Tag: DWCS 27

Kevin Syler gets second Dana White’s Contender Series chance, fights Kenny Cross on Aug. 4

Kevin Syler missed weight by 6.5 pounds in Season 3. Now at lightweight, he’ll fight Kenny Cross on August 4.

[autotag]Kevin Syler[/autotag] is getting a second opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series.

On the Season 4 premiere on Aug. 4, Syler (10-0 MMA) will take on Lights Out Championship lightweight champion [autotag]Kenny Cross[/autotag] – pending bout finalization.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation recently confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie. They asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The fight was first reported by The Scrap.

Syler competed on Season 3, defeating a durable opponent, Lance Lawrence, in a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Due to Syler missing weight by 6.5 pounds, however, UFC president Dana White passed on the opportunity to sign him.

Since his blunder on the scales, Syler has moved to 155 pounds where he won his divisional debut at Combate Bolivia MMA 3 in December.

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A Michigan standout, Cross (10-3 MMA) brings an aesthetically pleasing fighting style to the cage. A finisher through and through, Cross has won seven of his most recent eight outings including four-straight.

DWCS, Season 4 will kick off Aug. 4 and expected to run for 10 episodes, with the season concluding on Oct. 6.

To stay up to date with all of the DWCS happenings, check out MMA Junkie’s “Dana White’s Contender Series: Your complete guide to Season 4” which will be frequently updated as news comes to light.

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LFA flyweight champ Brandon Royval gets Jerome Rivera rematch at DWCS 27

After their first fight ended in a nasty arm injury, Brandon Royval and Jerome Rivera will rematch with heightened stakes.

Season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series 4 has its first fight – and it’s a rematch of a nasty incident from 2018.

LFA flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Jerome Rivera[/autotag] at DWCS 27 – the season’s premiere. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Cageside Press.

The event takes place Tuesday, June 23, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event is expected to stream on ESPN+.

The first meeting between Royval (10-4 MMA) and Rivera (9-2 MMA) took place at LFA 39 in May 2018. It ended in an all-time gruesome highlight.

After Royval caught a kick, he pressured Rivera backward. Rivera pogo-sticked to the cage and extended his arm against the fence. As a result of Royval’s body weight and momentum, Rivera’s arm snapped.

Upon impact, Royval let go of the clinch and left a disabled Rivera to stumble across the cage. Bent at a horrendous angle, Rivera’s arm flopped backward. When Rivera reached the other side of the cage on the back pedal, he crumpled to the ground and the referee stepped in.

The two fighters were expected to rematch at LFA 78 in October 2019, but the event was canceled when AXS TV suddenly parted ways with the promotion.

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Since their first meeting, Royval has gone 3-1 and won the LFA title in 23 seconds in a November outing. As for Rivera, he’s won back-to-back fights since getting over the arm injury. After he submitted Gene Perez in February 2019, Rivera returned to LFA and submitted Kendrick Latchman in January 2020.

While Royval vs. Rivera 2 is the first confirmed fight for the upcoming season, MMA Junkie has confirmed a handful of other participants.

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