Ulberg Tops Season 4 In Contender Series Ranking

Carlos Ulberg is the standout from Contender Series season four, according to MMA Mania's breakdown of the show's best fighters across its first nine seasons.

Ulberg won his contract in 2020 during the pandemic-era slate and went on to capture the UFC heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight title earlier this year. At UFC 327 in Miami, he knocked out Jiri Prochazka on what was later revealed to be a blown-out knee, according to the report. After dropping his promotional debut via knockout, Ulberg reeled off nine straight wins to reach the vacant title shot and now sits 10-1 in the Octagon.

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O'Malley Leads Season One Despite Title Loss

Season one produced Sean O'Malley, who MMA Mania called "an absolute no-brainer" for the top spot. O'Malley sparked Alfred Khashakyan in the first round and shouted his signature line about the Sugar Show, drawing attention from Snoop Dogg among others. He won the bantamweight belt by stopping Aljamain Sterling and defended once against Marlon Vera before losing the strap to Merab Dvalishvili.

Anthony Hernandez took season two honours after flipping a 1-2 start into an eight-fight streak that included a massive upset of Rodolfo Vieira. His run ended against Sean Strickland at UFC Houston, but Hernandez remains in the title picture at middleweight. Season three belonged to Jamahal Hill, the first Contender Series fighter to hold UFC gold, who beat Glover Teixeira for the vacant heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight title before vacating due to a torn Achilles.

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Jack Della Maddalena earned the season five nod after going 8-0 in the UFC and battering Belal Muhammad to claim the welterweight title, though he later dropped that belt to Islam Makhachev at Madison Square Garden. Joe Pyfer edged Bo Nickal for season six after strangling Israel Adesanya and collecting five Performance of the Night bonuses, with his only loss coming against Jack Hermansson.

Contender Series season ten kicks off Tuesday at UFC Apex with Anthony Wint and Matt Adams headlining in the heavyweight division.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Best Contender Series fighters from each season, ranked 2026