Bilal Hasan Cashes In at -5000 as Four Fighters Earn UFC Deals on DWCS

Season 10 of Dana White's Contender Series kicked off in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, and by the time the smoke cleared four fighters had UFC contracts in hand: Joseph Kropschot, Thomas Pagliarulo, Bilal Hasan and Anthony Wint. The evening was a genuine mixed bag — a couple of highlight-reel knockouts propped up an undercard that otherwise wobbled between competitive and forgettable.

The headliner in terms of hype was flyweight Bilal Hasan, who walked in as the biggest betting favorite in the show's history at -5000. That's the kind of price that makes bettors laugh nervously and then watch anyway. Hasan needed 45 seconds to justify it, folding Mridul Saikia with a right hand out of nowhere before referee Herb Dean waved it off.

The Two That Ended Fast

Hasan didn't waste a second establishing himself. He opened with a thudding body kick and kept Saikia on the defensive, then baited a low leg kick and countered with a right hand that twisted his opponent's head clean around. Saikia crumpled, Hasan swarmed, and Dean stepped in. The finish came so quickly that Hasan celebrated with a moonwalk in the cage — the kind of flourish you only pull off when you knew it was coming.

Anthony Wint, the former New York Jet, was even quicker. The heavyweight went to work with leg kicks immediately, stuffed a Matt Adams takedown, then reversed position and started raining down punches from top control. Herb Dean had seen enough at the 34-second mark. Two fights, two first-round stoppages, and two names White clearly liked.

The Ones That Went Long

Not everything ended in a highlight. Joseph Kropschot handled the aggression of Jon Kunneman with a measured striking display, timing his long jab and stabbing away at the body with a front kick that repeatedly dug into the ribs. Kunneman had his moments — an uppercut in the second caught Kropschot off guard, and a late takedown gave him a foothold — but Kropschot answered by transitioning from a kimura to an armbar and fully extending the arm. Kunneman refused to tap as the buzzer sounded, sparing his elbow but not the scorecards. Kropschot took it 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Thomas Pagliarulo earned his contract the hard way against Contender Series veteran Ananias Mulumba. Both men got rocked early — Pagliarulo's straight punch wobbled Mulumba, and a split second later a Mulumba left buckled Pagliarulo's knees. From there Pagliarulo leaned on takedowns, ground-and-pound, and short inside elbows that opened Mulumba up. He nearly landed a D'arce in the third before referee Mike Beltran called it at 4:24 as the punishment piled up.

The one fight that didn't earn anyone a deal was the lightweight scrap between Abe Alsaghir and Fabrizio Escarrega. Escarrega attacked from the opening bell, dropped Alsaghir to a knee with a short punch and controlled long stretches, but never inflicted enough damage to close the show. Alsaghir clawed back late, took Escarrega's back briefly, and edged a split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28). Neither man did enough to convince White.

What It Means

For the two knockout artists, the path from here is straightforward: get matched up, keep finishing, and the buzz builds itself. Hasan in particular arrives with the kind of prospect halo that the UFC's flyweight division could use, and a -5000 opener that delivered only sharpens the interest.

Kropschot and Pagliarulo take the harder road. Decision-heavy grinders who earn contracts on toughness rather than pyrotechnics tend to get thrown to the wolves quickly, and their debuts will tell us far more than a controlled win over a regional opponent ever could.

As always, the smart move for anyone watching these prospects is patience. Contender Series is a proving ground, not a coronation — the real test comes when the octagon lights turn on for keeps. Four fighters just cleared the first hurdle. Now they have to survive the next one.