Dana White was feeling incredibly generous in the latest edition of his Contender Series.
The UFC CEO awarded all five winners on the night with a contract in his promotion, with four of the fights at the UFC Apex ending before the final bell.


Dana White‘s Contender Series offers up-and-coming MMA prospects the chance to fight their way to a UFC contract.
The series made its debut in 2017 and has started the careers of numerous current and former UFC champions like Sean O’Malley, Jack Della Maddalena and Jamahal Hill.
In week one of the promotion’s ninth season, Baisangur Susurkaev and Ty Miller both earned a place in MMA’s premier promotion.
Susurkaev has since secured his first win in the UFC, submitting Eric Nolan at UFC 319 this past weekend to extend his pro record to 10-0, just four days after his Contender Series win.
“This is what we expect from the Contender Series,” White said before handing out the five new UFC contracts in week two.
“These guys are all that good and they all just came to fight today.”
Who did Dana White give UFC contracts to?
In the second week of White’s Contender Series, Ramiro Jimenez, Josh Hokit, Louis Lee Scott, Jose Delano, and Cameron Rowston all earned a UFC contract.
Jimenez defeated fellow undefeated featherweight Tommy Cuozzi in a performance labelled as ‘beautiful’ by his new boss, White.
Heavyweight Hokit utilised his elite wrestling to pound his way to victory against Guilherme Uriel, while Brit Scott showcased his incredible of striking talent to stop Kaushik Saikumar.
Delano secured a unanimous decision win over Manuel Exposito in the featherweight finale, and Australia’s Rowston made the most of his second chance in DWCS by finishing Blake Grice at middleweight.


“You asked me if you can fight in Perth,” White told Rowston after his win.
“The matchmakers said you can’t fight in Perth because we already have 16 fights.
“I don’t give a s***. Congratulations. You’re fighting in Perth! Get over here.”
UFC Perth takes place at the RAC Arena on September 27 and is headlined by a light heavyweight title eliminator bout between Carlos Ulberg and Dominick Reyes.
That event comes after the UFC visit Shanghai, Paris and San Antonio, and before the promotion’s next pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, as Magomed Ankalaev defends his light heavyweight belt against Alex Pereira at UFC 320.
Rowston had gone 3-0 in MMA since he was defeated in DWCS 8.2 in August 2024.
Dana White's Contender Series Season 9

Contract winners
- Baisangur Susurkaev (10-0)
- Ty Miller (6-0)
- Ramiro Jimenez (11-0)
- Josh Hokit (6-0)
- Louis Lee Scott (10-0)
- Cameron Rowston (12-3)
- Jose Delano (16-3)
But ‘The Battle Giraffe’ made sure any doubts over his ability were cleared up in his second appearance, as he scored a first-round KO win over Holmes.
The 30-year-old stunned Holmes with a nasty right hand before attacking from all angles to send his opponent crashing to the canvas, and it didn’t take long for referee Blake Grice to wave off the bout.
Rowston wasn’t the only fighter on the night to finish his bout in devastating style.
Leeds’ Scott, who trains with top featherweight Lerone Murphy, who scored an insane KO at UFC 319, at Manchester Top Team, stopped Saikumar in the second round of their bantamweight bout after some relentless, brutal striking.
‘Lightning’ didn’t look like he was going to get the finish, until his Indian opponent began fading away in the third.
Then, midway through the final round, Scott cracked Saikumar with a lethal combo and rushed over to his wounded opponent against the cage to finish the fight.
“I literally got to see everything from you,” White told the British fighter after the stoppage.
“Striking, submission defence, conditioning, and then I got to see the killer instinct. Great combo to finish the fight.
Former All-American wrestler and NFL practice squad player Hokit, 27, scored an early finish in his heavyweight bout with Uriel.
‘The Incredible Hok’ dragged Uriel to the canvas five times in the first round, before forcing a stoppage with some nasty ground and pound in the second stanza.
White said Hokit ‘completely dominated’ in his fight to conclude a performance that broke his opponent ‘mentally and physically.’
Delano then left White and UFC bosses impressed by his dominant win over Exposito in the main event of the evening.

The 28-year-old from Brazilian Top Team completed 146 significant strikes in the three-round fight, which was a stark contrast to Exposito’s 38.
White said there may be room for Exposito in his promotion one day due to his gritty performance, but explained why Delano earned a UFC contract.
“Sean Shelby [UFC executive] feels like you can come into the UFC right now and fight everyone in the division,” White said.
“So that’s a no-brainer.”