Connect with us

MMA

Tom Pagliarulo overcomes fear, earns UFC contract at DWCS 2026 Week 1

Published

on

Tom Pagliarulo overcomes fear, earns UFC contract at DWCS 2026 Week 1
Tom
Pagliarulo's career aspirations are finally coming to
fruition.

Pagliarulo (11-2) took on Ananias
Mulumba in a featherweight clash on Week 1 of
Dana White's Contender Series 2026. “The Phenom†left it all in
the cage, finishing Mulumba with ground-and-pound in the final
seconds of the fight, earning an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract for his efforts.

‘Most afraid I've ever been': Tom Pagliarulo details how his
team helped him stay focused ahead of DWCS Week 1

Pagliarulo admits that he was very nervous throughout fight week.
However, his coaches and teammate, UFC bantamweight Cory
Sandhagen, helped him stay dialed in. The 29-year-old is glad
to have finally made it to the biggest stage in MMA, even if it
came a little later than he expected.

“This is the most afraid I've ever been in my life, all week,â€
Pagliarulo said in his post-fight interview. “My coaches and Cory
Sandhagen back home kept me locked in. Just reminded me to go be
me, and that will always be enough. I'm like a cockroach; you got
to kill me if you want to put me away… I was never the most
talented or naturally gifted kid. Growing up, doing all these
sports, I fell short of all my goals. I was never the starter in
all of those team sports. But I was always the hardest worker in
the room; I kept showing up. My coaches back home told me, ‘You've
always had that fire.'â€

UFC CEO Dana
White later commended Pagliarulo's performance before awarding
him a contract.

“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€


Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Paulo Costa gives UFC 3 options in contract standoff

Published

on

Paulo Costa gives UFC 3 options in contract standoff
Paulo
Costa recently listed his terms and conditions to fight out his

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Costa has one fight left on his current deal and has been accusing
the UFC of stalling his last matchup. “Borrachinha†claims the last
bout on his contract should be a three-rounder, but reiterated that
he's willing to accept a five-rounder if he's compensated
accordingly.

Paulo Costa says UFC can book his final fight, raise his pay or
release him

Costa took to social media to lay out his and the UFC's options for
his last fight. He called out promotional exec Hunter Campbell,
claiming that he's willing to fight any light heavyweight on the
roster in a three-rounder and that he'll gladly accept a five-round
bout if given at least six weeks' notice and additional pay.

“OK, I'm making this public and clear: I have 1 fight left,†Costa
wrote on X. “On my contract, the purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5.
I'm asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on
contract. It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roster. I think Hunter
has 3 options now: A) Give me that last 3-round fight (I'll take
any opponent). B) Give me a 5-round fight at LHW against anyone in
6 weeks. I'll take it, BUT raise my purse accordingly. That's the
minimum that's fair, right? C) Release me from my contract now.
Simple and clean. I hope everyone understands. 9-18-26 Las Vegas,
Nevada Sincerely, Paulo Costa.â€

Costa (16-4) is coming off back-to-back finishes against Roman
Kopylov and Azamat
Murzakanov. He previously campaigned for an interim title fight
for UFC
332, but later revealed the promotion wasn't interested.

Continue Reading

MMA

Justin Gaethje has brutal warning for whoever fights Ilia Topuria next

Published

on

Justin Gaethje has brutal warning for whoever fights Ilia Topuria next
Justin
Gaethje gives credit where it's due.

Gaethje (28-5) recently heaped praise on former foe Ilia
Topuria (17-1). The
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder gave the
former two-division champ a lesson in humility with a brutal
beating at
UFC Freedom 250 at the White House this past June. He believes
“El Matador†will be extremely dangerous on his Octagon return.

Gaethje still considers Topuria one of the UFC's best after
handing him his first loss

Gaethje won the undisputed UFC lightweight title in a huge upset as
Topuria's corner called for a stoppage at the end of the fourth
round. “The Highlight†believes Topuria will dominate his next
opponent as he looks to rebound from his first professional
loss.

While Gaethje and Topuria have exchanged trash talk, the former has
never doubted the latter's skill set. Gaethje still considers
Topuria one of the best fighters in the world and wants to see him
thrive.

“Whoever fights [Topuria] next is gonna be f*cked,†Gaethje said on
the “Double Coverage†podcast. “If he forgets how dangerous this
sport is, how there is a little bit of luck and chance and makes
mistakes, he is not going to be at his best or locked in as he
should be. But outside of that, without those mental mistakes, he
is one of the best in the world. There's no doubt about it.
Everything I say, I'm never talking sh*t about the guy because he
is so good. I want to see him come back. I want to see him thrive;
I want to see him prosper.â€

There are rumblings of a rematch between Topuria and Gaethje being
in the works. However, Arman
Tsarukyan further solidified his status as the No.1 contender
and bolstered his case for a long-overdue title shot with a
first-round knockout win over Mauricio
Ruffy at UFC
331 on Sept. 19.

Continue Reading

MMA

BKB 59 results: Julian Fernandez rallies for KO in Mexico debut

Published

on

BKB 59 results: Julian Fernandez rallies for KO in Mexico debut

Bare Knuckle Boxing made its debut in Mexico on Sept. 19.

BKB 59 went down at Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, Mexico.
Tijuana's own Julian Fernandez put his super cruiserweight title on
the line against Dan Podmore in the main event.

Julian Fernandez stops Dan Podmore after an early knockdown at
BKB 59

Fernandez survived an early first-round knockdown and returned the
favor later in the round. He took a little over a minute in the
second round to finish Podmore.

Cecy Ulloa took on Andy Nguyen for the super flyweight title in the
co-main event at BKB 59. Ulloa put on a beating on Nguyen for three
rounds, leaving her unable to answer the bell for the fourth.

Here are the complete BKB 59 results:

Julian Fernandez def. Dan Podmore via KO (1:12 of Round 2)
Cecy Ulloa def. Andy Nguyen via TKO (2:00 of Round 3)
Romario Ovalle vs. Marco Chino Villa ruled a No Contest due to an
accidental headbutt (0:45 of Round 3)
Pablo Felipe Anguiano def. Ricardo Ramses Rueda via KO (0:41 of
Round 1)
Adrian Gonzalez def. Javier Santiago Valverde via TKO (2:16 of
Round 1)
Felipe Abraham Huerta def. Erick Eduardo Soria via TKO (2:32 of
Round 3)
Jonathan Duran def. Kevin Millan Sanchez via KO (1:59 of Round
2)
Jesus Navarrete via KO (0:17 of Round 1)
Ramon Olivas def. Jovani Misael Sanchez via KO (2:29 of Round
1)
Sergio Zarate def. Rolando Paredes via Unanimous Decision (49-46,
49-46, 49-46)
Jesus Rodriguez def. Ricardo Ibarra via KO (2:18 of Round 1)
Norberto Pozos Flores def. Mauricio Anaya by TKO (1:42 of Round 1)

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending