It’s that time of the year again, y’all.
This week, Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series wrapped up, with 46 new UFC signings joining the world’s biggest MMA promotion, some of whom have already gotten their first UFC action. The Contender Series is the biggest tool the UFC has for recruiting new talent, and it’s the closest thing the sport has to a draft, so, as we’ve done the last couple of years, it’s time to break down who the best prospects are from this season.
Last season, I separated Contender Series signees into five buckets based on their potential, and this season, we’re doing it the same, just without an NFL draft gimmick. Instead, we’re keeping things simple with a traditional star rating system for the prospects that goes as follows:
- Five Star: Elite prospects. These fighters are the cream of the crop, with the potential to be perennial Top 15 fighters in their divisions or even champions.
- Four Star: Great prospects. These are great prospects with lots of potential, but are maybe missing that super power that makes them jump to the 5 Star level, but are definitely a threat to make the Top 15.
- Three Star: Good prospects. These fighters are unlikely to make the Top 15 of a division, but can nevertheless contribute in the UFC, potentially for years to come.
- Two Star: OK prospects. These are fighters who earned their spot in the UFC, but it would be surprising if they made the Top 15 ever.
- One Star: Prospects In Name Only. These fighters compete and do their best, but are unlikely to make any major impact on the UFC.
So without further ado, let’s break down the 2025 Contender Series prospect class!
Cameron Rowston, Hecher Sosa, Javier Reyes, Levi Rodrigues, Louis Jordain, Luis Felipe Dias, Mandel Nallo, Ryan Gandra, Steven Asplund, Wes Schultz
While the last graded tier is always, by definition, the least, in defense of Contender Series this season, most of these fighters do have something to them, even if their long-term prospects don’t dazzle.
Cam Rowston is a City Kickboxing guy. Louis Jordain’s brother has been in the UFC for years. Hell, Mandel Nallo is actually very good and has a lot of experience, but he’s 36.
And that’s the issue for all of these fighters: their age. It’s simply hard to be a good prospect when you’re already past 30, as the timeline doesn’t work. It usually takes a few years to get going, and by then, you’re near the end physically. For every one Carlos Prates, there are 100 guys who don’t make it.
If I had to pick a couple of guys to pop out of this group, it would be Nallo and Steven Asplund. As I mentioned, Nallo is actually good and very experienced already, so he could jump right in and make noise, but he has to hurry. Asplund, on the other hand, isn’t the best fighter, but he’s got a lot of personality, and at heavyweight, that can carry you a long way. Heck, Chris Barnett is still getting booked, so Asplund can as well.
Cody Chovancek, Donte Johnson, Jeisla Chavez, Jovan Leka, Juan Diaz, Lerryan Douglas, Luke Fernandez, Magomed Zaynukov, Mantas Kondratavicius, Tommy Gantt, Tommy McMillen
This group is a pretty fun mix of prospects who are a little old, a little too underdeveloped, or both.
For instance, Tommy Gantt is an NCAA All-American wrestler, and he works with Daniel Cormier. That is the bones of a good prospect; the problem is he’s already 32 and he’s far from a finished product (though credit to him for fighting 11 times in 18 months!). His best-case scenario is Gregor Gillespie, and Gillespie was a much more talented wrestler.
Same for Magomed Zaynukov, who hails from kickboxing but works with Khabib Nurmagomedov. “John Pork” could be a good fighter, but he’s behind the eight ball already so his ceiling is probably something like Muslim Salikhov.
On the other side of the spectrum, you’ve got guys like Jovan Leka, who are young enough and in a terrible weight class (heavyweight) but who didn’t jump off the page with anything in particular. Those guys could develop into real players in their weight classes, but it’s much more likely they do the yeoman’s work of getting into fist fights on APEX cards and the like. But hey, if you do that long enough, you end up with a pretty decent career.
Adrian Luna Martinetti, Carol Foro, Cezary Oleksiejczuk, Christopher Alvidrez, Donte Johnson, Jose Delano, Josh Hokit, Iwo Baraniewski, Louis Lee Scott, Marcio Barbosa, Ramiro Jimenez, Sofia Montenegro, Ty Miller
This is where we’re really starting to get down to business. Each fighter in this tier has something going for them despite some clear weaknesses. If they get the right development, and a few good breaks, that could mean a long tenure in the UFC. Sure, everybody wants to be Jon Jones, but there’s nothing wrong with being Tim Boetsch.
Take Cezary Oleksiejczuk, for instance. Oleksiejczuk is basically a slightly cleaner version of his older brother, Michal Oleksiejczuk, who has 17 fights (and counting) in the UFC and has at times been a fringe Top 15 middleweight. Nobody has ever thought Oleksiejczuk was a world beater, but he’s one of the 40 best guys in the world at his job, and that’s not too shabby. (For what it’s worth, I think Cezary has a higher ceiling than his brother, but I’m not convinced he’s making the Top 15).
On the other side of things, you’ve got a guy like Donte Johnson, who looked sensational in his Contender Series fight against Darrion Abbey, but Abbey is … um … not great, and Johnson seems very undersized for heavyweight. There seems to be talent there, but it’s tough to project where the former college football player will end up.
