Check out the latest Contender Series Week 4 odds with my picks and predictions for all five bouts on the Tuesday, September 3, fight card.
Season 8 Episode 4 of Contender Series streams on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET (5 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. In fact, the Contender Series has become the UFC's primary feeder system for new talent.
UFC President Dana White is usually cageside for each show, and after each event, the UFC boss will determine which fighters have earned a contract.
As a reminder, some sportsbooks can be slow to open Contender Series odds and betting markets, 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.
Contender Series 4 odds as of Tuesday and via DraftKings. Bet on DWCS Week 4 with our DraftKings promo code.
Contender Series Week 4 Odds & Best Bets
Lightweights: Quillan Salkilld (-198) vs. Gauge Young (+154)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 8:05 p.m. ET
Australia's attempted takeover of the combat sports world continues this week as Perth's Quillan Salkilld gets a shot to join the UFC. He's 6-1 as a pro (with the loss coming in his debut) with five finishes, and his recent bouts have come against reasonably stiff competition while defending the Eternal MMA lightweight belt.
At 6 feet tall, Salkilld is tall for the lightweight division, and he has a classic tall-guy game. He's at his best on his feet, where he uses his length extremely well fighting behind his jab and following up with powerful kicks to all levels from his power side.
He's also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt who's comfortable on the ground. Perhaps a bit too comfortable, though. When taken down, he's content to look for sweeps and submissions from his back rather than scramble back to his feet.
That can be (and has been, in his case) effective against lower-level opponents, but against tougher opposition, sometimes the big moments don't come. That could lead to some needlessly lost rounds for the Australian, whose wrestling (while not bad) is probably the weakest part of his game.
However, he's a monster from dominant position. He wisely conserves his energy while seeking submissions and ground and pound while making his opponents uncomfortable with body triangles and covering their mouth/nose. He's a massive problem from top position against anyone.
Salkilld might have a hard time getting to top position against Young, who has a solid wrestling background and has demonstrated those skills throughout his MMA career. While he's fought mostly lower-level competition, Young has excellent top pressure while floating his hips to avoid sweeps and other dangerous positions.
He also uses ground and pound well, throwing plenty of short elbows to damage opponents without exposing himself to danger. That's handy against a longer fighter like Salkilld, who could lock up submissions against an opponent looking for big swings.
Young's striking leaves a lot to be desired and mainly comes in the form of pawing jabs from a wide stance with a heavy front leg. That could be an issue against the kicks and movement of Salkilld, though Young's forward pressure might be helpful here.
I tried to talk myself into the American wrestler in this matchup, but Salkilld is dangerous in too many areas. Look for Salkilld to win this one on the feet following some close grappling. I could see a case for Young in "Decision Only" markets (available at DraftKings) if those offer a similar price to his moneyline, but otherwise, I'm taking the favorite straight up.
Prediction: Quillan Salkilld defeats Gauge Young by KO/TKO
The Bet: Quillian Skalkild (-185 at bet365)
Flyweights: Shannon Clark (-950) vs. Yuneisy Duben (+575)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 8:25 p.m. ET
We have our first women's bout on this season of the Contender Series tonight as Canada's Shannon Clark takes on Yuneisy Duben as a massive favorite.
It's easy to see why. Clark is 5-0 with five finishes, and he recently took home the LFA flyweight title. I'd describe her level of competition as "appropriate" with four of her five fights against opponents with winning records, including 5-0 Thaiany Lopes by submission in her last bout.
Clark is a pressure fighter who storms forward on her feet, flurrying with strikes while looking to get to her preferred clinch position. She's more than happy to beat up opponents along the fence, but she will grab takedowns when the opportunity presents itself.
On the ground, she's an unorthodox grappler. She frequently looks for crucifix positions in order to unlock ground and pound, and she strikes aggressively even from bottom position.
What she lacks in technical acumen she makes up for in physicality, and she will be one of the most athletic flyweights in the women's division should she earn her way into the UFC. This was on display against Lopes – a BJJ black belt. Clark lost some positions to the more technically sound Lopes, but she then submitted her with a bulldog choke (which is effectively a schoolyard headlock).
Duben is a difficult fighter to break down. She had four pro fights in 2019, winning three via knockout with one no-contest. Then, she didn't compete for more than four years before picking up another first-round victory early in 2024.
All five of her opponents made their pro debuts against Duben, and none has picked up a win since. That makes tape study fairly meaningless, but she dominated a much smaller and outmatched opponent in her 2024 return to competition primarily through striking.
Duben has lower-level rankings in both BJJ (blue belt earned in 2023) and luta livre (orange belt in 2021) with some lower-level grappling competitions, but nothing noteworthy.
The safe pick here is probably Clark to pick up another finish, but even her inside-the-distance line is juiced north of -200. I'm picking Clark to win, but I'm sprinkling a quarter unit on Duben at +600 on Betway since the value is on that side.
Prediction: Shannon Clark defeats Yuneisy Duben by ground and pound
The Bet: Yuneisy Duben (+600 at Betway, 0.25u)
Featherweights: Austin Bashi (-810) vs. Dorian Ramos (+500)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 8:55 p.m. ET
It's hard to overstate how complete a prospect Michigan's Austin Bashi is. At just 22, he's 12-0 with four straight stoppages. He recently won IBJJF worlds at brown belt, and he was an all-state wrestler in high school.
