DWCS (outside of Week 1) has been action packed and full of contract-worthy fighters, I expect that to continue in Week 7.
Fight 1 (Light Heavyweight): Tobias (-475) vs de Oliveira (+300)
Rafael Tobias, “Bipolar”, Brazil, 22 Years Old, 13-1
Tobias has 14 pro fights at only 22 years old, and appears to be a balanced fighter. He has 5 KO/TKOs, 5 Submissions, and 3 Unanimous Decisions. 4 of his 5 KOs and Submissions all came in the first round, with the remaining finishes coming in the second. He has bounced around Brazilian regional promotions, but his one loss came in his only LFA fight in 2023, by KO.
Jair de Oliveira, “Mamute”, Brazil, 29 Years Old, 6-0
de Oliveira is undefeated in multiple Brazilian promotions, winning 2 separate Light Heavyweight Championships and 1 Heavyweight Championship. His last 2 fights have been at Heavyweight, he will have to drop down for this fight. He has 4 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission and 1 unanimous decision. All 5 of his finishes occurred in the 1st round.
Prediction:
Maybe it’s the age screaming at me, but I’m going with Rafael Tobias by KO in the 1st round. I think both of these fighters are very impressive and deserving of this opportunity, but Tobias is too tantalizing to pick against right now.
It’s Light Heavyweight and these fighters are high level with resumes full of finishes, this should be a contract regardless of who wins. Tobias would be tough to deny even by decision, but de Oliveira could potentially be left out with a decision victory.
Fight 2 (Featherweight): Reyes (-190) vs Torres (+150)
Javier Reyes, “Blair”, Colombia, 31 years old, 21-5
Reyes is old for a DWCS “prospect” but he is so experienced and is one of the best Featherweights on the regional scene right now. He has 9 KOs/TKOs, 8 Submissions, and 4 Unanimous Decision victories, with 7 of his finishes coming in the first round. As for his 5 losses, 2 came by KO/TKO, 1 by Submission, and 2 by Decision, also unanimous. He lost 3 fights in a span of 4 fights in 2018-2019, before winning 8 straight, with the streak being broken by Lerryan Douglas, who earned his UFC contract just 2 weeks ago. He is a well rounded and experienced fighter who seems UFC ready, although he has gone just 2-2 in the LFA.
Justice Torres, United States, 27 years old, 12-3
A late replacement after Robbie Ring was replaced by Icaro Brito, who later withdrew. Torres is coming in on short notice after spending his whole career with Fury FC. Torres has 5 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission, with only the submission coming in the 1st round, and 6 Unanimous decision victories. All 3 of his losses have came by decision, 1 of which being a split decision. His best attribute seems to be his gas tank, with late finishes and decision wins.
Prediction:
I simply think Javier Reyes is the better fighter, so I’m going to go with Reyes in the 1st round by submission. Torres isn’t much of a grappler, and I think he gets knocked down early and submitted. If Torres was to win I would predict he wins by Decision or R3 TKO.
In my prediction I think Reyes gets a contract. With that being said, I think Reyes does need a finish of some sort to get the contact. In the event Torres wins as an underdog on short notice, I think he gets a contract even if the fight goes to decision.
Fight 3 (Women’s Flyweight): Montenegro (-230) vs Chaves (+180)
Sofia Montenegro, “La Bruja”, Argentina, 26 Years Old, 6-1
Montenegro has 3 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission, and 2 Unanimous Decisions, with 2 1st round finishes and 2 2nd round KO/TKOs. She also has a professional TKO in a Muay Thai fight. Her lone loss came by TKO 0:10 into the first round. The 2 decisions came in her 2 most recent MMA fights. Chaves was originally scheduled to fight Regina Tarin, Montenegro is coming in on short notice.
Jeisla Chaves, ” A Braba” Brazil, 28 Years Old, 5-0
Chaves is 5-0 with 1 win in Muay Thai becoming a champion, and 1 Record Ineligible MMA win. She also won the belt in Gomes Fight Championship. Her 5 wins include 3 KO/TKOs and 2 unanimous decisions, with 2 of the finishes coming in the 1st and the other coming in the 3rd. The ineligible win was an R1 TKO, and the Muay Thai victory was an R5 TKO.