If we’re being honest, Adrian Luna Martinetti probably belongs in the Two Stars category, but when you put on a potential Fight of the Year, and win the damn thing because you’re such a dog, you automatically get a bump. Martinetti and Vologdin went to war with each other in a fashion that had people likening it to Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonner 1, and made Dana White give them $25,000 on the spot. Vologdin is the better long-term prospect, but both earned their flowers here.
Now we’re cooking with gas. The Four Stars are the prospects with the upside to be real players in the UFC, and as such, I’ll give each of them a quick blurb and the closest fighter comp I can come up with for them.
Rafael Tobias — Just 22 years old and already has 14 fights. Quick hands and well-rounded skills. Strong offensively, but needs to shore up his defense. Doesn’t have one special thing that jumps out. | Caio Borralho
Shanelle Dyer — Dyer lost on Contender Series to Carol Foro (Three Star), but the fight was so good that Dana White gave her a contract anyway. She’s a former Muay Thai champ and just 24 years old; there’s upside here. | Angela Hill
Manoel Sousa — High-level experience and a well-rounded game. Looks good getting off the bus, and has athleticism to back it up. Touch old, but has enough juice to make up for it. | Josh Emmett
Marwan Rahiki — HEX champion. A lanky kickboxer who prioritizes flash over defensive responsibility. But he’s got a very good chin and potent offense, plus a personality to get him over. | Sean O’Malley
Kurtis Campbell — Only 23 years old, but has a lot of experience as an amateur and professional. Well-rounded skills with great kicks. Terrific finisher with a mean streak. | Lanky Paddy Pimblett
Samuel Sanches — Only 22 years old, but already has some experience. Bit of a wild man, but throws in combination and with major power. | Randy Brown
Mark Vologdin — Really sharp, technical striking game. Great chin, good athleticism, decent takedown defense. A bit small for bantamweight, so might drop to 125. | A blend of Kai Kara-France and Rafael Fiziev
Murtazali Magomedov — Great jab and very good timing. Polished game all around. A lot of experience, including championship experience. | Small Magomed Ankalaev
Michael Oliveira — Chiseled from stone, with a sharp, striking game. Snapping jab, crisp counters, good low kicks. Somewhat limited in variety, but great at what he can do, and solid athleticism to back it all up. | Big Rob Font
As with last year, this is roughly the order I would rank this group in as prospects. Oliveira is probably the best bet to make noise because he’s so polished already, but every fighter in this tier is someone I’d bet on to break into the Top 15 of their divisions at some point.
And we come, at last, to the cream of the crop. These are, in my estimation, the best prospects to come out of Season 9 of Contender Series, and I expect big things from each of them (in one instance, big things are already happening).
Rodriguez is interesting because he is one of the few people to compete on both Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter. Rodriguez lost a split decision to Joseph Morales on TUF 33, but that didn’t deter him as he jumped right into Contender Series to earn his spot in the UFC. Rodriguez works with Daniel Cormier, who has huge amounts of praise for the 25-year-old, and fights like a flyweight Wanderlei Silva. He’s a great athlete, extremely fast, and has a nasty killer instinct. Rodriguez is a natural fighter, and he’s working with a great camp. Expect him to be a staple of Noche UFC events for years to come.
Lebosnoyani had a good bit of hype behind him heading into Contender Series, and it’s easy to see why. The man looks great getting off the bus, and even better actually fighting. He’s aggressive and powerful, and has a sneaky good grappling game to back it up. He also has a ton of high-level experience at LFA. The concern for Lebosnoyani is that he believes in his offense so much that he sometimes forgets about defense, but that’s a small concern because he’s basically BJJ Aaron Pico.
I have Pinas ranked as my No. 2 fighter, but part of me really wanted to put him at No. 1. The 23-year-old fighter out of Aruba is a ball of untapped potential. He’s only been fighting for three years, but he’s got a little bit of craft to his game, and he has the raw tools to turn into something very dangerous. The young man is FIT, has monster power, and is already extremely comfortable in the cage. Last year, I was high on Ateba Gautier, but he looks like he’s even better than I thought. I won’t make that same mistake with Pinas, who could be something special.
And here he is, the best prospect from Season 9 of Contender Series, the guy who saved the day on Week 1. When we look back on this season, Susurkaev is probably going to be the fighter we associate it with, not just because he got a “Be Joe Pyfer” sort of moment with Dana White, but because he’s probably going to do some really good things in the UFC.
Susurkaev is just 24 years old and a training partner of Khamzat Chimaev, who looks exactly like you’d expect him to look. He’s got sneaky athleticism, smothering control grappling, and a dangerous striking game highlighted by his kicks. The man carries himself like prime Conor McGregor, but can also thump dudes on the floor.
And perhaps the biggest boon for Susurkaev is the push he’s already getting. Susurkaev already made his UFC debut, competing just four days after his Contender Series fight, submitting Eric Nolan at UFC 319. That sort of support from the UFC this early harkens back to Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC debut, and Susurkaev is talented enough to make good on the promotion’s belief in him.
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