Albert Duraev may have stolen the show on Tuesday night.
In perhaps the most dominant performance on this season of Dana White’s Contender Series thus far, Duraev showed off a smothering grappling game and relentless pressure that Caio Bittencourt could not handle.
At 3:29 of the first round, Duraev forced his opponent to tap from a neck crack submission, after dominating all aspects of the fight up until that moment.
The fight was the fourth of six bouts on Dana White’s Contender Series 39 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, which aired on ESPN+.
Albert Duraev completely dominated
#DWCS pic.twitter.com/4gSSGcQ2Ys
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 15, 2021
Immediately after his victory, he called out to Dana White to let him know he was ready for his UFC contract and was willing to take on anyone and everyone in the promotion, including mentioning the champion Israel Adesanya.
“Hello Dana, you like that one? Duraev asked. “Give me very good contract. I smash anybody.”
Tuesday’s performance marked nine wins in a row for the Russian middleweight, who exuded confidence, before, during, and after his fight.
“Give me (Paulo) Costa, gime me (Marvin) Vettori, no problem,” Duraev said during his post-fight interview with Laura Sanko. “I smash anybody.”
After his outing, it is very likely that Duraev will receive a UFC contract at the end of the show, as he showed glimpses of everything White looks for on the show in a potential contract winner.