Check out the Contender Series Week 2 odds with my picks and predictions for each bout on tonight's fight card.
Season 8 Episode 2 of Contender Series streams tonight on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. New Contender Series events take place every Tuesday night through mid-October.
As with all UFC Contender Series events, some of the DWCS winners – and even some of the losers – could earn an official UFC contract at tonight's event. In fact, the Contender Series has become the UFC's primary feeder system for new talent. So, when we're betting on the Contender Series, we're betting on tomorrow's UFC stars.
UFC President Dana White is usually cageside for each show, and after each event, the UFC boss determines which fighters have earned a contract.
As a reminder, some sportsbooks can be slow to open Contender Series odds and props, though nearly every major sportsbook eventually does post them. And don't forget that you can track your Contender Series bets in the Action App!
Odds as of Tuesday and via DraftKings. Bet on Contender Series Week 2 with our DraftKings promo code.
Contender Series Week 2 Odds & Best Bets
Bantamweights: Cody Haddon (-155) vs. Billy Brand (+130)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 7:05 p.m. ET
After opening Week 1 with a (short-lived) banger of a fight in the lighter-weight classes, the UFC is going back to that formula in Week 2.
California's Billy Brand splits his time between Team Alpha Male and Thailand with crisp striking as one would expect given his training background.
Brand is 5-1 with three knockout wins, and his only loss is to current UFC standout Payton Talbott. Despite the loss to Talbott, Brand acquitted himself well, making it halfway into the third round before being finished – which is longer than any of Talbott's UFC opponents have lasted. Brand was taking a beating but still firing back with the stoppage in that fight coming earlier than it probably should have.
At his best, Brand makes up for his short stature with hard leg kicks from range, pressuring his opponents backward and then looking to land heavy shots against the fence. The Talbott fight aside, he's extremely sharp defensively and uses his head movement and the occasional Saenchai lean to avoid most shots coming his way.
If there's a UFC comparison for Brand, it's probably Talbott with lesser grappling. At the very least, he hasn't put much on tape, though that doesn't mean it's not in his arsenal.
However, it likely won't be needed against Cody Haddon. The Australian is 6-1 with five knockout finishes. Prior to transitioning to MMA, he was an amateur boxer with a 23-7 record.
Like Brand, Haddon's lone loss came early in his career to a future UFC star – in this case, Steve Erceg. Also like Brand, he performed reasonably well in that fight, taking the future title challenger to a decision.
Haddon's fairly one-dimensional on his feet as a pure boxer with excellent hand speed and tons of bodywork that keep his opponents guessing. However, he also has powerful takedowns and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, and he has some international gold medals at blue and purple belt as a grappler.
In a pure striking match, I prefer the multi-faceted muay Thai of Brand. However, Haddon's grappling edge gives him an ace in the hole if the striking starts to work against him. That's enough for me to lay the juice on Haddon.
Prediction: Cody Haddon defeats Billy Brand by TKO
The Bet: Cody Haddon (-155 at DraftKings)
Middleweights: Torrez Finney (-360) vs. Cam Rowston (+285)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 7:25 p.m. ET
Torrez Finney is returning to the Contender Series after (for some reason) not being awarded a contract after his stoppage win on Week 10 last season. He was a heavy favorite then and remains so this time. I previously broke down his skill set, but the most important note is that Finney is an elite athlete who played fullback and wrestled at the Division I level.
He's added two more wins, both stoppages, since I wrote that breakdown. That brings his record to 8-0 with seven finishes, mostly via ground and pound.
He's taking on Cam Rowston, a City Kickboxing Product with an 8-2 pro-MMA record. A 6-foot-2 middleweight, he couldn't be physically any more different than Finney, who stands just 5-foot-8.
Finney has also fought much tougher competition than Rowston, who has no wins against opponents with winning records. I'm tempted to trust the City Kickboxing pedigree, but the lack of high-level experience makes that a scary proposition.
Still, just like last time the moneyline is too long on Finney. Instead, I'll be looking to his inside-the-distance line, which is -155 at BetRivers.
Prediction: Torrez Finney defeats Cam Rowston via TKO (ground and pound)
The Bet: Torrez Finney by finish (-155 at BetRivers)
Bantamweights: Cortavious Romious (-375) vs. Michael Imperato (+295)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 7:55 p.m. ET
The second of three returning Contender Series fighters is Cortavius "Are You Not Entertained" Romious. Unlike Torrez Finney, Romious lost his initial appearance on the tryout show on the same week Finney picked up a win.
As I noted in the linked breakdown above, Romious is extremely short for the division at 5-foot-4, but he overcomes the height and reach discrepancy by looking to force grappling exchanges. He's always at risk of being clipped by longer strikers – like he was last season – but will look like a massive favorite if he gets the fight to the ground.
