Darrius Flowers believes he can be UFC lightweight champion ‘like Khabib style’

After winning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Darrius Flowers sees himself ruling the lightweight division in due time.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag] is looking to rule the UFC lightweight division.

Flowers (12-5-1), whose past few fights came at middleweight, competed in a welterweight bout Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 51 against Amiran Gogoladze.

He finished Gogoladze in just over a minute when he picked him up and slammed him, causing an injury to his shoulder that stopped the fight. Flowers sees multiple weight classes in his future but is confident he can be champion at 155 pounds after earning a UFC contract.

“I see my future at honestly both welterweight and lightweight,” Flowers told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “Honestly, I’m gonna take lightweight a little bit more serious and chase the title, because I feel like I can be a champion here within the next few years or a couple of years, if it even takes that long. We got to get through the first contract and all that crap first, but I feel like I can be a lightweight world champion for sure like Khabib style.”

Flowers’ win came quick and it came due to an injury. Although it was the slam that led to Gogoladze’s injury, Flowers says it irks him that there will be some doubters due to the nature of the fight-ending sequence.

“The only thing that kind of bothers me is like the naysayers,” Flowers said. “I really didn’t get to show my work, how hard I’ve been working. But I looked good, I went out and did what I said I was gonna do, so I’m happy I got the contract. Nothing really else matters. I got the contract. Haters are gonna still be haters. There’s still gonna be some guys that don’t believe, even when I fry some guys in the UFC. You know, when I start frying these guys on the skillet.”

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Mick Parkin: Making UFC debut on Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 card in England ‘would be crazy’

With the UFC looking to host another big card in England in the near future, Mick Parkin wants to be part of it.

LAS VEGAS – With the UFC looking to host another big card in England in the near future, [autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag] wants to be part of it.

Parkin (6-0) is the newest English fighter to get signed to the UFC, punching his ticket through Dana White’s Contender Series 51 on Tuesday. In the featured bout of the night, Parkin quickly submitted Eduardo Neves in the first round.

Parkin experienced the buzz and atmosphere while attending the UFC’s two London shows this year and now that he has an opportunity to be a part of one, he hopes to land on the Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman trilogy event, which is being considered for the U.K.

“European card would be great,” Parkin told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “Obviously fight in front of fans, like a big arena, something like that would be great.”

He continued, “That would be crazy. My friend rang me now and was like, ‘England card. Definitely get on it.’ So that would be crazy, because I’ve actually been to the last two events at the O2 to watch my friends Paul (Craig) and Tom (Aspinall) fight, so the atmosphere is absolutely amazing. I remember the first one watching it, all the guys got finishes, and I remember thinking this is going to be me. It’s amazing.”

With Edwards becoming the second English fighter to win UFC gold, U.K. MMA is booming. Teammate and fellow Brit Tom Aspinall has had a fast rise up the heavyweight ranks, and Parkin sees a similar future for himself.

“U.K. MMA is doing mint now, and I’m fortunate that there’s not many heavyweights,” Parkin said. “So it’s probably a little bit easier path for me than some of these lighter guys.”

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Dana White’s Contender Series 51: Best photos from Las Vegas

Check out these photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 51 in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from the fights at Dana White’s Contender Series 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Hedges, UFC)

Dana White’s Contender Series 51 faceoff highlights video, photo gallery from Las Vegas

Check out a highlights video and photo gallery from the Dana White’s Contender Series 51 official weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – The pre-fight activities are in the books for Dana White’s Contender Series 51 following Monday’s official weigh-ins and faceoffs.

Ten fighters will vie for UFC contracts in their fights, including heavyweights Mick Parkin (5-0) and Eduardo Neves (5-0), who headline the show at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

At the conclusion of the official weigh-ins, the fighters came face to face for staredowns. Check out the highlights in the video above and a photo gallery from the weigh-ins and faceoffs below.

Dana White’s Contender Series 51 takes place Tuesday and streams on ESPN+.

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Dana White’s Contender Series 51 weigh-in results: Small drama, but ultimately no issues in Las Vegas

Check out the results from the official Dana White’s Contender Series 51 fighter weigh-ins.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 51 fighter weigh-ins, where all 10 fighters hit their marks.

Ten fighters will vie for UFC contracts in their fights, including heavyweights Mick Parkin (5-0) and Eduardo Neves (5-0), who headline the show. Parkin weighed in at 259 pounds. Neves was 265.

The only drama came from Brazilian flyweight Erisson Ferreira da Silva (11-1), who was 126.5 pounds for his bout against Jesus Santos Aguilar (7-1), who had no issues at 125.5. Da Silva was given an hour to cut the additional weight and returned at 125.5 to make the fight official.

The 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 51 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Mick Parkin (259) vs. Eduardo Neves (265)
  • Darrius Flowers (171) vs. Amiran Gogoladze (170.5)
  • Jesus Santos Aguilar (125.5) vs. Erisson Ferreira da Silva (125.5)*
  • Cameron Saaiman (136) vs. Josh Wang-Kim (135)
  • Rayanne Amanda (115.5) vs. Denise Gomes (115.5)

*Da Silva missed the flyweight limit on his first attempt, but was given an hour to cut the additional weight. He hit the mark on his second try.