Photo by Chris Unger/DWTNCS LLC
The world’s “toughest job interview” continues this evening as 10 fighters “vie to fulfill their dreams of earning a UFC contract.”
It’s another Tuesday of tussles tonight (July 23, 2019) as Dana White’s “Contender Series” returns to ESPN+ with another 10 mixed martial arts (MMA) hopefuls in tow. Nine out of the last 10 victors have walked away with UFC contracts; indeed, only Kevin Syler — who missed weight ahead of a victory last week — came out empty-handed.
This week’s main event sees once-beaten Featherweight Terrance McKinney (7-1) square off with Sean Woodson (5-0), but the real attraction is the co-feature. Russian Middleweight standout Ramazan Kuramagomedov (5-0) takes on Jordan Williams (8-2), who saw a 2018 “Contender Series” victory overturned because of a failed drug test for marijuana. The rest of the card includes Bellator veteran J.J. Okanovich (6-1) and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 competitor Billy Quarantillo (11-2).
‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:
Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs. Jordan Williams — Kuramagomedov def. Williams by split decision (27-30, 29-28 x2)
Terrance McKinney vs. Sean Woodson — Woodson def. McKinney by KO (flying knee) at 1:49 of Round Two
Christian Lohsen vs. J.J. Okanovich — Okanovich def. Lohsen by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Jamahal Hill vs. Alexander Poppeck — Hill def. Poppeck by TKO (knees and elbows) at 4:29 of Round Two
Billy Quarantillo vs. Kamuela Kirk — Quarantillo def. Kirk by TKO (punches) at 0:22 of Round Three
‘Contender Series’ Play-By-Play Results:
185 lbs.: Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs. Jordan Williams
Round one: Kuramagomedov tries a jumping kick. Low kick from Williams. Trading low kicks. One minute in. Double jab by Kuramagomedov. Williams counters a leg kick with a 1-2. Kuramagomedov with some knees and an elbow on the break. Williams lands some jabs and a straight left. Kuramagomedov takes an eye poke. Two minutes in and they trade inside. 1-1-2 from Kuramagomedov and a counter right hook. Williams right hook and jab. Hard left straight hurts Kuramagomedov and he tries to shoot, cannot. Kuramagomedov gets back to his feet, seems steady. Brief clinch. Two minutes to go.
Williams combination, Kuramagomedov answers in kind and lands a capoeira kick before shooting in. Trading knees inside. They separate. One minute to go. Counter left from Kuramagomedov. Knee attempt inside. Williams with some combinations and they tie up. Kuramagomedov pressing him against the fence. 10-9 Williams.
Round two: Williams aggressive to start the round, looking for combination punches. Leg kick lands for him, answered in kind. Left cross from Kuramagomedov. Straight shots landing for Williams. One minute in. Low kick lands for him. Hard leg kick and flying knee from Kuramagomedov land clean and he bulls Williams to the mat. Williams trying to use the cage to stand. He makes it and they go back to trading jabs. Two minutes to go.
Right hook from Williams. 1-2. Big straight left lands for Kuramagomedov, then a leaping right hook. Williams continues to press forwards, lands a 1-2 on the fence. Exchanging in the center. One minute to go. Trading more jabs. Kuramagomedov gets a body lock, tries a knee before they break. Tight left cross and Williams ties up. Close round. 10-9 Kuramagomedov.
Round three: Kuramagomedov lands a leg kick as Williams presses forward. Back to trading jabs. One minute in. Kind of a high-volume sparring session, constantly trading but nobody landing anything huge. Kuramagomedov lands a 3-2 and changes levels. He tries an elbow on the break. Now it’s Kuramagomedov landing the heavier shots two minutes in. Williams lands a combo, takes a spinning back fist. 1-2s from Williams, stuffs a shot. Trading on the fence. Williams denies another shot and looks for the back with two minutes to go.
