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George Mangos | A Second Chance at a Stellar Impression
After A Disappointing DWCS Showing, Australian Prospect Excited About RTU Opportunity
When George Mangos walked out of the Octagon following his appearance on Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series last season, the Australian featherweight was worried that he submarined his chances of competing on the biggest stage.
Paired off with Radley Da Silva in a fascinating matchup, Da Silva opted to wrestle for the majority of the contest and grinded out decision win, but not a contract. White had nothing positive to say about the performance at the close of the show, and being the guy on the wrong side of the scorecards, he was certain he was off the radar for a while, at least. However, a post-event conversation with the UFC CEO erased some of those fears.
“After the fight, Dana White called me into his office, we spoke a little bit, and I said, ‘Please bring me back ASAP. Next week, next month, whenever you need me. Just get me back here quick.’” explained Mangos, who returns to action on Thursday for Season 5 of Road to UFC against Yuito Yanagawa. “He said, ‘We’ll see you soon, but you’re young, so don’t rush it. We’ll definitely see you again.’ … Honestly, it made it so much better. As everyone knows, Dana sometimes — especially on the Contender Series with boring fights, he hates that, so that’s all that was going on in my head. ‘As well as losing, now the UFC are gonna think I’m a bum or think I’m boring.’
“For him to call me back and clarify that they’re still excited for me, they still want to see more from me, was good, especially after the way he spoke about my opponent after because he pretty much spoke about him like that… I was the one that lost the fight, but it didn’t feel like I went over for nothing after that.”
Mangos returned home and quickly returned to the win column as well, jumping into a rematch with Justin Van Heerden and securing a first-round stoppage win to get things moving in the right direction again. With the sour taste cleared from his mouth, Mangos and his team started plotting out a course back to the UFC. While a return to Las Vegas in the fall was initially the frontrunner, he shifted course when he started to consider this year’s RTU featherweight tournament.
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“I got offered to get on it last year as well, but I wanted to go on the Contender Series because you get a bit more hype and things like that,” acknowledged Mangos. “We were gonna do Contender Series again after another win, but then I sort of was thinking about it and I put it to my manager Tim (Simpson) and I said, ‘What do you think about Road to UFC? We get three fights booked in this year.’ … I think the thing I need most right now is more experience, international experience. It’s really the only thing I haven’t done in my career so far on the regional scene. Having more fights is never going to hinder me, make things worse for me, so I thought it was a smart move to do this. The Road to UFC opportunity was presented to me and I think it’s the right move and we’re happy about it.
“Now it’s only a couple days away and I’m definitely even more excited,” he added. “I’m keen to show how much I’ve improved.
While the idea that he’s made considerable changes since his September clash with Da Silva may seem questionable to some, it’s worth remembering that Mangos is 22 years old and just nine fights into his professional career. If you include his unbeaten run as an amateur, he still only has 15 appearances total, going the distance just once compared with nine first-round finishes.
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At his age and with that little total cage time, growing by leaps and bounds between appearances is in understandable. With his obvious skill and hunger to compete amongst the best, it’s almost assured to happen.
“I’ve been training for a long time, but I’m still young,” Mangos said. “Every fight I’ve had, even though most of them have been quick, I still take away something from it, so it’s three more fights to take things away from and it will feel like it’s under the UFC lights… I think I’m gonna be more than ready once I get signed.”
Like fellow Australian hopeful Joseph Larcinese, who competes on Friday’s RTU event in the flyweight tournament, Mangos is looking at this as both individual fights that have to be won in order to move forward as well as an opportunity to log three fights this year where he is able to make a statement in front of the UFC audience and create a little momentum for himself.
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As such, he’s thrilled by the fact that he and Yanawaga will be the first pair of fighters to compete on Thursday.
“I’m definitely focused on my first opponent and only that at the moment, but when I play it out in my head, I think of it like you don’t build as much hype on Road to UFC, you don’t come out of it with as much star power, but I’m looking to change that,” Mangos said confidently. “I want to get three nice finishes, three knockouts, and when I get signed to the UFC, they can have nice highlights of me, and I can have a bit of a name for my debut, but none of that happens unless I put Yuito away on Thursday.”
Mangos is keen to declare himself the favorite to win the tournament and that everyone else is fighting for second place.
“Whoever wins and has to fight me next or fight me in the finals, it’s pretty much, ‘Don’t bother. (You’re) wasting your time.’”
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And following his disappointing first appearance in front of the UFC audience in Las Vegas last fall, Mangos is laser-focused on showing everyone that tunes in on Thursday the type of fighter he really is and has been in every other fight.
“I think they’re gonna see an exciting fighter,” he said. “Compared to my last fights, someone that has matured a lot, and I think they’re gonna enjoy what they see. I’m gonna go out there and do what I know how to do, and that’s put people away.
“That’s what I’ve always done, and now I’ve just got to do it under the UFC cage.”
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo took place live from Galaxy Arena in Macao SAR, China on May 30, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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