Tag: Dana White’s Contender Series 49

DWCS 49 winner Clayton Carpenter critical of his performance: ‘I consider it damn near a loss’

“I’m going for the kill and I didn’t get the finish and I consider it damn near a loss in my opinion.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] may now be a UFC fighter, but he’s not happy with his performance.

Carpenter’s entertaining back-and-forth battle with Edgar Chairez at Dana White’s Contender Series 49 on Tuesday left him with a black eye, but he was able to rally using his grappling to earn a hard-fought win and a UFC contract.

Carpenter (6-0) came into the fight having finished his past two opponents in less than a minute and was disappointed to let the judges get involved.

“I let it get a lot closer than it should have,” Carpenter told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “I got a little impatient in there and started getting a little bit more frustrated than I should have, and I started pushing a little bit more than I should have. It’s whatever though – it’s all a learning experience.

“I’m going for the kill and I didn’t get the finish and I consider it damn near a loss, in my opinion.”

However, despite the harsh opinion on his performance, Carpenter knew it was enough to ink a UFC deal.

“I believe that I put on a good show,” Carpenter said. “I don’t really know what it looks like from the outside until I study the tape, but I felt like I put in an adequate performance and it gave me a lot to think about. I faced adversity in that first round. I got clipped with a shot that I didn’t even really feel, but it looks a lot worse than it felt.”

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Jamal Pogues to move back down to 205 pounds after DWCS 49 win, eyes Dominick Reyes

Jamal Pogues will return to his original home and already has his eyes on the top UFC light heavyweights.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag] will return to his original home and already has his eyes on the top UFC light heavyweights.

Pogues (9-3) punched his ticket to the UFC by defeating Paulo Renato Jr. by unanimous decision at Dana White’s Contender Series 49 at the UFC Apex on Tuesday.

The bout took place at heavyweight, but Pogues will return to light heavyweight, where the majority of his professional bouts have taken place.

“It’s time for me to get down to 205, my original weight class,” Pogues told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “That’s No. 1. When I came back, I was like 275 (pounds), almost 280. So coming back, I was trying to get in the best shape as I could. Obviously, I dropped a lot of weight compared to what I was. But working my way back down to 205 and fighting in the light heavyweight division, there are guys that I know are in the top 10 that I want to fight.”

Pogues went right after the division’s top contenders. He jokingly called out Jamahal Hill for having the same first name as him, but has two other names in mind that he’d like to fight.

“I want Paul Craig. I like his jiu-jitsu, and they made a mistake: I’m actually a black belt,” Pogues said. “I’m a really good f*cking black belt. But I’ve beat some good people.

“It’s going to piss a lot of people off because he’s from my old gym. He’s from my hometown. I want Dominick Reyes. It’s nothing against Dominick Reyes – we used to be training partners. He’s never done anything to me, but I just feel like if we’re going to say who’s going to be the best out of the high desert, Victorville (Calif.), Apple Valley, all of that, it’s me – and a lot of people know that. So he can see this and take it the wrong way and think I’m talking sh*t about him – I’m not. Me and Dominick are cool. But sooner or later, I was going to be in the UFC.”

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Dana White explains why Bo Nickal was not given UFC contract after looking ‘incredible’ at DWCS

The UFC boss was impressed with Bo Nickal’s performance, but still wants to see more before bringing him into the UFC.

LAS VEGAS – UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] believes in [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s abilities as a fighter, but still wasn’t ready to give him a UFC contract on Tuesday evening.

In the feature bout of Dana White’s Contender Series 49, Nickal stepped into the cage for the second time as a professional fighter and made quick work of his opponent Zack Borrego, tapping him with a rear-naked choke in just over a minute.

Typically, that sort of performance is almost a guarantee for a UFC contract on DWCS, however, Nickal’s lack of experience as a pro gave White pause when it came time to issue contracts at the end of the show.

“He’s 1-0, 2-0 now, fought a kid that was 3-0, made it look really easy,” White told reporters including MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “Let’s get him one more fight and let’s test him. (If he) Gets past that with flying colors, we bring him in and we give him a fight in the UFC.

I think only one guy has come in at like 1-0 and did anything and I think it was Brock (Lesnar), and to be honest with you, I don’t remember. Brock was something like that. So, yeah, he’s a stud.”

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Nickal entered his DWCS bout with a lot of hype given his credentials as a three-time NCAA Division I champion wrestler. That decorated background is one of the main reasons he was given the opportunity to compete for a shot at the UFC after only one professional bout.

“I don’t know what else he could have done to look any better,” White said. “He looked incredible. The only reason I didn’t sign him tonight is because he’s 2-0 now. … We got eight more weeks of this. Why not have him fight here again, you know what I mean? It just makes sense.”

Instead of extending a UFC contract to Nickal, White will bring Nickal back for a second fight on DWCS later this season. According to White, if he wins the second fight, he will be a UFC middleweight.

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Dana White’s Contender Series 49: Best photos from Las Vegas

Check out these photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 49 in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 49 which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Hedges, UFC)

Dana White’s Contender Series 49 faceoff highlights: Lavado vs. Wojcik staredown explodes

One faceoff nearly got out of hand ahead of Dana White’s Contender Series 49 on Tuesday.

LAS VEGAS – With no UFC matchmaker in attendance to face off the athletes, things nearly got wild in the first staredown for Dana White’s Contender Series 49.

Ahead of Tuesday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the athletes from the five scheduled bouts on the docket came face-to-face after official weigh-ins, and one contest almost blew up.

Strawweights Sandra Lavado and Karolina Wojcik had an intense staredown where they locked eyes and pressed forwards before someone jumped in to pull them apart.

The rest of the staredowns, by comparison, were entirely uneventful. Check out the full video above, as well as a complete photo gallery below.

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Photos: Dana White’s Contender Series 49 weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos from the Dana White’s Contender Series 48 weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from the Dana White’s Contender Series 49 weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)

Dana White’s Contender Series 49 weigh-in results: Bo Nickal’s opponent heavy

MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 49 fighter weigh-ins.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 49 fighter weigh-ins.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

In the featured bout, super-prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] (1-0) meets [autotag]Zachary Borrego[/autotag] (4-0) in what will now be a catchweight bout after Borrego came in 1.5 pounds over the middleweight limit.

The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas. The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+.

The full Dana White’s Contender Series 46 weigh-in results include:

  • Bo Nickal (186) vs. Zachary Borrego (187.5)*
  • Jamal Pogues (248.5) vs. Paulo Renato Jr. (221)
  • Erik Silva (146) vs. Anvar Boynazarov (144)
  • Edgar Chairez (124.5) vs. Clayton Carpenter (125)
  • Sandra Lavado (116) vs. Karolina Wojcik (115.5)

* Borrego missed middleweight limit by 1.5 pounds; fine amount unknown

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