Contender Series 2021 premieres on Aug. 31

Dana White’s Contender Series returns this summer. | Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLC

Tuesday night fights are back this summer. The popular show where Dana White and co. scout new talent for the UFC has a summe…


Dana White’s Contender Series returns this summer.
Dana White’s Contender Series returns this summer. | Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLC

Tuesday night fights are back this summer.

The popular show where Dana White and co. scout new talent for the UFC has a summer return date.

The promotion announced on Saturday evening that the fifth season of Dana White’s Contender Series premieres on Aug. 31 and features a heavyweight fight between Matheus Buffa and Azamat Murzakanov. Dates and fights for another four events through September were also confirmed.

The second event of the series takes place on Sept. 7 and features a welterweight fight between Darian Weeks and Josh Quinlan. Both Weeks and Quinlan are undefeated and have a professional record of 5-0. Nearly all of their fights have ended in either a knockout or submission.

A light heavyweight fight between Jailton Junior and Nasrudin Nasrudinov headlines the third event of the series on Sept. 14. Junior recently competed for Submission Circus in a one-night submission only tournament that saw him earn four wins, with three of those ending in a rear-naked choke. Nasrudinov is well-known for his work under the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA) banner, where he has won all four of his fights since his promotional debut in 2019.

Undefeated lightweights Chris Duncan and Manuel Gaxhja top the fourth event on Sept. 21, while a light heavyweight fight between Lukasz Sudolski and Igor Poterya closes out the month on Sept. 28. All four of these men have finished the majority of their fights and have only needed the judges’ scorecards a couple of times.

More fights to fill up these cards have not been announced yet, but are expected to be confirmed before the start of the season.

Dana White’s Contender Series streams live on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.