Chatman was also making his promotional debut on Saturday, bypassing DWCS altogether. Wint was a perfect 7-0 to start the night, with six of those seven victories coming inside the distance.

When the fight started, it was Wint using a lot of feints. He did land a heavy leg kick, drawing the first action. It was a slow start from both athletes through a minute and a half. Wint timed a nice takedown and got deep in on it, but Chatman had incredible takedown defense. Yet while the initial defense was impressive, Wint stuck on him and hit a single leg. Chatman had an arm isolated for a kimura off bottom. No luck there, as Wint was just too strong and would solidify a good spot on top. A little under a minute left in the round, Anthony Wint transitioned to an arm triangle. The angle didn’t look right, but the squeeze was enough to put Chatman to sleep.

A short-notice UFC debut and quick turnaround from the Contender Series definitely paid off for Anthony Wint, as he won in solid fashion, on the UFC Sacramento main card no less.

Official Result: Anthony Wint def. Terrance Chatman by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:29

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An LFA veteran making the jump straight to the UFC, “The Drill” Dorsainvil had just five pro fights under his belt. He was stepping up on short notice, however, filling in for Kody Steele.

The fight started with Young landing the first significant action, an outside leg kick and a teep. He chopped at the leg again as Dorsainvil marched forward, then landed a big overhand right that appeared to stun him. Dorsainvil clinched up, but Young hit a nice throw and unloaded some nasty ground-and-pound that seemed to put Dorsainvil out for a split second. Dorsainvil was able to roll and scramble enough to survive before eventually getting back to his feet.

Dorsainvil looked a bit labored, reaching with some of his strikes, but that didn’t stop him from coming forward and putting a relentless pace on Young. He even caught a kick and dumped Young to the mat. Young quickly got back up and landed some clean shots, but whenever he let off, Dorsainvil was right back on the gas. In the pocket, Young landed another big right hand that briefly dropped Dorsainvil. It was a great round from Young, but Dorsainvil showed tremendous heart to survive and keep pushing forward.

Dorsainvil came out firing in the second round with a combination that forced Young into a clinch. He wasn’t concerned about defense when entering the pocket, throwing caution to the wind and forcing Young to fight at his pace. Young started taking more damage and began trying to pick his spots, while Dorsainvil’s pressure continued to wear him down. With about a minute left, Dorsainvil turned up the pressure even more and secured a takedown at the end of the round. It was likely an even fight heading into the third, with the momentum beginning to swing toward Dorsainvil.

Twenty seconds into the final round, Young secured a takedown, but Dorsainvil got right back to his feet and immediately started letting his hands go. He was obliging the dogfight, eating some shots but wearing them better as the fight progressed. Young was still landing powerful shots and secured another brief takedown, but he simply couldn’t keep Dorsainvil away for long.

Dorsainvil landed a short uppercut, and Young fired right back. Over the final 90 seconds, both men were visibly tired but kept letting everything go. Dorsainvil landed two big knees and secured a trip takedown, nearly taking the back before Young got back to his feet with just over 20 seconds remaining. Young then ate a nasty elbow, and both men emptied the tank over the final 10 seconds before fighting their way to the bell in an excellent fight.

“This one’s for all the underdogs, all the people who didn’t believe they could do it!” Dorsainvil called out after the fight, pointing out that he was just a regular kid from Florida who’d been working at Home Depot.

Official Result: Stan Dorsainvil def. Gauge Young by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Sacramento: Newcomer Stan Dorsainvil Makes Splash, Beats Gauge Young in Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

Cristian Perez (14-2 MMA)

Age: 27 years old

Height: 5’9″ / Reach: 72″

Weight Class: Lightweight(155lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 3)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Manoel Sousa (14-1 MMA)

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

New Opponent: Logan Paxton (10-1 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Before his first appearance on the Contender Series, Cristian Perez was a veteran of the Combate Americas (later rebranded Combate Global) promotions. He was 10-1 with Combate Global and 3-0 under the Combate Americas banner.

