The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: DWCS Week 2

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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Dana White's Contender Series is back in operation, as the second episode of the 2021 season took place Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. True to the Oprah-esque largesse of the series these days — You get a contract! You get a contract! YOU get a contract! — all five winners were given a rose by UFC President Dana White.

For my midweek column, I typically write “Stand and Deliver,” a look at fighters on the upcoming weekend’s cards who are under extra pressure to perform well for various reasons. On a week with no Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA, One Championship or Professional Fighters League offerings, that’s a non-starter. (Not that I’m complaining; after this breather, there’s major MMA every single week until Thanksgiving.)

Alternatively, I could have written an episode of my other franchise column, “Stock Report,” looking back at the Contender Series card and pointing out fighters whose personal, professional stock is either rising or falling. That approach works for a UFC event where 12 fighters win, but only one or two might truly stand out, but not for last night. All five winning fighters were signed by the UFC to the exact same entry-level contract; that makes for a pretty boring stock report.

Therefore, in the absence of another appropriate conceit to deliver my rambling observations and opinions, I am temporarily resurrecting the signature franchise of former Sherdog contributor Ant Walker, a dear friend and the host of my weekly panel podcast. In his honor, I humbly present to you The Good, The Bad & The Ugly for Dana White’s Contender Series 2021: Week 2.

The Good: Carlos Vergara

If this had been an episode of Season 1 of the original Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, back when one fighter per show received a UFC contract, everyone scheduled after Vergara could have stayed in the dressing room. The Texan put his stamp on a furious 41-second fight by absolutely melting Bruno Mesquita with a knee to the liver. If the ideal role of the Contender Series is to let up-and-coming prospects showcase what they’ve been doing in their regional scenes, Vergara nailed it by extending his streak of knockout wins to five straight. The 30-year-old Fury Fighting Championship flyweight champ now joins fellow former Fury knockout artists Adrian Yanez and Leomana Martinez in the big show, and will be a welcome addition.

The Bad: Muin Gafurov

If Vergara’s quick and brutal win represented peak Contender Series, Gafurov delivered the opposite: a deflating underperformance that casts his previous record in a new light. The 25-year-old Tajikstani entered Tuesday as the biggest favorite on the card — greater than 4-to-1 according to several sports books — over Chad Anheliger, a 34-year-old late bloomer whose previous losses had been 100% by submission. It figured to be a showcase for the younger, more experienced Gafurov, whose wrestling and grappling are the best parts of his game. And Gafurov did in fact land numerous takedowns, which allowed him to spend more than one-third of the fight in top position, but Anheliger simply refused to go away, getting back up and getting much the better of the standup exchanges. By the final round, both men were tired but Gafurov more so, and it was the Canadian who took the deciding frame on two judges’ scorecards, earning the split decision. It’s a bit of a back-to-the-drawing-board moment for Gafurov, whose impressive record — especially for such a young fighter — belies the fact that he came up short against most of the better fighters he encountered in One Championship.

The Ugly: Mario Filipe de Sousa

Lest this entire section be about the losing fighter, let me start by saying I’m glad Chidi Njokuani is headed to the UFC. He has his flaws, but at his best he’s an electrifying striker and at 32, I had resigned myself to never getting to see him in a top-level promotion again.

Having said that, it’s unfortunate that the most memorable visual from the Njokuani-de Sousa middleweight scrap is de Sousa’s determined attempts to make guacamole out of the contents of Njokuani’s cup. The towering Brazilian landed three absolutely hellacious low blows in the first round that — wonder of wonders —spurred Herb Dean into action, deducting a point for the third foul.

Njokuani recovered from de Souza’s efforts to turn his “outy” into an “inny” and went on to dominate the fight. He picked up a third-round stoppage, helping to put the ugliness of that first round in the rearview, but the fouls simply reinforce the notion that de Sousa looked uncharacteristically terrible from start to finish. Was this performance an aberration brought on by some nagging injury, poor preparation or just being 24 years old and inconsistent, or was the promise “Coracao Valente” showed on the Brazilian circuit and in his previous DWCS appearance are just so much smoke? Only time will tell. In the meantime, Chidi should rightfully be celebrating, even if it might be a while before he feels up for any bang-bang.