Dana White’s Contender series has been a proven gateway for fighters to make names for themselves in UFC.
Now in its fourth season, the promotion’s president uses it to discover new talent, with Sean O’Malley – who competes this weekend at UFC 252 – and Johnny Walker – who fights next month at UFC 253 – the most notable names to spawn from the series in recent years.
Joe Pyfer made the mistake of trying to break is landing when taken down by Dustin Stoltzfus
Middleweight Dustin Stoltzfus was among the most recent winners at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, though his win against Joe Pyfer came via an unlikely stoppage.
It certainly made the boss wince.
White squirms as Pyfer dislocates his elbow during his fight on The Contender
Pyfer was given a painful reminder that sometimes it is better to let yourself be taken down than try and break the fall with a single, vulnerable limb.
When it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to continue, the fight was stopped and his opponent given the UFC contract.White later wrote on Instagram he was pleased to know it was only a dislocated elbow, rather than a break.
The slow motion version makes it look even worse and Stoltzfus was clearly stunned by the injury.
Pyfer later explained he required surgery and would be out for six months.
“Props to my opponent, but I was winning and controlling that fight.”
White won’t be straying far from the APEX facility as it plays host to UFC 252 this weekend, a show that will feature Daniel Cormier in his final  fight try and reclaim the UFC heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic.
UFC 253 and 254 are also tentatively planned – Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje scheduled for the latter – but there’s no word on their locations yet, though it’s believed the APEX facility is likely if not a back-up.
Cormier vs Miocic at UFC 252 will be live on talkSPORT 2 this Sunday. Adam Catterall, Nick Peet and Dan Hardy will bring you all the action from 1am