Dana White Signs Four Fighters After DWCS Week 6 in Las Vegas
Dana White handed out four UFC contracts after Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, signing Luis Hernandez, Igor Cavalcanti, Akbar Abdullaev, and Mayton Perea. The official graphic released after Tuesday’s show at the Meta APEX made the night’s roster additions official.
All four winners finished their fights. The only man who went the distance, Tyshawn Williams, was told he would get another Contender Series date instead of a deal.
Season 10, Week 6 streamed on Paramount+ as Contender Series 92. The four signings lifted the season total to 28 contracts through six episodes.
Abdullaev set the tone for why White spent so freely. The Kyrgyzstan lightweight needed 19 seconds to knock out Ednilson Santos with one right hand after two body shots dropped the Brazilian’s guard.
White called him “the greatest talent that’s ever been on this show.” MMA Junkie later asked Abdullaev about that praise, and the former ONE Championship finisher said through a translator that he already believed his skill set belonged against top-10 lightweights.
The 28-year-old is now 14-0 with 13 knockouts and one submission. He left ONE after a 5-0 run there that included a fifth-round TKO of Tang Kai in a fight that did not award the belt because of a missed hydration test.
Perea closed the card just as fast. The Ecuadorian welterweight, nicknamed “The Lion,” knocked out previously unbeaten Zevan Hunt at 0:45 of the main event and improved to 9-3.
Hunt had come in 7-0 out of Edmond, Oklahoma. Perea dropped him twice on the official sheet, landed 23 of 37 significant strikes, and forced referee Jason Herzog to step in before the first minute ended.
Cavalcanti used his second Apex appearance to finish what 2024 left open. The Brazilian middleweight stopped Oscar Ravello at 1:38 of round one and moved to 14-2, with every win inside the distance.
A straight right put Ravello down early. Cavalcanti followed him to the mat, completed both takedown attempts, and kept punching until Kevin MacDonald waved it off.
His first Contender Series night ended in a decision loss to Seok Hyeon Ko. Two years of regional finishes in Brazil and Europe bought him the rematch with the show, and this time the stoppage came with a contract.
Hernandez supplied the only fight that left the first round. The Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputy was dropped in round two by Hugo Guillon, escaped an anaconda choke, took the back, and locked in a rear-naked choke at 1:01.
The 30-year-old southpaw is 8-0 and has never heard judges’ scores as a professional. Five of those wins are now submissions.
White has been clear all season that a hand raise is not the same thing as a roster spot. Williams won a unanimous decision over Antonio Monteiro in the opener, 29-27, 29-28, and 29-27, and still went home without a deal.
That result fit the show’s usual standard. Finishes moved the needle. A wrestling-heavy decision against a durable veteran did not.
The four new contracts spread across three divisions. Abdullaev lands in a crowded lightweight pool, Perea becomes a new Ecuadorian name at welterweight, and Cavalcanti and Hernandez both join middleweight after first-round and second-round stops.
None of them has a UFC debut date yet. The graphic only confirmed the deals, presented by Total Wireless, and left the matchmaking for another day.
Week 7 returns to the same building on Sept. 22. The four men White signed Tuesday will next appear on a UFC card rather than another Contender Series tryout.