After a brief time away, Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series” returns this evening (Tues., July 10, 2018) with a fresh collection of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hopefuls looking to join Antonina Shevchenko and Te Edwards, who scored contracts on the last finish-filled episode.
The one to watch here is Legacy Featherweight Champion Kevin Aguilar, stepping up on short notice after a brutal knockout of Thanh Le to face undefeated Joey Gomez in the main event. You might also keep your eye on Middleweight Alton Cunningham, who has knocked out 12 opponents in 12 combined professional mixed martial arts (MMA) appearances, and Jordan Espinosa, who submitted Nick Urso in 83 seconds back in Season One.
DANA WHITE’S ‘CONTENDER SERIES’ QUICK RESULTS:
Kevin Aguilar vs. Joey Gomez — Aguilar def. Gomez by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Bevon Lewis vs. Alton Cunningham — Lewis def. Cunningham by TKO (knees) at 3:01 of Round One
Toby Misech vs. Ricky Palacios — Palacios def. Misech by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Jordan Espinosa vs. Rilley Dutro — Espinosa def. Dutro by TKO (punch) at 4:58 of Round Three
Max Mustaki vs. Jalin Turner — Turner def. Mustaki by TKO (broken foot) at 5:00 of Round One
DANA WHITE’S ‘CONTENDER SERIES’ PLAY-BY-PLAY RESULTS:
155 lbs.: Kevin Aguilar vs. Joey Gomez
Round one: Aguilar to the body, hook from Gomez. Aguilar looking for early combinations. Gomez shoots, stuffed. Overhand right appears to stun Aguilar. One minute in. They trade left hands. Uppercut from Gomez. He shoots in once again on the fence, completes this one into side control. Aguilar regains guard two minutes in. Elbows from Gomez puling up. Gomez postures up, cracks him with bigger shots. Aguilar gets a bit of space and stands up with two minutes to go.
Double jab from Aguilar. Cross counter by Gomez. One minute to go. Good left hook from Gomez. Aguilar with a body kick, low kick met by a right hand. Aguilar tries to spin, takes some hooks. 10-9 Gomez.
Round two: Both open with nasty right hands. They’re slugging it out and down goes Gomez, who goes for a takedown without success. Back to the feet. They’re throwing heat. One minute in. Gomez shoots, stuffed. Big exchange in the center. Aguilar lands to the body and head. Lead right from Aguilar lands on the chin. Gomez ducks a right hand and drives Aguilar all the way to the fence before taking him down. Aguilar looking to set up a triangle off his back two minutes in. He ultimately loses it. Gomez going body-head with two minutes to go.
Gomez landing a steady stream of short punches. One minute to go. Aguilar makes it back to his feet in the waning seconds. 10-9 Gomez.
Round three: Aguilar to the body. 1-2 lands clean. Left hook snaps Gomez’s head back and he follows up with a body shot. One minute in. Jab up top. Left hook connects. More jabs. Two minutes in. Not much from Gomez so far. Things have slowed way down. Two minutes to go.
Hard right hand from Aguilar. Gomez tries to shoot under a Superman punch. Trading in the center. Left hook from Aguilar. One minute to go. 1-2 lands clean for Aguilar, who stuffs a takedown. Left hook upstairs. Booming left hands from Aguilar, which Gomez absorbs. 10-9 Aguilar.
Final result:
185 lbs.: Bevon Lewis vs. Alton Cunningham
Round one: Early right hand from Lewis. Firing 1-2s, tries knees. Elbow and body shots. One minute in. Lewis putting the pace on him, landing on the inside. Good elbow on the break. Knees from Lewis inside, takes him back to the fence two minutes in. Elbow and knee drop Cunningham and Lewis follows up with punches, looking for the RNC. Good punches on the
Final result: Lewis def. Cunningham by TKO (knees)
145 lbs.: Toby Misech vs. Ricky Palacios
Round one: Low kick from Misech. Body kick by Palacios in return. 1-2 lands clean for Misech and they trade leg kicks. 1-2 again by Misech, who looks much faster than Palacios. One minute in. Misech tries to take him to the cage without success and absorbs a low blow. Palacios the busier so far. He catches a body kick and lands a leg kick. Body kick lands for him. Misech answers with a right downstairs two minutes in. Double right by Palacios. Misech with a clean straight left. They trade power hands. Two minutes to go.
1-2, 2-3 by Misech, whose legs buckle briefly when a right hand comes back at him. Looks steady, tries a takedown. Palacios landing more right hands. Good low-high 2-3 by isech. 10-9 Palacios.
Round two: Both men active in the early going. Palacios sending out kicks. Low kick exchange. Lead right and body kick from Palacios, who eats counters a minute in. Misech looks for a flying knee, takes a low blow. Back to the quick engagements in the center. Overhand right by Palacios. 1-2 from Misech, Palacios body kick. Straight left once again from Misech, Palacios lands a leg kick soon after. Misech to the body. More leg kicks and body kicks by Palacios. Two minutes to go.