Cristian also competed under the Karate Combat promotional banner in 2024 in the fight before his Contender Series appearance.

Cristian’s sole loss ahead of his first Contender Series appearance was against Enrique Gonzalez. Perez ended up losing a unanimous decision in what was the Combat Global lightweight tournament championship.

Perez largely controlled the first two rounds of his Contender Series bout against Sousa. However, with all the wrestling and grappling, by the final round Perez had exhausted himself. Sousa was able to rally and get the TKO finish late in the final round to steal the win.

First Contender Series Opponent

Manoel Sousa earned a contract as a result of his third-round finish over Cristian Perez.

Sousa would wait nearly seven months until making his octagon debut against Bolaji Oki. Manoel made the most of his first promotional appearance, stopping Oki late in the third round with a straight right. The finish earned Sousa a $100k performance bonus.

Manoel made his sophomore outing recently when he took on a 13-1, Richie Miranda on August 8th. Sousa tallied a unanimous decision victory and is now 2-0 with the UFC.

Sousa’s opponents have a combined UFC record of 2-4. But that’s not his fault. Sousa has looked great in his fights with the promotion so far, and that’s part of the reason why Perez is getting another shot.

The Road Back

Since losing on the Contender Series last year, Perez has fought one time and had one cancelled bout.

Back in April, Perez took on Gilberto Santos who entered the fight with a 6-7 record for the main event of Elite Xtreme Fighting 23 (EXF). Gonzalez took a less than half the round to finish the fight on the ground, landing damaging strikes from a back mount position.

That bout was all that UFC brass needed to see as Cristian received a return invitation to the Contender Series.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series, Cristian will be taking on 10-1, Logan Paxton.

Paxton has gone the distance just twice in his MMA career. One of them came in his only loss, which was his second pro fight opposite a 2-0, JaCobi Jones. Jones is now an 11-fight veteran of the LFA and had his own shot on the Contender Series back in 2023. Jones lost a decision to Daniel Allen who didn’t receive a UFC contract after his performance (and hasn’t fought since).

Combined record of the guys that Logan has fought at the time he fought them is: 45-68.

This should be a good scrap as Cristian looks to give himself a belated 27th birthday present in the form of a UFC contract.

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

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.

Alik Lorenz (7-2 MMA)

Age: 29 years old

Height: 6’2″ / Reach: 77.5″

Weight Class: Light heavyweight (205lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 3)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (9-0 MMA)

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

New Opponent: Mahamed Aly (5-1 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Alik Lorenz entered his first Contender Series fight as a four-fight veteran of the LFA promotion. Alik had never heard the final bell and stopped all but one of his opponents in the first round. Alik’s only loss in MMA was against Darion Abbey in his second fight. And Abbey went on to fight on the exact same Contender Series card as Lorenz last year (he was finished in the first round).

Lorenz was melted in thirty seconds in his first appearance on the Contender Series. His opponent proved to just be too much, and an onslaught of punches and a well-placed knee sealed the deal for Lorenz on that night.

First Contender Series Opponent

Alik Lorenz faced Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev in his first Contender Series appearance. Of course, Abdul received a contract for his finish over Alik.

Just three months later, in November of 2025, Abdul made his promotional debut against a then 11-3, Raffael Cerqueira. The fight lasted a little over 30 seconds before Abdul secured a rear naked choke.

A little over four months later, back in April, Abdul took on Brendson Ribeiro for his first promotional appearance on a main card. Ribeiro lasted nearly three minutes but ultimately was submitted with a rear naked choke.

Most recently, Abdul took just eight seconds to drop and stop Julius Walker back in late June. That finish earned him a performance bonus and a huge step up in competition and visibility.

Abdul currently has a bout booked against Nikita Krylov on the prelims of UFC 333. Krylov is 12-10 within the UFC, recently ranked and coming off a loss to a former UFC middleweight champion in (#11) Robert Whittaker. A huge step up.

