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Dana White's Contender Series Week 3 Opens With Incredible 35-Second Knockout

One DWCS fighter kicked off Week 3 with the fastest finish of his career.
Drew Beaupre|
Chris Unger-Zuffa LLC

Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series opened with one of the impressive finishes of the season thus far.

Now in its tenth year and firmly established as the primary pipeline for fighters that want to join the UFC, this season of DWCS has already seen Dana White award a total of 10 UFC contracts through two weeks.

The third week of the 2026 season featured a few of the most highly-rated prospects scheduled for the show this year, and things got off to an incredible start when the night’s opening bout ended in just 35 seconds.

DWCS Week 3 Opens With Incredible 35-Second KO

The Week 3 opener featured a pair of regional middleweight champions with Argentina’s Carlos Petruzzella taking on American Nick Galanti.

A longtime staple of top Argentinian promotion Samurai Fight House, Petruzzella previously held both the SFH middleweight and welterweight belts and entered DWCS having never seen the judges’ scorecards through 16 professional fights.

Nick Galanti (right) vs. Carlos Petruzzella (left).
Nick Galanti (right) vs. Carlos Petruzzella (left). | (Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)

That streak of never going the distance continued in Las Vegas, as “El Tito” initially defended an early takedown attempt before he was dropped by a huge punch from Galanti.

A clearly dazed Petruzzella tried to throw his legs up but was subjected to a barrage of right hands from Galanti, forcing the referee to dive in and call an ends to things just 35 seconds into the fight.

Nick Galanti Extends Win Streak to Five Fights with DWCS Knockout

Although Galanti was favored to get his hand raised against Petruzzella, most fans assumed that the American would likely need to fall back on his grappling in order to get the job done.

Training out of Dante Rivera BJJ in New Jersey, Galanti went 4-2 as an amateur fighter before making the jump to the pro ranks in 2023.

Continuing with Cage Fury FC after spending the entirety of his amateur career there, Galanti secured a first-round submission in his pro debut and took a unanimous decision over Russ Korbul before suffering his first loss in August of 2024.

Galanti rebounded from that setback with four-straight straight finishes to set up a fight with Austin Clayton at CFFC 152, where Galanti won a controversial unanimous decision to secure the promotion’s vacant middleweight belt.

The 35-second finish of Petruzzella marked easily the fastest finish of Galanti’s career, and it would be a shock if the 28-year-old isn’t awarded a UFC contract later tonight once Week 3 of DWCS concludes.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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