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Dana White’s Contender Series Season 4 Week 1 Odds and Picks

Cole Shelton

by Cole Shelton in Mixed Martial Arts News

Updated Aug 4, 2020 · 1:19 PM PDT

Dana White's Contender Series Week 1
The Contender Series is back Aug. 4 with Dustin Jacoby vs Ty Flores in the main event.
  • Dana White’s Contender Series is back on Tuesday, August 4
  • Contenders like Sean O’Malley, Geoff Neal, and Edmen Shahbazyan have come from the show
  • See the odds and betting preview for season 4, week 1

Dana White’s Contender Series is back but returns later than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally, the series was set to begin in July. Now it will stretch from August to October with four to five fights every Tuesday and Dana White awarding contracts to the fighters he believes belong in the UFC. It is a popular show among combat sports fans and has produced the likes of Geoff Neal, Sean O’Malley, Ryan Spann, Edmen Shahbazyan, and Maycee Barber.

In the main event of week one, light heavyweights collide as Ty Flores battles UFC and Bellator veteran Dustin Jacoby. The first episode airs live August 4, on ESPN+ and TSN at 8:00 p.m. ET.

DWCS Week 1 Odds

Fighter Bet365 Odds
Ty Flores +260
Dustin Jacoby -345
Fighter Odds
Uros Medic -152
Mikey Gonzalez +120
Fighter Odds
Luis Rodriguez +220
Jerome Rivera -286
Fighter Odds
Jose Flores +110
Jordan Leavitt -141

All odds taken August 4.

Will Jacoby Earn His Way Back into the UFC?

Ty Flores (7-2) has been competing on the regional scenes of New England while also having a couple of fights in LFA. The light heavyweight is on a five-fight winning streak with both losses coming at welterweight. He has primarily fought at middleweight but, in his last one, made his 205-pound debut. He will stay there for this scrap.

YouTube video

Dustin Jacoby (11-5) might be one of the most experienced guys to compete on the Contender Series. He was in the UFC back in 2011 and 2012 but went 0-2. He lost a decision to Clifford Starks and suffered a submission loss to Chris Camozzi, leading to his release from the promotion. He then had a two-fight stint in Bellator losing both to King Mo and John Salter. Lately, he has been competing in Glory kickboxing where he has beaten the likes of Karl Roberson and Tony Lopez. He has notable MMA wins over Tim Williams, Andrew Sanchez, and Cody East.

There is no question that Jacoby is the one with more experience and is still only 32-years-old which, at light heavyweight, is still pretty young. He has been a phenomenal striker in his career; the knock on him has been his ground game. Jacoby has been easy to submit and Flores does have some submission wins.

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A big factor in this fight will be size. Flores has been a welterweight and middleweight for the majority of his career. I suspect Jacoby will be able to piece up the 26-year-old on the feet and eventually force Flores to shoot for the takedown. However, Jacoby is the stronger fighter and will be able to defend the takedowns to keep this fight standing and eventually earn a KO/TKO win. At these current odds, however, it is hard to lay that kind of chalk.

Pick: Dustin Jacoby (-345)

Flores vs Jacoby Key Stats

Flores
VS
Jacoby
26 Age 32
6’3″ Height 6’4″
N/A Reach 78″
4 Career finishes 9

Other DWCS Week 1 Picks:

  • Uros Medic (-152): I’m really high on Medic as a prospect and I believe he’ll be able to keep it standing and score a knockout win over Gonzalez or a one-sided decision. Medic is still too young that he won’t get a UFC contract but perhaps a developmental deal.
  • Jerome Rivera (-286): Rivera has fought the better competition and should be able to get the fight to the ground and earn a submission and a UFC contract.
  • Jose Flores (+110): Flores competed on DWCS in 2017 and lost to Matt Frevola. This is his time to hand Leavitt his first career loss by stoppage and earn a UFC contract.
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