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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from September 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for September.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
The next step in Jean Silva’s career will be his official UFC debut.
LAS VEGAS – The next step in [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]’s career will be his official UFC debut.
After a unanimous decision win over Kevin Vallejos (11-1) that was more dominant than the scores might indicate, Silva (11-2) said his teammates and training partners at the Fighting Nerds Gym in Sao Paulo should get credit for having him ready to earn a UFC shot.
Silva talked about that and more after his fight at Tuesday’s DWCS 61 in Las Vegas.
Check out the full interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 61.
Dylan Budka had to grind one out, but it likely was worth the effort.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Dylan Budka[/autotag] had to grind one out, but it likely was worth the effort.
Budka (7-2) earned a shot at the UFC after his unanimous decision win over Chad Hanekom (9-3) at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The middleweight didn’t get a finish, but impressed White enough that he got a deal. Now he’ll go to work focusing on how to not let them down.
Budka talked about that and more after his fight at Tuesday’s DWCS 61 in Las Vegas.
Check out the full interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 61.
Cris Cyborg’s presence at the UFC Apex and support during her career have meant the world to contract winner Dione Barbosa.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Dione Barbosa[/autotag] didn’t hesitate.
When she got the call to compete at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 on less than a week’s notice, Barbosa didn’t even let her manager get to the question.
“When my manager called me, he was like, ‘How much do you weigh right now?'” Barbosa said. “I was like, ‘I will fight, just tell me when.'”
Barbosa said she weighed 141 pounds at the time, and she had no qualms about dropping down to the 126 women’s flyweight limit for the opportunity at a UFC contract. Barbosa took full advantage of that opportunity Tuesday when she dominated Rainn Guerrero and submitted her with an armbar at the 4:35 mark of the first round.
With that performance, Barbosa secured a UFC deal from promotion president Dana White.
“I can’t put in words what I feel like right now,” Barbosa said. “I worked so hard for this. I’m just proud of myself.”
Barbosa felt comfortable fighting inside the UFC Apex with some familiar faces in the stands – some friends and family, which included current Bellator champion and former UFC champion Cris Cyborg.
Cyborg’s presence and support during her career have meant the world to Barbosa.
“She’s inspiration for me. Cris is like my family here,” Barbosa said of her fellow Brazilian. “When I came to USA, I was staying at her house, lived there, she helped me a lot, emotional support. I had nothing when I came here. She trained a lot with me, too. So she’s inspiration for me. She’s like my family, so important to me.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 61.
MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the performances of the five winners from Dana White’s Contender Series 61.
Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2023) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.
With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. With that trend in mind, I once again will be taking a look at the winning fighters, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, and grading their performances in regard to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.
Brendson Ribeiro’s powerful punching erased the undefeated record of Bruno Lopes at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag] punched his way into the UFC with a vicious finish.
In the feature bout of Dana White’s Contender Series 61, Ribeiro (15-5) entered the octagon at the UFC Apex as a sizeable underdog against Bruno Lopes (11-1). The light heavyweights promised to bring the violence to convince the Dana White and the matchmakers that they were worthy of a contract, and Ribeiro delivered the TKO finish at 3:47 of Round 1.
Lopes was on the attack but Ribeiro found room to land a brutal right hand, sending the previously undefeated fighter to the canvas. Ribeiro rushed in with heavy hammerfists, putting Lopes out to seal the deal.
Check out video of the finish below (via X):
BRENDSON RIBEIRO CLOSES THE SHOW 🤯
What a knockout to cap off #DWCS Week 5! pic.twitter.com/V0vkFxtkWL
— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2023
The result was Lopes’ first loss as a professional. Ribeiro overcame the odds and secured his third straight first-round finish.
At the conclusion of the show, Dana White extended a contract offer to Ribeiro, who kept his 100 percent career finishing rate intact.
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Season 7, Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series goes down Tuesday, and MMA Junkie has live results from the UFC Apex.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was onsite at Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 61 event.
The series sees prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.
The fifth episode of Season 7 saw 10 fighters compete for their shot at a UFC contract with five fighters earning UFC contract offers: bantamweight [autotag]Dione Barbosa[/autotag] (6-2), featherweight [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] (11-2), middleweight [autotag]Dylan Budka[/autotag] (7-2), featherweight [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag] (10-1), and light heavyweight [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag] (15-5).
Perhaps the highlight of the event, however, was White’s facial expressions following a quick stoppage by referee Kevin MacDonald during Sidey vs. [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag] (8-2).
White called it “one of the worst ref stoppages” he’s ever seen, so he announced Taveras will get another shot on DWCS during Week 10.
Full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 61 include:
Continue reading below for more details about each fight – and watch the Sidey vs. Taveras stoppage for yourself.
Check out these photos from the fights at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from the fights at Dana White’s Contender Series 61, which took place Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy of UFC)
(Gallery updated throughout the event.)
Check out the weigh-in and faceoff video highlights and photos from Dana White’s Contender Series 61 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – The pre-fight activities are in the books for Dana White’s Contender Series 61 following Monday’s official weigh-ins and faceoffs.
Ten fighters will vie for UFC contracts in their fights, including light heavyweights Bruno Lopes (11-0) and Brendson Ribeiro (14-5), 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 61 takes place Tuesday and streams on ESPN+.
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Check out these photos from the Dana White’s Contender Series 61 weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from the Dana White’s Contender Series 61 weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)
