Movsar Evloev

This should be short and simple: title shot. It doesn’t matter that it was yet another decision. It doesn’t even matter that the scoring was controversial. You don’t get to 20-0, with half of those wins in the UFC, by accident. Despite what the UFC may have been hoping for, Movsar Evloev has earned his day in court. He should face Alexander Volkanovski in the summer.

Evloev’s next fight: Alexander Volkanovski

Luke Riley

The promotion clearly thinks very highly of Like Riley, giving him a co-main event slot in just his second UFC fight. If it wasn’t for Michael Aswell’s toughness, Riley may have added another KO to his résumé. At just 26 years of age, Riley shows promise but also some greenness. I think a fight with a veteran like Gaston Bolaños would not only make for a valuable test, but also a fun striking contest between Bolaños’ kickboxing and Riley’s Muay Thai backgrounds.

Riley’s next fight: Gaston Bolaños

Michael Page

It wouldn’t be a hyperbole to call this fight one of the worst UFC fights in recent memory. These two were landing single-digit strikes almost every round. Between MVP’s recent comments showing how displeased he’s been with the promotion, his walkout to Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us” and this anemic performance, I wonder if he was actively trying to get cut. If so, if feels a bit pointless to matchmake for him, at this moment. I would’ve liked to have seen him face Robert Whittaker at middleweight, but since Page is back to welterweight, I think the winner of upcoming Winnipeg main event is an appropriate fight.

Page’s next fight: Burns/Malott winner

Iwo Baraniewski

This fight was made for one reason and it was to provide some guaranteed action for the fans. Austen Lane was never durable at heavyweight, so it was hard to see how he’d become more durable by cutting weight to get down to 205 lbs. This fight was a squash match and it didn’t teach us more about Iwo Baraniewski than what we already knew. If we want to test this undefeated gunslinger, I think Ion Cutelaba would be a worthy opponent.

Baraniewski’s next fight: Ion Cutelaba

Christian Leroy Duncan

CLD has shown clear signs of improvements since his early UFC loss to Armen Petrosyan. He’s able to deliver highlight-reel finishes while also soundly defeating a ranked veteran like Roman Dolidze in ways he wasn’t able to just a year and a half ago against Gregory Rodrigues. With this victory, he extends his win streak to 4 and will have a number next to his name in the next rankings update. Jared Cannonier has shown to still have enough gas left in the tank to turn back a riser like Robocop last winter. Let’s see if CLD can pass that test.

Leroy Duncan’s next fight: Jared Cannonier

Danny Silva

Danny Silva has proven to be an interesting player at featherweight. I think his ceiling is something akin to a Dan Ige-type of fighter. He’ll be a great test for any up-and-comer in this division. Kevin Vallejos passed that test last August, but Kurtis Campbell couldn’t pass it on Saturday. The UFC could throw any name at Silva and it would make for a fine fight. Personally, I landed on Steven Nguyen who had a nice win last July, but hasn’t fought since.

Silva’s next fight: Steven Nguyen

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Well, not quite. Still, Brando Peričić will have to settle for a $25,000 finishing bonus, as he was not one of two Performance of the Night bonus winners on a ho-hum card at the O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday.

Instead, it was newcomer Shanelle Dyer and Judoka Iwo Baraniewski claiming Performance bonuses at the Fight Night event. Dyer kicked off the card (almost literally), landing a head kick on a slightly overweight Ravena Oliveira then putting her away with a knee and punches to start the night. That got Londoners on their feet, and seemed to set the table for a big night, only for a couple of plodding decisions to stall momentum throughout the evening.

Peričić and Danny Silva were bright spots and also had TKO finishes on the card, but it was Poland’s Baraniewski who truly stunned, putting away former heavyweight Austen Lane in just 28 seconds in a 205lb scrap.

Fight of the Night honors, meanwhile, went to Mason Jones and Axel Sola. The fight left Sola bloodied and needing multiple stitches, in particular to close up a nasty gash on his face.

All four bonus winners pocket $100,000 for their efforts. Bonuses were announced by UFC CEO and President Dana White at the night’s post-fight press conference. White listed 18,000 in attendance for a $4.5 million U.S. gate.

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Lane was dropping to 205lbs for the first time, after sitting out part of 2025 following surgery stemming from his fight with Vitor Petrino. Baraniewski was looking to streak after a devastating 90 second KO in his UFC debut.

A former star in Judo, Baraniewski was looking to maintain his perfect record in MMA, which was a spotless 7-0 to start the night.

