Who Impressed Dana White? DWCS Season 7, Week 2 Recap

Another episode of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series is in the books and we’re now two for two this season in giving out five contracts. Every fighter that won so far this season has scored the UFC contract. This isn’t Dana White doing charity work, but this is because the talent this season is incredible.

We’ve got some huge names coming up, too! Dana White’s Contender Series scouts some of the best talents and gives them a way to fight in front of the UFC brass, giving them a chance to not be ignored. Season seven, week two of DWCS gave out five contracts and gave us three stoppages in the first round.

Let’s take a closer look at the winners and what this means for them.

Dana White’s Contender Series: The Stars

Dec 11, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Sean O’Malley reacts against Raulian Paiva during UFC 269 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport

You’d be better off getting acquainted with these fighters now, it’s best to be on the bandwagon early rather than late. Stars like Sean O’Malley, Jamahal Hill, Talia Santos, Kevin Holland and many more all have the Contender Series to thank for their entry to the UFC. These fighters are all well-picked and all are given contracts not for winning, but for showing promise to be a champion, a star and a part of UFC history.

With that being said, let’s get into last night’s contract winners! Five fights, five winners, five contracts — we saw a lot of first round finishes and one of the more memorable upsets in Dana White’s Contender Series history.

DWCS Main Event: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady Defeats George Hardwich Via Unanimous Decision

It’s no secret that this week was leading up to be the George Hardwick show. He was getting a lot of the push, he was a lot more prominent on social media and he was the huge betting favorite. However, Al-Selwady came ready to spoilt the party, and that he did. He completely shut out Hardwick’s game with feints and lateral movement. He landed the biggest strikes and he was able to get up on control time as the fight went on.

A clear win for him, Abdul-Kareem won all three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. In a night fueled by first round finishes, it’s nice to see the main event go all fifteen-minutes. Al-Selwady extended his winning streak to five while snapping the eight-fight winning streak of Hardwick.

A win isn’t always enough to secure the contract. Dana White has certain things he likes to see in fighters. He saw a lot in Al-Selwady, but one thing that stood out was that he fought in the third like he lost the first two rounds. The thought of taking the third roud off and coasting to a decision win wasn’t an option for him, Abdul-Kareem wanted to make a statement and he did.

Tuesday Night Contender Series Co-main Event: Ibo Aslan knocks out Paulo Renato Jr.

27-years-young, 12 win with all 12 coming by way of KO/TKO, including his first round stoppage of Paulo Renato Jr on the latest episode of the Contender Series — there’s absolutely no way Ibo Aslan was going to leave Las Vegas without being a UFC fighter. He secured that contract and we should expect some big things from this guy as he makes a run in the UFC.

Tuesday Night Contender Series: Hyder Amil defeats Emrah Sonmez

Dana White really likes a finish. Though this fight did lean on the judges’ scorecards, it was an incredible showing of heart and determination from both fighters involved. This was a grueling fight that had me dying of second-hand exhaustion. What the UFC president liked about this fight was that every bit of fight between the fighters was left in the cage.

DWCS: Eduarda Moura Submits Janaina Silva

Another no-brainer was signing the undefeated Eduarda Moura. Nine wins, eight stoppages, seven of those coming in the first round; How could the UFC let this talent just pass by? They couldn’t and they didn’t — Eduarda Moura will have the opportunity to extend her winning streak in the UFC’s strawweight division.

Her stats are very impressive, but even if she was somehow 0-3 and got the chance to fight in front of Dana White, this performance was enough to seal the deal. She got an easy takedown and just smashed from there until the rear-naked choke presented itself. Truly an A+ performance, and what a place to perform like that.

Dana White’s Contender Series: Charalampos Grigoriou defeats Cameron Smotherman

Make it four KO/TKO wins in a row for Charalampos Grigoriou! The 31-year-old was able to land a devastating cross early into the fight and really set a frantic pace for the night. After some ground and pound, the ref stepped in and called the fight at just a minute into our first bout of the night.

Dana White expressed that he’s typically looking for younger fighters, but Grigoriou put on a performance that wouldn’t be denied some ink on paper and the chance to fight for the UFC next.

Not only did this fight set a great pace for the second episode of this season for the Contender Series, but it also kind of got the fighting spirit going for this week! This Saturday is UFC 292, one of the most highly-anticipated events in recent memory. Be sure to stop back by here and catch all of the information you’ll need for this weekend’s action.