The penultimate episode of
Dana White’s Contender Series is good to go after a brief scare
on the scales.
After one fighter needed an extra hour to get to his proper marks,
all 10 combatants for
Week 9 of DWCS is official. The show that posts up in its usual
location of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night saw Anthony
Drilich briefly come in heavy for his flyweight match with
Sean
Gauci. After initially hitting 127 pounds, he returned an hour
later to reach the 126-pound cap, and all systems are go.
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The ninth edition of the 2024 season will be headlined by a light
heavyweight collision between power-punching Frenchman Islem
Masraf (204.5) and former Glory
kickboxing great Artem
Vakhitov (205.5). The Tuesday card, as always, kicks off at 8
p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
Just three bouts listed on his pro resume, Masraf made a splash in
Ares FC in 2023, tapping Azamat
Aboukhanov in the second round. A pair of first-round
knockouts, including one under the Professional Fighters League banner in just 10
seconds, propelled him into this contract-winning opportunity.
Also a pro in MMA since 2023, Vakhitov left the sport of kickboxing
to dabble in MMA while still in his early 30s. While an injury
threw cold water on his debut, the Russian bounced back this year
by laying waste to Siyavush
Salokhov and Valisher
Khambaev in a combined 1:54. As a kickboxer, Vakhitov twice won
the Glory light heavyweight strap, first claiming it in a revenge
match with Saulo
Cavalari in 2015 and then again in his 2021 rematch with
Alex
Pereira—the current UFC 205-pound king.
Contender Series Week 9 Weigh-in Results:
Islem
Masraf (204.5) vs. Artem
Vakhitov (205.5)
Kody
Steele (156) vs. Chasen
Blair (156)
Lucas
Triverio Camacho (240) vs. Mario Pinto
(244)
Vanilton
Antunes (171) vs. Islam
Dulatov (171)
Sean
Gauci (126) vs. Anthony
Drilich (126)