Dana White’s Contender Series Week 1 Odds & Picks (Season 8)
The UFC is back on Tuesday nights with contracts on the line. The popular Dana White's Contender Series is returning for its eighth season. If you are unfamiliar with the series, Dana White will give out contracts based on the action between fresh faces looking to break into the UFC. He has given out 245 contracts in the first seven seasons and given plenty of opportunity to up-and-coming fighters. The coverage of the card begins at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Here are our top picks and predictions for Dana White's Contender Series Week 1.
Dana White's Contender Series Week 1 Picks
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Flyweight: Lone'er Kavanagh vs. An Tuan Ho
The first fight is at flyweight between An Tuan Ho and Lone'er Kavanagh. Both men are 6-0 in their young careers, with Ho fighting out of LFA and Kavanagh in Cage Warriors. Ho was won three fights by knockout and one by submission. Kavanagh has four knockouts on his record.
Flyweight is always a more polished division, even with young prospects. Kavanagh trains out of England with Great Britain Top Team, while Ho trains out of MMA Lab in Arizona. It should be an exciting matchup between two up-and-coming flyweights. Kavanagh is a well-rounded fighter, with technical striking from both stances.
An Tuan Ho is aggressive and powerful. He also goes for submissions over positions when grappling, but it may not matter because of Kavanagh's solid takedown defense. He swings wildly on the feet, which could be a problem against a technical striker like Kavanagh. Kavanagh is the side to bet in this matchup, with his decision prop the likely outcome if you want more risk. He is as high as -200, so -175 is an excellent price on DraftKings.
Bet: Lone'er Kavanagh (-175)
Welterweight: Meng Ding vs. Rami Hamed
The market may be off on this fight for a couple of reasons. Meng Ding was supposed to fight Islam Dulatov, who had to pull out. Rami Hamed is stepping in on short notice and has not fought in two years. He had a fight scheduled in 2023 but had to pull out due to injury, so it is probably safe to assume injury was the reason for the layoff.
Meng Ding is 34-8, with his latest run coming in Jue Cheng King promotion in China. He has 27 knockouts but has not fought tough competition. He has been knocked out twice, submitted four times, and lost by decision twice.
Rami Hamed is 12-3 (1 NC) as a professional, with his latest run coming in Titan FC from 2017 to 2022. He has nine wins by knockout, and all of his losses have come via submission. Hamed may be in luck because Meng is not much of a grappler. Hamed is a powerful striker with excellent muay Thai and could employ leg kicks to limit Meng's movement before turning his lights out. I am siding with Hamed in this fight because Meng Ding should not be that wide of a favorite, despite the short-notice nature and long layoff for Hamed.
Bet: Rami Hamed (+150)