MMA
Four earn UFC contracts at DWCS 2026 Week 1
Published
3 weeks agoon
Only one victor didn't impress Dana
White and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers on Week 1 ofJoseph Kropschot, Tom Pagliarulo, Bilal Hasan and Anthony Wint
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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MMA
Vitor Petrino fires back at Valter Walker: ‘That guy is a clown’
Published
3 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
Vitor
Petrino isn't letting Valter
Walker’s latest jab go unanswered.Vitor Petrino says he has repeatedly asked the UFC to book
Petrino isn't letting Valter
Walker’s latest jab go unanswered.
Petrino (15-2) extended his win streak to four with a unanimous
decision over Serghei
Spivac on Aug. 22 to further ascend the heavyweight rankings.
Walker (16-1), who's also among the top-ranked heavyweights in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, took a shot at Petrino on
social media by posting a photo from his recent fight, labeling it
boring.
Petrino has now fired back.
Vitor Petrino says he has repeatedly asked the UFC to book
Valter Walker
In a recent interview with Sherdog’s Marcelo Alonso, Petrino
responded to Walker's comments about his fight with Spivac,
claiming that he's campaigned for a matchup against the grappling
specialist many times, to no avail.
“That guy is a clown. Nobody respects him. I don't even want to
talk about him much,†Petrino said. “I've asked for that fight
several times and I don't know why the UFC hasn't made it
happen.â€
Petrino’s interest in the matchup isn't new. His coach, Cristiano
Marcello,
previously told Sherdog that Petrino had accepted a challenge
from Walker.
“Unlike him, who has already said he's not interested in fighting
the top guys, I like challenging myself,†Petrino said, taking
another shot at his countryman. “I'll fight anyone in the Top 10. I
love to challenge myself.â€
Walker is on a five-fight win streak, with all five wins coming via
leg-based submissions, including four heel hooks.
MMA
Usman Nurmagomedovs former rival returns for PFL Chicago
Published
4 hours agoon
September 1, 2026

	
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		<h1>Usman Nurmagomedov’s former rival returns for PFL Chicago</h1>
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				<a href=”/authors/Sourav-Chakraborty-1731″>Sourav Chakraborty</a>				<span>Aug 31, 2026</span>				 <a class=”comments” href=”https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Usman-Nurmagomedovs-former-rival-returns-for-PFL-Chicago-202594#insticator-commenting” data-page-id=”article-202594″/>			</div>
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 <div class=”content body_content”>
 <a href=”/fighter/Alexandr-Shabliy-72353″>Alexandr
Shabliy</a> will return to action at <a href=”/events/Professional-Fighters-League-PFL-Chicago-2-Carmouche-vs-Bishop-2-114222″>
PFL Chicago</a>.<p>Shabliy is scheduled to return to the cage in a lightweight matchup
at the promotion’s Oct. 16 event at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The
Russian last competed in June against <a href=”/fighter/Alfie-Davis-141739″>Alfie
Davis</a>, which saw him bounce back from his defeat to <a href=”/fighter/Usman-Nurmagomedov-296291″>Usman
Nurmagomedov</a>.</p><p/><div id=”adViAi”><div class=”viaititle”>Advertisement</div></div>

<h2>Alexandr Shabliy faces Landry Ward on Oct. 16 at PFL
Chicago</h2>
<br/>
Shabliy (25-4) has lost just once since 2017 and was on a
nine-fight win streak before coming up short against Nurmagomedov,
the most recent PFL lightweight champ. He'll look to compile
another win streak when he returns at PFL Chicago.<p><a href=”https://pflmma.com/watch” target=”_blank”>A flyweight
title fight headlines PFL Chicago: Tune in on Saturday, Oct. 16 at
11 p.m. ET on ESPN</a>.</p><p>His upcoming opponent, <a href=”/fighter/Landry-Ward-285547″>Landry Ward</a>
(11-3), is coming off a split-decision victory over <a href=”/fighter/Michael-Boylan-344555″>Michael
Boylan</a> in his PFL debut on Aug. 7 and has won his last three
fights.</p><p>The matchup joins a PFL Chicago card headlined by the women’s
flyweight title rematch between <a href=”/fighter/Liz-Carmouche-67007″>Liz
Carmouche</a> and <a href=”/fighter/Jena-Bishop-392402″>Jena
Bishop</a>.</p><p>Apart from the main event and Shabliy vs. Ward, the promotion has
also added fights between <a href=”/fighter/Denis-Goltsov-72521″>Denis
Goltsov</a> (17-1) and <a href=”/fighter/Maxwell-Djantou-Nana-410747″>Maxwell
