Week 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2024) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. With that trend in mind, I once again will be taking a look at the winning fighters, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, and grading their performances in regard to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.

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Jonathan Micallef

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Jonathan Micallef of Australia punches Mohamed Ado of Niger in a welterweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week ten at UFC APEX on October 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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Weight class: Welterweight
Result: Jonathan Micallef def. Mohamed Ado via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:01
Grade: A-

Summary: Despite ultimately doing what this show – as well as his career – requires of him, I ended up settling on an unenthused A- for Jonathan Micallef, given how little there was to grade.

In fact, fights like these (as well as one we’ll get to later) perfectly represent a point I touched on last week regarding Dana White’s proclivity for fast finishes influencing both the action and the adjudication of said action. For that reason, don’t be surprised to see fast finishes get B gradings from me in future columns – especially if the rawness of the talent is pungent or if the process is lacking.

Don’t get me wrong: Micallef was taking whatever Mohamed Ado was going to give him, and the triangle transition was smooth as hell.

That said, I’d argue that it was Ado’s clear rawness in the skills department that played right into Micallef’s hands considering that triangles from your back are a rarity in all men’s divisions at the UFC level (particularly in weight classes north of 155 pounds).

For that reason, I’ll temper my expectations on Micallef until I’m able to see more from him. I’m not shocked to see Micallef signed and I suspect he’ll be tested against American talents like Billy Goff or Charles Radtke for his first booking.

Julieta Martinez

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Julieta Martinez of Argentina punches Leslie Hernandez of Mexico in a strawweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week ten at UFC APEX on October 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Weight class: Welterweight
Result: Julieta Martinez def. Leslie Hernandez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Grade: B+

Summary: Between Julieta Martinez’s fun fighting style to a nickname that sparks off all sorts of Richard Gere jokes in my head, I felt hardpressed to give “The Ninja Ferret” a solid B+ for her winning effort opposite Leslie Hernandez.

To be honest, I was much more impressed with Hernandez to start this fight. The American looked incredibly composed and applied good counters in the clinch throughout the early parts of the fight.

However, after a rough first frame, Martinez appeared to use her aggression to power through the defenses of Hernandez, finding more and more success as the fight wore on.

From diverse head kicks in space to a sticky grappling game in closed quarters, Martinez is just a boxing game short of being a real threat to future contemporaries.

Despite Martinez technically receiving a lower grade than the previous winner, I came away more excited from this contest given everything that we were able to see from both parties. That said, I don’t disagree with the logic Dana White gave behind his decision to ultimately not sign Martinez.

Although I’d like to see more development deals given out as White did here, I also wonder why the UFC matchmakers continue to book these seasons with incredibly raw talent (who arguably stand to lose more with an exciting performance and subsequent signing to the big show).

Hopefully, we will see more seasoned fighters getting second chances next season as opposed to this Jerry Sandusky-style talent scouting that they’re using to fill these shows.

Yadier del Valle

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: (R-L) Yadier DelValle of Cuba punches Antonio Monteiro of Brazil in a featherweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week ten at UFC APEX on October 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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Weight class: Featherweight
Result: Yadier del Valle def. Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Grade: A

Summary: Even though going to a decision can be looked down upon on this show, there’s no way that anyone can deny that this wasn’t the best fight of the night (as well as the season, for that matter). And for that reason, there’s no way Yadier del Valle gets anything less than an A for absolutely taking it to Antonio Monteiro as an underdog.

Although Monteiro came in with an edge in experience and an association with the respected Nova Uniao camp, the Brazilian’s defense – or lack thereof – appeared to completely fall off a cliff when facing a southpaw like del Valle.

A pressuring madman, del Valle’s style represents the hard-working Latino stereotypes that he proudly wears on his sleeve (showing some incredible emotions post-fight that can’t help but endear him further from a fandom perspective).

More range weapons and kicks wouldn’t hurt del Valle’s southpaw stylings, but it’s hard to complain about anything, given the vicious clinch and ground striking that the Cuban put on display.

From slicing elbows to brutal body knees, del Valle presents potent threats that I can’t wait to see unleashed in the UFC’s featherweight stable. I was hoping that Dana White would sign both men, considering Monteiro’s action-fighting reliability, but I’m happy to see del Valle brought on board.

As far as del Valle’s first official assignment goes, I’d love to see him throw right into another fun matchup with someone like Hyder Amil.

Luis Gurule

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: (R-L) Luis Gurule punches Nick Piccininni in a flyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week ten at UFC APEX on October 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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Weight class: Flyweight
Result: Luis Gurule def. Nick Piccininni via split decision (29-28, 28-9, 29-28)
Grade: B+

Summary: Between being a sizeable underdog and taking this fight on under a week’s notice, I couldn’t deny Luis Gurule anything less than a B+ for getting it done against Nick Piccininni.

Although I have a bit of bias on the Piccininni side, given that he was one of my prospects to watch in 2023, I don’t disagree with the judges giving the nod to Gurule based on his argument for scoring more in the first and second frames via effective striking.

