Six fighters get UFC contracts Week 7 of Dana White's Contender Series

Six more athletes earned UFC contracts thanks to their performances on Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

The middleweight main event saw Lithuania’s Mantas Kondratavicius hand Croatia’s Dani Barbir his first loss.

Neither fighter had ever gone to a decision and that trend continued as both fighters came out aggressively. Kondratavicius landed a massive overhand right that knocked Barbir down and the referee stepped in after just 66 seconds.

Featherweights Murtazali Magomedov and Brahyan Zurcher both entered Tuesday with 9-0 pro records but it was Magomedov who went home with his unblemished record intact.

Magomedov only required 97 seconds to get the win, hurting Zurcher with a jab and following up with a series of short punches to put Zurcher away.

The 26-year-old from Kyrgyzstan has won all 10 of his pro bouts by either KO/TKO or submission.

In other featherweight action, Javier Reyes overwhelmed Justice Torres en route to a first-round technical knockout win.

Colombia’s Reyes, 31, was the most experienced fighter on the card and delivered in his 27th professional bout.

Torres, 27, had spent his entire pro MMA career competing under the Fury FC banner in his home state of Texas amassing a 12-3 record and had won six of his past seven since the start of 2024.

Jeisla Chaves and Sofia Montenegro wasted little time bloodying each other in women’s flyweight action. Montenegro and Chaves both found success landing right hands in an action-packed opening round after which both fighters were covered in blood.

Montenegro landed the more damaging strikes overall and dropped Chaves early in Round 2 with a series of hard rights. Chaves, meanwhile, had the edge in volume and ended the second round by stinging Montenegro who wobbled before going back to her corner. They went back and forth in the third round and after 15 minutes two of the three judges had Chaves ahead on the scorecards.

“This fight had me on the edge of my seat the entire time,” UFC president Dana White said after the conclusion of the card.

Even though only one got their hand raised, Chaves and Montenegro each went home with a UFC contract. Montenegro is the second losing fighter this season on the Contender Series to earn a shot in the UFC. Two weeks ago, Shanelle Dyer was awarded a contract despite falling short in her entertaining three-round battle against Caroline Foro.

White added he felt Montenegro had won the fight but was impressed by both women.

A pair of Brazilian 205-pounders kicked off the night with Rafael Tobias getting a one-sided victory over Jair de Oliveira

The 22-year-old Tobias was the biggest betting favourite on the card and took advantage of his five-inch height advantage, landing early and often on his five-foot-nine opponent. Tobias landed a takedown along the fence, quickly took de Oliveira’s back locked in a fight-finishing rear-naked choke.

DWCS Season 9, Week 7 Official Results:

-- Mantas Kondratavicius def. Dani Barbir by TKO at 1:06 of Round 1

-- Murtazali Magomedov def. Brahyan Zurcher by TKO at 1:37 of Round 1

-- Jeisla Chaves def. Sofia Montenegro by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

-- Javier Reyes def. Justice Torres by TKO at 2:31 of Round 1

-- Rafael Tobias def. Jair de Oliveira by submission at 3:46 of Round 1

UFC contract recipients: Mantas Kondratavicius, Murtazali Magomedov, Javier Reyes, Rafael Tobias, Jeisla Chaves, Sofia Montenegro