Undefeated Knockout Machine Set to Fight for UFC Contract in Front of Dana White

One of the most highly-touted fighters outside of the UFC finally has an opponent set for Dana White’s Contender Series.

Now in its tenth season, DWCS has become the primary feeder system for the UFC to bring in new batches of talent to its roster every summer and early fall.

This year’s edition of DWCS kicked off last Tuesday with a five-fight card that included three finishes, and four out of the night’s five winning fighters were awarded UFC contracts from UFC CEO Dana White.

Akbar Adullaev Finally Gets Opponent for Long-Rumored DWCS Fight

Not all of the fighters and fights for the latter half of this season’s DWCS slate have been confirmed as of yet, and one of the biggest rumors ahead of Season 10 was the potential involvement of former ONE Championship star Akbar Abdullaev.

Though the general consensus among the MMA community was that the UFC should just sign Abdullaev outright instead of making him fight on DWCS, fans were still excited by the idea of one of the best prospects in MMA finally making the jump to the UFC.

According to Nolan King, Abdullaev will compete on September 15 during Week 6 of DWCS and take on Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat standout Anthony Figueroa.

None of Akbar Abdullaev's 13 Fights Have Gone the Distance

A perfect 13-0 in his professional MMA career, Abdullaev went 8-0 after debuting in 2020 and joined ONE Championship in 2023.

“Bakal” only needed 44 seconds to defeat Ho Taek Oh in his promotional debut, and Abdullaev managed to outdo that performance in his sophomore outing with ONE Championship later that year when he stopped the formerly-undefeated Aaron Cañarte in just 41 seconds.

The 28-year-old unfortunately failed two hydration tests ahead of a planned title shot at ONE Fight Night 27 but still stopped ONE Featherweight MMA Champion Kai Taig in the final round of a non-title catchweight bout. In his final ONE Championship appearance, he also finished Ibragim Dauev with ground and pound to preserve his 100% finishing rate.

Anthony Figueroa Could Score Major Upset on DWCS

Abullaev will look to secure a UFC contract on September 15 when he takes on Figueroa, who is currently on a five-fight win streak.

Figueroa turned pro in 2018 and won a one-off fight with Bellator as part of a 4-0 start to his career before he was submitted by Christian Avalos in his third appearances for Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat in early 2024.

Four-straight wins earned the American an interim lightweight title shot in May at Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat 35, where Figueroa defeated Eugene Correa via unanimous decision but was unfortunately ineligible to win the belt after missing weight ahead of the fight.

Dana White’s Contender Series 2026: Week 6 Fight Card

Wushamo Hailai vs. Camila Reynoso

Mayton Perea vs. Zevan Hunt

Antônio Monteiro vs. Tyshawn Williams

Hugo Guillon vs. Luis Hernandez

Akbar Abdullaev vs. Anthony Figueroa

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