Vieira, a former UFC bantamweight title challenger, had been set to face champion Cris Cyborg for the PFL women’s featherweight championship. However, with Vieira hitting the scales seven pounds over the title fight limit, the league had little choice in the matter. The main event now continues as a catchweight of sorts: for Cyborg, the title is still on the line, meaning she can still lose it.

While Vieira has fought mainly as a bantamweight, she also blew weight for a 2025 144lb catchweight fight with Macy Chiasson, as well as for a bantamweight bout with Yana Santos in 2021. Neither of those misses, however, was nearly as bad as what transpired on Saturday.

Vieira later released a statement on the matter to MMA Fighting, saying that “I had severe pain in my kidneys and stomach since last night. I felt really sick throughout the entire night. Master ‘Dedé’ [André Pederneiras] slept in my bed with me, massaging my back so I could get some sleep.”

“This morning, I felt sick again and had another severe episode. I can’t explain why this happened. I was doing well on weight, I’m a bantamweight fighter, and it had nothing to do with my weight. I was in a lot of pain, and ‘Dedé’ wouldn’t let me continue losing weight. I was doing well and sweating properly, but then I had this very severe episode, and [Pederneiras] chose to prioritize my health.”

Vieira is making her promotional debut in the bout.

PFL Tampa Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Featherweight: Cris Cyborg (c) (145) vs. Ketlen Vieira (152.2)* – originally for the PFL women’s featherweight championship, Vieira ineligible to win title
Lightweight: Gadzhi Rabadanov (156) vs. Tracy Reeder (155)
Women’s flyweight: Taila Santos (125.6) vs. Sabrinna de Sousa (125)
Light heavyweight: Luke Trainer (205.6) vs. Roland Dunlap (205.8)

Preliminary Card

141lb Catchweight: Marcirley Alves (141.8 lbs)* vs. Nkosi Ndebele (140.4)
Bantamweight: Magomed Magomedov (136) vs. Daniel Marcos (135.6)
Bantamweight: Movsar Ibragimov (136) vs. Javid Basharat (136)
Lightweight: Dakota Bush (155.8) vs. Morquez Forest (155.8)
Lightweight: Natan Schulte (156) vs. Artur Zaynukov (155.6)
Lightweight: Gino Van Steenis (156) vs. Robert Watley (155.4)
Welterweight: Eoin Sheridan (170.8) vs. James Vake (170.8)

* fighter missed weight

Update: Per a statement by Cris Cyborg, she will still be eligible to retain her title, and will lose the belt should she lose to Vieira at PFL Tampa

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The card’s main event sees Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez looking to bounce back from a loss against Sean Strickland that had snapped an impressive eight-fight win streak that had put him firmly in title contention.

“Robocop” Rodrigues will be standing opposite him, a hard-hitting fan favorite who has claimed victory in his last three fights, with two by knockout.

Also on the card, a pair of former middleweights turned light heavyweights, with Reinier de Ridder returning to the division for the first time as a UFC athlete, going up against Roman Dolidze. RDR was a former ONE double-champ at middleweight and light heavyweight, with the weight cut to 185lbs becoming too draining. Dolidze had moved up in weight previously.

Weigh-ins for UFC Sacramento take place Friday, results can be found below.

UFC Sacramento: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues Weigh-In Results

Main card

Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez (186) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (185)
Heavyweight: Serghei Spivac (257) vs. Vitor Petrino (246)
Light Heavyweight: Reinier de Ridder (205) vs. Roman Dolidze (206)
Lightweight: MarQuel Mederos (156) vs. Mason Jones (156)
Women’s Flyweight: Carli Judice (125.5) vs. Jeisla Chaves (124.5)
Heavyweight: Anthony Wint (231) vs. Terrance Chatman (266)

