Introduced two summers ago, Dana White’s Contender Series has been a pipeline funneling prospects into the UFC.
Over the course of two seasons, the stripped-down, five-fight, early-week events have resulted in 39 athletes receiving UFC contracts, along with one competitor — unbeaten 19-year-old Chase Hooper — currently working on a development deal and another dozen fighters garnering a chance to compete in the Octagon after appearing on the show.
To put into perspective just how many quality up-and-comers have made their way from the Contender Series to the UFC, fighters like Roosevelt Roberts, Sodiq Yusuff, Kevin Holland and Dan Ige have all garnered multiple victories inside the Octagon following their time on the Contender Series and none of them cracked the list of the Top 10 graduates from the show.