A Contender Series fight is one that has stakes like none other, where fighters must showcase their skills to impress the UFC president enough for a contract with the promotional giant.  Holding the Contender Series with a smaller cage inside the UFC Apex venue makes for a tense atmosphere, and with only close friends and family of the competing fighters in attendance as spectators. Emotions always run high, as a limited number of contracts can be given out on any given night, and many fighters can potentially have their dreams snubbed out solely because of bad luck.

In rare cases, however, a fighter gets a second look. This series will examine those.

Ananias Mulumba (10-3 MMA)

Age: 27 years old

Height: 5’5″ / Reach: 70.5″

Weight Class: Featherweight (145lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 10)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Marwan Rahiki (9-0 MMA)

Second DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2026 (Week 1)

New Opponent: Tom Pagliarulo (10-2 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Ananias Mulumba first competed on the Contender Series in October of 2025 on what was Week 10 of that season. Ananias entered that bout at 9-2 as a pro. He was a veteran of multiple notable regional promotions including Brave CF and UAE Warriors. Mulumba’s losses came against Steve Endom Bikim (then 2-1) and Ylies Djiroun (then 21-8). Yiles is now a 3-fight veteran of the PFL with another fight in the promotion scheduled in October.

Heading into his first Contender Series bout, Ananias had five finishes via rear naked choke.

In the Contender Series fight itself, Mulumba was simply out-struck by his opponent with devastating consequences.

The finish, a combination of a knee, elbows and a perfectly placed uppercut was the highlight reel of the night and earned a standing ovation from Dana White. It came before the midway point of the second round.

First Contender Series Opponent

Mulumba’s first Contender Series opponent Marwan Rahiki, received a contract for his brutal finish of Ananias.

At 7-0, Rahiki made his UFC debut in March of this year taking on 13-4-1 Harry Hardwick. Rahiki brutalized his opponent and forced a retirement in between rounds two and three. Hardwick was also released from the UFC after this loss. (0-2 promotional record)

At 8-0, Rahiki was matched up against Jack Jenkins who has a 4-2 UFC record. Unfortunately, Jack withdrew from that schedule May 2 bout due to an injury. So instead, Marwan took on Ollie Schmid in what was his first UFC fight. The 4-2 fighter answered the call valiantly but made it just midway thru the first round before being dropped and finished.

Recently the UFC announced that Marwan’s next fight would be against the red-hot prospect Tommy McMillen on the prelims of UFC Noche on September 12. Massive matchup on a primetime card as McMillen has a ton of clout right now. A 2025 Contender Series alum himself, Tommy is already 2-0 in the UFC with two huge finishes. Massive clash of prospects here.

Considering that, at this moment in time, Mulumba’s loss from last year could not have aged more gracefully.

The Road Back

Since his loss to Marwan Rahiki in his first Contender Series appearance last year, Ananias has only competed once and had no other scheduled bouts. Ananias returned to UAE Warriors and took on Ahmed Faress who entered the bout at 23-8. Mulumba flattened Faress in the first round in that fight back in late March.

That, in combination with the work that Rahiki has been putting in within the UFC, was enough to get the invitation back to the Contender Series by UFC brass.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series, Ananias will be taking on Tom Pagliarulo.

One of Tom’s two pro losses is to Olivier Murad who went on compete on the 2021 season of the Contender Series. Olivier won his fight against Bin Xie via split decision and didn’t win a contract.

Tom is 29 years old and has a large frame for the division standing at 6’0″ tall. He’s riding a 4-fight win streak, all first round finishes, since his 2023 loss to Olivier Murad. Cody Jenkins (then 2-9), Don Shainis (then 15-7), Elijah Harris (then 6-11) and most recently Matt Turnbull (9-6). Tom’s most recent fight, against Matt, was actually under the PFL banner in August of last year.

Ananias will have the advantage of having already fought this year as well as already having been on the Contender Series. This should be a good matchup for fans to get excited about and one that has a high potential for a finish with how these two matchup stylistically. Ananias has just one decision on his record and Tom has heard the final bell just twice. Tune in to the Contender Series on August 11 to find out if Ananias is successful.

