Dana White’s Contender Series 2024 Week 7 Play-by-Play and Results

Alexia Thainara (116) vs. Rose Conceicao (114.5)

Round 1

Herb Dean will ref the evening’s first bout. Thainara lands a low kick to begin the action. Another low kick lands for Thainara, and this one has more impact. Thainara punches into the clinch and easily trips Conceicao to the mat. Thainara lands in half gaurd. Conceicao creates some space and is able to scramble up when her opponent stands. They’re back in the clinch, and Thainara shoves her foe into the fence. They separate and move back to distance. Conceicao just misses a knee in close quarters. Thainara again lands a low kick. Thainara times a takedown nicely and plants Conceicao on her back. Conceicao lands a couple elbows from her back. Thainara is in full guard. She makes Conceicao uncomfortable with a can opener before standing and letting her foe back to her feet. Conceicao lands a straight right. Thainara continues to chop away at the lead leg of Conceicao. More low kicks leand for Thainara before they clinch. Conceicao lands a knee in close quarters. Thainara with an elbow on the break. Thainara attacks with punches behind a front kick, and they both swing wildly before entering the clinch. Thainara ends the round with a series of knees.

Sherdog Scores

Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Thainara

Round 2

Thainara gets back to work on the lead leg, but Conceicao answers with a counter. Thainara cracks her foe with a right in an exchange. Conceicao picks up the volume, but Thainara does well to avoid many of them. Thainara gets a takedown and moves into half guard. Thainara stands over her foe, and Dean orders a standup. The exchanges are wild between these two, but not a lot is landing clean. Thainara follows a right to the body with a front kick. Conceicao catches another front kick by her opponent and shoves Thainara into the fence. They separate and Conceicao eats some punches as she baks away. Thainara keeps her foot on the gas, pressuring and attacking. Conceicao lands a right. Thainara moves in and tags Conceicao with a right. Thainara continues to target the lead leg and it’s hurting Conceicao. Thainara rocks her foe with a combination following another leg kick. Conceicao isn’t moving well, as Thainara backs her into the fence and stays on the offensive. Conceicao with a lead hook. Conceicao counters a front kick with a right late in the round. The strawweights trade before the horn.

Sherdog Scores

Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Thainara

Round 3

Conceicao will need to work some magic in this final round. She comes out throwing heavy right hands, but she can’t find the range as Thainara goes back to targeting the lead leg. Thainara snaps her foe’s head back with a right. Thainara is pressuring, and they both are trading. Conceicao catches a kick and pushes Thaiara into the fence. Thainara reverses and breaks free. Both women winging punches in every exchange. For Thainara, the leg kicks are often her most effective offense when they’re at distance. Conceicao swings big and misses. Thainara backs her into the fence and lands a spinning back kick. Thainara remains in Conceicao’s face. Conceicao counters a low kick with an overhand, but it only partially lands. Thainara is having fun, showboating a little bit halfway through the round. An inside leg kick lands for Thainara. Conceicao lands a right hand, but Thainara is undeterred. Thainara pumps her jab, eluding wild counter offerings from Conceicao. Thainara is leading the fight, as she has most of the way. She’s also getting the better of exchanges, though Conceicao has her moments. Thainara continues to mix in those low kicks as she stalks her opponent. The strawweights swing wildly until the horn, crashing into the clinch at the end of the fight.

Sherdog Scores

Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27 Thainara)
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27 Thainara)
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27 Thainara)

The Official Result

Alexia Thainara def. Rose Conceicao via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) R3 5:00

Cam Teague (145) vs. Kevin Vallejos (145.5)

Round 1

Kevin MacDonald gets the nod to officiate this featherweight contest. They trade low kicks early. Vallejos is more effective with outside leg kicks. Vallejos tags Teague with a combination. Teague is pressuring, and Vallejos is looking to make him pay with counters. Another combination lands for Vallejos, ending with a big right hand. Teague works behind his jab. Vallejos answers with some solid body punches. Those have Teague backing up a little bit. Vallejos tees off with a combination, and he tags his man with an overhand right. Vallejos’ boxing is much better than Teague, and it’s showing in every exchange. Vallejos is really starting to find a rhythm now, and he’s connecting with whatever he wants. More body shots have Teague shelling up against the fence. Vallejos pours it on, landing unanswered shots, first to the body and then to the head until Teague can no longer absorb the blows. The Alabama native collapses to the canvas after a series of heavy hooks and MacDonald quickly steps in to wave off the fight. Vallejos rebounds nicely from a decision loss to Jean Silva on the Contender Series last year.

