Nick Newell To Debut On Dana White’s Contender Series
The UFC will give a shot to one-handed fighter Nick Newell, but first the former World Series of Fighter standout will have to go through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Newell’s team confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com, though an opponent for his Contender Series debut has not been named yet. Newell (14-1) was born without a left hand but has defied the odds through his heart and athleticism by becoming a great fighter and a great story in MMA. A 10-year veteran of the sport, Newell has won three-straight fights and recently came out of retirement to defeat Sonny Luque via submission in Legacy Fighting Alliance. There was hope that Newell would receive a contract to fight in the UFC right away but getting on the Contender Series is a step in the right direction. Should Newell win on the show, the hope would be he gets a UFC contract. Some believe because of his disability he won’t be successful in the UFC, but keep in mind Newell has been a winning fighter in every promotion he’s compted in, with his lone career loss coming against top UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje.
UFC Signs Blagoy Ivanov
The UFC has also made a signing for its official roster, inking heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov to a new deal, according to Ariel Helwani. Ivanov (16-1, 1 NC) was a former heavyweight champion in World Series of Fighting and has currently won five-straight fights, including a TKO win over Shawn Jordan just last year. Ivanov has only lost one fight in his entire MMA career, a submission loss to Alexander Volkov. I believe this is a terrific signing for the UFC and I’m excitedto see who the promotion matches Ivanov up with in his UFC debut. I’d expect him to fight someone unranked to start off, though I think Ivanov could quickly jump into the top-15 as he’s just 31 and has a ton of potential still.