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Mateusz Gamrot

(#9) Quillan Salkilld out-grappled (#6) Mateusz Gamrot in an action packed first round to secure a rear naked choke and land a huge win in the main event on Saturday. Gamrot is now 9-5 under the UFC’s banner after being signed in 2020. Mateusz is 3-3 in his last six fights, dating back to 2024. (Other losses to Dan Hooker and Charles Oliveira.) Gamrot’s wins during this period include Rafael dos Anjos, L’udovit Klein and a finish over Esteban Ribovics back in April.

Mateusz’s next fight should be against the winner of Fares Ziam vs. Axel Sola. These are two fringe ranked guys and the winner will almost certainly gain a number next to their name. Ziam is 8-3 in the UFC and had his 6-fight win streak snapped his last time out by Tom Nolan (who is now ranked). Axel is 2-1 in the UFC and has finishes against Rhys McKee and Ismael Bonfim. That bout goes down on September 5th, so the timing is fine.  If the winner of that bout doesn’t produce a ranked matchup, then a great backup would be Dan Hooker. This scenario would work best only if Dan loses his next bout to Salahdine Parnasse. Parnasse is making his UFC debut but is more than ready for the limelight. Considering Hooker is 0-2 since defeating Gamrot by split decision in August of 2024, this is a fight that could make a lot of sense (Mateusz is 2-2). And one that fans would likely want to see, considering the first fight won fight of the night honors.

Gamrot’s next fight: Winner of Fares Ziam vs. Axel Sola, backup (#12) Dan Hooker II if he loses to Salahdine Parnasse

Billy Quarantillo

Diego Ferreira defeated Billy Quarantillo in an exciting three rounder on Saturday that ultimately won fight of the night. The fight was Billy’s first moving up to the lightweight division, so being thwarted by the 42-year-old has got to sting. Not to mention, this fight ended the longest stretch of inactivity while with the UFC for Quarantillo. Billy hadn’t fought since his December of 2024 stoppage loss to Cub Swanson. Quarantillo has now lost three fights in a row and is 1-3 in his last four.

Billy’s next fight should be against the loser of the Jalin Turner vs. Kau Fernandes bout. That bout is scheduled for August 15th so the timing would line up great. Kau is 3-1 with the UFC. After dropping his 2023 promotional debut to Marc Diakiese via split decision, Kau has looked unstoppable. First round stoppage over Mohammad Yahya, followed by a decision victory over Guram Kutateladze and most recently, a first round calf kick stoppage opposite of Harry Hardwick, last September.

Jalin Turner, a once ranked lightweight, is 8-6 with the promotion. The 2018 Contender Series alum has struggled recently and underwent a temporary retirement. Turner has won just two of his last six fights since 2023. Both were first round stoppages against King Green and Edson Barboza. That bout should be fight that has fans on the edge of their seats. Loser drawing Billy makes a lot of sense here as Jalin has reached that elite tier of lightweights, and much like Quarantillo, was unable to to pass those tests.

Quarantillo’s next fight: Loser of Jalin Turner vs. Kau Fernandes

Darren Elkins

Yadier del Valle played spoiler on the main card of UFC Vegas 120 on Saturday with his thirty second thrashing of veteran Darren Elkins. 42-year-old Elkins announced heading into the fight that this would be the last dance for him. Elkins is 19-12 with the UFC since being signed in 2010, and 29-12 as a pro. Darren is the owner of two separate five-fight win streaks with the UFC. Elikns also had one of the best comebacks of all time with his 2017 fight against Mirsad Bektic. The gritty wrestler known simply to fans as ‘The Damage’ will be sorely missed. Happy retirement.

Elkins’s next fight: Retirement 

Amanda Lemos

(#10) Alexia Thainara secured her biggest win to date on Saturday with her unanimous decision victory over former title challenger (#11) Amanda Lemos. The loss on the main card of UFC Vegas 120 makes the third straight loss for Lemos (other losses to Taitiana Suarez and Gillian Robertson). Amanda has also lost four of her last five and is now 9-7 with the promotion since being signed in 2017.

Amanda’s next fight will be a similar scenario to a previous fighter featured on Losers, Tabatha Ricci. Lemos lost to a young gun much like Ricci and at 39-years-old she’s got to do some heavy lifting to ascend in the rankings again. Lemos should draw the loser of Denise Gomes vs. Yan Xiaonan, only if that is a competitive fight, with no domination or finishes. Yan is also a former title challenger much like Lemos. She’s also 9-4 with the UFC since being signed in 2017. Like Lemos, Yan has also lost to Virna Janidroba recently. If she loses on August 29th, she’ll be 2-2 in her last four bouts. Denise is 6-2 since coming off the Contender Series in 2022. She’s currently riding a four-fight winning streak. Timing would work well here, too. Back up fighter would be Talita Alencar. Talita, a product of the 2023 season of the Contender Series is 4-1 within the UFC. Her last fight was a unanimous decision victory against Julia Polastri back in April.

