Dana White handed out six contracts on Contender Series Tuesday night.
Week 7 of Contender Series was all action from start to finish.
Ten fighters entered the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for their chance at a UFC contract.
The card began with back-to-back first-round finishes. 22-year-old Brazilian prospect Rafael Tobias got a verbal submission win over Jair de Oliveira and Colombia’s Javier Reyes knocked out short notice replacement Justice Torres in the opening round.
The only decision of the night turned out to be one of the best fights of the season—a bloody back-and-forth war between Sofia Montenegro and Jeisla Chaves, a former ring girl.
Former ring girl Jeisla Chaves stays undefeated, signs to UFC
Chaves and Montenegro both drew blood a minute into the opening round, with both women standing and trading in the pocket. They landed a combined 86 punches in round 1.
The flyweights had their moments in the striking department across 15 minutes, with neither one of them willing to back down.
“Both of them looking like Terminators with the blood all over their face,” commentator Dan Hellie said as the fighters continued to throw heat.
“Hard to imagine her as a ring girl not too long ago,” Laura Sanko said of Chaves from the broadcast booth.
Chaves stunned Montenegro with a punch in the second round.
Montenegro nearly finished the fight when she dropped the former ring girl in the final round. Montenegro landed massive ground and pound but was unable to close the show as Chaves recovered from the bottom position.
Chaves was awarded the split decision win as well as a UFC contract from Dana White.
White said he disagreed with the result, thinking Montenegro had done enough to get the nod.
Despite losing, Montenegro also won a UFC contract from White.
Who else got signed on Contender Series Week 7?
All five victors from Week 7 of Contender Series were signed to the UFC.
Rafael Tobias, Javier Reyes, Murtazali Magomedov, and Mantas Kondratavičius didn’t need the judges’ scorecards, with all four fighters taking care of business in the first round.
Magomedov improved to 10-0 and won a UFC contract with a TKO of Brahyan Zurcher.
Mantas Kondratavičius stopped Đani Barbir with strikes in the main event. After signing the rest of the winners and one loser, Dana White said it was a ‘no brainer’ that Lithuania’s Kondratavičius gets signed, too.
