Outside Source
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.
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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.”
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,” White said. “And you couldn’t perform any better on this show than you did. Congratulations, you’re in the UFC.”
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.”
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,” 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.”
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.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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