Alik’s loss has aged incredibly well as Abdul is within one win from drawing a ranked fight.

The Road Back

Since August 26th of 2025 Alik has had just one pro MMA fight. This fight came back in March when he took on Gabriel Thimoteo on LFA 228. The 5-6 fighter was no match for Alik who stopped him in under 30 seconds with a right hook and ground n’ pound. Gabriel has a loss on his record against Tuco Tokkos who is 1-3 with the UFC.

This result along with how well his former opponent is doing within the UFC was enough to birth a second opportunity on the Contender Series for Alik.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series, Alik Lorenz will be taking on Mahamed Aly. Mahamed is also a fighter that is seeking redemption and shares a lot of similarities with Alik.

This fight is guaranteed to produce a contract as both of these guys were defeated by essentially ranked caliber opponents. Not to mention, light heavyweight is one of the shallowest divisions within the UFC. Hopefully both men let their weapons free and give the fans a good show.

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

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.

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.

Mahamed Aly (5-1 MMA)

Age: 32 years old

Height: 6’3″ / Reach: ?″

Weight Class: Light heavyweight (205lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 6)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Iwo Baraniewski (9-0 MMA)

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

New Opponent: Alik Lorenz (7-2 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Mahamed Aly began his combat sports career as an incredibly decorated grappler. Aly was a 2018 IBJJF World Champion among other accolades.

Mahamed began his pro MMA career in early 2024. Aly stopped his first two opponents with head kicks before logging a TKO in his third fight. The combined record of opponents faced up to this point was: 17-31

In his fight prior to getting a shot on the Contender Series, Aly took on 2-5 UFC veteran Jared Gooden. Jared had just been released from the UFC in the fight prior to that. Aly scored a unanimous decision victory against the then 23-10 fighter.

In the first Contender Series fight Aly was swiftly floored with an overhand and stopped with the follow up ground n pound. The fight lasted just 20 seconds.

First Contender Series Opponent

Iwo Baraniewski earned a UFC contract for his lightning-fast finish of such an accredited grappler. Nearly three months later, in March, Iwo made his UFC debut opposite of a then 14-3, Ibo Aslan. Iwo, once again, got the job done in a hurry taking less than 90 seconds to finish his opponent. Baraniewski earned a performance bonus for his finish.

In his next bout, back in March, Iwo took on then, 13-7, Austen Lane. Iwo needed less than 30 seconds to stop Lane and earn yet another performance bonus. This bout was also on the main card, so huge outing for Iwo.

And in his most recent bout, Iwo drew Junior Tafa after his original opponent, Billy Elekana withdrew from the bout. Iwo smoked Tafa in 85 seconds to earn his third performance bonus with the promotion. Another fight that was on the main card as well.

Iwo is currently ranked at #15 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He has a bout schedule against the #13 ranked Alonzo Menifield for September on the main card of UFC 331.

Iwo has rocketed in stock within the promotion; you’d be hard pressed to find a loss on the Contender Series that has aged as well in such a short amount of time.

The Road Back

Since losing to Iwo Baraniewski last September, Aly has competed one time.

Back in March Aly took on a then 7-9-1, Diego Peclat at Shogun Fights 32. Aly secured the first-round victory with a body shot and that result, in combination with his history and former opponent wreaking havoc within the UFC, was enough to birth a second opportunity.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series, Mahamed will be taking on Alik Lorenz. Alik is a fighter that is going for redemption himself. Win or lose, he’s never heard the final horn in any of his six pro bouts. And he’s only been outside of the first round one time.

This has the potential to be a very short, high level and violent fight as the winner has all but a guarantee that they will be signed to the promotion.

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

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.

Trent Miller (9-3 MMA)

Age: 30 years old

Height: 5’9″ / Reach: 72″

Weight Class: Middleweight (185lbs.)