Lemos’s next fight: Loser of (#8) Denise Gomes vs.  (#5) Yan Xiaonan if a competitive loss or (#15) Talita Alencar 

Billy Ray Goff

Ty Miller stayed perfect Saturday as he stopped Billy Ray Goff 15 seconds into the third round to open the main card of UFC Vegas 120. Goff was badly out gunned, is now sitting in the hot-seat as he is 1-3 with the UFC and riding a 3-fight losing streak.

Billy’s next fight should be against Richie Miranda. Timing on this bout would work well as Richie lost on the undercard of UFC Vegas 120 on Saturday. Miranda dropped a unanimous decision bout to Manoel Sousa. Richie is now 13-2 as a pro after dropping his promotional debut to Sousa who is 2-0 with the UFC. This would be an excellent scrappy matchup with the loser of this bout likely getting the boot from the roster.

Goff’s next fight: Richie Miranda 

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Things could not have gone better for McGrillen (13-2), however, as he came away with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Brandon Lewis in Charlotte that has seemingly wiped away all memory of the loss.

Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC, England’s McGrillen revealed that he decided to make a quick turnaround immediately after that July loss.

“Soon as I got out of the cage, bro. Last fight, not this one, last fight, five minutes, [my team] was like ‘we need to go again.’ And I’m like ‘yup, straight away,'” McGrillen recalled.

“At the end of the day, I wasn’t happy with the result three weeks ago, and I was going to make the changes. Go again, man. I’m the guy that will take risks, I’m the guy that will step out of my comfort zone. When people walk down the path, I’ll take my own path, because I’m by own person, I’m my own man, but I get guided by the right people.”

On improving in just a matter of weeks, McGrillen believes that “you can learn a lot in 20 days if you know what you’re looking for,” he added. “If you know what you need to work on, if you stay honest and true with it. You can be self-aware, some people can be self-aware with what you need to work on, but then when you get in there with the pressure and the lights and the audience and stuff like that, people go back to old habits and cracking and things. I know I need to work on that, I was always thinking ahead. Patience, patience.”

It’s all about fine-tuning the in-cage artistry, it seems.

“I’m the threat, I don’t need to rush it,” he continued, making an analogy to the world of fine art. “I’m painting it, I’m making art. Don’t rush it. Before you know it, you’re just making a nursery or a preschool sketch, instead of a Van Gogh. I’m doing a Van Gogh painting, you know what I mean?”

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Lewis McGrillen above.

The post PFL Charlotte: Lewis McGrillen Wants His Art to be Van Gogh, Not Preschool Sketch appeared first on Cageside Press.

Fremd earned his second win under the PFL banner after stopping the Brazilian by TKO in the sound round, but not before he took some punishment of his own in the opening frame. “I wanted to come out there and not be as sloppy, but man once you get in there and the doors lock and someone tries to hurt you, it all goes to instinct,” Fremd (13-6) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “And as soon as my coaches told me ‘clean that sh*t up in the second round,’ I finally threw a right hand that was clean, and it got him. It got him.”

Fremd, who exited the UFC in 2024 with a 2-4 record and back-to-back losses, has now won three straight contests: two under the PFL banner, and one in BKFC in the bare-knuckle boxing realm.

Asked whether, after fighting in the UFC and bare-knuckle, the PFL was his home, Fremd replied “no. MVP is, if you think about it. I fought for Bellator, I fought for UFC, bare-knuckle, PFL. Hopefully by the end of the year, next year, MVP.”

The PFL is in the process of merging into Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, and will begin to operate under the MVP banner in 2027. “I want this to be my home, I want to go after— this is a title run,” exclaimed Fremd. “I’m number nine, I got that win, we’ll see where they put me now.”

With four other middleweights competing at PFL Charlotte on Friday, Josh Fremd was game to face any one of them. That despite being on good terms with one half of Friday’s main event, Dalton Rosta.

