Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 saw another full house of contracts, with all five of the night’s winners earning UFC deals from UFC President and CEO Dana White.
After the action had concluded at Meta APEX, White headed backstage to unpack the night’s events with the assembled media at the Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 4 post-fight press conference.
Silvestre Sanchez’s late knockout
As Silvestre Sanchez’s bout with Liam McCracken headed into the third round, White admitted he wasn’t sure whether he’d award the Mexican a UFC contract. But that all changed when Sanchez unleashed a massive left hook to finish the fight.
WATCH: Silvestre Sanchez Secures Third Round TKO
“I was sitting there thinking, ‘He's 24. It's a great fight, tough,’ you know? ‘This kid McCracken's coming after him, but he's 24. Maybe he needs a little…’ BOOM! As soon as I said it in my head, he dropped him and finished the fight, and I'm like, ‘You know what … don't let me NOT pick you.
“It looked 100 percent like it was going to go to a decision. Good fight. Both guys are tough, and he was a slight underdog in this fight, too. So yeah, don't let me deny you. Don't make me not pick you.”
Gabriel Lorenco joining the UFC heavyweight division
White was clearly happy to have another athletic, dangerous heavyweight finisher to add to his UFC roster, and he said he hopes the Contender Series will unearth more diamonds in the rough like Lorenco in the weeks ahead.
WATCH: Gabriel Lorenco Earns First-Round Knockout
“In the heavyweight division, to see a guy young like that coming in, so aggressive and going for the kill, I love it. I love it,” he said. “We need those types of guys in the heavyweight division.”
On referee Chris Tognioni’s decision-making
Referee Chris Tognioni came in for some criticism on the night, with the official blamed for a potentially early stoppage in Modestino Rodrigues’ victory over Brandon Holmes, and a potentially late intervention in Gabriel Lorenco’s finish of Charlie Cleveland.
White admitted he didn’t agree with the official’s decision-making on the night.
“He had the worst stoppage ever when the guy's mouthpiece fell out, and he got hit with eight more punches than he should have got hit with. And then he goes the complete other way on the next fight,” he said.
And when he was asked whether the victim of the perceived early stoppage, two-time Contender Series prospect Brandon Holmes – who also suffered on the wrong end of an early stoppage in his first appearance – would get a third opportunity, White didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah. Listen, we owe that guy,” he said. “Yeah. Definitely.”
Adam Darby’s contract-winning performance
Adam Darby’s performance in the featured bout of the night saw him earn a UFC deal after comprehensively picking apart a tough, durable Patrick Rivera en route to a doctor-stoppage TKO victory.
DWCS RESULTS: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
White was super impressed with the Irishman’s performance, which was elevated further by the remarkable toughness of his opponent on the night.
“I literally said to the matchmakers in the first round, Rivera jumped on him, he was on his back, and I said, ‘Now this fight ends. This kid Darby's going to finish this fight with leg kicks…’ before I knew that Patrick Rivera was a f****** cyborg!” said White. “I mean, that guy is one of the toughest dudes that I have ever seen in the sport. Never started limping once. Never switched stance, and just kept coming forward and eating those leg kicks. And the leg kicks were obviously setting up other weapons for Darby.
“It was just an absolute masterclass, and I was happy that the ref [Kerry Hatley] stopped that fight. The ref did a great job on that fight. Since we're s******* on refs tonight, let's go the other way with this guy. He did a great job. Good stoppage. And I thought [Darby] broke the record. But if it was a UFC fight, Darby would have the record for the second-most leg kicks in the welterweight division, to Carlos Condit against Nick Diaz.”
Growing on Paramount
White was asked about the ongoing relationship with Paramount, and he spoke of the enthusiasm the network has shown for the UFC, and the Contender Series in particular, over the last four weeks.
Watch Every UFC Event On Paramount+
“Literally, the network is texting me during the show tonight,” he revealed.“Yeah, they're fired up, and you know, we've been doing this for 10 years, and we've trended a couple times in the past. We trend every week [and were] top three tonight. We're number one. Paramount's been an incredible move for us.”
