Novenyi Jr. vs Haig Headlines Contender Series Week 7 in Vegas

Dana White's Contender Series rolls into its seventh week Tuesday at the Meta APEX, with five bouts on tap and a UFC contract riding on every one of them. The headliner pits Hungary's Norbert Novenyi Jr. against returning Season 9 contestant Theo Haig at middleweight — the first time the 185-pound division has closed the show this season.

So far Season 10 has been ruthless. Last week alone four more athletes earned the call to the roster, pushing the season's total to 28 signings, and the final three bouts of that card all ended in the opening round. Igor Cavalcanti's 98-second win was the slowest of the trio — which tells you exactly the kind of urgency White and matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard are rewarding.

The Main Event Math

Novenyi Jr., 26, built his name under Bellator, stacking six straight wins in the promotion and seven overall before a majority-decision loss ended his unbeaten run. He's answered that with three consecutive first-round finishes, and now he's in Vegas trying to convert momentum into a contract.

Haig, 30, gets a second bite. He fought last season against Cezary Oleksiejczuk — now 17-3 on the UFC roster after a unanimous nod over Cesar Almeida — and returned in February with a second-round stoppage at LFA 227. He brings a 100-percent finishing rate and, presumably, a chip on his shoulder from the first go-round.

The Undefeated Welterweight Clash

The co-feature is arguably the more intriguing style test: unbeaten prospects Jaden Ortega and Alvi Dasuyev, both looking to walk out with a zero intact. Ortega splits camps between Spokane's Sikjitsu and Las Vegas' Porrada Training Center, and he's finished five of his six wins — the last four in a row.

Dasuyev is the wild card. Born in Chechnya, the 24-year-old is chasing history as the first Belgian on the UFC roster, following countrymen Losene Keita — who flattened Muhammad Naimov in Round 1 — and DWCS graduate Bolaji Oki. Two-and-a-half years into his pro career, Dasuyev is 9-0 with nine straight finishes and only one fight that's escaped the first round. Something has to give.