DWCS 83 Brings Exciting First MMA Card Of Fall Tuesday

DWCS 83 looms this Tuesday night. As the summer season gives way to autumn, while the temperatures are going to cool off outside eventually, the action inside the fabled Octagon is only heating up.

Inside the United States of America, DWCS 83 is seen this week at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN+. Internationally, the card will be streamed over UFC Fight Pass.

As usual, the five-fight schedule will take place at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV. Tuesday’s card will be the seventh of 10 DWCS events to take place in this ninth season of the show.

DWCS 83 Main Event: Dani Barbir vs. Mantas Kondratavicius

At the top of the bill on Tuesday night, the middleweights head into battle when Dani Barbir (7-0 MMA) meets Mantas Kondratavicius (7-1 MMA.) All fights on DWCS 83 are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Barbir comes into this fight having yet to lose as a professional in MMA. Back on Nov. 23 of last year, he successfully defended the FNC Middleweight Championship with a first-round submission by way of rear-naked choke against Tomislav Spahovic (11-8 MMA) in Zagreb, Croatia.

He was slated to fight on May 24 vs. Piotr Strus (16-10-2 MMA) for a third defense of the championship before he had to withdraw from the card because of injury. Strus instead fought Andi Vrtacic (7-2 MMA) in a three-round nontitle contest, losing by unanimous decision.

Barbir has already won and defended a championship on the regional circuit in Croatia. Now, he’s only 15 minutes or less away from potentially scoring a UFC contract on Tuesday night, but can he get the job done?

Meanwhile, Mantas Kondratavicius has posted a record of 4-1 in his last five bouts dating back to 2022. Currently, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.

Back in March, he needed only 47 seconds to finish Michael Tchamou (6-5 MMA) with a right cross in Cage Warriors 184. Should Kondratavicius win here and knocks Barbir from the ranks of the undefeated, the DWCS 83 main event will be a resume-builder for him.

DWCS 83 Co-Main Event: Brahyan Zurcher vs. Murtazali Magomedov

The only all-undefeated contest of the night is the DWCS 83 co-main event of the evening at 145 when PFL alumnus Brahyan Zurcher (9-0 MMA) fights Murtazali Magomedov (9-0 MMA.) Someone will be knocked from their perch as an unbeaten fighter.

Zurcher’s last fight occurred in June of last year during PFL 5, when he defeated Julian Ruiz (4-1 MMA) with a left hook inside the second round in Salt Lake City. Zurcher was booked to appear on the playoff card in Washington last August, but both scheduled fights that summer night failed to materialize.

Zurcher has had a taste of major exposure in the sport already, having won five contests in succession under the PFL promotional banner between 2022 and last year. Can he secure his place on the active roster of the No. 1 promotion in the world? Tune in and find out.

Across the way, Magomedov most recently secured a second-round knockout via knees and punches at the period’s midpoint against Claudeci Brito (14-5 MMA) to successfully defend the Octagon League Featherweight Championship for the first time last December in Kyrgyzstan.

Much like Dani Barbir in the DWCS 83 main event of the evening, Magomedov, too, already has a championship to his credit. What happens here?

DWCS 83: Sofia Montenegro vs. Jeisla Chaves

Earlier on the card at DWCS 83, the women’s flyweights take to the cage for a contest between Sofia Montenegro (6-1 MMA) and Jeisla Chaves (5-0 MMA.) Montenegro will be making the walk on Tuesday with a record of 4-1 in her last five MMA fights.

At the current time, she’s won three MMA bouts in a row. This past June, she secured a unanimous decision victory over Damara Vargas (4-5 MMA) in MMA Mexico 5.

By the time DWCS 83 begins on Tuesday evening, just 92 days will have elapsed between fights. Will the tight window be helpful or a hindrance?

In the other corner, Jeisla Chaves has yet to lose in her MMA career, but she’s facing a change in opponent for Tuesday’s event. Initially, Chaves was to have squared off against Regina Tarin (6-0 MMA) in what would have been a second all-undefeated matchup on the show this week, but the latter withdrew from DWCS 83.

Last time out, Chaves stopped Rebeca Sousa (1-3 MMA) inside the third round. How will the switch in adversary affect her gameplan?

Rest of the Card

Two other fights complete the slate on DWCS 83 this coming week, a featherweight bout pitting 26-fight veteran Javier Reyes (21-5 MMA) against Justice Torres (12-3 MMA), who just fought last month on Fury FC 107, and a light heavyweight affair pairing Rafael Tobias (13-1 MMA) with Jair de Oliveira (6-1 MMA.) Reyes is on his third different scheduled opponent for this show.

Earlier pairings versus Icaro Brito (8-1 MMA) and Robbie Ring (9-1 MMA, 0-1 DWCS) in what was to be the latter’s second DWCS appearance, fell apart. Which fight or fights are you looking forward to on DWCS 83? Let us know in the comments.