Round 1 – Baraniewski landed a massive overhand right into a left hook to sit Lane down just 25 seconds into the fight. Lane hit the floor immediately and the ref stepped in after a couple ground and pound shots. Baraniewski gets the massive KO win to continue his insane streak of first-round finishes.

The stoppage saw Lane protesting, but his pleas would go nowhere. For Baraniewski, now 8-0, it’s another dazzling win. Speaking with Michael Bisping after the bout, the Polish prospect explained that he had hoped to show some of his judo base in the fight, but the knockout was there to be had instead.

Baraniewski has never gone the distance in MMA.

Official Result: Iwo Baraniewski def. Austen Lane by TKO (punches), Round 1, 0:28

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Fresh off a thrilling Fight of the Night effort at UFC 323, Baraniewski (7-0), a 2025 Contender Series winner, will take on Lane (13-7, 1NC) as part of March’s UFC London card.

Cageside Press confirmed the booking following an initial report by Lowking.pl. The event takes place on March 21, 2026 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Baraniewski, 27, hails from Warsaw, Poland, and went 3-0 in 2025. That included his DWCS appearance and UFC debut, in a fight with Ibo Aslan that was talked about as a Fight of the Year candidate. Instant splash.

As for Lane, the former NFL defensive end will be making his 205lb debut in the fight. Having spent his fighting career at heavyweight, Lane remains best known as the infamous Greg Hardy’s first opponent on the Contender Series. It took Lane a little longer to make it to the big show, and he’s now on the brink of being shown the door, having lost his last two bouts.

Lane is 1-4, 1NC inside the octagon to date.

UFC London, 2026 edition, is expected to be headlined by featherweight contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. The card as reported to date breaks down as follows:

• Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy
• Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Roman Dolidze
• Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola
• Iwo Baraniewski vs. Austen Lane

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The rematch, the final main event of the UFC’s numbered events on ESPN, was a thriller, with Petr Yan showing up in career-best form. On route to evening his career series with Dvalishvili, who was attempting to defend his 135lb title for a record-setting fourth time in a calendar year, Russia’s Yan displayed top-notch takedown defense, and even landed a few takedowns of his own. On top of that, he had the edge in striking, rocking and bloodying Dvalishvili early in the bout.

True to form, Dvalishvili’s cardio never faded, but he soon found himself in an unfamiliar position: fighting from behind. And he never could make up the gap, losing a unanimous decision with the closest score being a 48-47. The remaining two judges, however, scored the fight 49-46.

The win for Yan sets up a trilogy fight, which might be the smart play for the UFC, given how good Saturday’s headliner was.

Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 323 went to Iwo Baraniewski, who got into a one-round, actually 89-second brawl with Ibo Aslan, and Manuel Torres. Torres put away Grant Dawson in the night’s featured prelim.

All four bonus-winners take home the usual $50,000 U.S. for their efforts (with that number set to rise in the new year).

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Baraniewski was 6-0 to start the night, while Aslan, with nearly three times the experience in professional MMA, had lost his last two bouts.

Iwo, Ibo? The UFC matchmakers seemed to be having fun with this match-up. Fun is what the fight boiled down to, meanwhile.

It didn’t take long for this scrap to turn into complete chaos. They crashed into the clinch early, and Baraniewski rocked Aslan with a short shot that sent him to the mat. He swarmed for the finish, but Aslan fired back and suddenly had Baraniewski in trouble.

Aslan started winging wild haymakers while Baraniewski shelled up on the fence, weathering the storm. Despite the pressure, he stayed composed in the madness and answered with a clean right hand that dropped Aslan.

Aslan got back up and started swinging again, but in the next exchange, Baraniewski clipped him with another right, and the follow-up ground-and-pound finally put him out.

An absolutely absurd fight from start to finish.

Official Result: Iwo Baraniewski def. Ibo Aslan via KO (punch and Ground n’ Pound), Round 1, 1:29

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A contract was almost a certainty after that performance, even though the 26-year old from Poland didn’t show any of his famous Judo skills.

That was by design, he added, noting that the plan was to keep the fight on the feet. “We have plan to fight in boxing, we planned to knock him out,” Baraniewski (6-0) said during his post-fight media appearance with outlets including Cageside Press. “That was the plan.”

Despite his accolades, Baraniewski was the biggest underdog on Tuesday’s card.

“When I’m the underdog, this is motivation for me,” he admitted, even if it wasn’t in this case. “Before the fight, I didn’t know that I’m the underdog. After the fight, in the interview, I heard that,” he revealed. “I very [much] like [being the underdog].”