The Official Result

Kevin Vallejos def. Cam Teague via TKO (Punches) R1 2:23

Kevin Christian (205) vs. Francesco Mazzeo (206)

Round 1

Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage. Mazzeo opens by chopping at the lead leg of his foe. Another leg kick lands for Mazzeo. Mazzeo just misses on a heavy combination. Christian uses his jab and the collide into the clinch. Mazzeo is able to power the Brazilian to the canvas in the center of the cage. Mazzeo lands some hammerfists and Christian tries to threaten with his guard. Mazzeo is able to pass to the side to avoid danger. Christian recovers guard and it appears that Mazzeo is bleeding from a cut on his head. Mazzeo stays heavy on top, occasionally creating room for short elbows. Christian isn’t doing much from his back as we reach the 1:30 mark. Mazzeo postures up and rains down a couple hammerfists. Christian gets his hips up and looks to threaten with a submission and that ends the barrage. Mazzeo stands briefly, drops more punches and loses his mouthpiece in the process. He drops back down into guard and retrieves the lost equipment. Mazzeo ends the round in top position.

Sherdog Scores

Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Mazzeo
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Mazzeo
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Mazzeo

Round 2

Christian fires off a front kick to control the range, but it doesn’t land clean. Mazzeo with a hard low kick. Christian wades forward and lands an elbow, before Mazzeo sucks him into the clinch. Christian pushes Mazzeo into the fence. After a brief period there, they break and Mazzeo lands a pretty big overhand. Now they’re back at range and the pace has slowed. Mazzeo lunges forward and lands a left to the body. Christian flicks out a jab. Mazzeo wades in and wings power punches. Volume is lacking on both sides, though. A jab lands for Christian. Mazzeo changes levels during an exchange and after initially failing on the takedown, makes an adjustment and gets Christian down near the fence. Christian is seated against the fence before falling to his back, where he is able to use his lanky frame to set up a triangle. It’s tight on its own, but then Christian pulls his opponent’s arm through. He cranks on the armbar with the triangle secured and Mazzeo has no choice but to tap.

The Official Result

Kevin Christian def. Francesco Mazzeo via Submission (Triangle Armbar) R2 4:17

Daniel Frunza (170) vs. Vadim Kutsyi (171)

Round 1

Kevin MacDonald will be in charge for this welterweight bout. Kutsyi goes low with a kick and Frunza answers with a head kick. Another high kick from Funza lands on his foe’s back. Kutsyi lands a lead left hook. Kutsyi counters a jab with a series of hooks. Moments later, Frunza stuns Kutsyi with a left, and he’s wobbling backwards. He makes a nice recovery, talking Frunza to the canvas so he can clear his head. Kutsyi stands and hovers over Frunza, and he’s able to drop some heavy punches. He then dives back into Frunza’s guard. He passes to half guard. Frunza is able to scramble to his feet, but Kutsyi maintains a rear body lock. Kutsyi with a mat return, but Frunza stands again. Kutsyi lands a trio of rights before Frunza escapes. Kutsyi lands a solid right uppercut, then sticks a jab. Another right uppercut drops Frunza, and he dives in with ground-and-pound. Frunza seems to have recovered his bearings with Kutsyi in top position. Kutsyi mixes punches with ables before Kutsyi allows his foe to stand. Both welterweights connect with heavy punches during one final exchange before the horn.

Sherdog Scores

Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Kutsyi
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kutsyi
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Kutsyi

Round 2

Frunza sticks a jab, and Kutsyi answers with a right. Frunza takes the lead but Kutsyi responds with a shot to the body. Kutsyi lands an outside leg kick. Kutsyi fails on a takedown attempt. Kutsyi with a right to the body. Frunza steps in to land an elbow and Kutsyi coutners with a takedown. Funza quickly reverses and gets to his feet. Frunza applies pressure as Kutsyi appears to be fatigued. However, Funza walks right into a singe leg and Kutsyi pushes him into the fence. They go back to range. Frunza sticks a nice 1-2. Another right lands by Frunza. Frunza is consistently finding the range on his punches, including a 1-2 to the chin. Kutsyi is trying to wing overhand rights, but he looks to be exhausted. Funza lands a knee to the body i close quarters. Funza hurts Kutsyi with a kick to the body, and Kutsyi responds by shooting out of desperation. Kutsyi briefly gets his man down and clings to a leg when Frunza stands. Frunza frees himself from Kutsyi’s grasp. Kutsyi doesn’t have anything left in the tank at this point and Frunza is able to unleash a barrage of ground-and-pound to force the stoppage.

The Official Result

Daniel Frunza def. Vadim Kutsyi via TKO (Punches) R2 3:30

Danylo Voievodkin (263) vs. Bailey Schoenfelder (231)

Round 1

Herb Dean gets the final officiating assignment of the night. It’s a few low kicks early for Voievodkin. Schoenfelder blocks a high kick. It continues to be a kick heavy attack for Voievodkin early. Schoenfelder is being cautious, looking to throw punching combinations when openings arrive. Voievodkin moves forward with purpose and drops Schoenfelder with a right-left hook combination as he circles away. Voievodkin quickly jumps on his opponent’s back and secures the rear-naked choke. He doesn’t have his hooks in, and apparently it’s not necessary, because Schoenfelder taps out. It looks like Dean doesn’t see the tap, but a merciful Voievodkin nonetheless releases the choke. Voievodkin, who was the biggest underdog on the card, puts away the former University of Minnesota football player in short order.

The Official Result

Danylo Voievodkin def. Bailey Schoenfelder via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) R1 1:13