DANA WHITE’S CONTENDER SERIES PICKS: WEEK 8

Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series continued last week at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, and five fighters earned a UFC contract: Alexia Thainara, Kevin Vallejos, Kevin Christian, Daniel Frunza, and Danylo Voievodkin. Voievodkin cashed as a big underdog, dropping Bailey Schoenfelder with a left hook and then choking Schoenfelder out directly on top of the DraftKings Sportsbook logo.

A DraftKings Sportsbook bettor cashed in big during last week’s episode, turning $100 into over $19,000 with a five-leg Dana White’s Contender Series Parlay Bet featuring the following picks:

• Alexia Thainara Moneyline
• Kevin Vallejos To Win By KO/TKO/DQ or Submission
• Kevin Christian To Win By Submission
• Daniel Frunza Moneyline
• Danylo Voievodkin Moneyline

As a result of all of these outcomes hitting in the Parlay Bet, the DWCS bettor took home $19,248.38.

Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series airs on Tuesday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+. This week features the DWCS return of hulking middleweight Torrez Finney, who appeared in Week 2 earlier this season.

Dana White’s Contender Series Odds

• Jacobe Smith (-540) vs Christien Savoie (+360)
• Torrez Finney (-238) vs Abdellah Er-Ramy (+180)
• David Martinez (-200) vs Xavier Franklin (+154)
• Alberto Montes (-345) vs Carlos Calderon (+250)
• Diyar Nurgozhay (-140) vs Bartosz Szewczyk (+110)

Torrez Finney prepares to take down Yuri Panferov of Russia in a lightweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season seven, week ten at UFC APEX on October 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app or check out Dana White’s Contender Series Odds Page!

Torrez Finney vs Abdellah Er-Ramy

Finney is an explosive athlete with a strong athletic background. Finney played college football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was a state champion wrestler in high school. Finney’s athleticism shows up in his takedowns, which are primarily based on blast doubles and slam finishes, two techniques that require a lot of power to finish.

Finney has a very unique build, especially for his weight class. At 5’8”, Finney is short for middleweight, but he is massively wide and loaded with muscle mass. Finney also has long arms for his height — his reach was measured at 75.5”, which is a solid reach for the weight class. Finney’s shorter height helps him get underneath his opponents’ hips easier for entries on lower-body takedowns, which helps with blast doubles, one of Finney’s favorite techniques.

Finney has competed on Dana White’s Contender Series twice previously, once in 2023 and once earlier this season. Finney has recorded huge grappling volume in each of his two DWCS fights, recording 17 total takedowns, which translates to 11 takedowns per 15 minutes, a massive rate. Finney has also logged a heavy 18 minutes of total control time.

However, Finney has displayed glaring weaknesses in several areas, most notably in his distance striking. Finney’s striking defense has looked very leaky and he has been lit up in striking exchanges. Finney has absorbed more strikes than he has landed in each of his two DWCS fights, which is a red flag. Finney’s offensive striking output has also been poor, landing only 1.5 significant strikes per minute. However, Finney does have huge punching power, which is a great equalizer and gives him more margin for error. Finney has not been able to showcase his punching power yet on Dana White’s Contender Series, but he has recorded starching KOs on the regional scene.