Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series Week 5 Preview: Grocke breaks down all five fights

By Michael Grocke, MMATorch contributor

Week 5 of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series airs on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Below is a week by week listing of the fighters White has chosen up until now.

Week 1: Kurt Holobaugh and Boston Salmon

Week 2: Sean O’Malley

Week 3: Karl Roberson and Geoff Neal

Week 4: Brandon Davis and Julian Marquez

Who will Dana White choose this week? Let’s take a look at the fighters and the match-ups.

Main Card

Michael Rodriguez (8-2) vs. Jamelle Jones (7-4) – Light Heavyweight 205 lbs.

After losing to Kevin Haley at CES MMA 39, Michael Rodriguez is on a three fight win streak. His most recent victory was a first round finish of Alec Hooben at CES MMA 44. All eight of the Lauzon MMA products professional wins ended inside the distance. He has six wins by KO/TKO to go along with two by submission. The twenty-eight year old’s first two professional fights were under the Cage Titans Fighting Championship (Cage Titans FC), and his last eight were for Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES).

Jamelle Jones is 1-2 in his last three fights. He suffered a second round knockout at the hands of Anton Berzin in his most recent outing. In his seven career pro wins, five are knockouts with one submission. The twenty-nine year old has been stopped twice in his four losses. Jones has fought for Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), Bellator MMA, Fight Club OC (FCOC), Conquest of the Cage (COTC) and King of the Cage (KOTC).

Peter Petties (5-2) vs. Julio Arce (12-2) – Featherweight 145 lbs.

Julio Arce enters his fight against Peter Petties on Tuesday night riding a four fight win streak. His last fight was at ROC 59 where he beat Tim Dooling by Unanimous Decision. At twenty-seven years of age, Arce already has twenty fights under his belt. Six as an amateur where he went 6-0 and fourteen as a professional where he has a record of 12-2. Half of his pro wins went to the judge’s scorecards. Eleven of his pro fights were under the Ring of Combat (ROC) banner. Arce has also fought for Matrix Fights (MF), Xtreme Caged Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC).

Peter Petties is 2-2 over his last four fights, alternating between wins and losses. His most recent fight occurred at SF 16 where he beat Jonathan Pearce by Unanimous Decision. Fighting out of Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Petties has three finishes in his five career wins. The twenty-six year old has fought for the following promotions, Global Proving Ground, Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC), Shogun Fights (SF) and Victory Fighting Championship (VFC).

Alex Perez (17-4) vs. Kevin Gray (9-3) – Flyweight 125 lbs.

Alex Perez comes into Tuesday’s fights with the most experience as a professional fighter. The twenty-five year old already has twenty-one fights under his belt. Ten of his seventeen wins are by decision. Perez is on a four fight win streak. His last fight was at CFFC 64 where he beat Tyler Bialecki by Unanimous Decision. He has fought for many different promotions including, Tachi Palace Fights (TPF), UPC Unlimited, West Coast Fighting Championship (WFC), CA Fight Syndicate, MEZ Sports, Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA), King of the Cage (KOTC) and Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC).

Kevin Gray is 2-0 in his last two fights. His most recent fight occurred at VFC 57 where he subbed Nick Mamalis in the second round. In nine career wins the thirty-two year old has five via submission. In Gray’s three losses, he was finished in all three. The Premier Combat Center product has fought for Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA), Centurion Fights (CF), Disorderly Conduct, Dynasty Combat Sports (DCS), Caged Aggression – Iowa, AXS TV Fights, Shamrock Fighting Championships (Shamrock FC) and Victory Fighting Championship (VFC).

Ricky Simon (9-1) vs. Donavon Frelow (6-2) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.

Ricky Simon started his pro fighting career winning his first seven fights. He suffered his first loss at Titan FC 37 where he got subbed by Anderson dos Santos. After that loss, Simon has now won his last two fights. The twenty-four year old got his first submission win in his last fight against Charon Spain at KOTC – Headstrong. Fighting out of Gracie Barra in Portland, Simon has fought for Main Event Sports, Full Contact Fighting Federation (FCFF), King of the Cage (KOTC), Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) and Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC).

Donavon Frelow is 1-2 in his last three, and coming off of a decision loss to Bekbulat Magomedov at WSOF 35. The Wand Fight Team product has four submissions in his six pro wins. The thirty-two year old has fought under the World Series of Fighting banner four times, Gladiator Challenge three times and King of the Cage (KOTC) once.

Everett Sims (4-0) vs. Shelton Graves (6-3) – Heavyweight 265 lbs.

Everett Sims is the only undefeated fighter in Tuesday’s competition. The American Top Team product has won all four of his pro fights by first round finish. He has three knockouts to go along with one submission. His most recent victory came at Fight Time 36 where he knocked out Frank Tate. The twenty-eight year old has fought for Atlas Fights, Odyssey Fights and Fight Time Promotions.

Shelton Graves comes into his fight against Sims riding a four fight winning streak. Most recently Graves beat Brendan Barrett at ROC 56, then again at ROC 58. Both wins came inside the distance. Fighting out of Top Flight MMA, Graves has two wins by KO/TKO, two by submission and two via decision. The thirty-one year old has fought for the following promotions, Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), Ring of Combat ROC, Xtreme Fight Events (XFE) and Global Proving Ground (GPG).

Enjoy the fights!


NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series Week 4 Preview: Grocke breaks down all five fights

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