The best sporting event on Tuesdays returns tonight with Dana White’s Contender Series.

It’s lower-level MMA talent, but live fights are happening nonetheless and can be wagered on a weekday.

For those unfamiliar, UFC President Dana White selects an unknown number of fighters each night and signs them to a UFC contract.

His call is clear: the fights must be entertaining, and violence is encouraged.

The entire card begins at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Paramount+, with a short five-card bout list for tonight.

Dana White’s Contender Series Week 1 predictions

Matt Adams vs. Anthony Wint

At heavyweight, the big boys are going to go at it, with Matt Adams not winning any modeling competitions when he’s in the octagon.

Adams’ fights aren’t pretty. He’s 5-foot-11, 235.5 pounds and really needs to wrestle to score a victory. As an underdog (+400), it will look that way when these two stand in the octagon on Tuesday.

Anthony Wint is a more serious athlete and will look a lot better in the octagon.

Oddly enough, Adams will probably have better cardio, but Wint is the far superior athlete and I suspect he wins this fight early.

THE PLAY: Wint wins by KO/TKO (-286, BetRivers)

Fabrizio Escarrega vs. Abe Alsaghir

Hailing from Mexico, Fabrizio Escarrega isn’t the most athletic guy in the world, but he has your prototypical toughness that we’ve seen from fighters before him.

Escarrega (9-1) only has one loss, and it came from an injury to his arm while fighting in 2023.

Abe Alsaghir (8-0) is only a slight underdog coming in at +125, though his opponent will be tough to finish.

I’ll take the fight to go the distance coming in at +255.

THE PLAY: Fight goes the distance (+255, FanDuel)

Bilal Hasan vs. Mridul Saikia

Bilal Hasan is a massive prospect and is a -3500 favorite in this fight.

The expectation is that he rolls over his opponent, and I think that’s about right; he’s going to be an interesting fighter to watch on the UFC roster.

Target Hasan to win here by knockout (-450) – his opponent’s only loss has come by knockout while Hasan has a really impressive spinning wheel kick KO on the regional scene with CFFC.

THE PLAY: Hasan by KO/TKO (-450, theScore Bet)

Tom Pagliarulo vs. Ananias Mulumba

Ananias Mulumba actually appeared previously on DWCS and is being brought back for a chance at a win to seal himself into a contract.

Tom Pagliarulo previously fought at Cage Titans and most recently fought and won on the PFL.

Mulumba snagged a win at UAE Warriors after a loss on the DWCS.

Pagliarulo has a solid background, having won on a PFL card.

That makes me think that the fight goes a bit longer, with the over .5 rounds coming in at -350. That’s a good parlay piece.

THE PLAY: Over .5 round (-350, theScore Bet)

Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps

Jon Kunneman vs. Joe Kropschot

Money has come in on the underdog here despite Kunneman being undefeated with a 10-0 record. Kropschot is your usual tall, lanky middleweight who will need to really utilize his size if he wants to make a dent in the UFC and earn a contract.

Kunneman appears to be a grappler first, but I’m interested to see if White’s calls for finishes and violence change his style at all with overhand right hands.

Kunneman has 10 wins, with seven coming by submission, while Kropschot already has three losses, with one coming by submission and the other two by knockout.

Kropschot has been fighting at LFA, which is noteworthy, but Kunneman looks like a solid prospect that can get his opponent to fold with enough pressure.

THE PLAY: Kunneman by submission (+280, BetRivers)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.