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Dana White's Contender Series 2024 Week 2: Preview, Breakdown & Betting Odds

Check out everything you need to know about Week 2 of DWCS Season 8.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

The first Dana White’s Contender Series event of 2024 saw four fighters walk away with UFC contracts last week, and this Tuesday (August 20) another five matchups between top prospects are set to go down at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV.

All odds via DraftKings (odds subject to change).

Dana White's Contender Series Results & Highlights (Season 8, Week 1)

Bantamweight: Billy Brand (+135) vs. Cody Haddon (-175)

Billy Brand

A veteran of Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat, Brand went 8-1 as an amateur and finished six out of those eight wins before he turned pro in 2019.

The 28-year-old’s lone pro loss came at the hands of current UFC standout Payton Talbott in 2022, but Brand rebounded from that result with three-straight knockouts before he most recently handed James Guidry his first career loss via unanimous decision last November.

Cody Haddon

Haddon won the HEX Fight Series interim bantamweight title with a first-round stoppage last year and defended it via submission in his most recent outing in March.

All of his pro and amateur wins have come via finish, and the only loss he’s suffered was when he dropped a decision in his third pro fight against former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg at Eternal MMA 60 in 2021.

Middleweight: Cam Rowston (+325) vs. Torrez Finney (-475)

Cam Rowston

The second Australian competing on this card, Rowston will be fighting for the first time since September 2022 and was originally booked to face Chad Hanekom on DWCS last year.

His only two pro losses came against current UFC middleweight Jacob Malkoun and current ONE Championship fighter Isi Fitikefu in the early part of his pro career, but since the loss to Fitikefu he’s gone 5-0 and finished every opponent he’s faced.

Torrez Finney

A sizeable favorite heading into this matchup with Rowston, the undefeated Finney is also a full six inches shorter than his Australian opponent.

The height difference likely won’t do anything to hurt Finney’s confidence, as “The Punisher” will look to add to his unbeaten record and earn a UFC contract after a submission-win against the formerly undefeated Yuri Panferov last year wasn’t enough for Finney to get the nod from Dana White.

Bantamweight: Cortavious Romious (-375) vs. Michael Imperato (+270)

Cortavious Romious

Another DWCS-returnee, Romious was stopped by Ramon Taveras in just 29 seconds when he fought at the UFC Apex last year.

“Are You Not Entertained?” went 7-2 as an amateur and has only gone the distance twice as a pro, and although he’s capable of ending fights with strikes he’s also particularly dangerous when opponents present opportunities for him to snatch an armbar.

Michael Imperato

The most experienced fighter on this card in terms of pro MMA fights, Imperato returns to bantamweight for the first time since 2022 to take on Romious.

The Canadian is coming off a 52-second submission-win against former Bellator standout Ricky Bandejas, and he’s also shared the cage with current UFC fighters Mike Malott and Julio Arce.

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Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev (-660) vs. Hugo Cunha (+420)

Rizvan Kuniev

After failing to earn a UFC contract with a third-round stoppage on DWCS in 2021, Kuniev returned to Eagle FC to defend his heavyweight belt against UFC veteran Anthony Hamilton before making one appearance in the PFL last year.

That PFL fight saw the Russian best future PFL Heavyweight Champion Renan Ferreira via unanimous decision, but the win was overturned after Kuniev failed a drug test for several banned substances.

Hugo Cunha

Cunha has been perfect in his pro career outside of a split decision loss to Dustin Joynson in his lone ONE Championship fight in 2022.

He’s stopped six opponents in the first round and hasn’t gone to a third round outside of that fight with Joynson, and in his last outing the Brazilian claimed the LFA heavyweight title from Eduardo Neves with a second-round arm triangle choke.

Welterweight: Pat Pytlik (+200) vs. Andreas Gustafsson (-270)

Pat Pytlik



Unified MMA veteran Pytlik will try to earn himself a UFC contract when he meets Gustaffson in the featured bout for DWCS Week 2.

The Canadian suffered a submission-loss in a 2019 title bout with Jake Lindsey, but aside from that he’s unbeaten in his pro MMA career and has impressively gotten the job done via KO/TKO in all nine of his victories.

Andreas Gustafsson

Gustaffson put together a 10-1 record during a lengthy amateur career that included a unanimous decision win over current UFC middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan at the 2018 IMMAF-WMMAA World Championships.

“Bane” came up short against future KSW title challenger Damian Janikowski in 2020 and one-time UFC-signee Joilton Lutterbach last year, but aside from that he’s collected nine finishes out of 10 pro wins and most recently scored a 10-second knockout at Fight Club Rush 18 last November.

Be sure to check back with MMA Knockout on fight night for live results and highlights from all the action at Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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