“I want anybody. Anybody and everybody. I said it out there, I said, one of the greatest poets, one of the greatest poets of our time once said ‘b*tch, don’t get too comfortable,'” stated Fremd.

He’d later add that when it came to the middleweights in action on Friday, “I want to fight any single one of them. You can give me the Canuck, you can give me the Daddy’s boy, you can give me the retard, or you can give me the egomaniac. Dalton, I love you, you’re my boy, but we all know you got a big ego.”

The Canuck in question, Aaron Jeffery, defeated Josh Silveira, son of American Top Team coach Conan Silveira, on Friday. Rosta, the supposed egomaniac, fell to Bryan Battle by split decision.

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Josh Fremd above.

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Powell improved to 13-2 with the split decision win, and is 4-1 over his last five fights. Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, Powell noted that he was “just focused on getting the job done” in the face of the crowd reaction.

“I’ve been around now for a long time now,” England’s Powell added. “I’m a vet.”

Explaining the lack of action on Friday, Powell noted that Yagshimuradov is “a very explosive counter-striker. So I knew it could potentially be like that. There’s going to be a lot of points where we’re twitching, and it looks like there’s not very much going on.”

“I’m a counter-striker, he’s a counter-striker. That’s what happened. He didn’t give much, I just gave more,” he added.

What Simeon Powell wants next is simple, and that’s a title shot. “I want the champion, I want Corey Anderson,” he exclaimed. “And if he’s not available and he wants to go to heavyweight, he should vacate, and then me and Shoeface [Antonio Carlos Jr.] can rematch.”

Former UFC star Antonio Carlos Junior, a tournament winner in the PFL, represents the lone loss in Powell’s last five fights. The pair met in June 2025, with “Shoeface” winning a unanimous decision. Carlos went on to win the PFL World Tournament later that year, and hasn’t competed since. Champ Corey Anderson, meanwhile, won the inaugural PFL light heavyweight title back in October with his own win over Yagshimuradov, but has floated the idea of a move to heavyweight, competing there once in the PFL prior to his 205lb title win.

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Simeon Powell above.

The post PFL Charlotte: Simeon Powell Wants Title Next, Be It Against Anderson or Shoeface appeared first on Cageside Press.

With the main card expected to air on ESPN following prelims on the ESPN App, things quickly went sideways as the Savannah Bananas game went over its allotted time. ESPN, however, killed the ESPN App stream, airing the movie Dodgeball, while the PFL main card apparently went to ESPN 2, not that viewers were aware, until it finally switched back to the main ESPN channel.

It’s a situation that PFL CEO John Martin has been frequently frustrated by in recent months.

“That’s live TV,” Martin admitted, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the event. “We work collaboratively with ESPN. When you’re in the live TV business and you have prior programming that runs over, that’s a little bit unfortunately the nature of live TV. But bouncing us around in between all of the networks though is just maddening, quite honestly.”

“Again tonight I was getting texts from friends of mine like ‘the app ended, it doesn’t tell you where to go.’ They didn’t know to go to EPSN2 where we started, we had to rearrange some of our fights just to try to accommodate just so we could start the main card on the primary ESPN.”

It doesn’t help that the PFL Charlotte card had such a strong build, with early fights exceeding expectations, only for the main card to get off to a rocky start.

“Issues and problems continue, but we can’t use that as an excuse. My own opinion of the card tonight was, the star of tonight was the undercard. There were some amazing fights on the undercard, and the main card was a little more uneven.”

With the PFL’s merger into Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions underway, however, Martin does see a silver lining.

“I still love being on EPSN, they are the juggernaut in sports, and I think with our announcement with MVP, maybe we have an opportunity to talk with them and try to reset a little bit- what they may want, what we may want. I’m hopeful for that. So we’ll see.”

Martin was also pleased with the turnout at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday.

“We may have set a gate record for PFL, which obviously we’re MVP now, but for PFL events, we had a really, really strong gate,” he stated. Martin was also impressed with the crowd engagement in Charlotte, and admitted that while he knew it was a great sports town, “I didn’t know it was a really, really great MMA town. So that was a pleasant surprise for me.”

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with John Martin above.

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Battle did, indeed, pick up a split decision win to claim his first victory inside the Professional Fighters League. Though “The Butcher” felt all three judges should have scored the fight for him.