Prediction:
Chaves resume looks better on paper, but her wins are against fighters who were a combined 0-8 at the time of the fight, she has never fought a fighter with a professional win. Because of that, I’m going to go with Montenegro by TKO in the 2nd round. While many like to predict women’s fights to end by decision, in the Contender Series they still produce a lot of finishes, so that’s what I’m predicting.
I think this fight is the mostly likely of the 5 fights to produce no contract as well as produce a decision. I don’t think either fighter is particularly high level, but if Montenegro does get a TKO or knockout I think she does get a contract.
Fight 4 (Featherweight): Zurcher (-145) vs Magomedov (+110)
Brahyan Zurcher, Mexico, 29 Years Old, 9-0
Zurcher is a balanced fighter with 4 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions, and 2 Unanimous Decisions. 3 of his 7 finishes have came in the first round, with the rest coming in the second round. Zurcher is 5-0 in the PFL. He has missed weight once, and only went 3-3 as an amateur. His 4 KO/TKOs have came in his last 4 fights.
Murtazali Magomedov, “The Highlight”, Kyrgyzstan, 26 Years Old, 9-0
Magomedov has 4 wins by KO/TKO and 5 by submission, with 5 total first round finishes, 2 in the second round, and 2 in the third round. He has fought in WEF and Octagon, becoming a champion in both promotions, with a title defense in Octagon. He was also undefeated as an amateur, having never lost an MMA fight.
Prediction:
While I think Zurcher is a good fighter well deserving of a spot on contender series, I think Magomedov might be better everywhere the fight goes. Even if Zurcher is the better striker though, I still think Magomedov wins by submission in the 1st round.
Once again, this fight should be a finish and a contract. I think both of these fighters are good enough prospects that a decision could even lead to a contract, even if a decision is unlikely.
Fight 5 (Middleweight): Barbir (-130) vs Kondratavičius (+100) – Main Event
Đani Barbir, Croatia, 7-0 (1 NC)
Barbir is the reigning Middleweight Champion in FNC, with 2 successful defenses. His 7 wins are made up of 4 KO/TKOs and 3 Submissions. He has 2 second round KOs, with the rest of his finishes coming in the 1st round. He trains with American Top Team Zagreb. His age is unfortunately not known publicly, but he seems to be a high potential yet unproven fighter.
Mantas Kondratavičius, Lithuania, 7-1
Kondratavičius, most recently fighting in Cage Warriors, has 5 KO/TKOs, 2 Submission wins and 1 loss by submission. He has 4 1st round finishes and 3 2nd round finishes. Prior to MMA, he was 2-0-2 as a professional kickboxer, with the wins being by R3 KO and Unanimous Decision. His age, like Barbir is currently unknown, but his Kickboxing career started in 2014, so he can’t be incredibly young.
Prediction:
I don’t have reason to believe either of these fighters are particularly high level right now, and I could see either fighter winning this fight. I’m going to go with undefeated Đani Barbir by TKO in the 1st round. I could also see Barbir by submission as I think he is a bit of a better grappler, and Kondratavičius has lost by submission before. If Kondratavičius wins it will likely be via KO.
I think this fight is almost a guaranteed contract, both of these fighters have a 100% finish rate, good records, and exciting styles. If the winning fighter ends up being 32+ years old, I could see Dana saying no, but even then I still doubt it.
Final Thoughts
Even though I predicted 5 individual contracts, I think the most likely outcome is 4 contracts. Fight 2 and 4 I think could easily end in decisions, and Fight 1 also has a decent chance of no contract with Reyes being 31 years old and Torres not being that impressive to me on paper.
Overall I would give this card an 8/10 for a Contender Series card, I have 4 fighters I’m heavily interested in (Magomedov, Tobias, Reyes, and de Oliveira) and 4 more I have some interest in (Barbir, Zurcher, Kondratavičius, and Montenegro). It also helps that I think we have a real chance at both 5 finishes and 5 contracts.
Editors Note: Post was edited on 9/22/2025 to reflect proper order of fights and include betting odds.
