DWCS Season 8, Week 6 results: Second father-son duo in UFC history headlines night of four contracts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 - 05:43

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 3
Dana White | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

A bit of UFC history was made as four more fighters earned their way into the UFC on the latest episode of Contender Series

On Tuesday night, the sixth episode of season eight of Contender Series took place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX, and after five fights, UFC CEO Dana White awarded four of the five winners contracts into the UFC, including one to Elijah Smith, son of former two-time The Ultimate Fighter contestant Gilbert Smith. With Smith now in the UFC, he and his father become only the second father-son duo in the promotion’s history, following UFC after Hall of Famer Randy Couture and his son Ryan Couture.

Smith outlasts Tau

In the main event of the evening, 22-year-old Elijah Smith survived a strong final round from Aaron Tau to win a unanimous decision and a UFC contract.

The son of former two-time The Ultimate Fighter contestant Gilbert Smith, “Swift” looked great early, doing almost anything he wanted against the 31-year-old City Kickboxing product. But in the third round, Smith — who took the fight on short notice — began to fade and Tau turned it on, resulting in a knockdown dog fight as Smith refused to back down despite tiring. In the end, Tau won the third round battle but lost the war as Smith took home the decision win and the spot in the UFC.

Teixeira crumbles Lopes

In the penultimate fight of the evening, Tallison Teixeira did what he was supposed to do and obliterated Arthur Lopes with a first-round knockout that earned him a spot in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

A monster of a man at 6-foot-7, the 24-year-old Teixeira showed why he was such a big betting favorite on the evening, setting the tone early with jabs and low kicks. Lopes proved game though, trying to drag Teixeira into a wild brawl, but “Xicao” didn’t bite and managed to find a clean right hand that floored his fellow Brazilian and moved him to 7-0 in his career.

Bennett ekes past Hart

In the welterweight contest of the evening, Benjamin Bennett eked out a split decision over Joey Hart that did not impress Dana White enough to merit a UFC contract.

With extensive experience in boxing and kickboxing, Bennett instead came in and used his wrestling early against Hart, repeatedly scoring takedowns and neutralizing the bigger fighter. Hart hung tough though and made the most of his moments on the feet when he could as the men went back-and-forth for the full fifteen. In the end the judges awarded Bennett for his control, but White did not award him a UFC contract.

Gautier overwhelms Naito

In the second fight of the evening, Ateba Gautier delivered a second-round TKO over Yura Naito to punch his ticket into the UFC.

Still only 22 years old, Ateba is still developing as a prospect and had to battle through getting taken down in the first round by Naito. However, once things restarted on the feet in the second round, the Cameroonian fighter’s speed and power were on full display, as he dropped Naito with big punches and then, after spending some time in Naito’s guard, finally was able to posture up and deliver vicious shots to secure the victory.

Hassanzada rallies to submit Dylan Mantello

In the opening bout of the evening, Ahmad Hassanzada scored an impressive comeback submission over Dylan Mantello, and earned his place in the UFC.

After falling short in his first attempt on Contender Series back in 2022, Hassanzada looked like he might have again blown his gas tank with a torrid pace in the first round, as Mantello dropped him multiple times in the second and the Afghani fighter looked gassed heading into the final frame. But somehow Hassanzada rallied in the third round, pressing the action, scoring a takedown, and then locking on a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Check out the DWCS results below.

Elijah Smith def. Aaron Tau via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Tallison Teixeira def. Arthur Lopes via knockout (punch) — R1, 1:57

Benjamin Bennett def. Joey Hart def. via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ateba Gautier def. Yura Naito via TKO (punches) — R2, 4:00

Ahmad Hassanzada def. Dylan Mantello via submission (rear-naked choke) — R3, 2:41

Source: 
https://www.mmafighting.com/2024/9/17/24247711/dwcs-season-8-week-6-results-second-father-son-duo-in-ufc-history-headlines-night-of-four-contracts