The latest season of
Dana White’s Contender Series is just around the corner.
The five-bout lineup for
Week 1 of the Contender Series was announced during the
UFC
303 broadcast on Saturday night. The card will be headlined by
a middleweight clash between Mansur
Abdul-Malik and Wesley
Schultz and takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Aug.
13. The Contender Series airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
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The other four bouts confirmed the the event are as follows:
Meng
Ding vs. Islam
Dulatov at welterweight; Mikheil
Sazhiniani vs. Bruno Lopes
at light heavyweight; Icaro Brito
vs. Ernie
Juarez at featherweight and Lone’er
Kavanagh vs. An Tuan Ho
at flyweight.
The Contender Series debuted in 2017 and rewards fighters who
impress Dana White with UFC contracts. The format has been popular
and has become a talent pipeline for the promotion, with more
contracts being awarded with each passing season.
Abdul-Malik is undefeated in five professional outings and is
coming off a first-round knockout of Allan St-Gelaisat LFA 176 on
Feb. 9. He has finished all of his victories inside of a round.
Schultz is also an LFA veteran. He owns a 6-1 career mark and will
take a three-bout finishing streak into the matchup with
Abdul-Malik. Thus far in 2024 he has scored stoppages of Maurice
Morris and Adland
Benson under the LFA banner.