Dana White’s title fight series will begin its seventh season on August 8 with a card under middleweight titles Cesar Almeida and Lucas Fernando.
The full lineup for the five-match card was announced over the weekend. Other seizures are as follows: Tom Nolan vs. Bogdan Crad in the lightweight category. Heavyweight Champion Kevin Zavlarski vs. Kayo Machado; Payton Talbot vs. Reyes Cortez Jr. at the bantamweight division and Rickson Tai Zendem Bueno vs. Kevin Borgas at the flyweight division.
The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs Tuesday nights on ESPN starting at 8pm EST / 5pm PT. The current season will run through October 10 and award UFC contracts to prospects who catch the eye of UFC President Dana White and matchmakers during their matches. Fighters who have appeared in the series include Jamal Hill, Sean O’Malley, Ryan Spann, Maisie Barber, Johnny Walker, Marina Rodriguez, Alex Perez, Teila Santos, and Bo Nikal, to name a few.
A kickboxer with a career mark of 47-8-1, Almeida was victorious in his first three professional MMA matches. Recently, the 35-year-old Lotus MMA member scored a 38-second knockout of Danilo de Souza Silva at Shooto Brazil 110 in December 2021.
Fernando would hold a 9-1 record going into the match with Almeida. In his latest appearance, Fernando won the Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight title with a fourth round KO of Jansey Silva at LFA 154 on March 10.