Dana White had a chair in the front row for many memorable moments on the Contender series, some of which were the stars of UFC 316.
Saturday's pay-per-view event in Newark is the head of a DWCS aluin, because Sean O'Malley Merab Dvalishvili challenges for the Bantamweight title in the main event.
O'Malley is one of the most successful hunters who have forged a path to the Octagon through the Contender series. 'Sugar' delivered one of the viral versions of the show and only became the second that UFC Gold won after Jamahal Hill.
Looking for the footsteps of the UFC 316 Headliner is another hunter who competes in the Prudential Center on Saturday evening.
Just like O'Malley, this middleweight earned a contract with a widely praised DWCS display. But his first attempt to impress the UFC boss did not go as planned.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Joe Pyfer missed a UFC contract after disrupting his elbow for Dana White
Before Joe Pyfer earned a lot of praise with his knockout from Ozzy Diaz to earn a UFC contract, 'Bodybagz' fell short in the promotion in his first outing of the Contender series.
Pyfer shared the cage with Dustin Stolzfus in 2020 and then held a 7-1 record in professional MMA.
Although he had hoped for that night to mark his entry in the UFC, the New Jersey resident had to wait a little longer after his opponent had left the victory cage.
But the victory of Stolzfus came in unique circumstances, because his victory was the result of a Takedown that disrupted the elbow of Pyfer.
Repetitions showed the horrible nature of the injury, and white was one of the grimacing when they saw the Pyfer's army when limbs were not designed to bend …
Joe Pyfer's UFC -Run since the contract gain on the Contender Series of Dana White
Fortunately for Pyfer, he got the best of his second chance of DWCs, making him a matt show with a brutal knockout that the 'Be Joe Pyfer' line born.
'Bodybagz' has since gone 4-1 in the UFC, since initially displayed his violent style with the first round TKO finishes of Alen Amedovski and Gerald Meerschaert.
And while an impressive entry victory over the dreaded UFC -Knock -out artist Abdul Razak Alhassan Pyfer supplied the ranking, his turnout was stuck by experienced competitor Jack Hermansson.
Pyfer was back on the right track with a vicious interruption against Marc-Andre Barriault and was booked against former title-finaler Kelvin Gastelum.
After the disease forced the prospect from that collision in UFC Mexico in March, the couple will now face each other at UFC 316 in Newark.