Since his last appearance, he's gone 1-0 outside of the promotion, picking up another armbar victory to bring his pro record to 8-2 with five submissions.
He's taking on the much more experienced Michael Imperato of Canada. Imperato is 12-6 as a pro with two of those coming against future UFC fighters Mike Mallott and Julio Arce.
He might be best known for being briefly signed to the UFC back in 2014 before clips of racist and homophobic remarks he made on a reality show cost him his contract.
In the ensuing 10 years, he's had his ups and downs, but he recently picked up a quick win over a 15-7 ATT prospect that earned him another shot at making his way into the promotion.
Imperato is old for a "prospect" at 34, but he's a solid grappler in his own right with more than 20 years of BJJ under his belt. He also should be the larger fighter tonight with most of his recent career taking place up a weight class at featherweight.
While Romious' youth and athletic edge make him the deserving favorite, I'm not laying close to 4-to-1 on a 5-foot-4 fighter who might not even be the better grappler. While my pick is Romious to pick up a decision win, I'm officially betting half a unit on Imperato at DraftKings. where his price has inflated all the way to +295
Prediction: Cortavious Romious defeats Michael Imperato by decision
The Bet: Michael Imperato (+295 at DraftKings)
Heavyweights: Rizvan Kuniev (-650) vs. Hugo Cunha (+470)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 8:25 p.m. ET
The latest returning Contender Series competitor on the card is Russia's Rizvan Kuniev, who's had an interesting career since his third-round TKO victory back in 2021. He then went on to fight for Khabib Nurmagomedov's Eagle FC promotion – winning the heavyweight championship – before jumping to the PFL.
There, he beat current PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira by unanimous decision, but the bout was later ruled a no-contest due to Kuniev testing positive for approximately all of the steroids.
His suspension is now lifted, though it's notable that it was the Nevada State Athletic Commission that caught him in the first place – so he'll certainly be (and has been) tested for this bout in Nevada.
The Dagestani product is a former Sanda world champion. Sanda is a combat sport that mixes striking with takedowns, but no groundwork when the fight hits the mat. You can see that in his fights, where he often will land takedowns but struggle to do much with them against higher-level opponents.
On the feet, he throws powerful combinations, but he doesn't have the gas tank for extended action, preferring instead to make his opponents carry his massive weight against the fence before he hunts takedowns.
Takedowns won't be easy to find against Hugo Cunha, a similarly massive heavyweight who is also a Brazilian national wrestling champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. I often criticize BJJ-based fighters for a lack of takedown ability (and defense), but that's obviously not the case for Cunha.
The current LFA heavyweight champion, he is 8-1 with his only career loss coming via split decision. Cunha's striking is frankly not great. He's got some power, but it largely comes from wild shots thrown with his eyes closed.
Cunha is patient on the feet, though, staying (mostly) defensively sound while waiting for his opponent to present an opportunity for a takedown. That could work against Kuniev, who tends to blitz forward with his combinations.
I'm pretty surprised to see Cunha as this heavy of a 'dog here. The PED suspension (and subsequent layoff) for Kuniev aren't great, and Cunha is pretty obviously the better overall grappler.
I'll be taking Cunha straight up, but his patient style also makes him a solid live betting candidate if you're scared of a quick knockout from the favorite – which is his strongest win condition.
Prediction: Hugo Cunha defeats Rizvan Kuniev via submission
The Bet: Hugo Cunha (+500 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Welterweights: Andreas Gustafsson (-245) vs. Pat Pytlik (+200)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 8:55 p.m. ET
Sweden's Andreas Gustafsson is 10-2 as a pro with nine finishes, seven knockouts and two submissions. Notably, his only career losses were both "contested" decisions with a split and a majority decision.
Gustafsson is a pure action fighter, rushing forward from the opening bell with a flurry of punches in every fight I saw of his. That often turns into quick knockouts as he overwhelms his opponents.
When that doesn't work, he uses his size and strength to dominate opponents against the fence, largely through dirty boxing but with the occasional throw or takedown mixed in.
While his professional resume isn't the most impressive, he holds an amateur win over current UFC middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan as well as a handful of other fighters with excellent pro records.
He's clearly the A-side over Pat Pytlik, a 35-year-old Canadian with a 9-1 record – but just two fights since 2019.
Pytlik's the cleaner striker here with a solid muay Thai base and heavy leg kicks. However, he'll have a tough time with the physicality (and occasional grappling) from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson's power, brawling style, durability and extreme lack of defense will make him more of an exciting action fighter than a UFC contender, but those traits should carry him to a finish here. I'll take the Swede by KO at +150 on FanDuel.
Prediction: Andreas Gustafsson defeats Pat Pytlik by knockout
The Bet: Andreas Gustafsson by KO (+150 at FanDuel)
