Week 2 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 10

Namo Fazil carries a 10-1 record and seven-fight winning streak into the final matchup of the week, where he faces off with returning Brazilian Kaik Brito.

Born in Finland and representing Kurdistan, the 29-year-old Fazil has earned finishes in eight of his 10 career wins, including his May victory over Jake Babian on the MVP MMA fight card in Los Angeles. Unbeaten since the summer of 2022, Fazil trains out of Tiger Muay Thai and looks to use this opportunity to not only punch his ticket to the UFC but elevate the profile of the Kurdish people as well.

MORE: Watch Our Exclusive Interview With Namo Fazil

Brito returns to Las Vegas with designs on making the most of his second DWCS opportunity after landing on the wrong side of the scorecards against Oban Elliott in Season 7. Since then, the 29-year-old has posted a 3-1 record, earning finishes in each of those victories, including a third-round stoppage win over Ronald Paradeiser in February to claim the Oktagon MMA welterweight title.

Fazil comes in with the greater momentum, but Brito has certainly faced the stronger competition of the two, having honed his skills against some of the best Europe has to offer. Welterweights went 3-for-3 last year in terms of earning contracts, so we’ll see if this year’s first set of 170-pound hopefuls can produce a performance worthy of a contract to close out Week 2.

Douglas Rodrigues vs Trent Miller

Surging Brazilian Douglas Rodrigues makes his first business trip to Las Vegas this week, facing off with “Fight Capital” resident Trent Miller in a middleweight battle.

Rodrigues has earned five straight wins since taking an extended break from competing following his lone career loss, earning finishes in four of those contests, including his 2026 debut in March. With his first child due to arrive next month, the 27-year-old looks to deliver the kind of performance that helps ensure a brighter future for his family when he steps under the bright lights on Tuesday night.

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Miller returns to the Contender Series after taking on ascending Brazilian Ryan Gandra last season, where he was stopped in the first round. The Xtreme Couture representative bounced back with a second-round finish in January and will look to lean on his familiarity with everything that comes with competing on this stage when he steps in with Rodrigues here.

Will the father-to-be punch his ticket to the UFC roster, or can Miller make the most of his second opportunity to make an impression on the UFC brass and claim a spot in the middleweight ranks for himself?

Logan Paxton vs Cristian Perez

Lightweights clash in the middle of the Week 2 fight card as American Logan Paxton takes on returning Mexican prospect Cristian Perez.

The second fighter representing Denver, Colorado to step into the cage this season, Paxton carries a 10-1 record, nine-fight winning streak, and 90-percent finishing rate into the biggest fight of his career to date. The 31-year-old has bounced around between divisions and competes at lightweight for the first time since October 2023 here.

MORE: Week 1 Results, Fight Recaps And Scorecards 

Training out of The Goat Shed in Miami, Perez returns to Las Vegas aiming to improve on his efforts from last season, where he worked into the third round with surging Brazilian Manoel Sousa before getting stopped. He got back into the win column in April and should benefit from having been through this experience last year.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Paxton does making the drop down to lightweight and contending with the attacking and well-conditioned Perez, who had moments last season against Sousa and looks to become the latest to earn a contract on their second attempt.

Alik Lorenz vs Mahamed Aly

Both Alik Lorenz and Mahamed Aly competed last year on Season 9, and now they’re back to face one another in the first light heavyweight matchup of the season.

Lorenz had his five-fight winning streak snapped last August by surging unbeaten prospect Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev. A 24-second win in March got things moving in the right direction again and kept his 100-percent finishing rate intact, sending the MMA Lab representative back to Las Vegas with a second chance to claim a place on the UFC roster.

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Three weeks after Lorenz ran afoul of Yakhyaev, Aly ran into Iwo Baraniewski, the surging Polish finisher who put him away in 20 seconds and has since earned three wins in 90 seconds or less to start his UFC career. The veteran Brazilian, who bested UFC vet Jared Gooden last year, returned to the win column and his finishing ways in March and will look to carry that over into his clash with Lorenz here.

This is an explosive pairing that is likely to end with someone looking up at the lights; it’s just a matter of figuring out who on Tuesday night.

Roman Puga vs Taner Trembley

Week 2 opens in the featherweight division as Mexico’s Roman Puga faces off with undefeated American Taner Trembley.

Puga shifted his focus from boxing to MMA toward the end of 2024 and has rattled off four straight stoppage wins since, most recently registering a second-round finish back in February. He’s faced limited competition to this point of his career but has handled business with aplomb over his last four starts, and it will be curious to see if he can carry that over into Tuesday’s contest.

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Training under UFC vet Brock Larson in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Trembley carries a 7-0 record and 100-percent finishing rate into this one, having earned five of his seven wins by submission. He holds a win over DWCS alum Shaheen Santana and has consistently faced opponents with winning records since making his pro debut at the start of 2024.

Seven featherweights earned contracts last season, with several already having real success inside the Octagon, while Tom Pagliarulo kicked things off for the ’45ers last week. Can Puga or Trembley follow suit?