. He is pretty fast and athletic for the weight class and has decent take down defense and striking. His opponent is a European karate champion. Danylo Voievodkin has some very odd fights. His whole career is him beating up short, out of shape guys in less than a minute. He is very dangerous but Schoenfelder is the first legit opponent he has ever fought in MMA. Of course there is a chance Danylo lands big early but I am going to side with Schoenfelder because he has good experience against decent opponents. I also think that if anyone can take the fight to the ground it is Schoenfelder and honestly, I hope he does wrestle in this fight.

Pick: Bailey Schoenfelder by KO/TKO in round 1. Low confidence.

DANIEL FRUNZA (8-2) vs. VADYM KUTSYI (17-1) – Welterweight

Daniel Frunza has accepted this fight on short notice. He is a powerful guy for the weight class and has fast, technical striking. He is definitely a striker as his grappling is weak compared to the skill set of his striking. He has good, but not great take down defense and has a bad habit of giving up his back when standing up. His opponent Vadym Kutsyi hasn't fought since 2022, where he was against newly resigned UFC fighter Ismail Naurdiev. In that fight Naurdiev was able to expose some flaws tat Kutsyi has on the feet. He was able to land big shots on Kutsyi, forcing him to desperately wrestle. He also did a lot of damage to Kutsyi's leg. Kutsyi ended up getting a huge one shot KO. I like Kutsyi's grappling more than his striking. He can strike, but I do think in moments he leaves himself open and he is not as technical as Frunza. There is a big gap in the grappling between the two. I haven't seen Kutsyi look to grapple offensively too much but I think he does here. If Kutsyi grapples I think he can make it look easy.

Pick: Vadym Kutsyi by round 1 submission. Medium-High confidence.

FRANCESCO MAZZEO (4-0) vs. KEVIN CHRISTIAN (8-2) – Light Heavyweight

This fight is very low level. I try to be positive but this is not a Contender Series level fight. Mazzeo is too inexperienced. There is a lot of potential there as he is a very athletic striker for the weight class, but he has 4 fights and has won 2 of them cleanly. One of his wins was due to injury when his opponent took him down, and the other was a DQ due to an illegal knee after his opponent took him down. His take down defense hasn't looked great. Kevin Christian has fought once since 2019. His striking does not look good as he runs forward with his chin in the air. To his credit he does look to have great BJJ for light heavyweight. If Christian can get the take downs, he should have the much better grappling. I worry about his striking defense as it looks like it doesn't exist and Mazzeo does hit hard. This fight is a coin flip and probably ends in round 1.

Pick: Kevin Christian by round 1 submission. Low confidence.

KEVIN VALLEJOS (13-1) vs. CAM TEAGUE (7-0) -Featherweight

I like Vallejos a lot as a prospect. He is only 22 and has proven to have very solid boxing and great counters. He lost to Jean Silva by decision last year in a fight which he was able to win the first round. Eventually Silva was able to land big shots and take over. Cam Teague is a big guy for the weight class and he is also a striker. I don't think he is as technical as Vallejos and he has shown poor striking defense. His most recent win over Austin Lingo is his best win by far, but in that fight Lingo was beating him up until he eventually gassed out. Teague is tough and has great cardio but I do think skill for skill he is out matched here.

Pick: Kevin Vallejos by round 2 KO/TKO. High confidence.

ROSE CONCEICAO (7-0) vs. ALEXIA THAINARA (10-1) – Women's Strawweight

This is a very hard fight to pick. Rose is a multiple time wrestling champion in Brazil. She won a lot of fights using her wrestling but in her most recent fight she looked like she wanted to strike instead of wrestle. Her striking is okay, but nothing special. Alexia Thainara has won most of her fights by submission but she is mostly a striker – her submissions come from her grappling after her opponents take her down. This is tough fight to call as I actually think that Thainara is better in more areas. I think Thainara is better on the feet and has the better grappling. I am picking Rose because I think she will look to wrestle here and has shown that she can safely control on top. Low confidence pick and could be a fade as my women's MMA picks have not been great this DWCS season.

Pick: Rose Conceicao by decision. Low confidence.