Kuramagomedov avoids it and separates. Back to trading tired-looking punches. Counter 1-2 by Williams. Kuramagomedov loses his mouthpiece. Back to trading yet again. 1-2 from Williams lands as Kuramagomedov tries another capoeira kick. Williams punches, Kuramagomedov elbow. They end the fight landing big shots. Wouldn’t complain about any score. 10-9 Kuramagomedov on bigger punches.
Final result: Kuramagomedov def. Williams by split decision
145 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Sean Woodson
Round one: McKinney marching forward, sending out kicks. He changes levels on the fence, fights for a high-crotch. Knee to the head. They separate a minute in and Woodson stings McKinney with a jab, only to get taken down. McKinney transitions to the back and looks to wrap up the RNC, Having some trouble getting it under Woodson’s jaw. Two minutes in. Still fighting for the choke. Full body triangle. Two minutes to go.
McKinney still looking for the choke. One minute to go. This continues for a while. 10-9 McKinney, no 10-8 since he didn’t do enough damage.
Round two: McKinney tries an early takedown, denied. Tries again, denied, but transitions to the back instead when Woodson tries to sprawl. Body triangle again. One minute in. Woodson spins into guard and stands, then obliterates McKinney with a knee to the face as the latter tries to change levels.
Final result: Woodson def. McKinney by KO (flying knee)
155 lbs.: Christian Lohsen vs. J.J. Okanovich
Round one: Okanovich on the advance early. Lohsen puts him on the fence, looks for the takedown. Okanovich reverses position. One minute in. Nice takedown by Lohsen into side control. He tries to pass to mount, gets caught in half guard. Elbow from Lohsen, setting up a d’arce. He steps into mount and puts on the squeeze. Okanovich turns into his guard, but gets caught in a triangle. Two minutes to go.
Looking for the Ryangle, briefly considers switching to an armbar. Now he goes for the armbar, loses it. Okanovich starts dropping elbows, forces Lohsen down into guard. Looking for ground-and-pound, lands elbows. 10-9 Lohsen.
Round two: Okanovich eats a body kick as he presses forward. Lohsen tries to tie up, cannot. Counter jab catches Lohsen coming in. Hard uppercut by Okanovich. One minute in. Uppercut from Lohsen this time. Counter right. Okanovich with a right cross on the pivot. Lohsen lands an overhand left, can’t get the takedown. Lohsen changes levels again, stuffed. Okanovich having issues landing despite Lohsen’s visible exhaustion. Another failed takedown. Two minutes to go.
Lohsen loses the single-leg. Left hook and right hand land for Okanovich as he backs Lohsen to the fence. Another failed takedown. Looping right by Okanovich. Counter right as Lohsen ducks in. Stiff jab with a minute to go. Combiantion lands on the fence for Okanovich, good uppercut and sprawl. Short shots on the exhausted Lohsen, who looks for the back. 10-9 Okanovich.
Round three: Lohsen tries a jumping knee, eats punches. Straight left from Lohsen and both try to open up on the fence. Lohsen left on the break. One minute to go. Okanovich stuffs another takedown, lands a counter 3-2. Lohsen flinging arm punches. Right hand by Okanovich. Overhand left by Lohsen, right hook. Another right hook two minutes in. Okanovich having issues landing, but denies another takedown. 1-2 by Okanovich. 3-2 on the fence. Left hand by Lohsen. Two minutes to go.
Okanovich lands a teep and jab. Leg kick. Lohsen tries head kicks, stung by a jab. Overhand left by Lohsen. One minute to go. This is sloppy as hell. Swatting right lands for Okanovich as he backs Lohsen to the fence. Lohsen straight left. Trading on the fence, Okanovich lands a right. 10-9 Okanovich.
Final result: Okanovich def. Lohsen by unanimous decision
205 lbs.: Jamahal Hill vs. Alexander Poppeck
Round one: Tentative start. Low kick by Poppeck. Counter left and jab from Hill, then a low kick directly to the cup. Poppeck doesn’t take long to recover. One minute in. Head kick attempt by the German. Both fall short with heavier punches, then throw blocked kicks. Heavy body kick from Hill has Poppeck grimacing. 1-2 from Hill and Poppeck ties up two minutes in. Knee in the clinch from Hill and they separate. Poppeck with a straight right. Combination. Hill lands a clinch knee downstairs with two minutes to go.
