Dana White's Contender Series 79: Grading the winners

Dana White's Contender Series 79 took place Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we're grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

With a refreshing but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders whom the UFC matchmakers can use for future events. So, with that trend in mind, I will once again be taking a look at the winning fighters regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, grading their performances in regards to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.

Dante Johnson

• Weight class: Heavyweight
• Result: Dante Johnson def. Darion Abbey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:04
• Grade: A

Summary: Kicking off the night in quick fashion was Dante Johnson, who earns an easy A for stepping in on short notice to knock out Darion Abbey as the much smaller man.

Despite having experience up at heavyweight on the regional scene, Johnson is clearly a middleweight who moonlights at the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Still, I suspect his next fight will likely take place at a weight of 205 pounds. But regardless of what division Johnson ends up in, I just hope we get to see more of him considering how quick his fights have been.

Johnson in clearly an explosive puncher and game-day performer, but there are still huge questions about his gas tank and grappling game.

Should the UFC not be done with someone like Diyar Nurgozhay, then I suspect that the Kazakh would be a good test for Johnson given his current skid.

Manoel Sousa

• Weight class: Lightweight
• Result: Manoel Sousa def. Cristian Perez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:00]
• Grade: A

Summary: Between my love for comeback wins and the precedent set for awarding A's to the majority of fast finishes, I was almost tempted to give Manoel Sousa the ever-elusive A+ for his third-round stoppage over Cristian Perez.

Perez, who looked incredibly well-trained and well-versed in MMA, was mixing in everything from takedowns to Iminari rolls en route to some impressive transitional blanketing. And though Sousa was relying a little too much on his kimura grips as a defensive maneuver, the Brazilian kept solid composure in bad positions while also looking for any opportunity to bridge back to his base and return to his feet.

Thankfully for Sousa, the cardio he showed on the regional scene shone through at the end of the second frame, where Perez clearly started to tire.

Sousa, who comes with excellent killer instinct in tow, was able to display the terrorizing punching prowess that, along with his massive pre-USADA shoulders, separates him from his peers.

Although Sousa still needs some work on his grappling and getup game, I'm not sure the matchmakers will be killing the Brazilian's potential with any religious wrestler's right out the gate (though, to be fair, I'm not sure how many fighters are left who fit that archetype given what the UFC encourages from people in and out of the Contender Series, but I digress).

Despite being a fresh signing, I could see Sousa getting a classic overseas Brazilian booking opposite someone like Tofiq Musaev. That said, I could also see Sousa getting booked with names like Charlie Campbell or Dennis Buzukja stateside.

Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev

• Weight class: Light heavyweight
• Result: Adbulrakhman Yakhyaev def. Alik Lorenz via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:30
• Grade: A

Summary: Despite being the biggest favorite on an already favorite-heavy card, I can't deny Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev an easy A for dismantling Alik Lorenz in short order.

Lorenz, to his credit, came out and showed some solid ideas opposite a southpaw, even scoring a cheeky catch-kick counter. Sadly, however, said offense only seemed to upset Yakhyaev, who quickly blitzed and hurt the American shortly after.

Although Lorenz came in with noted knockout power and insane output statistics per the UFC's Performance Institute, taking damage is a lot different than dealing it, as glass cannons continue to litter the light heavyweight division.

I hope we get to see more fight time from Yakhyaev regardless of who he's booked against, but I suspect we'll see him on the next Brazil card opposite Bruno Lopes.

Marcio Barbosa

• Weight class: Featherweight
• Result: Marcio Barbosa def. Damon Wilson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:14
• Grade: A

Summary: Continuing the theme of quick finishes was Marcio Barbosa, who earns an easy A for his dismantling of Damon Wilson.

Despite being won over by Wilson's story and lifestyle, this was one of those fights where – when it started – I knew Wilson was cruising for a bruising.

Between Wilson's janky strikes and the upright nature of his head in what were some stiff movements, it didn't take Barbosa long to track down his target. From tight, compact hooks in the pocket to his composure coming in and out of range, I was impressed by what little we got to see from Barbosa.

Although Barbosa may not be the tallest featherweight, his reach, power and prowess inside the pocket will make him a formidable action fighter in the weight class. And despite Barbosa only seeing the scorecards once in his career, the Brazilian banger carries more experience than most of the fighters on this week's card.

Signing Barbosa was a no-brainer, so expect to see "Ticoto" in the octagon before the year's end. I'd love to eventually see Barbosa booked in stylistic bangers opposite the likes of Jose Delgado and Kevin Vallejos, but suspect we'll see him against names like Steven Nguyen or Fernando Padilla first.

Ryan Gandra

• Weight class: Middleweight
• Result: Ryan Gandra def. Trent Miller via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:51
• Grade: A

Summary: Closing the show quickly was another big favorite in Ryan Gandra, who earns an A for stopping short-notice stand-in, Trent Miller.

Although I admittedly had mixed emotions with Miller getting the short-notice call since he's a prospect still trying to build back from some early-career hurdles, this is still a much more respectable win than it looks like for Gandra (at least on paper).

It's too bad that Miller got stung right off the first exchange and never seemed to get his legs back under him. However, you have to give credit to Gandra for not just his punching prowess – but the composure he continued to show even after Miller took his best shots.

I'm not sure how good Gandra's ground game is, but middleweight is the division where one solid skill can take you fairly far. With that noted, I doubt we'll see where Gandra's ceiling is in his next fight since the matchmakers will likely pair him up with the likes of Jackson McVey or Andre Pulyaev, depending on the location of the fight.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White's Contender Series 79 grades: Who impressed the most?