“When it ended, I thought I won the fight for sure. It was tough, it was close but I feel like I landed way more strikes,” Battle (13-3, 1NC) said following the win, which came in his own back yard and went the full 15 minutes. “If you count the total number of strikes, I landed way more strikes and I’d be curious to see the control time.”

“You talk about being in the clinch, when we’re in the clinch, I was active in the clinch. Versus when he had me in the clinch, I defended the takedown. That’s one of the things that’s going on, if I don’t do what I have to do to stop the takedown, I end up on my back. And so I gotta do what I gotta do to stay on my feet, stop him from doing what he wants to do. And that’s not going to be entertaining all the time, if that’s what they’re trying to do.”

Battle touched on it, and fans at the Bojangles Coliseum certainly let it be known that the fight wasn’t always entertaining. Still, Battle felt he had the win, though he could be seen trying to sneak a peak at the judges’ scorecards prior to the official announcement.

“For sure, I definitely thought I did. I was looking over because it was taking way too long. Normally if it takes that long, normally someone’s getting screwed. So I was like, ‘what the hell is taking so long? Let’s get out of here.'”

Battle later added that “I won. I felt like I won three out of three judges should have thought that, but two out of three is all that you need.”

To fan online suggesting the fight was a robbery, Battle was blunt. “Bro I don’t care. Next question.”

Bryan Battle is now 1-1 since arriving in the PFL earlier this year and dropping his debut against Johnny Eblen. He’s looking to fight once more in 2026.

“Another fight before the end of the year. Doesn’t matter who. Impa, Impa just lost, that’s something, me and him have floated around each other for a long time,” Battle suggested, referring to fellow UFC alum Impa Kasanganay. Josh Fremd, who also won on Friday, was another name Battle brought up.

“Welterweight’s not out of the question either.”

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Bryan Battle above.

The post Bryan Battle on Judges’ Scorecards at PFL Charlotte: “Two Out of Three Is All You Need” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina following a decision win, Jeffery (17-6) reflected on the fight, and his choice to continue on in his career.

“I would always like to make it a pretty fight, show off my skills a little bit more because I swear I have some. But I’m getting to know myself a little bit better every time I fight,” Jeffery said of the affair, which saw him working over Silveira against the fence for a good chunk of time. “If I was a betting man, I would have bet on the fight looking like that.”

The Niagara Top Team athlete, who trains alongside the likes of Jasmine Jasudavicius and Mike Malott, wasn’t surprised by much in the fight.

“No. I would like to say I’m surprised that I didn’t have questionable moments in the fight, like I got wobbled once, he had me in a front head lock pretty tight once,” stated Jeffery, going on to add “it’s a fight, and sh*t happens.”

It almost didn’t happen. Meaning the fight, period. Dealing with an injury and out of action for over a year, Jeffery came close to walking away from mixed martial arts, at least as an active fighter.

“I’ve been saying it all week that I didn’t think I’d be back here. I had a sh*tty injury that, I didn’t know if I would fight again. And I kind of had made the decision at one point that I wouldn’t, and tried to move on with my life and I wasn’t happy and I decided to come back. I’ve been saying it all week, and it sounds cliché and boring and stuff, but I was just happy to be here.”

Jeffery, who was offered a fight while injured, would like to fight again by the end of the year. At the same time, he joked, “I feel horrible. I mean very happy I won, but I don’t feel good at all.”

The good news is, Jeffery appears ready to fight on. And he does so under a new-look PFL, soon to be rebranded as MVP as it merges with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. That should bring some opportunities with it. Jeffery might jump at the right one, though he admitted that “it depends on the match-up.”

“Fighting a pro boxer, maybe not. Fighting an MMA guy in a boxing match, sure.”

Watch the full PFL Charlotte post-fight press conference with Aaron Jeffery above.

The post Aaron Jeffery Nearly Walked Away From Fighting Prior to PFL Charlotte appeared first on Cageside Press.

Daniel Rodriguez

(#14) Uros Medic smoked (#13) Daniel Rodriguez just seconds into their bout in the main event of UFC Belgrade. Daniel now falls to 10-5 with the promotion since being signed off the Contender Series in 2019. The loss snapped a 3-fight win streak for D-Rod as he had defeated Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kevin Holland since June of 2024.