Given his young age, his team has been fairly cautious with his progression, but after picking up a win against 14-4 UFC prospect Askar Askarov, they felt the time was right for him to make the jump to the big show.
Bashi's grappling is clearly his A-game, coming from a jiu-jitsu family and training from an early age. However, he's a complete package with cardio for days and a rapidly improving striking game. His kicking game stands out, though he can get a bit wild when forced to fight on the back foot, which could leave some openings.
The biggest concern for Bashi is the weight class. Just two of his 12 pro fights have been contested at 145 pounds, with the rest at 135. He was massive at bantamweight and is still growing at just 22, but he will likely be on the smaller side in his new class until he fully grows into his frame.
Size might be the only edge Dorian Ramos has here. He's fought as heavy as lightweight, and he has regional titles at 145. With an 8-2 pro record, he's less experienced than Bashi despite being eight years his senior, and he was brought in on short notice after Bashi's original opponent dropped out.
Which is a strong sign the UFC isn't trying to get into the Dorian Ramos business. Ramos is also primarily a wrestler, which isn't ideal against the far more talented overall grappler in Bashi.
Ramos kept a solid pace for 25 minutes in his last bout, so he could win some minutes against Bashi with forward pressure. However, Bashi has too many ways to finish the fight while Ramos is likely to wrestle himself into trouble if he gets clipped standing.
Bank on Bashi going to his A-game here and finding a submission at some point.
Prediction: Austin Bashi defeats Dorian Ramos by submission
The Bet: Austin Bashi via submission (+130 at Betway)
Middleweights: Will Currie (-425) vs. Djordan Santos (+300)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 9:25 p.m. ET
This edition of the Contender Series is filled with mismatches – at least according to the betting markets – including the middleweight fight between England's Will Currie and the Brazilian Djordan Santos.
Currie is 12-3 as a pro, primarily fighting for the Cage Warriors promotion. He has a pair of losses to 3-2 UFC middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan as well as a close five-round decision loss in his attempt to win the Cage Warriors title, but he has been otherwise perfect throughout his career.
"Drago" looks like he could be the next big British star. He has great size for the division at 6-foot-3 and an exciting karate-based striking style. Currie fights from a wide southpaw stance and throws big kicks from range before protecting himself well with a high guard as opponents close the distance.
It's no surprise that he struggled with the taller, longer CLD in their two matchups as that style doesn't work nearly as well without a height advantage. Currie can make up for that with his excellent grappling, though.
The majority of his wins have come on the ground, where he uses solid wrestling and top position to set up strikes, which occasionally lead to submissions. I've been unable to find any information about his formal grappling credentials, but he certainly passes the eye test (and is about the right age to be the son of Combat Base UK founders/black belts Darren and Helen Currie).
Santos is 9-1 as a pro, but he needed decisions in his last two wins (one split) and has fought in smaller/less prestigious promotions. Santos has amateur boxing experience but prefers to grapple with four submission wins among his seven stoppages.
His striking is fairly sloppy with the former light heavyweight and heavyweight fighter preferring to swing for the fences rather than pick apart his opponents. However, his 78.5-inch reach could make the striking tricky for Currie.
I'm not expecting a repeat of the CLD fight(s) for Currie, though. Currie has a massive athleticism edge over Santos that he didn't over Duncan, and should be better wherever this fight takes place.
Betting markets think a submission is considerably better odds of picking up a sub (+130) than a T/KO (+275) but I see it the opposite against his Brazilian opponent. Therefore, I'll take Curries knockout odds of +275 at BetWay.
Prediction: Will Currie defeats Djordan Santos by KO/TKO
The Bet: Will Currie by KO/TKO (+275 at Betway)
Welterweights: Igor Cavalcanti (-360) vs. Seok Hyun Ko (+285)
Fighter walkouts: Approx. 9:55 p.m. ET
The Week 4 main event features undefeated Brazilian Igor Cavalcanti taking on South Korea's Seok Hyun Ko. Cavalcanti is a perfect 9-0 with seven knockouts and two submissions.
There's not much tape out there on Cavalcanti, which coupled with the records of his past opponents. is a worrying sign. None of his fights has been for any of the larger regional promotions in the U.S. or Brazil, and he's never fought an opponent who's been more than two fights over .500.
However, he clearly has big power, with all nine of his wins coming inside the first round. He's also active as a competitive grappler, winning some high-level tournaments at lower belts before being promoted. That should give him the edge over Ko from a per-skill set standpoint.
Ko trains with Korean MMA pioneer Dyun Hun Kim at Team Stun Gun, and he has an impressive 10-2 record. Like Cavalcanti, his career has been largely confined to smaller promotions, though in his case across Asia rather than Brazil.
He got his start in judo before transitioning to sambo, where he won the 2021 world championships in his weight class. As an MMA fighter, he has six knockouts and four decisions among his 10 wins with both losses coming via fairly quick knockouts.
I'm not confident enough in Cavalcanti's skill set to lay the heavy juice on his line. He certainly seems to be the better fighter here, but the level of competition from both men raises plenty of questions.
My favorite way to bet this one is Ko live after the first round since we've never seen Cavalcanti extended into multiple frames. However, any version of Ko late also makes sense – just with the added risk of a first-round loss.
I'm officially picking Cavalcanti to keep his first round winning streak going, but be ready with the live bet against him if it doesn't happen.
Prediction: Igor Cavalcanti defeats Seok Hyun Ko via KO/TKO
The Bet: Seok Hyun Ko live after Round 1