From here, Iwo Baraniewski is looking to take a wee bit of time off before booking his UFC debut. “I stay here. I stay here, and I come to California with my girlfriend, we’re sightseeing, something. A few days break, a few days rest, I can eat something, more than like diet,” he explained.

As for when he wants to debut, “after my little holiday, I will be ready to come back and train, and I will be waiting for the fight.”

Watch the full DWCS 2026 Week 6 post-fight media appearance by Iwo Baraniewski above.

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Last week, DWCS 2025 Week 5 saw four contracts awarded, including one to Steven Asplund, who rattled off a rather unique post-fight interview that featured an offer to suck Dana White’s toes. We… probably won’t see that in week six. Probably.

What we will see is the return of Ireland’s Paddy McCorry, a Cage Warriors veteran who may be familiar to UFC fans after he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 32 last year. Judo champ Iwo Baraniewski also appears, boasting an undefeated record with a 100% finish rate.

We’ve got all the action scouted, so let’s get to our latest breakdown for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9.

Bantamweight, Hecher Sosa (13-1) Vs. Mackson Lee (9-0)

Notable Notes

• Lee has a five-inch height advantage
• Sosa is 4-0 against Brazilians
• Sosa has 25 more fights than Lee as a pro and amateur
• Sosa is 4-0 to the decision
• Lee has never seen the scorecards
• Sosa and Lee have finishes in rounds one, two, and three
• Lee has fought seven guys with a losing record. Five of those without a win
• Lee has split wins via KO/TKO and submission
• Sosa has finished his last five opponents
• Lee has just three fights in five years
• US debut for both men

Hecher Sosa

It was only a matter of time before Sosa earned this opportunity—or a direct UFC signing. With Ilia Topuria flying the flag for Spain and the UFC eyeing a potential event there, Sosa stands out as the country’s top prospect.

Primarily a striker, Sosa also poses a real threat on the ground with heavy ground-and-pound and a knack for snatching the neck in scrambles. While he’s been taken down before, his overall takedown defense has mostly held up.

On the feet, Sosa’s striking is a bit unorthodox. In extended exchanges, his technique can get wild, and his hands tend to stray from textbook form. That said, he’s got a crisp lead left hook and is slick when fading out of the pocket with that left. He also throws heavy leg kicks, though he could benefit from setting them up more consistently.

Defensively, he keeps his hands low, but so far, his head movement and footwork have been enough to avoid major damage. Sosa fights at a high pace, carries real power, and has the explosiveness to shift the momentum of a fight in an instant. Still, there are questions about how well his style will translate to the UFC level, as his wins have mostly come against lower-tier opposition.

Mackson Lee

Lee burst onto the scene with his LFA debut last August, where he made an immediate impact by knocking off the highly regarded Mateus Soares. At the time, Lee was virtually unknown, having fought just once in the previous four years and competing only on smaller regional shows.

Standing at 6’1″, Lee is a massive bantamweight who uses his length well, both on the feet and when attacking submissions. His record is evenly split between knockouts and submissions, showcasing his dual-threat finishing ability. Although footage from his earlier career is hard to find, it’s clear he’s evolved significantly from the fighter he was five years ago.

Lee is primarily a striker who fights almost exclusively at range. Most of his offense comes from his legs—he works the teep to the body, chops at the legs, and frequently throws spinning kicks to both the body and head. One area for growth is his jab; at his size, a consistent jab would be a major weapon and could open up the rest of his game.

So far, no opponent has been able to close the distance and disrupt his rhythm, which leaves some unanswered questions—specifically, whether it’s his skill or size advantage that’s driving his success. That said, when opponents do shoot on him, Lee uses his long limbs effectively to attack submissions in transition.

At just 26 years old, Lee is clearly talented but still rough around the edges. With continued development, he has the tools to become a serious contender in the division.

Prediction: This should be a fun fight while it lasts—I don’t expect it to go the distance. Both fighters are primarily strikers, and I see the action staying on the feet. Stylistically, I think Sosa will struggle to consistently find his range against someone with Lee’s length and movement.

Sosa could have some success with leg kicks, but he’ll need to be cautious—Lee is a sharp counter-striker and will be ready to fire back. Sosa tends to fight in bursts and likes to throw that switch knee, but landing something like that against a tall, rangy striker like Lee is a tough ask.

What I see happening is Sosa getting frustrated as the fight wears on, forcing an entry that leaves him exposed. Lee catches him rushing in—likely with a check hook or something over the top—and follows up with ground-and-pound for the finish.

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