Positive reaction to Contender Series fights
The Contender Series has consistently produced fun, entertaining fights for Tuesday nights, but with the Meta APEX now expanded to more than 1,200 seats, and the opening of the doors to paying fans, the atmosphere at DWCS events has taken off from when the show first started.
“For 10 years we have had nothing but great experiences from the fights. But now, with the expansion here, and to be able to have 1,300 people in here every Tuesday, it definitely makes a big difference,” said White.
“It's fun, lots of energy, and yeah, I'm assuming it's got to be much better for the fighters, too.”
On speaking to Bella Mir after her defeat on Week 3
White was asked about last week’s main eventer Bella Mir, who lost out to Alex Apocada in a shock result last Tuesday night.
There was a huge level of expectation on Mir ahead of her fight at Meta APEX, and White revealed he had a conversation with her after her defeat and said she was doing well.
“Yeah, I called her as soon as I got in my car, and she was in a good place,” he said. “She's like, ‘Listen, I've lost before. I've lost jiu-jitsu matches. I've lost wrestling matches. I've lost before. I know what it feels like to lose, and I'm good. I'll be back, and I'll come back stronger.’”
He later added that a return to the Contender Series later this season would be down to her coaches and her family, led by her father and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, to decide.
The continued success of UFC matchmaking heading into UFC Paris
White was asked about the success of the fights so far, with so many underdogs upsetting the oddsmakers. The UFC boss said that it was a clear demonstration of the quality of the matchmaking in the UFC in 2026.
“Well, I'll tell you, it's not that I'm amazed or that I'm whatever, but the matchmaking is just off the charts, man,” he said.
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“I mean, the whole year, and then recently, you look at, obviously, the Contender Series, Sacramento, China. The list goes on and on. The matchmaking is just second to none. The Paris card is a great card, great matchmaking, and let's see how it plays out. We're on a roll, so let's keep rolling.”
Song Yadong’s stunning knockout at UFC Shanghai
White was asked for his take on Song Yadong’s knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov as the Chinese bantamweight contender enjoyed a moment to remember in the main event of UFC Shanghai.
“I think my thoughts were the same as everybody's,” he admitted.
“I mean, Song looked incredible and did what he needed to do in his home country. You couldn't have a better win than that.”
White later added, “I would have to imagine that when you're in the sport you get set up for this type of moment in your career, and you absolutely go out and deliver, especially against who you did it to. It's unbelievable.
“[He’s] massive in China and the place was going crazy. I think they said that Zach [Candito], our producer, said they broke the decibel record there. It was so loud that it was insane.”
On fighters jumping the cage and getting fined
White was asked to comment on the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which had stated in a recent meeting that they wanted to reach out to the UFC to discuss how to deal with fighters who exit the Octagon. Recently, a number of fighters received fines for doing so at events under the NSAC’s jurisdiction.
White said there needs to be a degree of common sense when it comes to sanctioning fighters for jumping out of the Octagon, with instances assessed based on the intentions of the fighter as they leave the fighting area.
“It's one of those tough things because these guys get so excited, and [they get] caught up in the moment,” he said. “When you think about how hard they train. They're gone from their families. They cut weight. They do all this stuff, and then they win. They're not thinking about fines or any of that stuff.
“What I think should happen is, if you jump out of the cage to do something violent or something, then you should get fined. The perfect example is Khabib [Nurmagomedov] … those type of things. But if you just get overly excited and you jump out of the cage, I don't think it's a big deal.
“I mean, this is pretty much common sense. This isn't some big executive decision that needs to be made that they need to call and talk to us. I mean, it's pretty simple. If a guy jumps over the cage with bad intentions toward another fighter or somebody in the crowd or something like that, yes. Fine the s*** out of them. But if they don't, then they shouldn't.”