Cracking left hand by Misech. Palacios goes back to the lead leg. Misech tries to open up on the cage, lands a straight left. One minute to go. Misech straight left, Palacios low kick and right hand. 1-2 again by Misech. Counter left met by a body shot. Body kick by Palacios again. Misech tries a flying knee. Closer round. 10-9 Palacios.
Round three: Misech showing some more pressure now. Hard counter left off a Palacios kick. Misech’s going for it. Left hook and body shot from Palacios. Both land lefts upstairs and Misech goes for a trip. One minute in. Both connecting with quality shots. Palacios stuffs a takedown. Straight right lands. Counter left from Misech. Palacios with a right shovel hook, tries an elbow. Two minutes in. Another body shot, head kick, left hook. Misech fires a left hand and tries to shoot. Palacios seizing momentum, pursuing Misech and throwing hard. Two minutes to go.
Low kick from Palacios. Misech doing a lot of retreating. Palacios goes back to the lead leg. One minute to go. Left hook up top. Counter left lands clean for Misech, his best shot in a while. They both land their power hands. Now they’re going for it. 10-9 Palacios.
Final result: Palacios def. Misech by unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Jordan Espinosa vs. Rilley Dutro
Round one: Espinosa fires a low kick and hits a quick takedown. Side control for Espinosa. Elbows landing for him. Dutro spins to his knees and Espinosa grabs a Japanese necktie. Dutro slips out and it’s back to the feet. Espinosa tries to spin, lands a left hook. He catches a kick, can’t secure the takedown. Dutro puts him on the cage two minutes in and they trade knees. Another left hook and jab by Espinosa. Dutro body kick. He’s advancing, counters a body kick with a combo. Good punches as they separate. Left hook knocks Espinosa down and Dutro tries to open up. Two minutes to go.
Overhand right lands clean and Espinosa ties up. As Dutro presses forward following the break, Espinosa knocks him flat with a left hook of his own and takes top position. Nice sweep from Dutro. He continues to press forward. Trading body blows. 10-9 Espinosa.
Round two: Espinosa shoots from range, denied. Good right hand lands for him. Left hook from Dutro draws a smile. One minute in. Espinosa lands a straight right and they trade hooks again. Leg kicks from both. Overhand right from Espinosa two minutes in. counter right this time. Low kick by Dutro, who eats an uppercut. Front kick by Dutro to the body. Left hook. Leg kick exchange with two minutes to go.
Dutro throwing body kicks. Leg kicks from both. Glancing left by Dutro, who catches a high kick but can’t use it. Espinosa shoots, stuffed. Dutro goes to the body in the clinch. One minute to go. Both land knees. Another left hook from Dutro. Not much coming back from Espinosa. 3-2 from Dutro. Espinosa looks gassed between rounds. 10-9 Dutro.
Round three: Dutro marching after him, throwing heat. Espinosa shoots, stuffed with underhooks. Dutro looks for a takedown of his own before separating. Hard right cross from Espinosa, who catches a body kick. Dutro rips the body inside. One minute in. Glancing elbow on the break. Low kick lands, Espinosa tries to counter. 1-2 from Dutro. Espinosa lands a knee after stuffing a takedown and they pause over an apparently eye poke. Suddenly, Espinosa cracks him with a clean 1-2 and then a head kick when Dutro tries to stand. Dutro survives and and surrenders guard. Half guard now. Espinosa lets him up with two minutes to go.
Dutro’s throwing hard. Dutro waves him on, Espinosa taunts him. Left hook by Dutro. Espinosa tries a blast double, settles for a knee. One minute to go. Dart right by Dutro. Check hook from Espinosa. Dutro lands a hard right on the fence. Just as commentator Michael Bisping is chiding Espinosa for retreating, Espinosa melts him with a counter left. The ref steps in to save a dazed Dutro.
Final result: Espinoza def. Dutro by TKO (punch)
155 lbs.: Max Mustaki vs. Jalin Turner
Round one: Counter left from Turner, then another. Mustaki lands a right hook with his back on the fence. Turner body kick, Mustaki goes low-high. Turner tries a flying knee and they trade right hands a minute in. Straight left stuns Mustaki and Turner pursues. Staying patient. Good body shots. Hug tornado, then a left to the liver that folds Mustaki. Mustaki making an admirable effort to survive, diving on a heel hook. Turner gets his leg out two minutes in. Mustaki cracks him with a left hook, eats one in return. Turner digs another left downstairs. Snap kick to the body and Mustaki’s hurt again. Turner lands an elbow and head kick but Mustaki is throwing heat. Turner takes him down, then lets him up with two minutes to go.
Check hook cracks Mustaki. Straight left soon after. Another straight. Overhand right hand left hook from Mustaki draw a nod. One minute to go. Another hard left hook by Mustaki. Jab upstairs. Trading in the center, hard knee from Turner. Mustaki with an overhand right. Counter left knocks him back. Turner right hand and spinning back kick. 10-9 Turner.
Between rounds, they find out that Mustaki’s right foot is broken. That thing looks gnarly. The ref waves it off.
Final result: Turner def. Mustaki by TKO (broken foot)