The Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) 86 featured a brutal and thrilling slugfest that left five fighters with UFC contracts after their wins.
The DWCS took place in Las Vegas and featured six fights instead of its usual five, but the fighters turned up and put on an impressive display of sportsmanship and skill. Making his debut on the DWCS card was Congolese fighter Ananias Mulumba, who went up against Marwan Rahiki.
In the opening round, both fighters came into the cage with a lot of energy, exchanging shots and kicks. Mulumba managed to put Rahiki on the floor in the early minutes of the fight, but Rahiki found his footing, got back up, and maintained momentum. Rahiki kept up the pace and continued to eat shot after shot until he got dropped again, but he was soon up, countering and landing an overhand that dropped Mulumba, who quickly recovered. The two continued to exchange devastating shots and stayed in the game until the first round came to an end.
The next round kicked off with more wide swings, but Rahiki had the upper hand and continued to pepper Mulumba with savage shots. He landed a head kick and pinned Mulumba to the cage, firing shot after shot. A knee strike and two elbows left Mulumba dazed before Rahiki finished him off with an uppercut that dropped him cold. The KO left fans speechless, with UFC CEO Dana White awarding Rahiki a UFC contract while applauding Mulumba for his grit and offering to book him for the next DWCS event.
The main event of the night was the light heavyweight bout between Levi Rodriguez and Freddy Vidal, but the bout ended quickly after Rodriguez made fast work of Vidal—breaking out of a wrestling grasp and catching him with a knee that sent him to the canvas before finishing with ground and pound.
The tournament was a night of unexpected knockouts that saw five of the six fighters earn contracts. The event even made history as two fighters scored unprecedented finishes in Contender Series history, including a knockout-of-the-year contender.
Other fights on the card included:
Juan Diaz def. Won Il Kwon via Round 2 KO (spinning back elbow)
Michael Oliveira def. Victor Valenzuela via Round 2 TKO (punches)
Jovan Leka def. Azamat Nuftillaev via unanimous decision
Wes Schultz def. Mario Mingaj via Round 1 submission (Suloev stretch)
