Dana White Hands Out Five UFC Deals After DWCS Week 4 Bloodbath

Dana White didn't split hairs on Tuesday night. After Week 4 of Contender Series Season 10 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas produced four stoppages across five fights — one of them lasting all of 15 seconds — the UFC boss handed a contract to every single winner. Five new names are now on the roster.

The bloodletting was near-total. The only fighter to hear the scorecards read out was Adam Livingston, and even that went to a split decision. Everyone else did their talking with fists, elbows and hammerfists. This was the kind of card that makes matchmakers stay late.

Darby Runs Away With the Main Event

Adam Darby went in as the biggest favorite on the card — better than 4-to-1 over Patrick Rivera — and he fought like it. From the opening bell he peppered Rivera with low kicks and clean punches, piling up enough leg strikes to threaten a would-be welterweight record (Contender Series bouts don't count toward official UFC stats, so it stays unofficial).

By the third round, Rivera's face told the story. He was tough to a fault, refusing to fold, until referee Kerry Hatley waved in the doctor to inspect a battered eye. The doctor's stoppage came at 2:42 of the third, and Darby had his contract without ever being in real danger.

The 15-Second Statement

The penultimate fight barely qualified as a fight. Modestino Rodrigues, a 22-year-old former K-1 kickboxer out of Brazil, opened with a leg kick and then buried Brandon Holmes under a punch blitz. The referee stepped in at the 15-second mark. That kind of first-impression tends to buy you a lot of goodwill inside the APEX, and it did.

In the swing bout, Silvestre Sanchez made a loud case as Mexico's next UFC project. Liam McCracken started well — his speed and jab troubled Sanchez early — but Sanchez leaned on power shots and takedowns to grind the Englishman down. Bloodied and behind on the eye test, McCracken looked headed for a decision loss when a thudding left hook removed the judges from the conversation entirely at 2:44 of Round 3.

Bombs and Controversy

Gabriel Lorenco's win over Charlie Cleveland came with an asterisk. The two traded heavy leather from the jump, and Cleveland actually looked the sharper man early. Then he got sloppy circling out of close range and ate a wild hook that dropped him. Cleveland somehow beat the count, but a follow-up elbow — one that may have grazed the back of the head — put him back down before hammerfists ended it at 2:02 of the opening round.

The card opened with the night's best story. Adam Livingston lost on Season 9 to Tommy Gantt, and the 25-year-old came back to the APEX for a redemption run. He got it the hard way. Livingston used his length and threw in spinning attacks to crack Hunter Smith, but Smith pressured him relentlessly, turning it into a proper scrap. Livingston edged the split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

What Comes Next

For the UFC, the value here is in the finish rate. A division always wants finishers, and Rodrigues, Sanchez, Lorenco and Darby all delivered highlight-reel exits. Rodrigues in particular — a genuine striking specialist with a kickboxing pedigree — is the type of prospect the promotion loves to build.

Livingston's split-decision grind is the outlier, but it might age well. He's the only one of the five who's now failed once and answered the bell, and that mental résumé matters more than any single knockout. Redemption stories sell, and he just wrote one. Five fresh contracts, one wild night — the roster gets a little deeper.