Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series Week 2 Preview: Grocke breaks down all five fights

By Michael Grocke, MMATorch Contributor

Week 2 of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contenders Series airs on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 7 PM CT. In Week 1 we saw two fighters get contracts with the UFC. Dana White chose Kurt Holobaugh and Boston Salmon who were both deserving of the contracts. Who will White choose this week? Let’s take a look at the fighters and the match-ups.

Dan Spohn (15-5) vs. Angel De Anda (18-5) – Light Heavyweight 205 lbs.

Dan Spohn comes into Tuesday’s fight riding a three-fight win streak. His most recent win occurred at Hard Knocks 53 where he decisioned Flavio Rodrigo Magon. The thirty-two-year-old has twenty professional fights under his belt. He’s fought for North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS), Bellator Fighting Championships (BFC), Ultimate Victory Challenge (UVC), Alpha One Sports Series, Absolute Cage Fighting (ACF), Gladiators of the Cage (GOTC), Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) and Hard Knocks Fighting Championship (HKFC). Spohn even has UFC experience. He lost to Patrick Walsh by decision at the Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale. The Cambridge Martial Arts product has six wins by knockout to go along with four by submission in fifteen professional wins.

Angel De Anda brings a six fight winning streak into the cage when he meets Spohn on Tuesday. His last fight was a victory over Mike Morales at Tachi Palace Fights. At thirty-two years old, De Anda has twenty-three professional fights under his belt. He will go for the finish whenever possible as his fourteen knockouts in eighteen wins demonstrate. De Anda has fought for many promotions including Gladiator Challenge (GC), Extreme Combat (EC), The Warriors Cage (TWC), Stand Up Fighters (SUF), Rebel Fighter, UPC Unlimited, KOTC, WSOF and Global Knockout (GKO).    

Sean O’Malley (6-0) vs. Alfred Khashakyan (8-3) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.

Alfred Khashakyan is 1-1 over his last two fights. He suffered a submission loss to Ricardo Lucas Ramos at NEF Lookin’ for a Fight but came back at CXF 5 where he finished Chris Beal in the first round. All eight of Khashakyan’s wins are by knockout. Fighting out of the Glendale Fighting Club, the twenty-eight-year-old has fought primarily in California. The promotions include Flawless Fighting Championship, Lights Out Promotions (LOP), CXF and New England Fights (NEF).

Sean O’Malley is undefeated as a pro. His most recent fight was at LFA 11 where he knocked out Davis Russo in the first round. The twenty-two-year-old has four wins by knockout and one submission in six career wins. The MMA Lab product’s first five fights were under the Intense Fighting Championship (IFC) banner in his home state of Montana, his last fight was for the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA).

Thanh Le (6-1) vs. Lazar Stojadinovic (12-5) – Featherweight 145 lbs.

After losing his first fight as a pro, Thanh Le has gone on a six-fight winning streak. His last win was a first round knockout of Alex Black at LFA 3. All six of Le’s wins as a pro have been by stoppage. He has five KO/TKO’s and one submission. In fact, Le has yet to see the second round as a professional. In his one loss, he was subbed in the first round. The thirty-one-year-old has fought for Renaissance MMA (RMMA), Xtreme Fighting Championship (XFC), World Fighting Championships (WFC), Mid City Fight Productions (MCFP) and Legacy Fighting (LFA).

After starting his career going 4-5, Lazar Stojadinovic has finally put it all together and has rattled off nine straight wins. His most recent fight was at LFA 2 where he beat Mike Richman by unanimous decision. At twenty-eight years old, the American Top Team product has seventeen professional fights under his belt. He has nine finishes to go along with four decisions in his twelve career wins. Stojandinovic has fought for many different promotions including: Brawl at Bourbon Street (BSB), Xtreme Fighting Organization (XFO), King of the Cage (KOTC), Power Fights (PF), Extreme Challenge (EC), Shogun Fights (SF), Fight Time Promotions (FTP), Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA), Xplosion, Absolute Fighting Championship (AFC) and Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC).  

Sidney Outlaw (7-3) vs. Michael Cora (4-1) – Welterweight 170 lbs.

Michael Cora is twenty-seven years old and has five fights under his belt. All four of his wins are by knockout, even his one loss came via knockout. Cora has only been out of the first round once in his young career. His most recent fight came at Titan FC 44 where he finished Will Starks. The promotions he has fought for include: Toe 2 Toe Fights (T2T), Real Fighting Championships (RFC), Strike Off Fighting Championship (SOFC) and Titan FC.

Michael Cora is 2-0 in his last two fights. He beat Tajuddin Abdul Hakim at ROC 58 in his most recent fight. The twenty-five-year-old already has sixteen fights under his belt, ten as a professional to go along with six as an amateur. The Dante Rivera BJJ product has three wins by submission and one by KO/TKO. Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), Ring of Combat (ROC), Bellator MMA, WSOF, Global Proving Ground (GPG), New England Fights (NEF) and PA Cage Fight are the promotions Cora has fought for.

Casey Kenney (6-0-1) vs. C.J. Hamilton (11-4) – Flyweight 125 lbs.

Casey Kenney has yet to taste defeat in his MMA career. As an amateur, he went 2-0, and now as a pro, he is 6-0 with one draw. The draw came in his most recent fight which took place at LFA 11 against Bruno Gustavo Aparecido de Silva. Four of Kenney’s seven professional fights were under the Tachi Palace Fights umbrella. He has also fought for Duel for Domination (DFD), Dragon House MMA and Legacy Fighting Alliance. In his six professional wins, four are by submission with one knockout.

C.J. Hamilton will be looking for his seventh win a row on Tuesday night. His most recent win came against Jesse Bazzi at LFA 8. After fifteen fights on the regional circuit, Hamilton finally gets his shot at the big time. Hamilton’s first six pro fights were under the National Fighting Championship umbrella. He’s also fought for Alpha One Sports, U.S. Freedom Fighter Championship (USFFC), Legacy Fighting Championship (LFC), Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) and Valor Fights. 55% of Hamilton’s wins went to the judge’s scorecards.

Enjoy the fights!

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