MMA
Four earn UFC contracts at DWCS 2026 Week 1
Published
2 months agoon
White and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers on Week 1 of
Dana White's Contender Series 2026.
Joseph Kropschot, Tom Pagliarulo, Bilal Hasan and Anthony Wint
earn UFC contracts at DWCS 2026 Week 1
Joseph
Kropschot (9-3) opened the action in a middleweight outing
against Jonathan
Kunneman (10-1). Kropschot dislocated Kunneman's elbow with an
armbar in the final seconds of the fight. He earned a unanimous
decision win after his opponent refused to tap. Kropschot's intent
to finish was enough for White to give him a UFC contract.
“When he got that armbar, I said, ‘I'm gonna give him a shot.' 31
years old, he went for the finish. I'm always looking for guys to
finish,†White said. “That fight should have been finished… Joseph,
you went for it and you swayed me and changed my mind.
Congratulations.â€
Tom
Pagliarulo (11-2) was the second fighter to earn a contract on
Week 1. The featherweight prospect finished Ananias
Mulumba (10-4) with vicious ground-and-pound in the final
seconds of the fight.
“Thomas, you were in a dog fight; turned it on in the third round,
and finished a really tough kid,†White said. “Congratulations,
you're in.â€
Former
Cage Fury Fighting Championships flyweight champion Bilal Hasan
(9-0) was a -5000 favorite going into his matchup against Mridul
Saikia (9-2). Hassan absolutely justified the odds by
dispatching Saikia in 45 seconds to earn his UFC contract. White
can't wait for Hasan's first UFC bout.
“This is an absolute no-brainer. Even with the ton of hype,
absolutely lived up to it,†the UFC CEO said. “When you're the
biggest favorite in the history of the Contender Series, 10 years.
That's how you treat somebody, and you absolutely did. I'm excited
to see your future. I'm really pumped for your first fight in the
UFC.â€
Abe
Alsaghir (9-0) earned a split decision win in a lightweight
tilt against Fabrizio
Escarrega (9-2). While both fighters went toe-to-toe, White
believes neither fighter stood out to earn a contract. The UFC head
honcho also disagreed with the judges' scorecards on this one.
“I actually thought this was a dog fight between two tough guys
with great records,†White recalled. “And the third round was where
I was looking to see who was going to be my guy, and it never
happened. And I don't agree with the judges. I don't think you won
that fight. I think the judges absolutely blew that decision. And I
just didn't see anything that I was looking for.â€
Anthony
Wint (7-0) earned the final contract of the night with a
first-round stoppage win over Matthew
Adams (6-3). The heavyweight powerhouse took hardly over 30
seconds to reverse a takedown and rain brutal ground-and-pound to
secure the stoppage.
“Anthony, you're a f*cking tank, my friend… Holy sh*t!†White said.
“I didn't get to see much, but what I got to see was pretty nasty.
And I have a long history with your coach, who has nothing but good
things to say about you. Welcome to the UFC.â€
AN ABSOLUTE TANK 🫡
Anthony
Wint secures his spot in the heavyweight division after a
knockout on #DWCS![ LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/xVCHyWrsOK— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 12, 2026
INDONESIA, STAND UP 🇮🇩
Bilal
Hasan is officially a UFC fighter after securing a contract
from #DWCS![ LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/MhUPFcSqge— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 12, 2026
TOMMY P is in the UFC 🤩
Tom
Pagliarulo is signee #2 of S10 of #DWCS![ LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/WomRdRyzuK— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 12, 2026
Joe Kropschot is UFC bound! ðŸ‘
Signee #1 of S10 of #DWCS!
[ LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/cStzAaZHqf— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 12, 2026
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UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
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Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
Published
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October 11, 2026
Brendan Allen was dealing with a lot more than high stakes ahead of his big main event bout this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
Allen faced fellow surging middleweight contender Christian Leroy Duncan in the UFC Vegas 122 headliner at the Meta APEX. In a back-and-forth battle, Allen was able to get the victory with a fifth-round rear-naked choke submission to earn his fourth straight win.
There were moments in the fight where Allen looked like he couldn't get out of first gear, and Allen's teammate and friend Belal Muhammad shared why that could've been — revealing Allen entered fight week with a gnarly staph infection and had to compete on antibiotics. Check out the image below, which was shown in the original Twitter post, but then switched out with a different photo.
“What people don't know is Brendan was dealing with a staph infection since Tuesday of fight week,†Muhammad wrote. “Had to get on antibiotics, still has 5 days left on them, and despite all that adversity, went out there and got the finish. Never complained, never made excuses, just found a way to win. That's the heart of a champion. Proud of my brother.â€
Allen called for a fight with former champion Dricus du Plessis following the victory. Duncan's five-fight win streak came to an end during his game showing in his first UFC headliner.
MMA
Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’
Published
16 hours agoon
October 11, 2026
Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.
On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.
At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.
“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.
“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€
Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.
“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.
“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€
UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
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UFC Vegas 122: Start time, Paramount+ stream & full fight card
Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win
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