rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
DWCS 81 is upon us. It’s already the fifth week of 10 in season nine on Contender Series. Aside from week one on the night of Aug. 11, the winners on the show have understood the assignment when the cage door slams shut on a Tuesday evening:
Put on a show and receive a UFC contract from CEO Dana White. Last week in DWCS 80, four prospects won UFC deals boss once the main event concluded.
The first half of the 2025 season of Contender Series concludes with DWCS 81 this coming Tuesday. Coverage begins at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN+ inside the United States. As usual, five fights will be held inside the fabled Octagon at the UFC Apex.
DWCS 81 Main Event: Anthony Guarascio vs. Steven Asplund
At the top of the bill on Tuesday night, the heavyweights go to war when undefeated Anthony Guarascio (3-0, 1 NC MMA) meets up with Steven Asplund (5-1 MMA,) an alumnus of the LFA. All fights taking place this and every week on Contender Series are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
Going into DWCS 81, Guarascio has yet to lose since turning professional in the fall of 2023. This past April, he scored a first-round knockout with a punch against Bailey Schoenfelder (5-2 MMA, 0-1 DWCS), a 2024 alumnus of the show, during Cage Fury’s CFFC 141 main event on UFC Fight Pass.
Guarascio is facing a late change in opponent ahead of Tuesday’s show. Initially, he was to fight Guilherme Pat (5-0 MMA) this week before the contest was scrubbed due to the latter withdrawing from the event.
Anthony Guarascio is a young man who hasn’t gone past a minute and 32 seconds into the opening round in a fight in his young professional career. Will he deliver another finish in round one here?
Across the way, Steven Asplund was always going to fight this coming week. Ahead of the main event spot becoming available for DWCS 81, he was to have entered the cage versus Jordan Heiderman (7-2 MMA) in the LFA. He’s posted a 4-1 record in his last five fights.
Back on April 11, he stopped Raiden Kovacs with a second-round knockout (punches and elbows) during LFA 206 in Prior Lake, MN. Asplund has won 80 percent of his fights inside the distance.
Any time that you have a heavyweight fight on Contender Series, such as this main event in DWCS 81, get your popcorn ready.
DWCS 81 Co-Main Event: Cam Teague vs. LerryAn Douglas
Immediately beforehand, the co-main attraction happens at 145 lbs. Cam Teague (9-1 MMA, 0-1 DWCS) makes his second Contender Series appearance when he fights LerryAn Douglas (12-5 MMA.) Teague comes into the fight having gone 4-1 in his last five MMA fights.
Last time out in the cage, he bested David Zelner (5-6 MMA) by way of unanimous decision after three rounds of action in March during Island Fights 87. In September of 2024, his first fight on DWCS ended in defeat with a first-round knockout from Kevin Vallejos (16-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who secured a UFC contract at night’s end.
He’s had 50 weeks to go over what went wrong for him that night. How will he do in his second chance?
Meanwhile, LerryAn Douglas sports a 4-1 record of his own in the past five contests. Most recently, he won the LFA Featherweight Championship thanks to a second-round knockout (punches) of Elijah Johns (10-3, 1 NC MMA) during the main event of the landmark LFA 200 on UFC Fight Pass.
Douglas is on a four-fight winning streak. Whenever a fighter is on a hot streak, he’s at his most dangerous. Can he run his streak to five in a row?
DWCS 81: Felipe Franco vs. Freddy Vidal
Later on DWCS 81, the light heavyweights take to the cage when Felipe Franco (8-0 MMA) fights Freddy Vidal (3-0 MMA.) Both men have yet to lose as pros.
Back on Aug. 31 of last year, Felipe Franco submitted Murilo Magalhaes (0-1 MMA) in the latter’s first career fight by way of rear-naked choke. Unfortunately for the Franco camp, postponed fights have become a habit.
The fight against Vidal is the third scheduled contest for DWCS 81 alone for Franco. All told, he’s had four postponed fights in a row over the course of the last year. What kind of ring rust does he have?
In the other corner, Freddy Vidal has won eight fights in succession dating back to amateur competitions. On June 28, he stopped Anthony Wilson by knockout inside the first round. This is a fighter who just turned professional less than a year ago. Now, he’s potentially 15 minutes (or less) away from securing a deal in the big leagues.
Rest of the Card
DWCS 81 will be rounded out by a lightweight affair matching Chasen Blair (7-3 MMA) with Samuel Sanches (10-1 MMA) and a strawweight contest between Shanelle Dyer (6-0 MMA) and Carol Dyer (8-1 MMA.) Which fight or fights are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
