Six Contracts, Two Losers Signed: DWCS Week 7 Makes History

Tuesday night at the UFC APEX rewrote the Contender Series record book. Week 7 of Season 10 sent six fighters home with UFC contracts — and for the first time in the show's history, two of those deals went to men who actually lost their fights. That's the kind of card Dana White doesn't usually leave the building talking about.

The headline result was almost an afterthought. Norbert Novenyi Jr., the biggest betting favorite on the entire card, beat Theo Haig by unanimous decision (29-28 across the board) — and got nothing but a promise to come back for another look. Being the only winner of the night left empty-handed says everything about how this one played out.

The Main Event That Backfired

Novenyi nearly ended it in the opening seconds, dropping Haig early and looking every bit the finished product fans assumed he was. Then Haig did the thing prospects hate: he grabbed a back, smothered the favorite, and drained the energy out of him. From there Novenyi turned cautious, leaned on his own grappling, and coasted to a forgettable decision.

White wasn't sold. For a guy plenty of people argued should've skipped the Contender Series entirely, that's a rough outcome. The message was clear enough — come back and show us the version everyone was expecting.

Two Wars, Four Contracts

The co-main gave the night its first real fireworks. Alvi Dasuyev, the reigning Ares welterweight champion, took a unanimous decision over Jaden Ortega (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a fight that nearly slipped away from him. Dasuyev dropped Ortega early and looked poised for a quick night, then punched himself out swinging at a man who simply refused to fold. By the third he was running on fumes but dug deep to hold Ortega off and steal the round. He blamed jet lag for the cardio and insisted he'd have found the finish otherwise. Both men walked out signed.

The second fight of the night was arguably the best. Piero Guaylupo, just 21, pressured Callum Connor from the opening bell, ripping hooks upstairs and to the body while Connor countered with elbows, knees, kicks and spinning attacks. Guaylupo dropped him at the end of round one in what looked like the finish — Connor survived and the two proceeded to tear chunks out of each other for another ten minutes, landing close to 400 significant strikes between them. Guaylupo took the 30-27 sweep. White signed them both.

Finishes on the Undercard

The swing bout delivered a clean submission. Marcos Degli — LFA interim flyweight champ and a fighter Carlos Prates has been openly pushing for — struggled to break down the durable Fury FC champ Paris Moran early. Prates knows a bit about earning trust in the UFC; the welterweight sits at #2 with a 24-7 record and a 19-KO résumé, and his endorsement carries weight. Degli backed it up in round two, working to the back and threading one arm under Moran's neck to finish a one-armed rear-naked choke at 4:46.

The opener belonged to Damian Piwowarczyk, a training partner of former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz. The KSW veteran was known coming in but spent most of the first round on the back foot against Emilio Quissua's forward pressure. Then the switch flipped: a heavy right hand dropped Quissua late in the frame, and Piwowarczyk swarmed for the TKO with five seconds left on the clock.

What It All Means

Six signings in one night is a lot, and the two losers getting deals tells you the promotion is prioritizing entertainers over records right now. Guaylupo and Connor both belong in the UFC after that showing, and Ortega's chin alone justifies his contract. Dasuyev arrives as a champion elsewhere but needs to fix the gas tank before he steps up.

Novenyi is the interesting case. The talent isn't in question, but the UFC wants to see urgency, not risk management. If he treats the callback as a warning rather than a formality, he'll be fine. If he fights that cautiously again, the second audition won't go any better than the first.