Despite not being nearly as accoladed a wrestler as Piccininni, Gurule had enough wrestling experience to scramble effectively and give his striking a chance in space.

To his credit, Picininni pushed through some tough spots early to put a hellacious pace on Gurule. If Piccininni continues to progress under the care of Sayif Saud and company, then I could see him finding success in the future if he can fully embrace his Frankie Edgar-like style and sensibilities.

As for Gurule, I’m glad that Dana White signed him given that the undefeated 30-year-old looks like a reliable action fighter. I’m not sure if the UFC brass will pair Gurule up with someone coming off a loss, but I’d love to see the American pitted against Lucas Rocha early next year for a fight that would be guaranteed fireworks.

Nick Klein

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Nick Klein kicks Heraldo Souza of Brazil in a middleweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week ten at UFC APEX on October 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Weight class: Middleweight
Result: Nick Klein def. Heraldo Souza via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:37
Grade: A-

Summary: In another fight that has me questioning my grading scale, I felt the need to keep the same energy I did with the opener by giving Nick Klein an A- for making quick work of Heraldo Souza as an underdog.

Don’t get me wrong: Klein deserves his flowers as a short-notice Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt who submitted a black belt, but Souza carelessly giving his back after giving away a takedown tells me very little about the American’s skills or ceiling.

I’m getting strong Zachary Reese vibes from Klein, so hopefully they have a chance to meet down the road for a meme-style matchup.

As for Klein’s first UFC assignment, I say get him in there sooner rather than later with someone like Ryan Loder so that we can see more of this kid.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 76.

Rangers interim chairman John Gilligan says the “use of pyrotechnics must stop” after the club were fined twice by Uefa.

A fine of approximately £11,500 for flares at the recent Europa League defeat at home by Lyon followed a penalty approaching £15,900 for a similar incident in the earlier fixture away to Malmo, which Rangers won.

Gilligan said, external of the 4-1 loss to Lyon: “The biggest disappointment of that evening, however, was the actions of a small minority of supporters, whose use of pyrotechnics at the match has seen the club fined €13,750 by Uefa. This is in addition to a €19,000 fine for a similar incident in the match with Malmo.

“My message is the use of pyrotechnics must stop and stop now at all of our matches home and away.

“Not only could the repercussions become ever-larger for the club, many supporters have difficulty coping with the effects of pyrotechnics, whether that be the smoke or loud bangs they produce. It is desperately unfair for any Rangers supporter to come to a match and be affected in such a manner.”

Cameron Smotherman is shooting his shot.

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with sources with knowledge of the change that Smotherman (11-4) is stepping in on less than a week’s notice as a replacement for Brady Hiestand to fight Jake Hadley (11-3) this Saturday at UFC Vegas 99. The reason for Hiestand’s withdrawal was not disclosed.

MMA Mania was first to report the new bantamweight matchup.

Smotherman, 27, has fought almost exclusively for Fury FC, with his lone venture outside of the promotion taking place on Dana White’s Contender Series matchup. In that August 2023 encounter with Charalampos Grigoriou, “The Baby-Faced Killer” fell short in his quest for a UFC contract after losing by 60-second TKO.

To call Smotherman’s pre-UFC career eventful would be an understatement, as he has made Missed Fists headlines several times, including an entertaining rant against a dissenting judge, a Tyson Fury-esque comeback victory after nearly being KO’d, and a clutch flying knee that likely saved him from losing a bantamweight title. Now he gets his chance to make waves in the octagon.

Hadley also had a rough go of it on the Contender Series, missing weight but going on to be signed anyway after defeating Mitch Raposo in a flyweight bout. His weight cut troubles have persisted as he recently missed weight for a bantamweight bout against Caolan Loughran and again went on to win. His UFC record stands at 3-3.

LAS VEGAS – Dana White would rather UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone didn’t come out of retirement.

Cerrone (36-17-2 MMA, 23-14-1 UFC) announced that he plans on competing two more times in the UFC to reach his 50-fight milestone under the Zuffa banner, including his time in WEC. White is a big fan of “Cowboy” but not a fan of his desire to fight again. If it’s about money, White is willing to work something out with Cerrone.

“I hate it,” White said after Dana White’s Contender Series 76 on Tuesday. “Love him, hate that. He retired. It’s just for what? What’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. I hate it. When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it’s over. I think that – not just this sport but any professional sport, it’s hard to walk away from. Not just the money, that’s obviously a very hard part of it, but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage, and the place is packed.

“Every time we’re at a show, when you show ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts. He’s beloved. He’s beloved because the guy goes to war, and he’s been in wars for years. It’s time to not go to war anymore, man. There’s nothing left to prove for him.”

Cerrone hung up his gloves in July 2022 after a submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. The former title challenger was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.

A new fight has been added to the upcoming UFC Macau card as Nikolas Motta faces off with Maheshate as part of the promotion’s return to China on Nov. 23.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday with bout agreements issued in the lightweight matchup.