Preliminary card

Featherweight: Jamall Emmers (143.5)  vs. Lerryan Douglas (145.5)
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (244) vs. Shamil Gaziev (261)
Lightweight: Chris Padilla (156) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (155.5)
Featherweight: Márcio Barbosa (145.5) vs. Ryan Kuse (144.5)
Lightweight: Gauge Young (155.5) vs. Stanley Dorsainvil (155.5)
Middleweight: Wesley Schultz (186) vs. Jackson McVey (185)
Women’s Strawweight: Shanelle Dyer (116) vs. Elise Reed (115)

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With Anthony Hernandez fighting in front of his hometown crowd and both middleweights trying to push their way toward a title shot, Rodrigues sees Saturday night as the perfect opportunity to walk into enemy territory, beat one of the division’s best and make his case that it’s his turn to join the middleweight title conversation.

“Every fight, specially in the UFC, is the best fighters in the world. Not easy fights there, but I know everyone can see what Fluffy did. 8-win streak, just lost to the current champion Sean Strickland,” Rodrigues told reporters on Wednesday.

“I know that’s going to be a good fight. That’s why I want to fight him because everything he did. I want to fight with the best. I belong in this position as well. That’s why (I’m) excited to fight guys like him and keep working to my goal. One day fight for the title and be a middleweight champion.”

Rodrigues will be walking into enemy territory on Saturday night, but he isn’t worried about having the hometown crowd against him. If anything, he believes all that pressure falls squarely on Hernandez.

“Pressure? On him, not me. His hometown, not mine. So it’s all pressure on him man, but I like it,” he said.

“The people, the fans, is going to love it. It’s a real nice matchup. I’m excited, we are the perfect position to fight each other, to see who’s going to move forward for the title. He had his chance, he fight Sean Strickland, and I was rooting for him in that fight. Sean beat him and became champion. I think now it’s my turn.”

Earlier in the day, Hernandez spoke to reporters and didn’t mince words when discussing what he expected from the matchup. “Fluffy” said he and Rodrigues were going to step into the cage and try to kill each other. Rodrigues agreed, and with the way these two fight, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll give it their best shot.

“Oh yeah. For sure. I will kill him first,” he said with a smile.

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He also picked up his letterman jacket for 50 clean tests under the UFC’s anti-doping program (dating back to the USADA era), a milestone that only a handful of athletes in the promotion even last long enough to obtain.

Asked what the most unexpected place doping agents have tracked him to was, “when I’m heading to go dirt biking was probably the most inconvenient place,” Hernandez (15-3, 1NC) admitted. “But it always works out, because they’re amazing, they call me, and we always make it happen.”

While the longevity required to reach that honor is no small feat, actually doing it isn’t as hard as you might think, according to Hernandez.

“As long as you follow the UFC’s program, it’s pretty f*cking hard to fail. Unless you’re like a b*tch, and you’re like ‘I need steroids.’ Then it is what it is.”

“I carry myself on not cheating and doing that sh*t. I want to be the best in the world with no enhanced drugs, no nothing,” continued Hernandez. “The goal is obviously the championship. I just want to be able to show people, I’m from a small town of like 700, I just want to show everyone that if you need to get the f*ck out, you can, you just got to put your head down and go.”

Watch the full UFC Sacramento media day appearance by Anthony Hernandez above.

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Announced on Wednesday, Liz Carmouche (26-8) will run it back with Jena Bishop (11-3) to crown the inaugural women’s flyweight champion in the PFL. The fight will take place on October 16, 2026 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.

Former Bellator MMA women’s flyweight champ Carmouche, who twice fought for gold in the UFC (at 125 and 135lbs), won the PFL World Tournament in 2025, with many expecting a title shot to come next. Instead, she returned earlier this summer, submitting fellow UFC alum Viviane Araujo in the second round at PFL San Diego.

PFL Chicago will see Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop in a rematch of the World Tournament final, which saw Bishop knocked out in the third round. Bishop, a multi-time jiu-jitsu champ, has since bounced back with two submission victories, most recently putting away former UFC contender Ariane Lipski.

