Ranking all the DWCS Season 1 contract winners

9. Benito Lopez

Being signed by the UFC after a split decision on DWCS is a common occurrence in the modern world but was unprecedented during the show's early days. Only one fighter did so in the first season: Benito Lopez.

If post-fight bonuses were awarded on DWCS, Lopez and Steven Peterson likely would have received $50 thousand for their fight in week seven. Lopez got the nod to improve to 8-0 and was offered a contract at the end of the night.

Lopez, however, could not follow up on the momentum as his DWCS fight would turn out to be the crowning moment of his career. Lopez got his career started on the right foot in the UFC with a win over Albert Morales but go just 2-2 in the promotion overall.

After the win over Morales, Lopez would sandwich a win over Vince Morales with losses to Manny Bermudez and Mario Bautista. In 2022, Lopez was released from the UFC after missing weight for his final fight.

Since the loss to Bautista, the 30-year-old Lopez has yet to return to competition.

8. Brandon Davis

Of all the fighters to come out of the first season of DWCS, Brandon Davis had arguably the most interesting career. Through nine total UFC fights across two separate stints, Davis would pick up just two wins in the Octagon but leave a lasting impact on fans despite a subpar record.

In the fourth week of the first season, Davis would give Dana White a glimpse of his exciting fight style with a unanimous decision win over Austin Arnett. Over the next two years, Davis would nearly fight through two full contracts despite going just 2-5 in the Octagon.

In his initial UFC run, Davis picked up wins over Steven Peterson and Randy Costa, but could not string together consistent success through a difficult level of competition. Davis would lose competitive and exciting fights against Kyle Bochniak, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Enrique Barzola, Kyung-Ho Kang and Giga Chikadze before being released.

His run was not the most successful of the fighters to be signed off DWCS season one, but Davis was the first fighter to return to the UFC for a second stint. The action fighter was brought back in 2021 but went 0-2 with losses to Danaa Batgerel and Mana Martinez before being released for a second time.

Since leaving the UFC in 2022, Davis has signed with Gamebred Bareknuckle FC, most recently beating Joe Penafiel in November 2023.