Motta, a five-fight veteran of the UFC, returns to action after scoring an impressive finish over highly-touted prospect Tom Nolan in just 63 seconds back in January. That victory brought Motta’s UFC record to 2-2 with one no-contest along the way.

He’ll attempt to score back-to-back wins for the first time since joining the UFC roster when he meets Maheshate, who gets the chance to fight in his home country when he returns in November.

A Contender Series veteran, Maheshate defeated known finisher Steve Garcia in his UFC debut back in 2022 but then suffered losses in his next two fights. He got back on track with his most recent fight where he defeated Gabriel Benitez in April.

Now Maheshate meets Motta in a lightweight showdown as part of the UFC Macau card headlined by former champions Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo meeting in a key matchup in the bantamweight division.

NEW YORK — Typically, when Aaron Judge connects on a high fastball, there is little doubt about how far it will go, and where it will land. But lately, the results of his at-bats haven’t been as much of a foregone conclusion. 

Not only was the Bronx crowd unsure whether Judge’s fly ball would go out as it traveled toward the deepest part of Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning Tuesday night, even his own teammate of seven years wasn’t convinced. Gleyber Torres, who was on base with a single, tagged up at first as the entire stadium held its breath. By the time the ball landed beyond the wall, Judge had already caught up to Torres at first base, barely a step or two behind him. He let Torres start jogging before beginning his home run trot.

“He did that this year earlier, too, so I was pretty pissed then,” Judge quipped of Torres tagging up. “I was pretty pissed again. … You never know, when it’s windy like this, what the ball is going to do in center field. He’s trying to get into scoring position. So I let this one slide.”

First baseman Anthony Rizzo joked that he expected better from Torres.

“I’m a little disappointed in Gleyber for not knowing Judge’s pop there,” Rizzo said while smirking. “We were ribbing him a lot about that. It’s a big swing for Judgey. He’s had really good at-bats and come up in big situations. To get the home run, it was a really easy swing, and he’s the best in the business at that.”

Judge’s two-run shot in the seventh inning of the Yankees‘ 6-3 win over the Guardians marked his first home run of this postseason. Before Tuesday night, his last playoff home run was in Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS — also against Cleveland. He had gone 35 postseason at-bats without a homer, and boy would the Yankees be thrilled if the worst is finally behind him. 

The Yankees captain entered Game 2 of the American League Championship Series batting .133 (2-for-15) with a .564 OPS and just one RBI across five playoff games this fall. This wasn’t the first time in his career he went from being a nuisance in the regular season to a lesser concern in the playoffs. After crushing 62 home runs in an MVP season in 2022, Judge went 5-for-36 with three RBIs and two walks over nine games that October. Until he got the monkey off his back Tuesday night, Judge’s playoff slide had reached the point where even the opposing team wasn’t so afraid of the mighty slugger.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt went so far as to pull the ultimate insult in the second inning when he opted to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases for Judge. The decision seemed to bewilder Judge’s teammates in the Yankees dugout. Anthony Volpe waved his arms in front of him and declared, “No way! No way!” Jazz Chisholm stared into Cleveland’s dugout with wide eyes, in apparent disbelief. 

“That’s super disrespectful,” Chisholm told FOX Sports of intentionally walking Soto ahead of Judge. “It’s Soto, we understand he’s playing great and everything. I mean, I would walk Soto in any other situation. But it’s an insult there.”

Left-hander Nestor Cortes added: “That’s crazy. You’re intentionally walking Soto to pitch to the MVP.”

Judge, who responded by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field and padded New York’s lead to 3-0 in the process, downplayed Cleveland’s decision. He said he didn’t take it personally and joked that he “would probably walk Soto, too, at this point.” But Judge’s teammate Oswaldo Cabrera told FOX Sports he thought the intentional walk to Soto might have woken Judge up. Cabrera believes Judge wants those types of moments to remind himself he’s the captain of the Yankees and provide another edge to his at-bats.

Judge being woken up out of his postseason slumber should petrify opposing teams, particularly because the Yankees were managing just fine without him hitting the cover off of the ball. The Bronx Bombers comfortably dismissed the Royals in the ALDS, and they had a 4-2 lead against Cleveland on Tuesday before Judge raised the decibel level in the seventh inning. Though he has helped out and has had better swings and productive at-bats, New York has now cruised to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the Guardians without Judge’s heroics. 

That is to say, Judge is warming up at exactly the right time. If the Yankees take care of business the rest of this series — and all signs are flashing that they will — then they will need the monster, MVP version of Judge to win against more potent offenses in the World Series. The National League Championship Series features two more formidable lineups than Cleveland’s, and whichever team comes out of that alive knows it will need to mash against the Juan Soto and Judge-powered Yankees. 

“Always a matter of time with Aaron,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Definitely good to see him put one in the seats and really give us a cushion there.”

The Guardians — not to mention the Dodgers and the Mets — can only hope Judge is not just getting started.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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