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Bella Mir stunned in historic DWCS upset as Dana White awards five contracts

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Bella Mir stunned in historic DWCS upset as Dana White awards five contracts

Week 3 of
Dana White's Contender Series saw the biggest upset in the
history of the show.

Week 3 of the 10th season of DWCS went down at Meta Apex in Las
Vegas on Aug. 25. All five winners on the card walked away with

Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

Alex Apodaca defeats the -6000 favorite to cap DWCS 2026 Week
3

The main event of the card saw the biggest upset in the history of
DWCS. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir's
daughter Bella Mir
(4-1) was a -6000 favorite going into her bantamweight clash
against Alex
Apodaca (5-1). Apodaca outclassed Mir on the feet while holding
her own in wrestling exchanges to earn a unanimous decision
win.

White admits that while he is mostly unbiased in fights, he was
heavily biased towards Mir, having been a mentor to her. White
notes that Michael
Bisping had correctly expected Apodaca's experience to play a
factor in the fight.

“Alex, what you had to face tonight… Now I'm very proud of myself
that in 10 years of doing this, I've never had any bias,†White
said while granting Apodaca a UFC contract. “I don't know anything
about anybody coming in. I was overly biased in this fight. I've
known Bella for a long time. Four years ago we started mapping out
her plan and who she was gonna be… Michael Bisping said, ‘She might
be the biggest underdog in Contender Series history, but she has
the experience that Bella doesn't: Deep waters.' Bisping nailed it
on the head. Unbelievable upset. Congratulations, you're in the
UFC.â€

Nick
Galanti (8-1) opened the card in a middleweight clash against
Carlos
Petruzzella (15-2). Galanti made quick work of the Argentinian,
dropping him with a right hook and finishing him with
ground-and-pound in just 35 seconds. UFC CEO Dana
White commended Galanti's flawless performance while awarding
him a contract.

“Nick, you couldn't possibly open a show better than you did,â€
White said. “And you couldn't perform any better on this show than
you did. Congratulations, you're in the UFC.â€

Ronald
Humphrey (5-0) earned the second contract in Week 3 of DWCS
2026. Humphrey put on a dominant display of wrestling and striking
before making Alexis
Miranda (9-3) tap to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

White revealed that matchmaker Sean Shelby told him that it was
difficult to find an opponent for the undefeated welterweight on
DWCS. White told Shelby that it won't be easy for him to find
Humphrey an opponent in the UFC as well.

“Ronald, you're an animal,†White said. “I said to Sean, ‘This guy
is so well-rounded for having only four fights.' And Sean said,
‘They couldn't get anyone to fight him.' I said, ‘You're not gonna
be able to get anyone to fight him either.' Congratulations,
welcome to the UFC.â€

Cage Warriors interim welterweight champion Sean Clancy
Jr. (9-0) earned a UFC contract for his win over Gary
Balletto Jr. (11-4). White was impressed with the composure of
the 23-year-old Clancy Jr. as he dragged Balletto Jr. to the mat
and unleashed vicious elbows to secure the stoppage in the second
round.

“Sean, you're only 23 years old, and you're 9-0; it's incredible,â€
White said. “I love how technical and composed you are for such a
young guy. Saw a lot of great things from you in less than two
rounds. I'm really excited about your future in the UFC.â€

Guilherme
Uriel (8-2) earned a UFC contract for his win over Mario
Piazzon (12-2). White admits that he was surprised by Uriel’s
guillotine attempt, which initially didn't look threatening.
However, Uriel proved White wrong by forcing Piazzon to tap to a
guillotine in just 50 seconds.

“It was a weird fight,†White said. “I was surprised; I literally
said, ‘Why does he keep going for the choke? He's not getting the
choke. What's he doing?' I was wrong. You got the choke, finished
it quickly… Welcome to the UFC.â€

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MMA

UFC fighter explains nose-picking moment before Dana White handshake

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UFC fighter explains nose-picking moment before Dana White handshake
Mandel
Nallo says his nose-picking gesture at the ceremonial weigh-ins
for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's recent event in Edmonton,
Alberta, was a message to his children.

Nallo stopped Nate
Landwehr at
UFC Edmonton on Oct. 17. Before the bout, however, the Canadian
lightweight drew attention by conspicuously picking his nose
onstage. He has since explained the gesture.

Mandel Nallo says his sons inspired UFC Edmonton nose-picking
gesture before Dana White’s handshake offer

Nallo said his sons suggested the gesture as a way to acknowledge
them while they watched. That created an awkward moment when UFC
CEO Dana
White extended his hand before Nallo's faceoff with Landwehr.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Nallo explained that refusing the
handshake might have looked disrespectful.

“I have two boys; they’re 5 and 7… I wanted to notify them that I
knew they were watching,†Nallo said. “So I told them, ‘What’s
something I can do so that you guys can see that I know you’re
watching?' They told me, ‘Pick your nose.' I’m a committed nose
picker. I’m not gonna half-*ss it. I’m not gonna pretend. So, I
went up there and that was for them. I’m right-handed. I’m gonna go
up there with my right hand, and then [Dana White] extends his arm
out to you. You don’t have time to explain what just happened. So I
did a finger point so that there was no contact. There was no
disrespect. It was kind of like a ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm' moment. I
got this booger in my hand, but if I go, ‘I don’t want to shake
your hand,' then I look even worse. I just had to roll with
it.â€

Nallo also said his sons don't know what he does for a living.
Although they train jiu-jitsu, he said they are unaware of how
violent MMA can be.

Nallo (15-4, 1 NC) earned his UFC contract on
Dana White's Contender Series last year but lost his
promotional debut to Jai Herbert
by technical knockout earlier this year. The 37-year-old has never
had a professional fight decided by the judges.

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MMA

On To the Next One: Matches to make after UFC 333

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On To the Next One: Matches to make after UFC 333

UFC 333 rocked and two of the game's greatest champions, Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan, won in dramatic fashion. So how do these living legends follow up on these memorable performances?

On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting's Alexander K. Lee and special guest host Jed Meshew discuss where Volkanovski goes after another successful night at the office as featherweight champion, and whether the UFC will go in the obvious direction for Yan's next opponent or throw a curveball. Then there's the matter of figuring out where Movsar Evloev and Merab Dvalishvili go after tough losses.

Additionally, future matchups are discussed for flyweight stud Lone'er Kavanagh, would-be heavyweight king Alexander Volkov, and a peaking Aaron Pico, plus our wild card selections and live matchmaking picks from you the listener on YouTube and via the SB Nation app.

Watch the UFC 333 edition of On To the Next One in the video above.

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MMA

On To the Next One: Matches to make after UFC 333

Published

on

On To the Next One: Matches to make after UFC 333

UFC 333 rocked and two of the game's greatest champions, Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan, won in dramatic fashion. So how do these living legends follow up on these memorable performances?

On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting's Alexander K. Lee and special guest host Jed Meshew discuss where Volkanovski goes after another successful night at the office as featherweight champion, and whether the UFC will go in the obvious direction for Yan's next opponent or throw a curveball. Then there's the matter of figuring out where Movsar Evloev and Merab Dvalishvili go after tough losses.

Additionally, future matchups are discussed for flyweight stud Lone'er Kavanagh, would-be heavyweight king Alexander Volkov, and a peaking Aaron Pico, plus our wild card selections and live matchmaking picks from you the listener on YouTube and via the SB Nation app.

Watch the UFC 333 edition of On To the Next One in the video above.

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