Body shot from Hill. Poppeck low kick. It’s Hill advancing and they trade in the center. Counter left lands for Hill off of a low kick. Both try body kicks. One minute to go. Poppeck follows body kick with a left hand and takes a finger in the eye. He lands a left hand when they resume. Exchanging in the center. Both try high kicks. 10-9 Hill.
Round two: Hill answers a head kick attempt with a combination. Punching flurry. Poppeck shoots, takes Hill to the fence. Hill reverses. One minute in. Jockying for position. Hill lands to the body inside. Poppeck claims a low blow on a knee, ref disagrees and they separate. Hill with another combination on the counter. Straight lefts landing two minutes in. Hard uppercut on the fence. Hill looks for the body. Front kicks to the body, then a straight left downstairs that visibly hurts Poppeck. Hill attacks the body with knees inside. Two minutes to go.
Straight lefts, right hook up top. Counter combination. Poppeck shoots, sprawled on. Hill looks for an anaconda, loses his grip when he tries to roll. More heavy knees to the body inside. Poppeck on the retreat, eating knee after knee. Hill stuffs a shot with a minute to go. Hard knee to the body, then elbows as Poppeck covers up. There’s the stoppage.
Final result: Hill def. Poppeck by TKO (knees and elbows)
145 lbs.: Billy Quarantillo vs. Kamuela Kirk
Round one: Kirk hits a quick takedown into guard as Quarantillo tries to pressure. Quarantillo brings his legs up, can’t find anything and Kirk looks for the back. One hook on a minute in. Quarantillo rolls to his back, eats a couple hard shots from a standing Kirk, who takes side control. Full mount transition from knee-on-belly. Quarantillo gives up his back again, eats ground-and-pound. Two minutes in. Quarantillo looking to stand, can’t do so, Kirk still attached. Quarantillo slips out the back door with two minutes to go.
Quarantillo on top in guard, lands some punches before giving Kirk room to stand. Kirk lands a right cross, gets clinched. Quarantillo looks for a single-leg against the fence, eats a couple of Browne elbows. Kirk limp-legs out and shoots after eating a body kick, dragging Quarantillo down with a minute to go and dropping elbows. Quarantillo closes his guard. He lands an upkick, gives up knee-on-belly. 10-9 Kirk.
Round two: Quarantillo comes out aggressively, throwing to the body and head. Brief clinch. Counter 3-2 lands for Quarantillo. Overhand right. Quarantillo body shot, Kirk knee. One minute in. Another knee from Kirk, Quarantillo answers with right hands. Both land right straights. Hard counters from Quarantillo, getting the best of a back-and-forth round. Overhand right connects. Kirk shoots, stuffed, eats an overhand right. Two minutes in. Quarantillo continues to pressure, lands to the body. Brief clinch on the fence, elbow and knee by Quarantillo. Hard 1-2 and he looks to open up. Kirk gets the Thai plum and looks for knees. He tries a double-leg, denied and eats a knee. Two minutes to go.
Quarantillo lands to the body, eats a right hand. Quarantillo cracks him with a knee in the clinch, continues to advance and punish Kirk. Heavy knees to the body. Sneaky clinch uppercut. Kirk looks spent. One minute to go. Kirk slowly circling along the fence as Quarantillo stalks him. Another knee to the body, clinch uppercuts, hooks. Elbow. Kirk stumbling back, survives. 10-8 Quarantillo.
Round three: Quarantillo doesn’t let up. An uppercut finally convinces Herb Dean that Kirk has had enough.
Final result: Quarantillo def. Kirk by TKO (punches)
For more “Contender Series” news, notes, and updates, including lists of those who receive contracts, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.