First DW’s Contender Series Fight: 2025 (Week 3)

Old DW’s Contender Series Opponent: Ryan Gandra (10-1 MMA)

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

New Opponent: Douglas Rodrigues (6-1 MMA)

First Contender Series Fight

Trent Miller began his pro MMA career in 2022. His first five bouts were all first round finishes. Miller was finished in the first round in his first loss opposite of a then 10-7 Mike Jones in 2024. Miller successfully logged another first round finish before suffering his second loss via second round submission. Trent then logged his first decision a split decision victory before stopping a 7-9 fighter in the third round under the Tuff-N-Uff banner.

Miller received a short notice DWCS opportunity after his opponent’s original matchup experienced visa issues. Trent stepped up and filled in on short notice, coming in as a heavy underdog as a result.

In the bout, Miller held his own for the first couple minutes of the fight, before he was overwhelmed and finished with punches.

First Contender Series Opponent

In his first Contender Series fight, Trent Miller took on Ryan Gandra. Ryan entered that bout with a pro record of 7-1. Obviously, Ryan earned a UFC contract for his violent finish of Miller.

Gandra waited a little over six months until competing in his promotional debut. Ryan drew a 11-6 Jose Medina (a 2023 Contender Series alum) and smoked him in just over 40 seconds. Medina fell to 0-4 with the UFC and has since been released.

For his next bout, Gandra was matched up against 10-3, Zach Reese, on the undercard of the massive UFC 329 card. Reese is a 2023 Contender Series alum who was 4-3, 1 NC with the UFC. Gandra took full advantage of being on a McGregor card, stopping Zach Reese in just over a minute with his vicious punching power.

So, two fights, two first-round finishes for Gandra thus far with the promotion. Gandra has his third UFC fight booked for another numbered card, this time taking on 10-4, Ozzy Diaz. Ozzy is a 2022 Contender Series alum who had the misfortune of facing Joe Pyfer (current #4 ranked middleweight). Since being signed in 2024, Ozzy is 1-2 with the UFC. It’s also worth mentioning one of those losses was a short notice debut a weight class up against Mingyang Zhang.

Trent’s loss to Ryan Gandra has aged wonderfully, hence why he is getting another shot.

The Road Back

Since losing on August 26 last year, Trent has had one fight. On January 10, Trent took on Tyler Smith who entered the fight at 3-3.

Tyler has had taken on some pretty notable opponents in his short pro career. Including a pro MMA debut victory opposite of Cody Vidal who is absolutely tearing it up over in BKFC right now. Tyler’s second pro fight was actually against a 3-0 Dominick Reyes who was hell-bent for the UFC.

Smith lasted until the second round until he was melted by Tyler in what was the main event that night.

Gameplan/New Opponent

For his shot at redemption on the Contender Series, Trent will be taking on Douglas Rodrigues. Douglas is 6-1 as a pro but has taken on some decent opponents. His toughest fight was his most recent as he took on Gabriel Ramos, who entered the fight at 7-1-1. Douglas scored the finish in the second round to secure the Future Fighting Championship Middleweight title.

Douglas has been a pro since 2018 and suffered the only loss of his career in his second bout to then 2-3, Wesley do Nascimento.

Both of these guys are very violent and in a weight class where fighters are rendered unconscious often. This is a fight the fans should keep their eyes on to see if Trent can make the best of his second chance.

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

As a result, the bout had shifted to a 130lb catchweight, with 2025 Contender Series winner Chapolin making his debut with all of three days warning.

When the fight started, Johnson went for an early takedown, but Chapolin defended it with ease. Chapolin then began chopping at Johnson’s lead leg, forcing Johnson to shoot again. The Brazilian defended once more, which was an important early success. Chapolin continued attacking the leg, clearly looking to slow down Johnson’s quick-twitch movement.

