Apollo Gomes Wants a Second Knockout of Won Il Kwon at DWCS

Apollo Gomes doesn't want a decision. The Chute Boxe bantamweight rolls into Tuesday's Dana White's Contender Series card in Las Vegas promising to knock out Won Il Kwon and walk away with a UFC deal, and he stitched together three straight wins to get the invite in the first place.

Kwon knows the feeling of hitting the DWCS canvas. The 31-year-old South Korean got brutally finished by Juan Diaz on the show in October 2025 and hasn't fought since. He's no journeyman, though — a former ONE Championship contender, Kwon went 6-2 across his last eight bouts in that promotion, with both losses coming against reigning champ Fabricio Andrade.

That résumé is why Gomes expects a firefight rather than a formality. He described Kwon as a genuinely tough opponent and figures the matchmakers threw them together precisely because both men prefer to stand and trade. Gomes reckons his all-around MMA game gives him the edge, but he's bracing for a desperate, all-out effort from a man staring down his last obvious shot at the roster.

The Room He Trains In

Gomes fights out of one of the deepest gyms on the planet, and it shows in the company he keeps. He shares a mat with BMF champ Charles Oliveira — 37-11 with 22 submissions, still ranked #3 at lightweight — plus contenders Ian Machado Garry and Norma Dumont. Gomes says the veterans keep him level, feeding him advice and encouragement, and that watching them win and chase belts convinces him he belongs on that trajectory too.

Carrying Someone With Him

There's a heavier layer to this one. Gomes wants the contract to honor his late training partner Allan Nascimento, the UFC flyweight (22-7, 16 submissions) who died this past August. Nascimento was central to his preparation and even flew to Vegas once to corner him. Gomes said his friend used to tell him his time was coming, and that he intends to bring the deal home for both of them.

The math is simple enough. Kwon has been finished on this exact stage before, and Gomes is betting he can do it again — this time with the paperwork attached. If he lands it, a Chute Boxe pipeline that already runs through Oliveira and Garry gets one more name.