Bishop started her career with a 7-0 run that took her to the the 2024 PFL Global tournament by way of Bellator, a promotion the league later acquired. Seven of her eleven victories have been by way of tap out.

No other fights have been announced or reported for October’s PFL Chicago.

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Kicking off this UFC Sacramento edition of TTP is our interview with PFL lightweight, Dakota Bush. Bush discusses the change in his fortune as he’s ripped through a 8-fight winning streak. Plus, he chats about his big finish in his PFL debut and how that has him on a trajectory for success in the company. Plus, we chat about his upcoming fight with CFFC champion Raheam Forest and he logs a prediction for the fight.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Sacramento (16:52)

After a big numbered card, the UFC stays on the road, this time switching to the West Coast. UFC Sacramento comes to you from ‘The Golden State’ and is headlined by a hotly contested middleweight bout. Anthony Hernandez squares off with Gregory Rodrigues as both look to make a jump in the middleweight rankings. Plus, in the co-main event, Vitor Petrino makes the jump up to heavyweight where he’ll be welcomed by Sergey Spivak. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Wes Schultz Interview (24:25)

Closing out this UFC Sacramento edition of TTP is our interview with UFC middleweight, Wes Schultz. Schultz discusses the chaos of his last fight and what it’s like to fight on foreign soil. Now back on domestic soil, he talks about what the crowd might look like inside of the Golden 1 Center. Plus, he talks about the turnaround for this fight as well as the opponent. He faces off with Jackson McVey in a middleweight tilt. He breaks down that fight for us and gives us a prediction.

The post TTP Ep. 545: Dakota Bush, Wes Schultz and UFC Sacramento appeared first on Cageside Press.

Five of ten fighters scheduled to appear in week two had fought on the show in recent seasons, including featured fighter Kaik Brito, a former two-time (and recent) Oktagon MMA champion.

Brito gets Namo Fazil of MVP MMA infamy this week, a fighter who made a splash by calling out everyone from Nate Diaz to Arman Tsarukyan after arriving on the radar with the Netflix card.

Also returning, Trent Miller, Cristian Perez, Mahamed Aly, and Alik Lorenz. The last two were paired up with one another, meaning it was likely someone was earning a UFC contract with their second appearance on DWCS.

Where to Watch Dana White’s Contender Series

DWCS returns at the Meta Apex on August 18, 2026 with Season 10, Week 2 kicking off the 2026 campaign. The Contender Series airs live on Paramount+ in the U.S., and on SportsNet in Canada. Ep. 2 kicks off at 7PM ET, 4PM PT. Full results can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 2 Results

Welterweight: Kaik Brito def. Namo Fazil by knockout (right hand), Round 3, 0:12
Middleweight: Trent Miller def. Douglas Rodrigues by submission (Von Flue choke), Round 2, 1:04
Lightweight: Cristian Perez def. Logan Paxton by TKO, Round 2, 1:06
Light Heavyweight: Alik Lorenz def. Mahamed Aly by knockout (punches), Round 1, 2:23
Featherweight: Roman Puga def. Taner Trembley by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Contract Winners: Roman Puga, Taner Trembley, Alik Lorenz, Cristian Perez, Trent Miller, Kaik Brito

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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.

Kaik Brito (19-6 MMA)

Age: 29 years old

Height: 5’11″ / Reach: 72″

Weight Class: Welterweight (170lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2023 (Week 3)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Oban Elliott (12-5 MMA)

Second DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2026 (Week 2)

New Opponent: Namo Fazil (10-1 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Kaik had some good experience before fighting on the Contender Series for the first time. Kaik had a first round stoppage victory over Robert Bryczek (currently 1-2 in the UFC).

Brito also suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Mateusz Rebecki (5-4 UFC record), an eventual 2022 Contender Series alum.