Rodriguez should fight Geoff Neal or Chidi Njokuani. These two fighters were scheduled to fight on August 15th before Neal withdrew from the bout. If this is not a matchup that is rebooked D-Rod would be an excellent matchup for either guy. Neal is 8-6 with the UFC and off the 2017 season of the Contender Series. Geoff has lost three of his last four fights including a first round KO to loss to Uros Medic back in February. Njokani is 5-5 with the UFC and off the 2021 season of the Contender Series. He’s riding a two-fight skid losing against Jake Matthews and most recently, Carlos Leal. Leaning towards a matchup against a formerly ranked opponent like Geoff Neal but Chidi could also work here.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Geoff Neal 

Jan Blachowicz

(#11) Navajo Stirling flattened former light heavyweight champion (#15) Jan Blachowicz in a little over half a round on Saturday in the co main event of UFC Belgrade. A devastating outcome for Jan who is now 12-9-2 with the UFC since 2014 and has gone 0-3-2 in his last five bouts. It’s also been nothing but injuries and mishaps for the 43-year-old recently as he’s had 3 cancelled fights in the past 2.5 years.

Perfect matchup for Jan would be to give him Nikita Krylov here. A previous losers article listed another matchup against Bogdan Guskov who fought Jan to a draw and has had two cancelled fights with Jan. But seeing the rankings in this situation that doesn’t make much sense with Bogdan inside the top 10 and have just lost to the #2 ranked fighter. Krylov is a good matchup. Hes 12-10 with the promotion and has lost three of his last four. Krylov has been finished in all of those losses including against Bogdan Guskov in 2025 and most recently opposite of Robert Whittaker at UFC 329. Easy booking here.

Blachowicz’s next fight: Nikita Krylov

Marcin Tybura

Aleksandar Rakic finally got back into the win column notching one of the few decisions on Saturday with his unanimous decision victory against Marcin Tybura. Tybura is now 14-11 in the UFC.  He’s riding a 3-fight losing streak.

Tybura should be matched up against a familiar foe in his next fight. Marcin should take on Derrick Lewis. This was a matchup identified in a previous losers article as well. Derrick and Marcin first fought back in early 2018. Derrick got the KO midway through the third round, but it was a very competitive scrap. Lewis is also on a 2-fight skid so this is one that could make sense for the Black Beast. He also has a somewhat similar record with the promotion at 20-12. This heavyweight banger could be on the main card of a fight night card.

Tybura’s next fight: Derrick Lewis II 

Dusko Todorovic

Robert Valentin finished the fight via a slick guillotine choke with less than a minute left in the first round of his bout against Dusko Todorovic. Dusko is now 4-7 with the UFC since coming off of the 2019 season of the Contender Series.

Dusko’s next bout should be against the loser of Wes Schultz vs. Jackson McVey. That fight goes down on August 22nd so the timing would be fine. McVey is 1-2 with the UFC and has loss to Brunno Ferreira and Zach Reese. He was also scheduled to have a bout against Robert Valentin in November of 2025 but the bout fell through. Wes is 1-1 with the promotion since being signed of the 2025 season of the contender series (where he earned redemption after an appearance the year prior) The loser of this bout would be a perfect matchup to help reset Dusko. Loser of that next matchup could very well be in the hot seat for their spot on the roster.

Todorovic’s next fight: Wes Schultz vs. Jackson McVey loser

Vlasto Cepo

Gilbert Ulbina took exactly a minute to flatten Vlasto Cepo with a straight left and then finish the fight with round and pound. Vlasto now falls to 0-1 with the promotion. He will look to pick up the pieces from his nightmare of a debut in his next bout.

Cepo’s next fight should be against Julien Leblanc. Julien is 0-1 with the promotion as well and was also finished in his debut. He took on Robert Valentin back in April and was submitted via rear naked choke midway through the round. Good fight to make between two men that struggled out of the starting blocks.

Cepo’s next fight: Julien Leblanc

Milos Janicic

Noah Gugnon strangled and submitted his opponent, Milos Janicic, not even 90 seconds into the first round of their fight to kick of the main card. Both fighters were making their promotional debut, so Janicic is the one walking away at 0-1.

Janicic’s next fight with the UFC should be against Damian Rzepecki. This is a matchup that was featured in a previous losers article.  Damian picked up the first loss of his pro career last weekend as he lost Magomed Zaynukov in what was also his debut. These two fighters have now both have one loss and are on basically the same time schedule. Decent matchup to consider booking.

