Aline Pereira Chases Alex's Path With DWCS Shot vs Smilla Sundell

Aline Pereira gets her crack at a UFC deal on Oct. 13, when she faces former ONE Championship muay Thai queen Smilla Sundell on Dana White's Contender Series in Las Vegas. Win, and the older sister of two-division champ Alex Pereira joins him on the roster. She'll carry a 3-2 MMA record into the cage, turning 36 just a week before the fight.

The pedigree is obvious, but Aline has built her own résumé too. She's been on a tear since 2024 across MMA and Karate Combat, banking a pair of knockouts before claiming a Karate Combat title. Since returning to MMA she's grinded out back-to-back decisions over Nejra Repp and Jade Masson-Wong in LFA and MVP respectively — enough to earn the Contender Series call.

The Opponent Is No Warm-Up

Sundell is the kind of matchup that separates prospects from pretenders. She went 5-0 under the ONE banner in striking, winning and defending the muay Thai flyweight title and adding a kickboxing win for good measure. That's elite-level standup on a promotional stage.

The Swede only moved to MMA this year, and she's made it look easy so far. Two Tuff-N-Uff bouts, two knockouts — over Miranda Barber and Maya Stewart. So this is a striker-vs-striker clash where both women think they'll be the one landing the finishing shot.

What's Really On the Line

The family angle writes itself. Alex Pereira sits at 13-4 with 11 knockouts, ranked #3 at light heavyweight and coming off a KO loss to Ciryl Gane. Aline sharing a locker room with him would be a genuine storyline heading into 2026. But the Contender Series doesn't hand out contracts for surnames.

At 3-2, Aline needs a statement — ideally a finish — to lock down a deal, and Sundell's chin hasn't been tested against a genuine puncher yet. Two strikers, no clear favorite, one UFC contract. That's a Tuesday-night main event worth staying up for.