DWCS 2026 Week 8 produced four fights, four finishes and four UFC contracts. George Staines made Contender Series history with a slam knockout, Ian Escuza’s 32-second win became the night’s major controversy, and Adama Diop pulled off a huge heavyweight upset.
DWCS 2026 Week 8 brings five more UFC contract fights to Las Vegas on September 29, headlined by unbeaten George Staines against dangerous finisher Loai Abushaar. Here’s the full card, current odds, matchup analysis and our predictions for every fight.
OKTAGON 94 delivered another huge stadium night in Frankfurt as David Kozma submitted Christian Eckerlin in the first round. Karlos Vémola stopped previously unbeaten Frederic Vosgröne, Max Coga defeated Christian Jungwirth, and a finish-heavy undercard gave OKTAGON MMA plenty of highlights.
ARES FC 43 ended without a unified featherweight champion as Josh O’Connor and Fabacary Diatta fought to a majority draw in Paris. Alexis Nicolas stopped Ilyasse Drabo in the opening round, while Jimmy Vienot delivered one of the night’s cleanest finishes with a body-shot knockout.
ONE Championship has added two undefeated prospects to its bantamweight MMA roster, signing Ilmadi Israilov and Kalandar Tabarov. Israilov arrives at 9-0 with six submissions, while Tabarov is 5-0 with four straight finishes split between knockouts and submissions.
ARES FC 43 brings nine fights to Paris on September 25, headlined by undefeated featherweight champion Josh O'Connor against interim champion Fabacary Diatta. Former ONE kickboxing champion Alexis Nicolas returns for his second MMA fight, while Akhmed Amaev faces former Cage Warriors champion Luke Shanks on a competitive ARES Fighting Championship card.
DWCS 2026 Week 7 produced six UFC contracts from only five fights, with losing fighters Callum Connor and Jaden Ortega both signed after memorable wars. Piero Guaylupo and Damian Piwowarczyk also delivered for MMAtown, cashing both selections from our Week 7 predictions.
DWCS 2026 Week 7 features Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Theo Haig, two undefeated welterweights and a closely priced lightweight fight between Piero Guaylupo and Callum Connor. MMAtown breaks down all five matchups, including the appeal of Guaylupo near even odds and the risks behind the card’s heavier favorites.
Sean Sharaf pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, knocking out Olympic champion Gable Steveson in just 12 seconds at UFC 331. The story only got stranger afterward: Sharaf revealed massive debt and bankruptcy plans before Dana White awarded him an additional $100,000.