Djantou Nana</a> (13-2) at heavyweight and <a href=”/fighter/Sarvarjon-Khamidov-233691″>Sarvarjon
Khamidov</a> (37-9) and <a href=”/fighter/Rafael-do-Nascimento-275059″>Rafael
do Nascimento</a> (9-2) at bantamweight to the card. </p></div>
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 <table cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″><tr><td width=”37″ height=”37″><img data-src=”{image}” width=”32″/></td><td>{firstname} { “nickname” }{lastname}</td></tr></table>
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 <div id=”autocomplete_template_Fighter” data-format=”{firstname} { ";nickname"; }{lastname}” data-slaveinput=”#sample” data-slaveformat=”{id}” style=”display:none”>
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 <form class=”right-search” action=”/stats/fightfinder” method=”get”>
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 <a class=”fow” href=”/fighter/Jena-Bishop-392402″><img src=”https://www2-cdn.sherdog.com/_images/pictures/20260416082417_PFL_20260411_C1N09497_1.JPG” style=”object-position: center 15%”/><div>Jena Bishop</div></a>
 <style><![CDATA[a.fow img { width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16/5; object-fit: cover; margin-top: -5px; } a.fow div { text-align: center; margin-bottom: 10px; color: white; margin-top: 3px; font-size: 20px; font-weight :bold; text-transform: uppercase; }]]></style>
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<!– Fight Finder Templates –>
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 <table cellpadding=’0′ cellspacing=’0′><tr><td width=’37’ height=’37’><img data-src=”{image}” width=’32’/></td><td>{firstname} { “nickname” }{lastname}</td></tr></table>
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 <div id=’autocomplete_template_Fighter’ data-format=’{firstname} { “nickname” }{lastname}’ data-slaveinput=’#sample’ data-slaveformat=’{id}’ style=’display:none’>
 <table cellpadding=’0′ cellspacing=’0′><tr><td width=’37’ height=’37’><img data-src=”{image}” width=’32’/></td><td>{firstname} { “nickname” }{lastname}</td></tr></table>
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 <div id=’autocomplete_template_Event’ data-format=’{name} – {title}’ data-slaveinput=’#sample’ data-slaveformat=’{id}’ style=’display:none’>
 <table cellpadding=’0′ cellspacing=’0′><tr><td width=’37’ height=’37’><img data-src=”{image}” width=’32’/></td><td>{name} – {title}</td></tr></table>
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MMA
Kai Asakura finds new life in UFC following rocky flyweight start
Published
5 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
Kai
Asakura is reinvigorated at bantamweight following a rocky
start in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.Kai Asakura says bantamweight gives him more power, speed and
Asakura is reinvigorated at bantamweight following a rocky
start in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Asakura stopped Qileng Aori
with a second-round technical knockout at
UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29. The Japanese star is now 2-0 in the
UFC bantamweight division after losing his first two UFC fights via
submission at flyweight. He detailed how his approach has changed
since the move up and broke down his finishing move against Aori
soon after the victory.
Kai Asakura says bantamweight gives him more power, speed and
confidence
Asakura claims that he can be more assertive with his offense at
135 pounds, a significant improvement on how he felt while
competing at 125 pounds.
“At bantamweight, I have more power and I have more speed,†Asakura
said in a post-fight interview. “So, I feel like I can fight with
more confidence than at flyweight.â€
He also broke down the sequence that led to the finish.
“There were two things,†Asakura added. “The opponent was backing
away and he was trying to counter with the right, so I made the
distance a little bit closer and he was also focusing on the body
shots, so I put a head kick in there.â€
With two straight victories at bantamweight, Asakura now hopes to
face a ranked 135-pounder next.
“I want to fight in Top 15, anyone.â€
“I want to fight in top 15, anyone.”
After back-to-back finishes at bantamweight, Kai Asakura
(@kai_1031_) has
his sights set on a ranked matchup next time out
#UFCShanghaiMain Card Results âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/G8E8FUHmUD pic.twitter.com/3YQb84t02n
— UFC News (@UFCNews)
August 29, 2026
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