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In one of the best episodes of DWCS we have ever seen, week 10 on Tuesday, October 14th delivered the action and the contracts. 5 new fighters were added to the UFC roster, and here are some potential opponents they could face along with a recap of the nights action.
Wesley “Party Time” Schultz – 8-2 Middleweight
Wesley Schultz kicked off the evening with a fantastic submission over fellow ground specialist Mario Mingaj. Mingaj pulled guard against the fence early in the first round, which led to a few grappling exchanges. Schultz took this opportunity to jump on the back of Mingaj, but instead of going for the traditional rear naked choke, he hit the extremely rare Suloev Stretch submission, which attacks the groin muscle of the opponent. This was the first Suloev stretch in DWCS history, earning Schultz the contract on his second attempt on the show.
Schultz was defeated by Mansur Abdul Malik in his first contender series appearance in 2024, but has bounced back with two impressive submission wins. ‘Party Time’ is very unorthodox on the feet, yet effective with his strikes. On the ground he clearly had a deep bag of tricks, and it would be interesting to see him tested against fellow high level grapplers at 185 lbs.
Matchup Prediction: Wesley Schultz (8-2) vs Jakob Malkoun (8-3) – February 2026
Michael “PQD” Oliveira – 9-0 Welterweight
The 2023 LFA Fighter of the Year and Brazilian paratrooper Michael Oliveira delivered one of the cleanest performances of this season vs Victor Valenzuela. He showed fantastic striking, particularly with his powerful straight punches. After doing incredible damage with two knockdowns, on the third he put Valenzuela away with ground and pound and secured himself a UFC contract.
Oliveira is extremely polished on the feet, stalking his opponents landing with seemingly effortless power. His grappling is a bit untested, and he tends to lean back and rely on his reach defensively as well. Both of these are very fixable holes of his game, and there is no doubt with the tools he currently has he will have success in the UFC. With a 78.5 inch reach, he has potential to be a true superstar out of Brazil.
Matchup Prediction: Michael Oliveira (9-0) vs Rhys McKee (14-7-1) – February 2026
Marwan Rahiki: 7-0 Featherweight
In perhaps one of the fights of the year, Marwan Rahiki seemingly rose from the dead to deliver a stunning round two KO over Ananias Mulumba. He was seriously hurt on multiple occasions, but showed fantastic heart and resolve, and demonstrated his dangerous striking in the process.
A diverse array of weapons on the feet and a good spinning back kick are the primary features of Rahiki’s game. He fights with his hands extremely low, hence why he was dropped multiple times in his DWCS fight. He showed decent submission defense on the ground, but what truly impressed was his powerful and accuracy even after taking damage. He is a very exciting fighter, but will need to be much more defensively sound if he wants to succeed in the shark pit that is the UFC featherweight division.
Matchup prediction: Marwan Rahiki (7-0) vs Steven Nguyen (10-2) – March 2026
Juan Diaz: 15-1-1 Bantamweight
In a night filled with incredible performances, Peruvian fighter Juan Diaz stole the show with the first spinning elbow KO in DWCS history. He delivered this knockout to ONE Championship veteran Kwon Won Il, in a back and forth fight that could have gone either way. Diaz landed this devastating strike with just seconds remaining in the second round to secure the win and the contract.
Diaz is a steady striker, with the propensity to be explosive as shown in his DWCS win. Also owning a brown belt in jiu jitsu, he is adept in multiple areas of MMA. Peru has been a rising region in terms of mixed martial arts talent, and Diaz is an exciting addition to the UFC roster, and in his post fight interview said he hopes to fight in December.
Matchup prediction: Juan Diaz (15-1-1) vs Cody Haddon (8-1) – February 2026
Levi Rodrigues Jr.: 6-0 Light Heavyweight
In the final fight of the evening, powerful Brazilian Levi Rodrigues Jr. delivered a knockout over the returning Freddy Vidal. Vidal attempted to wrestle early, but Rodrigues broke away and delivered some massive punches. After dropping Vidal, he eventually found the finish with ground and pound.
Rodrigues showed the least of any prospect tonight, simply due to the short nature of his fight. There is not much tape out there available on him, so he remains a relatively question mark despite his impressive power. He will have a chance to find success in a relatively shallow UFC Light Heavyweight division.
Matchup prediction: Levi Rodrigues Jr. (6-0) vs Iwo Baraniewski (6-0) – February 2026
All of these matchups are purely predictions and have not been announced nor scheduled as of the writing of this article.
This writing was 100% human created. Dylan Knostman pledges to never use AI or AI assistance tools to create any writing or other media work. Creativity belongs to humans.