Kaik’s four losses ahead of his first Contender Series appearance were to Erivan Pereira (10-1), Mateusz Rebecki (9-1), Pavel Gordeev (16-2), and Petr Knize (12-1). The combined record of the fighters he lost to before the Contender Series was 47-5.

Brito entered that first Contender Series fight with a 16-4 record. Kaik got into a closely contested war with his opponent where he was just edged out on the scorecards despite dropping his opponent and threatening him with an armbar in the second. The wrestling and ground ‘n pound of his opponent sealed the deal.

First Contender Series Opponent

Kaik faced Oban Elliott in his first appearance on the Contender Series, who earned a contract for his hard-fought majority decision. Elliott entered that Contender Series bout with an 8-2 record.

Oban’s debut in the UFC came six months later as he took on a then 7-1, Val Woodburn, on the under card of UFC 298. Elliott logged a unanimous decision victory.

Four months later, in June, Oban took on a then 11-4, Preston Parsons on the undercard of UFC 304. Elliott again ended up in the winner’s circle picking up another unanimous decision win.

About four months after that, in November, Oban took on Bassil Hafez who entered the bout with a 9-4-1 record. Elliott scored his first finish with the promotion as he stopped Hafez with an overhand right and the follow up ground ‘n pound. The finish earned Elliott his first UFC performance bonus.

In June of 2025 Elliott fought an 11-2, Seok Hyeon Ko. Seok handed Oban the first loss of his UFC career when he defeated him by unanimous decision.

Due to an illness, fans didn’t see Oban in the octagon again until late January 2026 on the undercard of UFC 325. There Oban suffered the first stoppage loss of his UFC career at the hands of an 8-1, Jonathan Micallef. Miacallef submitted Elliott via a rear naked choke in the second round.

And in his most recent fight, back in August, Oban took on a 9-0 Michael Oliveira. Michael made quick work of Oban as he floored the welterweight with a straight right and finished the fight with ground ‘n pound in the first round.

This is a fight that has aged pretty well all things considered. Oban is 3-3 with the UFC and the opponents that he’s lost to have a combined UFC record of: 6-1. Considering Kaik and Oban had a close fight; it makes sense for the UFC brass to circle back around at take another look.

The Road Back

In the nearly three years since Kaik last appeared on the Contender Series he has competed four times and had one cancelled fight.

In December of 2023, Kaik fought Dalton Ribeiro who entered the fight with an 8-8 record. Kaik stopped his opponent with ground ‘n pound less than two minutes into the bout.

Kaik wouldn’t fight till a full year later, taking on a then 15-6 Ion Surdu under the OKTAGON promotional banner. Surdu stunned Kaik with a first round head kick finish to win the OKTAGON welterweight championship.

In June of 2025 Kaik returned to take on Joilton Lutterbach, who entered the fight with a 39-10 record. Kaik made quick work of Joilton sitting him down with a right hook and a head kick, before finishing the job with ground ‘n pound. Fight was again over in under two minutes.

And in his most recent fight, Kaik took on a 23-9, Ronald Paradeiser. This time, Kaik successfully captured the OKTAGON welterweight championship, finishing his opponent in the third round via a spinning back fist.

Kaik had rebooked his cancelled fight from December of 2025 against Amiran Gogoladze for this September before he got the call to fight in the main event of the Contender Series 2026 Season Week 2.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series Kaik Brito will be taking on a 10-1, Namo Fazil. Namo is a veteran of the Cage Fighting League (CFL) and a one fight veteran of ONE Fighting Championships. Fazil is also a one fight veteran of the Karate Combat promotion. And, in his most recent fight, Fazil fought on the MVP MMA Netflix event, stopping a 6-1 Jake Babian on the prelims of a historic card.

His sole loss in pro MMA came in his fourth pro fight back in 2022 when he lost a unanimous decision to Mohammad Alaqreaa, who was 3-0. Alaqreaa is now also 10-1, he’s also a six-fight veteran of the PFL where he won the PFL MENA welterweight tournament championship in 2025.

