Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7, Week 6 Recap
Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Season 7, Week 6 saw five fighters earn UFC contracts. The episode was a highly entertaining event that had several high-action fights. Although, I am not here to discuss which fight was most exciting. Instead, we will evaluate which fighters have the most potential as they enter the UFC. The recap will start with the fighters with the most potential.
Jean Matsumoto (Bantamweight)
The king of DWCS Season 7, Week 6 was Jean Matsumoto. Matsumoto was unable to get a finish in his bout, but he dominantly defeated Casey Tanner over three rounds.
Matsumoto found a ton of success with his leg kicks. This was because they were quick, powerful and disguised with punches. Matsumoto quickly damaged Tanner’s lead le,g which helped limit his foe’s takedown offense and forced him to fight out of the opposite stance. On top of that, he was an effective boxer who landed clean combinations for 15 minutes.
The only flaw in Matsumoto’s performance was that he was taken down a couple of times. I will not hold that against him; I view Tanner as a quality wrestler. In the fight, when Tanner landed takedowns they were highly impressive. If Tanner did not commit with a high-level attack, Matsumoto stuffed the shot.
One of the things that I consider when evaluating DWCS talent is the level of opposition. For example, I gave Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady praise on Week 2 for beating George Hardwick. I will always be impressed when a fighter picks up a win over a respectable opponent that appears to be UFC-caliber.
In this fight, Matsumoto deserves a lot of credit for beating Tanner. If Tanner would have received a contract tonight, he would have been in the upper portion of these rankings. I view him as a UFC-caliber fighter.
In my opinion, Matsumoto will go down as one of the top prospects from DWCS Season 7. At 24, he is 14-0, has a high-quality win, great leg kicks, impressive boxing, endless cardio and defensive grappling. I love what I see. Matsumoto is certainly capable of breaking into the UFC rankings and has the potential to grab wins at the highest level. Obviously, we are several years from that, but his ceiling is very high.
James Llontop (Lightweight)
James Llontop did not engage in the most exciting fight of the DWCS Season 7, Week 6, but he showed a lot of skills. In his bout, he earned a dominant decision victory over Malik Lewis.
The most impressive aspect of Llontop was that he was able to adjust to Lewis’ game plan. It was very evident that Lewis wanted to spend time in the clinch and land takedowns, presenting Llontop with some early issues, though he eventually began to find success.
I liked how Llontop countered Lewis’ clinch entries with elbows. He landed a lot of clean elbows and did damage with that attack. I like seeing fights that have that weapon in their arsenal. In the grappling department, Llontop uses a whizzer to defend takedowns and stays in safe positions.
We did not get to see much of Llontop’s distance striking, but I am not concerned. In the minimal amount of what we say, I saw quality defense, smart decisions, good bodywork, willingness to throw leg kicks and set up a few solid strikes to the head.
Lastly, Llontop has really good cardio. That appears to be an important aspect of his game that must be noted.
Llontop is 24-years-old and he will likely stick in the UFC. I think the biggest compliment I can give him is that he fights like he is 28. Llontop is much more intelligent and composed than you would expect for a fighter his age, though the only problem for Llontop is that he is a lightweight. It is incredibly hard to rise up the division’s rankings. That will not get easier based on the fighters that have been signed on DWCS this season.
Nevertheless, Llontop should be a quality fighter that will win plenty of fights in the UFC.
Jhonata Diniz (Heavyweight)
The next fighter in line from DWCS Season 7, Week 6 is Jhonata Diniz. Diniz earned his contract off the back of a first-round knockout over Eduardo Neves.
This bout was destined to end in a knockout. Diniz and Neves were both willing to engage in a brawl. That allowed Diniz to leverage his technical abilities over the athleticism and wildness of Neves.
Diniz will be able to strike in the UFC heavyweight division. This is because he has solid movement, good hands and can take some punishment.
Diniz will enter the UFC with high-level kickboxing experience. Although, that also means he is not a great grappler. At 32, he does not have a ton of time to patch those holes.
Diniz is nothing special, but he is a heavyweight so he does not have to be. I expect that Diniz can outstrike a lot of unranked UFC heavyweights. Although, he will struggle against grapplers. That is not as big of a concern at heavyweight, however.
Julia Polatri (Women’s Strawweight/Flyweight)
Julia Polatri walked away with a contract on DWCS Season 7, Week 6 after finishing Patricia Alujas with a rear-naked choke in the second round.
This bout started as a scrap Polatri and Alujas were both landing shots, but Polatri was getting the better of the exchanges. Polatri displayed some solid striking in the pocket, some good kicks and used the thai clinch well. Though I did not like how much she got hit and that she was throwing kicks from a boxing range.
In the second round, Polatri utilized her grappling advantage and managed to land a takedown and submit Alujas.
In my eyes, Polatri is a complete wildcard; If you told me she gets cut, I’d believe you. If you told me was collecting wins and climbing towards the rankings, I’d also believe you. This is mainly because of the circumstances around her DWCS appearance.
Polatri fought at flyweight despite being a strawweight, presenting a challenge in projecting her career. Furthermore, she was a massive betting favorite in part because she was good. Alujas did not look good, however, which certainly played a role in the betting line.
I have a ton of questions about Polatri. I do not have a passionate opinion about where she falls in the strawweight division. At 25-years-old, she is a fighter worth paying attention to. As she moves into the UFC, I’ll be keeping an eye on her to see how she looks.
Steven Nguyen (Featherweight)
The final fighter to go home with a contract on DWCS Season 7, Week 6 was Steven Nguyen. In his bout, Nguyen earned a standing knockout over AJ Cunningham in the second round.
Nguyen and Cunningham appeared dead-set on throwing down. The pair exchanged a lot of punches and not much else. Nguyen ended up being the one to find more success because he was more defensively responsible and utilized his jab better.
This allowed him to consistently pour on damage before taking advantage of Cunningham’s aggressiveness with two countershots in the final seconds of Round 1.
In all honesty, the bout should have ended there, though the problem was that Cunningham was saved by the bell. In Round 2, Nguyen essentially just put the finishing touch on a wounded fighter.
Cunningham was an interesting matchup for Nguyen. I was not a fan of Cunningham’s striking defense. I think this was a good chance for Nguyen to show off his boxing. Furthermore, Nguyen is 5-foot-11 and will have a length advantage at featherweight; however, Cunningham is 5-foot-10. As a result, we did not get to see how Nguyen would operate against a traditional featherweight.
At the end of the day, Nguyen is slotted last because he is 30-years-old and had a strong stylistic matchup.
I also do not see a super high ceiling. I do not think he would be awful, but Nguyen is not someone that I view as an exciting prospect. The lack of intrigue slides him down my list.
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