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€

All 5 winners get a contract tonight! âœï¸

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/VPhYzhZQVc

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 26, 2026

Abubakar
Nurmagomedov is set to return to competition after a three-year
absence.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight will face David
Zawada in an 84-kilogram (185-pound) wrestling rematch under
the AIGA banner in Istanbul, Turkey. The match is scheduled for ORA
Arena on Sept. 20 as part of the Global Grappling Series 2026.

Abubakar Nurmagomedov faces former UFC opponent David Zawada in
Istanbul

They previously met in the Octagon in November 2019 at
UFC Moscow, where Zawada submitted Nurmagomedov via first-round
triangle choke.

Nurmagomedov went 2-2 during his UFC tenure. His most recent MMA
appearance came back in June 2023, when he dropped a split decision
to Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos.

Zawada, meanwhile, will look to repeat the result of their first
meeting. The German veteran went 1-4 in the UFC, with his lone
victory in the promotion coming against the Dagestani in Russia.
He's also competed in Oktagon
MMA, the
Professional Fighters League and
KSW.

Zawada's last MMA bout went down on Aug. 1, when he lost to
David
Kozma under the Oktagon banner.

Bilal
Hasan’s
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut feels written in the
stars.

The undefeated prospect will make his Octagon debut against fellow
promotional newcomer Nilson
Rojas at
UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, with the significance of the date not
lost on Hasan.

Bilal Hasan plans a special walkout for his UFC Shanghai fight
against Nilson Rojas

Hasan takes on Rojas on Michael Jackson’s birthday, a coincidence
he described as almost prophetic.

“It still feels so surreal to be halfway across the world fighting
in China on August 29th on Michael Jackson’s birthday,†Hasan said
in a recent interview. “Sounds like something out of like a
prophecy or something like that. It still doesn’t feel real.â€

Hasan, a big fan of “The King of Pop,†plans to make the occasion
memorable with his walkout.

“I have a sick walkout planned,†he added.

The matchup will open the UFC Shanghai main card, giving Hasan his
first opportunity to compete since earning his contract on
Week 1 of
Dana White's Contender Series Season 10.

Rojas will also make his UFC debut at the event, pitting two
unbeaten prospects against one another. Hasan has emphasized that
he wants to do more than simply win, aiming to give fans a complete
performance.

“They’re going to expect a performance from start to finish,†Hasan
said. “They’re going to be watching every second of it and they’re
going to be seeing me enjoying every second of it.â€

“It’s everything I envisioned it to be.”

Bilal
Hasan reflects on the past several weeks of his career as he
prepares to make the walk in his debut at
#UFCShanghai

More âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/yZhKLYUBRX pic.twitter.com/o4LwxME92Z

— UFC News (@UFCNews)
August 25, 2026