Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 8 (W1) Preview & Picks

Dana White’s Contender Series, his favorite part of his job, is back in action this weekend to kick off the 8th season. There’s a reason the boss perks up on Tuesday nights at the end of the summer, DWCS puts on incredible fights for prospects who are about to realize their dreams of fighting in the biggest MMA organization in the world.

Every Tuesday should be circled on the 2024 UFC schedule for the next couple of months, and you should tune in to win some money to start the week off well. Keep reading for the official Dana White’s Contender Series betting preview, along with official predictions for each fight.

DWCS Season 8, Week 1 Betting Odds Preview

The most important part of Dana White’s Contender Series betting preview is ensuring we understand the betting lines. These will give us a good idea of what the oddsmakers believe will happen based on the limited information on these prospects.

Since this is still a small event early in the week, there probably won’t be many prop bets available at many sportsbooks. There won’t be too many huge favorites since all of these prospects are in a similar position in their careers.

We will also give a brief preview of each fighter’s resume and fighting style.

Lone’er Kavanagh (-190) vs An’Tuan Ho (+165)

This is an incredible matchup in the flyweight division with some interesting UFC odds. Both guys are undefeated, young, and very skilled. Kavanaugh is a sharp striker who continues to get more well-rounded as a fighter, and Ho is a very impressive, high-pressure fighter with lots of skills.

Jose Delgado (-330) vs Ernie Juarez (+270)

In a short-notice replacement with Delgado accepting this fight less than two weeks ago. Delgado is very impressive, he is a big featherweight and uses his physical advantages well. He has a loose style that is fun to watch, but dangerous against a big puncher.

Juarez is a solid prospect who is a strong grappler but lacks the confidence he needs to take advantage of his grappling skills. He is undefeated in MMA, but it’s tough to get a grasp of how ready he is right now for the UFC.

Bruno Lopes (-190) vs Mikheil Sazhiniani (+165)

Lopes was a highly-touted, undefeated prospect last year going into DWCS. He was exposed for the holes in his game on DWCS in 2023, losing by KO. Has he made the adjustments he needs?

Sazhiniani is a very fun fighter with explosive striking where he closes the distance and keeps pressure on his opponents. He is slightly undersized, but his style is perfect to draw Lopes into a brawl and use his speed advantage to catch the betting favorite. 

Meng Ding (-172) vs Rami Hamed (+147)

Ding is an experienced fighter in Asia and looks to be still getting better every time he steps into competition. Hamed is also a veteran of the sport, just now reaching his stride. He is in his prime but seems to be at a physicality disadvantage in this one. This is a short-notice replacement fight for Ding.

Mansur Abdul-Malik (-305) vs Wesley Schultz (+245)

This is a very interesting matchup between skilled prospects. Abdul-Malik hasn’t seen the second round in his career; will that be a good or bad thing in his DWCS performance? He has been clipped before for being too aggressive, so Schultz needs to focus on surviving the early minutes of this fight.

Abdul-Malik will look to take Schultz down and land vicious ground and pound. Schultz has struggled with takedown defense before, but he is skilled enough to make this fight interesting if it goes past the first 5 minutes.

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DWCS Season 8, Week 1 Betting Picks

The final phase of the Dana White’s Contender Series betting preview is the betting picks. To make the most accurate UFC picks tonight, we need to use the betting lines as a guide, along with studying the film of each athlete to understand their styles and skills.

Lone’er Kavanagh (-190) vs An’Tuan Ho (+165)

This is our pick for Fight of the Night on Tuesday. These two are highly skilled flyweights who will be tough to finish either way. The slight edge goes to Kavanagh because he is the slicker striker with more speed.

• Pick: Kavanagh (-190)

Jose Delgado (-330) vs Ernie Juarez (+270)

Delgado leaves himself open for that big fight-ending punch, but he is going to be physically bigger and stronger, with more confidence than Juarez on Tuesday night. Juarez will struggle to take this fight to the ground and Delgado is more than confident in grappling exchanges as well. Delgado ML is the play.

• Pick: Delgado ML (-330)

Bruno Lopes (-190) vs Mikheil Sazhiniani (+165)

It’s tough to be sold on Lopes after his showing last year. He gets tricked into brawling with guys, and he doesn’t have the speed or boxing ability to get away with it. Sazhiniani has an explosive style where he can clip Lopes. This is a fight that is very hard to bet on, but a prop bet for a Sazhiniani would be the big underdog play for tonight. 

• Sazhiniani (+165)

Meng Ding (-172) vs Rami Hamed (+147)

We are going with Ding in this one. His moneyline isn’t too one-sided and he is the better all-around fighter here. There’s not much information on Hamed but he doesn’t look as sharp as Ding and doesn’t have anything that poses too much of a threat.

• Pick: Ding (-172)

Mansur Abdul-Malik (-305) vs Wesley Schultz (+245)

This is probably the most interesting matchup on the card. Abdul-Malik seems dominant, but he sprints until he forces a finish. If Schultz can survive the first round, nobody knows how Abdul-Malik will look after he uses all that effort in the first frame.  Smart money is on Abdul-Malik to win by knockout or TKO.

• Pick: Abdul-Malik inside the distance.