Fresh Ink: Meet the 25 fighters the UFC signed in September 2023

Find out who joined the UFC in September and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Check out the September 2023 list below.

Jean Silva credits Fighting Nerds Gym prep work for UFC contract | DWCS 61

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.

Dana White’s Contender Series 61 results: Dana White gives loser second shot after ‘one of the worst ref stoppages’

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:

  • Brendson Ribeiro def. Bruno Lopes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:47
  • Serhiy Sidey def. Ramon Taveras via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:26
  • Dylan Budka def. Chad Hanekom via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Jean Silva def. Kevin Vallejos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Dione Barbosa def. Rainn Guerrero via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:35

Continue reading below for more details about each fight – and watch the Sidey vs. Taveras stoppage for yourself.