This should be a high level and competitive fight. Fans should expect for the winner of this bout to receive a contract no matter the method. On paper both guys look UFC ready.

The post Redemption: Second Chances on Dana White’s Contender Series — Kaik Brito appeared first on Cageside Press.

“It’s a prestigious thing to be on Dana White’s Contender Series. So I was willing to claw my way back if I needed to be,” Lorenz explained. “Because I know what it takes to get there and everything. I know it’s not easy to get there. And I was hoping to be there [this year]. I got there, luckily, after the quick KO. So I can’t complain.”

Although the fight was short and didn’t allow him to show what he’s made of, he did feel like he walked away with something. Because the Contender Series experience is so different from fights on the regional scene, having that experience takes a load off from the second effort.

“Just the experience alone. I will say like the whole experience is different from just any other fight in general. Forget about the pressure and everything that – all the stakes that are riding on it –  just as far as the walkouts, you coming out, there’s no music,” he said. “There’s not really any fans. It’s basically dead quiet. You hear the commentators. You hear [Daniel Cormier] giving you a little rundown about yourself. You hear him talk about your opponent. Then you just get out there and fight right away. There’s no introductions or nothing.”

Now with all the weird vibes that came with the first experience, he can just focus on making this another fight – another chance to show what he’s made of.

“Knowing in the back of my mind, we’ve already done this. This is nothing new because it is so different than any other fight,” Lorenz said. “It is going to be nice having that experience already.”

His second chance will come against another hot prospect in Mahamed Aly. He’s set on showing all of his skills and coming away with that contract.

“It’s definitely going to end in a finish. I’m not letting it go to the decision,” he said. “And I’m actually going to be able to showcase my skills and abilities this time, and I’m excited to do so.”

You can catch Lorenz’s second chance at a UFC contract this Tuesday. The fight card begins at 7pm EST and airs on Paramount+.

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“It kind of was like a slow build until I started going to college and I wrestled in college. I had a buddy who was training with the Diaz brothers out in Stockton because I’m from California,” Paxton explained. “It was a good hour drive South and he was like, ‘hey, why don’t you come out sometime? Like it’s just some it’s just fun workout in the offseason.'”

Paxton was familiar with the world of MMA and what it meant to be training with the Diaz brothers. But while he jumped at the chance to see what it was all about, his buddy had left out some valuable information.

“Of course I know who Nate Diaz is and it would be an honor to train with them. So funny story – I actually go out with him one time and this was the offseason after my first year wrestling,” he said. “I’m like 19 years old. I go to the Diaz gym in Stockton, I see Nate there and all the guys, and [my buddy] didn’t tell me it was a sparring day.”

It was already a big ask to be put in that room with so many talented fighters, but it got much more serious in quick fashion.

“Literally, I’ve never put on gloves before besides boxing with my homies in the backyard or messing with wrestlers on the wrestling mat. So, of course, Nate’s was in camp for somebody,” Paxton recalled. “He was like, ‘you want to take some of our gear and get in the ring with Nate?’ I’m not going to say no. So literally, fresh out of wrestling season, I had my very first sparring rounds ever in a cage, for boxing, was against Nate Diaz.”

Paxton was realistic about what success might have looked like that day – nearly a decade ago at this point. While he didn’t exactly take it to Stockton’s finest, he did feel like he showed that he had the toughness to make it in the sport.

“I will say he took it easy on me – took it light. He was being pretty nice to me, but we went about three or three to five rounds,” he recalled. “I definitely earned his respect. The fact that I was able to go for like five rounds, even though I never boxed before.”

Now with a little more experience under his belt, and that same toughness in tow, he looks to arrive in the same lightweight division that Nate Diaz made his home in for years. Paxton fights for a UFC contract this Tuesday on Dana White’s Contender Series against Cristian Perez. The fight card starts at 7pm EST and airs on Paramount+.

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