Week two of DWCS was odd, to say the least. Four of the five fights came by finish, and four fighters were awarded contracts. Even though it seemed to be an off night, a few fighters stood above the rest. Let’s get into the fighters who won a UFC contract on Tuesday night.
Cody Haddon
Going into this fight, both fighters had a lot of hype. Billy Brand is still an excellent prospect, and hopefully, he can make it back to the contender series one day. However, for Cody Haddon, other than getting the rear naked choke submission in the third round, which earned him the contract. He showed he was a tremendous all-around fighter at a young age. The 25-year-old from Australia has only gone to a decision once in his whole pro-MMA career, and his only loss was against Steve Erceg in 2021. Haddon will be a sneaky addition to the Bantamweight division.
Cortavious Romious
He is an absolute freak athlete with all the tools to be a complete fighter, but he has one thing everyone is questioning—his fight IQ. Even though getting a decision win isn’t ideal, especially when you got knocked out last year on the Contender series. If he can put a whole game plan together, he will have a more uncomplicated night in the octagon. That said, I think Cortavious has solid striking and good submissions. If he cleans up parts of his game, he can also be a sneaky fighter in the Bantamweight division.
Photo of Cortaviois Romious, Photo taken from MMAJunkie
Rizvan Kuniev
The Heavyweight division needed depth, and Rizvan could climb the rankings due to his wrestling. Being the champion in Khabib’s promotion (GFC), Rizvan has had trouble finding opponents on the regional scene, mainly due to fighters not wanting to fight him. Ever since he was declined a contract on his first go-around in the contender series in 2021. Rizvan kept improving through regional fights and ensured Dana White had to sign him. Besides being another Russian who goes for takedowns, Rizvan is also an excellent striker up close. This should be an excellent addition to the Heavyweight division.
Photo of Rizvan Kuniev, Photo taken from tapology
Andreas Gustafsson
As said last week, it’s not easy for fighters to earn a UFC contract through DWCS, but Andreas showed that he has a killer instinct, especially when he’s matched up against a tough opponent. From being able to strike at a distance to working in a clinch, he eventually landed knees to the head, which got the knockout. The Sweden native can be a problem to deal with. With eight wins in his career coming by knockout, Andreas looks like a man on a mission, even at 33 years old.
Photo of Andreas Gustafsson, Photo taken from FightersOnly
Conclusion
Even after an odd week in week two of DWCS, some excellent depth was added to the UFC roster. As stated last week, every week will be different, especially in the contender series. In some weeks, Dana White will sign all five winners, but in other weeks, he will only sign one or two fighters. As Dana White says, “It’s the hardest job interview,” and he couldn’t be more right about that statement. For more articles, click the link here.
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