Johnson was doing a lot of moving, landing short strikes one at a time while staying elusive. Chapolin eventually hit a beautiful foot-sweep takedown, but landed an illegal knee while Johnson was grounded. The referee deducted a point, but Johnson was able to continue. In the final seconds, Johnson ducked under a head kick and closed the round with another takedown attempt and a flurry of punches. It was a strange round that likely goes down as a 9-9.

Round two started with Chapolin inching forward and cutting off the cage as he looked to track Johnson down. Johnson did a good job moving laterally and getting off the centerline, using plenty of feints to keep Chapolin guessing. However, that confidence caught up with him when he got clipped by a left hook and dropped. Before that, Chapolin had already done significant damage to Johnson’s lead leg.

Johnson was in serious trouble midway through the round as Chapolin maintained a relentless pace. Johnson kept stumbling around the cage, but he continued moving and making the fight awkward enough to survive. With about a minute remaining, Chapolin appeared to be slowing down. Johnson began picking up his volume, although Chapolin never stopped throwing. Johnson missed a takedown attempt to end the round but landed a solid combination that gave the judges plenty to think about.

Heading into the third, it was difficult to know how the judges had the fight scored, leaving everything up in the air.

The final round began with Chapolin once again attacking the legs, but Johnson looked like he was on a mission. Johnson hurt Chapolin with a teep, prompting Chapolin to shoot for a takedown. Johnson defended and immediately took Chapolin’s back. As Chapolin tried to turn into him, Johnson adjusted beautifully and locked up a brutal Scottish Twister. It was an incredibly painful submission, and Chapolin had no choice but to tap.

An impressive win, and a solid post-fight interview from Johnson, who sent his condolences to Chute Box on the passing of Allan Nascimento. Original opponent Jose Ochoa was one of many Chute Box fighters grieving the loss of Nascimento.

Official Result: Charles Johnson def. Eduardo Chapolin by submission (Scottish Twister), Round 3, 1:36

The post UFC 330: Charles Johnson Hits Scottish Twister on Eduardo Chapolin, Tributes Late Allan Nascimento appeared first on Cageside Press.

The all-Brazilian match-up saw Fernando, an LFA champ who had defended his belt there twice, jump straight to the UFC and bypass the Contender Series. Tobias had gone through the show, only to lose his debut, leaving him still in search of his first UFC victory.

Fernando started hot, attacking with kicks to the body and head before catching Tobias with a right hand. He applied pressure immediately, mixing his attacks well. He whiffed on a wheel kick but followed it up with a nice combination to the body. Fernando was fighting behind his kicks extremely well, constantly going low and to the body and giving Tobias a lot to think about. He wasn’t neglecting his hands either, mixing in the jab and one-two.

In the clinch, Tobias had an opportunity to potentially get Fernando down but instead ate a brutal knee to the body. Back at range, Fernando landed another hard body kick and calf kick. Tobias eventually caught one of the kicks and put Fernando on his back, but he did nothing with the position. Fernando quickly worked his way back to his feet before the bell.

Fernando opened the second round with three hard calf kicks before landing a jab that sat Tobias down. He welcomed Tobias back to his feet with a big right hand and then narrowly missed on another wheel kick. Things settled down from there, with Fernando continuing to slowly pick Tobias apart.

He kept looking for the head kick, but he was at his best when keeping things basic. By this point, Tobias looked completely lost, struggling to get anything going. Fernando mixed his attacks so well and attacked all three levels that Tobias simply froze.

Going into the third round, Tobias needed to find some kind of miracle. He came out with an early flurry, but Fernando soon had him stuck at range again with the leg kicks and jab. One leg kick actually buckled Tobias, but Fernando didn’t rush in looking for the finish. Shortly after, though, he landed a nasty knee to the body. Tobias had enough, and the fight was over after a few more strikes, mainly elbows, rained down.

Official Result: Lucas Fernando def. Rafael Tobias by TKO (knee to body and elbows), Round 3, 1:10

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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.

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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