Janicic’s next fight: Damian Rzepecki

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Bogdan Guskov

(#2) Magomed Ankalaev out classed and submitted (#9) Bogdan Guskov in the final round of the pair’s five round bout of Saturday. Unfortunate outcome for Guskov as he filled in against the former champ on short notice and really had an opportunity to ‘skip the line’. Bogdan Guskov is now 4-2-1 with the UFC.

Guskov’s next fight should be against the loser of (#15) Jan Blachowicz vs. (#11) Navajo Stirling. That fight goes down August 1st so the timing would be excellent. Jan has already faced and fought Guskov to a majority draw back in December. The pair have been matched up twice since then including, August 1st before Guskov had to rebook to fill in for Rountree at UFC Abu Dhabi. 43-year-old, former champ, Jan Blachowicz is 12-8-2 with the UFC but hasn’t won a fight since 2022. Navajo is 10-0 and 5-0 with the promotion since being signed from the Contender Series in 2021. Whoever loses could potentially keep their ranking and either way, you either get an interesting rematch or a decent test for the 28-year-old. This fight could be on the main card of a fight night card.

Guskov’s next fight: Navajo Stirling vs. Jan Blachowicz loser

Steve Erceg

Ramazan Temirov melted former title challenger (#13) Steve Erceg in what was an amazing outing for the Uzbekistani fighter, and a bonus winning one. Erceg is now 5-4 with the UFC and will likely lose his ranking. This loss snapped a 2-fight win streak for Steve, over Ode Osbourne and Tim Elliot.

Steve’s next fight should be against the loser of the Charles Johnson vs. Jose Ocho fight. That fight is scheduled for August 15th so the timing could be good depending on if the bout ends with a finish. Charles is 8-7 with the UFC and lost to Ramazan back in March of last year. Jose Ocho is 2-2 with the UFC withe losses to Lone’er Kavanagh in his promotional debut and most recently, Asu Almabayev. Good bounce back, realistic matchup for Erceg against an opponent on a similar and in a similar position.

Erceg’s next fight: Charles Johnson vs. Jose Ocho loser

Damian Rzepecki

Magomed Zaynukov made his much-anticipated promotional debut and grinded out a unanimous decision victory over Damian Rzepecki, much to the delight of fans. The bout was also Damian’s promotional debut and the first loss of his professional career, as he’s now, 10-1.

Damian’s next fight should be against the loser of Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic. Both are also making their UFC debuts and that fight goes down on August 1st. Timing is close, everyone has a somewhat similar record a (19-3, 9-2, respectively). Good booking to make.

Rzepecki’s next fight: Milos Janicic vs. Noah Gugnon loser

Tyrell Fortune

(#7) Rizvan Kuniev threw down with and dispatched Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight banger that won Fight of the Night honors at UFC Abu Dhabi. The bout made it into the third round before the stoppage. Tyrell is now 1-1 with the UFC after defeating Marcin Tybura back in March for his debut.

Sticking with a previous losers article pick here, Tallison Teixeira should be Tyrell’s next fight. Teixeira is 2-2 with the UFC. The 2024 Contender Series product has wins over Justin Tafa and Tai Tuivasa but was finished in just over 30 seconds in both his promotional losses (Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich). This would be an interesting bout to make. Teixeira is just 26 and being pushed, a fight against him would do a lot heavy lifting for Tyrell and would offer an interesting stylistic matchup.

Fortune’s next fight: Tallison Teixeira

Saygid Izagakhmaev

Abubakar Vagaev bested Saygid Izagkhmaev over the course of three rounds to open the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Saygid is now 0-2 with the UFC after losing his promotional debut to Nicolas Dalby via spilt decision last November. That was a very tall task for a debut fighter. To be fair, Saygid made his debut with the UFC at 22-2.

Saygid’s next fight should be against the loser of Ty Miller vs. Billy Ray Goff. That fight goes down on August 8th so the timing would match up well. Goff is a 2022 Contender Series product that is 1-2 with the UFC. He’s lost two in a row and had four cancelled bouts. Ty is a 2025 Contender Series veteran that is 1-0 with the UFC. This could be a bit of a mismatch as Ty is 7-0 while Billy is 9-4, but both are Contender Series Americans that could be a good litmus test for a guy that was immediately thrown to the wolves like Saygid.

Izagkhmaev’s next fight: Ty Miller vs. Billy Ray Goff loser

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