Week 3 of Dana White's Contender Series produced what called the biggest upset in the show's history when Bella Mir, daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, dropped a unanimous decision to Alex Apodaca in the main event. Dana White still handed out five contracts that night, telling Apodaca that he was very proud of himself that in 10 years of doing this, he'd never had any bias. He also praised Nick Galanti, who scored a 35 second knockout, saying, "Nick, you couldn't possibly open a show better than you did." Guilherme Uriel rounded out the group, with word that he was correcting what he called his own past mistake by finally leaning on his jiu jitsu for a 50 second submission win.
Sources (14)
We summarise the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work.
- Bilal Hasan sees ‘prophecy’ in UFC debut on Michael Jackson’s birthday (Sherdog)
- Kai Asakura Promises New Knockout Combination For Aoriqileng At UFC Shanghai (MiddleEasy)
- Islam Makhachev reveals how many fights he has left before retirement (Sherdog)
- Bella Mir stunned in historic DWCS upset as Dana White awards five contracts (Sherdog)
- DWCS winner Joseph Kropschot lands UFC debut just weeks after earning contract (Sherdog)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin returns to combat sports 3 years after last fight (Sherdog)
- Charles Oliveira shoots down UFC title eliminators against Arman, Paddy Pimblett, ‘I’m next in line ... I can wait’ (MMA Mania)
- ‘Holy fraud check’: Pros react to Bella Mir’s shocking upset loss on Contender Series (MMA Fighting)
- New UFC signing sends warning to entire welterweight division (Sherdog)
- Kai Asakura vows to show ‘new combination’ in UFC Shanghai KO bid (Sherdog)
- Nick Galanti credits former UFC fighter following 35-second DWCS knockout (Sherdog)
- Guilherme Uriel corrects his DWCS ‘sin’ with 50-second submission (Sherdog)
- Ronda Rousey trains with Jena Bishop ahead of Liz Carmouche rematch (Sherdog)
- Cyborg bloodied, outlasts Vieira in likely PFL finale (ESPN MMA)
Split from that day's roundup, so the sources listed are the full set behind the whole edition rather than this story alone.
This story ran in the August 26, 2026 edition of the daily show.